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11 And every priest stands day after day at his service, offering again and again the same sacrifices that can never take away sins. 12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, "he sat down at the right hand of God," 13 and since then has been waiting "until his enemies would be made a footstool for his feet." 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. 15 And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us, for after saying, 16 "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds," 17 he also adds, "I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more." 18 Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin. 19 Therefore, my friends, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that is, through his flesh), 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:11-25 NRSV)
Happy Tuesday to you, ConCafe Family! May the joy of the Lord be your strength, dear Reader, is my prayer for you.
In reading the first verse of this passage I thought back to the days where I had to do something extraordinarily special in worship, like baptism or the celebration of Holy Communion, and I would look at my hands and I would wonder why God selected me to be His means of grace knowing full well how far from perfect I am. I cannot answer for the priests of Jesus' day, but I do know that among that vast number that served there were those who did take their work/calling seriously and truly believed that in their work and words, God would be at work taking away sins and making right the lives of those who presented themselves as needing forgiveness. And, of course, our work pales to the work of Jesus, Who did take away the sins of the world with His supreme sacrificial act of His death; and rightly deserved His place of honor - the right hand of God, where He awaits the day when the enemies of God will become "a footstool for His feet." And Christ also awaits the day when God's law will be placed in our hearts and minds; meaning God will have our perfect love and we, His. And to top this all off, Jesus adds, "I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more." Haste the day, dear Father, when that will be, so that peace and hope may truly reign in us now and until then. May our true sacrifice be our surrendering of ourselves to Him daily as those who have been perfected and made holy by Him to more faithfully serve Him in all ways that build us His kingdom. May our hearts be truly filled with the full assurance of faith; and completly washed from evil, and our bodies washed with pure water. May our faith never waver knowing He who promised all this is He who is faithful. Let our employ be to provoke one another to be loving and good towards all. May we be driven to meet with others of the faith to encourage one another until that Day when He will come for us.
I'm old enough to remember blackboards as in the most modern medium for communication and instruction. A good teacher and a good blackboard got along mighty fine, and every day, there would be miles of chalk to erase. Enterprising students or those who knew they were in trouble, would volunteer or be volunteered to erase the chalkboards for the day and that was an interesting task. I remember getting into trouble with two of my friends in band practice and our lovely teacher very wickedly saying, "You, you, and you, after class - one swat!" We were busted for laughing in class, a no-no from this delightful band director. I laughed more until I remembered my Dad's strict Day One talk. "If you get in trouble in school, you're in trouble here at home. If you get a swat at school, you're going to get one here too." Gulp. I didn't know how hard Miss Hull could swat, but I sure knew the swift powerful arm of Eradio Valverde, Sr.! I just smiled and thought, oh well; it was worth it. My friend Mike and I lined up with no complaints, but Nacho; it was as if he was standing on the gallows of a South Texas courthouse and he was pleading for his very soul. "Nooo, Miss Hull, I am so sorry for laughing and I will never laugh again; please don't swat me! If you like, I'll clean the blackboards for a whole week if you don't swat me!" I think Mike and I were going to get more swats added because we found his pleading to be hilarious and quite cowardly! He giggled with delight when Miss Hull spared his life and Mike and I took our swats like real men. Miss Hull was quite good with that paddle. But when I got home I waited until Dad was home and I fessed up that I had gotten a swat at school. "What for?" my Dad asked. "For laughing during band rehearsal." He laughed and said, that's good. And no swat was added to my punishment. Dad knew that I got my sense of humor from him; and he and I found humor in pretty much the same places. God offers a clean slate. Not a mark on it. God's records of our wrongdoings is blank. The dusty fingers of a week's work of cleaning a blackboard are not necessary. Our marks have been wiped clean with the blood of the Lamb. And where that happens, the writer says, "There is no longer any offering for sin." He goes on to say one can live with confidence in God's grace and pardon; and full access to our high priest is now ours. I cannot think of better news for a sinner such as myself. How bout you?
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank You for Your love and pardon. May we truly live as pardoned sons and daughters; may we live with boldness in our hearts, minds, and spirits, as we seek new way to serve You and grow Your Kingdom. In Christ Jesus we pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Be someone's advocate of mercy today by speaking up about the clean slate we can have through Christ Jesus.
Receive my blessings of joy and peace,
Pastor Eradio Valverde
