November 9, 2016 – 45 Days Until My Head Explodes, Or Devotions to Prepare Us For Christ’s Coming

“But when Christ came as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation), he entered once for all into the Holy Place, not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, with the sprinkling of the ashes of a heifer, sanctifies those who have been defiled so that their flesh is purified, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to worship the living God! For this reason he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, because a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions under the first covenant.” Hebrews 9:11-15

Uhhhhhhh…..does anyone else see the problem with this piece of Christmas joy? This cute mouse, thinking he or she might have a little Christmas treat, is about to find that Christmas is not the Happ-Happ-Happiest time of the year. Do you ever feel as if Christmas is a trap? Do you ever see this time of year tricking you into thinking it will bring you happiness, enticing you to take your mind off of troubles – only to wake up in the New Year realizing that nothing has changed. But, unlike our Christmas mouse who, distracted by the cherry presentation could quickly meet her end, Christmas is not a trap – it is the beginning of the promise.

The Bible tells us that Jesus drew his final breath at three o’clock in the afternoon, an important time in Jerusalem, for it was the time of the afternoon sacrifice, and because it was Passover week, the Passover lambs were being sacrificed at the Temple. It was customary also for the priest to blow a horn at the time of the sacrifice—a ram’s horn, called a Shofar. So at the same time when Jesus breathed his last, the Shofar could be heard. At the sound of the horn, people would stop what they were doing and fall silent for a few moments. And in that time of silence Jesus died. As the Passover lambs were being sacrificed in the Temple, the Lamb of G-d was being sacrificed on the cross. In G-d’s plan, never again would an afternoon sacrifice be needed. This was just as John the Baptist had prophesied: “Look, the Lamb of G-d, who takes away the sin of the world”

Pastor Dave