Be Prepared

Aren’t you glad we don’t live with Moses in the wilderness. The thought of making a sin offering with the blood and burning fat makes me a little nauseous. 

God gave the Israelites a series of steps that the people had to perform in order to be cleared of their sins. They had to select a perfect animal, the priest would lay hands on the animal in an act of transferring the person’s sin to the animal and then, they would sacrifice the animal. Sounds messy to me! According to Leviticus 5:6 the person would then be purified and “right with the Lord”.

While our “sin offering” is less messy. It can still be a process and at times can take work. Jesus made the ultimate blood sacrifice for us. He took all of our sins on himself and died so that we can be forgiven. It is a good deal for us, but we have to do the work!

First, we have to accept Jesus as our Savior.

If you haven’t done this, here is a quick prayer for you: Lord, I confess that I am a sinner. I am not good enough on my own, I need Jesus as my personal Savior. I believe that he died on the cross to save me from my sins. I believe that Christ rose from the dead and is seated at the right hand of God. I give you my life and I invite you into mine.

Second, we have to confess and repent of our sins.

This can be a difficult step. We need to ask the Holy Spirit to convict us and make us aware of sins that we may be committing in our lives. We need to confess to God that we have sinned against Him and ask for His forgiveness. Finally, we need to repent of these sins and work hard to avoid them. The good news is that we are not alone. We have the Holy Spirit working in us to help us be better every day. We also have forgiveness! When we are faithful and truthful in confessing and repenting we are forgiven every time. Praise God!

Why are all of these things so important? Why should we do them right now? Can’t it wait until tomorrow?

The truth is, that we have no guarantee of tomorrow. In Matthew 24, Jesus promises that He will be back. He gives signs that will precede his second coming. In verse 44, Jesus says “You must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.” Once Jesus is here, it will be too late to accept him as Savior (Revelations 1:7 and Matthew 24:30 b) 

It is so important that we are “right with the Lord”. Do not wait! God is listening. Talk to Him.

Heavenly Father, I confess that I have sinned against you. I am not always the person that you want me to be. Thank you for sending your Son, Jesus, to take away my sins. Thank you for sending the Holy Spirit to guide me and teach me to be a better person. I love you and I want to be ready when your Son returns. I want to be with you forever. Amen