You Must Apply the Blood

Romans 12:1

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice - the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.

Romans 12:1

Romans 1:16 (NIV)

I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.

Romans 1:16 (NIV)

Exodus 12:13

But the blood on your doorposts will serve as a sign, marking the houses where you are staying. When I see the blood, I will pass over you. This plague of death will not touch you when I strike the land of Egypt.

Lord, I love the picture this paints. It's a foreshadowing of what you did for us on the cross. Just like the Israelites had to apply the blood to the doorposts of their homes, so we must also apply the blood to our lives.

Hebrews 9:22b

Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins.

Revelation 1:5

and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness to these things, the first to rise from the dead, and the commander of all the rulers of the world. All praise to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by shedding his blood for us.

I'm thinking about how the Israelites had to take special care of their lamb or young goat for 14 days. I think some translations say that they had to keep it in their homes like a pet. Lambs and young goats are so cute that I'm sure the family quickly became attached to it. They formed a bond with the critter and then had to kill it. This had to be very hard especially on the children who seem to form special bonds with animals.

Even harder is must have been for Jesus' disciples to watch him die on the cross. But Jesus was raised to life again and the disciples' mourning was turned to joy.

I thank you, Lord, for the way so much of the Old Testament points to Jesus. It serves as proof that what you said is true. I praise your Holy Name! amen