More Than Just Tissue!

Leviticus 17:11

"For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul."

This sentence, which contains a most important truth, had existed in the Mosaic writings for thousands of years, before the attention of any philosopher, phlebotomist, bio-ethicist or activist judge was drawn to the subject. That the blood actually possesses life, and that the life of the whole body is derived from it, is a doctrine of revelation by God Almighty. And it is a doctrine which the experiments of the most accurate anatomists have served strongly confirmed.

The value of the life is the measure of the value of the blood. This gives the blood of Jesus Christ its inconceivable value. When it was shed the sinless God-man gave His life. Confer with Hebrews 10:4-10,

"⁴ For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.

⁵ Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:
⁶ In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure.
⁷ Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.
⁸ Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law;
⁹ Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.
¹⁰ By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all."

Even poets & novelists - Sinclair Lewis, Edith Wharton, Christopher Marlowe, Bernard Shaw and Sherwood Anderson - have alluded to the symbol of bloodlessness as a metaphor for lifelessness. Think about the common & familiar phrase, "A bloodless marriage".

You could, to be sure, modify the phrase and consider that liberals and progressives as bloodless! They are fixated with death, moreso ironically, because they accuse Christians of the very thing they're guilty of. Their death obsession includes Abortion. Euthanasia. Right to Die. Eugenics. And, Godlessness, which is the death of the soul. It's sad, but true, friends.

To Be Or Not To Be

Arizona's ban on abortions starting at 20 weeks of pregnancy will take effect this week as scheduled after a federal judge ruled Monday that the new law is constitutional.

U.S. District Judge James Teilborg wrote that the state provided "substantial and well-documented" evidence that an unborn child has the capacity to feel pain during an abortion by at least 20 weeks.

The abortion-rights groups' lawyer said during the hearing that the ban on abortions crosses a clear line on what U.S. Supreme Court rulings permit, and it intrudes on women's health decisions at a key point in pregnancy. Read the entire article here.

However, what about the unborn child? What about intrusions on the child's right to due process?

Under the 14th Amendment, guarantees are made that no state shall “deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” The fifth section gives Congress the power to enforce, “by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.” The framers of the Constitution had no idea that there would be a day in which the godless would be sitting in court benches, legislative chairs and even behind that famous oak desk in the Oval Office. Had that known what treachery against the unborn would be perpetrated, I think (in my humble opinion) that a clear definition of "person" would have been included to remove any doubt. Remember, the majority of the founders of this great Nation were Christian.

And, while the Arizona law is a good starting point, it neglects to address the problem head on. An unborn child is a person at the point of conception, as per Leviticus 17:11, among other Scriptural reference.

The Blood That Gives Me Strength From Day to Day

Blood carries gases, nutrients and waste products through the body. Blood also fights infections, heals wounds and performs many other vital functions. There is no substitute for blood. It cannot be made or manufactured. Donors are the only source of blood for patients who need it. One unit of blood can be separated into components: red blood cells, white blood cells, plasma, platelets and cryoprecipitate.

Blood becomes vascular. Those vessels open into the stream of the circulating blood. Critical exhange of gases, nutrients, etc. take place every second at this juncture.

The American Blood Center, in its website, makes this plea to its readers:

While you're reading this, someone in America needs blood:

• Blood is needed every two seconds.
• About 1 in 7 people entering a hospital needs blood.
• Blood is always needed for treatment of accident victims, cancer patients, hemophiliacs and surgery patients.
• Blood cannot be manufactured or harvested.

Our blood supply comes from caring donors like you. When you give blood, you give someone another laugh, another hug, another chance.

Donate blood. It's about one hour of your time. It's About Life.

Indeed, it IS about life!

It's very telling that these folks are very concerned about helping those in dire need of blood. As Christians, shouldn't we be just as concerned about the eternal life of these same individuals who have a dire need of the Blood of Jesus Christ? Of course they do! What are you doing about it, Believer? Remember in Hebrews 9:22, which states, "And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission."

Who are you goint to tell today about their need for the Blood?

A Christian Blood Drive

In reaching out the unsaved, think about it in this simple flow chart:

1. Ecclesiastes 12:7 states, "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it."

2. Hebrews 9:27 declares, "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:"

3. Romans 14:12 concludes, "So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God."

So, Reader, if you were to die today, how would you say you've lived your life: for yourself or for God? There is no admittance to heaven without the necessary, prerequisite seal of the Holy Spirit: salvation through faith in Jesus Christ's atoning death for your sins (Rom. 10:9-13). Without it, you are lost and condemned to go to hell (John 3:36; Rev. 20:11-15).

4. John 10:10 indicates, "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."

5. Ephesians 2:8-9 clearly says, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."

Will you be the one to stand up for Jesus? Christ demands it and the world needs it. And millions of unborn children are waiting for someone to defend them.

Well, what have you decided?

I Have Decided to Follow Jesus!

Sources: Fox News, Bartleby's, Wall Street Journal, National Review, Red Cross, American Blood Center

All Right or All Wrong

Hebrews 9:22

"And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission."

D.L. Moody tells the story of a conversation he had with a minster about the topic of ---preaching. Here's how Preacher Moody tells it:

I remember when in the old country a young man came to me—a minister—and said he wanted to talk with me.

He said to me: "Mr. Moody, you are either all right and I am all wrong, or else I am right, and you are all wrong."

"Well, sir," said I, "You have the advantage of me. You have heard me preach, and know what doctrines I hold, whereas I have not heard you, and don't know what you preach."

"Well," said he, "the difference between your preaching and mine is that you make out that salvation is got by Christ's death, and I make out that it is attained by His life."

"Now, what do you do with the passages bearing upon the death?" and I quoted the passages, "Without the shedding of blood there is no remission," and "He Himself bore our own sins by His own body on the tree," and asked him what he did with them, for instance.

"Never preach them at all."

I quoted a number of passages more, and he gave me the same answer. "Well, what do you preach?" I finally asked.

"Moral essays," he replied.

Said I, "Did you ever know anybody to be saved by that kind of thing, did you ever convert anybody by them?"

"I never aimed at that kind of conversion; I meant to get men to heaven by culture—by refinement."

"Well," said I, "if I didn't preach those texts, and only preached culture, the whole thing would be a sham."

"And it is a sham to me," was his reply.

I tell you the moment a man breaks away from this doctrine of blood, religion becomes a sham, because the whole teaching of this book is of one story, and this is, that Christ came into the world and died for our sins.

*

And that, my dear Reader, in a nutshell, is all you need to know. Christ prophesied (Old Testament), Christ crucified & risen (New Testament) and Christ glorified (Revelation). Read the entire Bible and you too will understand that it speaks of Jesus. Indeed, Christ Himself said as much in John 5:39, "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me."

On what do you stand today, your own works or the redemptive act at Calvary? If you stand on your own works, be mindful that the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23) and you are hellbound.  I Choose Calvary!

Feelings (Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!)

Romans 6:1-7

"What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin."

There was a song, a terrible one, that was sung in the '70's and its chorus had this howl of despair from the singer that went like this: "Feelings! Whoa, whoa, whoa feelings!"

Well, the reason I write about feelings is because there are Christians out there who are like crazy barometers of pathos. If they are feeling good then their faith is good; conversely, if they're down, then their faith is down, too. It's quite a roller-coaster ride if you fall into category. Almost like a bipolar believer!

All jesting aside, this unstable Christian walk is a serious matter in that believers who go through emotional unravelings begin to question their salvation or begin to question God.

Your position in Christ, however, has nothing to do with your feelings. Rather, it has everything to do with the fact that is revealed in Ephesians 1:7: "In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;"

Are you going to trust your feelings or something you may have been taught in the past? Or are you going to trust what the Word of God says about His provision for your salvation?

In Romans 6, we learn the foundational truth that when we accept Christ as our Savior we are baptized into Christ Jesus. This is not water baptism, although water baptism is a symbolic portrayal of this fact. Instead, Scripture teaches that the Holy Spirit immerses us in Christ Jesus, identifying us with Him and sealing us in Him forever.

Verse 4 asserts, “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”

There really is no adequate way to explain this transaction because our minds cannot fathom the infinite depths of the omniscient mind and wisdom of God. Yet in Ephesians 1 repeatedly affirms that we are "in Christ," or "in Him."

God's word, Friend, is fact and not opinion. If you're seeking an opinion go to a doctor or the Op-Ed pages of your favorite newspaper. Here, we're talking about the eternal truth that will stand the test of time. To wit, in Mark 13:31 Christ declared, "Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away."

Do you believe this today, dear Christian?

Ephesians 2:4-6 adds this gloriously unfathomable security: “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:"

You see, we understand in part, but one day everything shall be made known (I Cor. 13:12).

God has reserved a permanent residence for us with Him in heaven (Jn. 14:1-3). Our eternal destination is both decided and sure.

So, stop living your Christian walk by placing your faith in your feelings and put your entire faith in God' word. The quality of life you'll live as a believer will be determined by where you'll put your trust in. Remember, "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Rom. 10:17)

Put Your Faith In Jesus Christ Today!

I care not today what the morrow may bring,
If shadow or sunshine or rain,
The Lord I know ruleth o’er everything,
And all of my worries are vain.

Living by faith in Jesus above,
Trusting, confiding in His great love;
From all harm safe in His sheltering arm,
I’m living by faith and feel no alarm.

I know that He safely will carry me through,
No matter what evils betide;
Why should I then care though the tempest may blow,
If Jesus walks close to my side.

Living by faith in Jesus above,
Trusting, confiding in His great love;
From all harm safe in His sheltering arm,
I’m living by faith and feel no alarm.

Part of this post courtesy Dr. Charles Stanley