THE BLOOD, ONLY BLOOD!!

“Give blood, save lives” said an advertisement released by a pharmaceutical company in the city. There is great demand for blood to save lives around the globe. Researchers have been toiling for decades to make an artificial substitute, but found it impossible to make. There is no substitute for blood. Blood alone can save another. As per available reports, every two seconds, someone needs blood for survival. Each pint (500 millilitres) of whole blood donated by one person helps three people to survive.

The blood is the basis of physical life, which is pre-eminently in the blood. This maxim is recognised by the writer to the Hebrews. He said, “without shedding of blood there is no remission. “The life of the flesh is in the blood” (Leviticus 17:11). In the Old Testament times, the life of the sacrifice was taken, and the blood offered to God, as a substitute for the offerer for the cleansing of his sins. Thus, God being merciful made a way to save man from the jaws of eternal death by accepting a vicarious sacrifice.

What is a vicarious sacrifice? It is one offered by the sinner to suffer the punishment in his place. God accepted the sacrificial death of a substitute and delivered the transgressor from the punishment, provided the sacrifice was perfect, spotless, and acceptable and the transgressor repented of his sin.

When Adam’s son Abel offered a perfect lamb as a sacrifice for his sin, his guilt fell upon the sacrificial lamb instead of on himself. God accepted Abel’s sacrifice. It was the blood sacrifice of a perfect lamb which was a picture of the sacrificial death of Christ in future. So, in essence, Abel accepted Christ’s blood for the remission of his sins thousands of years before Jesus came down to the earth and offered Himself on the cross.

God gave us this example thousands of years before Jesus came to earth as ‘the Lamb of God’. The lambs slain on the altar in the Old Testament times was a representation of Christ, slain as a sin offering for you and me. But Cain offered a grain sacrifice and received no forgiveness from God. The Bible makes it very clear that “without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin” (Heb. 9:22). God accepts nothing but a blood sacrifice for the life is in the blood.

Jesus Christ made a covenant with His blood shed for the forgiveness of the sins of humankind. For all have sinned in His sight; you and I and everyone else on this vast universe. God has in His kindness set forth Jesus Christ as propitiation through faith in His blood, for the forgiveness of sins. If you believe in this, and turn to God in true repentance, you will surely receive the remission of your sins. Have you received forgiveness of your sins?

- by Kumar N.

 

ENDLESS JOY WHILE IN DEATH BED

John Sluiter was a young woman who lived in Rochester, Minnesota. She suffered from a serious disease known as Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)*. Her arms and hands failed to function properly. Her doctors told her that there was no cure for this disease and that she might live just two to five years.

A couple of years later, she had another shock when a needle biopsy of her breast revealed breast cancer. Her breast was removed. She underwent chemotherapy when cancer was detected in the lymph nodes. While she recovered from the cancer, she continued to live with ‘ALS disease’ which caused gradual physical deterioration.

She went through a great ordeal of pain and frustration. Her body and mind failed. But she enjoyed constant presence of God and experienced the comfort of His Words. God gave her strength to go through the painful experiences. God spoke to her through Psalm 73:26 “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever”.

As a result, she had endless joy within, even when she went through such severe pain. Despite her being terminally ill, she testified that she was happy and peaceful. To her curious enquirers who asked, “How could you be happy?” she answered, “The answer is God. I am a child of God, because I belong to Him”.

John Sluiter put her trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, when she was just ten years old. God spoke to her from the book of Isaiah (53:6) “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us have turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all”.

Are you a child of God? If not so, receive the Lord Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior today. He will give you the strength, He will give you the joy and He will give you the peace.

You can be a child of God by trusting in Him, right now!

“As many as received Him, to them He gave power to become the children of GOD, even to them that believe on His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man but of God”.

Note*Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is sometimes called Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a progressive, fatal neurodegenerative disease caused by the degeneration of motor neurons.

- by Kumar N.

 

JESUS THE PASSOVER LAMB

After the pale rays of the setting sun vanished from the land of Goshen in Egypt, the Jewish households killed their Passover Lambs in twilight. It was a few centuries ago, on the 14th day of Nisan that year in the Jewish calendar. The selected lambs were one year old male without blemish. The blood of the slaughtered lambs was to be sprinkled on the doorposts of their houses and the meat roasted and eaten without breaking any of its bones (Exodus 12:46). The LORD would pass through the land that night and slay all the first-born of the Egyptian households. When the LORD sees the blood on the door posts of the houses of the children of Israel, He will pass over them and all the inmates of those houses would be spared from death.

And the children of Israel observed the commandment of the Lord and stayed indoors on that dreadful night. The LORD smote all the firstborn in the Egyptian homes including Pharaoh that sat on the throne. And there was a great cry in the land of Egypt that night, for there was not a single house where there was no death. That event marked the redemption of the Hebrews from Egyptian bondage and death. The slain lambs were the prototype of Jesus Christ, who came on this earth about sixteen hundred years later.

Exactly on the 14th day of Nisan, at the age of Thirty Three, the Lord Jesus Christ, our Passover Lamb has been sacrificed on the cross (1 Corinthians 5:7). He shed His precious blood for the remission of your sins and my sins – to save you and me from the slavery of sin, Satan and death. John the Baptist introduced this Lamb of God (John 1:29). Apostle Peter, refers the precious blood of Christ, “as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Peter 1:19). Apostle John speaks about a Lamb seen in heaven as if it had been slain (Revelation 5:6). The blood of this Lamb is to be applied and appropriated by the sinner - you and I to escape from the soon coming judgement.

When our Lord was on the earth, His life was under intense scrutiny by the Pharisees, Sadducees, the scribes, and the religious leaders, but none could find any sin or blemish in His life (2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 John 3:5; 1 Peter 1:18-19, John 19:4). He committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth (1 Peter 2:22). The Father was well pleased in the spotless life of His beloved Son. As prophesied, “a bone of him was not broken” (John 19:36). He thus fulfilled all the criteria of the Passover Lamb, who is ordained of God to deliver you and I from eternal death! You and I rightfully deserve to be cast into the hell fire for our sins. But God in His grace and mercy sent His beloved Son, Lord Jesus Christ into this world in order that we shall receive the remission of our sins by His shed blood on the cross.

Dear reader, if you have not yet received the Lord Jesus Christ as your Passover Lamb and applied and appropriated His precious blood into your heart by faith, you may do so right now; lest you enter eternal death – everlasting torments in the fiery furnace of hail shall pass over from your life and you shall receive life everlasting. Are you washed by the precious blood of the Passover Lamb?

- by Kumar N.

 

THE SHORTEST MAN ON EARTH

Khagendra Thapa Magar, hailing from Nepal has been adjudged by the Guinness World Record as the world’s shortest man in 2010. He is 56 cm (22 inches) tall and weighs just five kgs. He hasn’t grown since he was 11. Imagine an eighteen year old adult with a height of just 22 inches!

No one likes to be like Magar. The Bible speaks about a man named Zacchaeus, who was of little stature. Zacchaeus was a very rich man. He was not only very rich, but was chief among the tax-collectors. But when he wanted to see Jesus, who passed by Jericho one day, he was unable to see Him, because of his small build. Zacchaeus was however determined to see Jesus. An idea struck him. He ran ahead and climbed up on a sycamore tree and waited there to see Jesus, who was to pass by that way.

When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and saw Zacchaeus on the tree and said to him, “Hurry down, Zacchaeus, because I must stay in your house today.” Zacchaeus came down quickly and received Jesus joyfully. There, the seeking saviour met the seeking sinner. Jesus went to Zacchaeus’ house, while the people murmured saying that He had visited to the home of a sinner.

There something amazing happened. A great transformation was taking place in Zacchaeus’ heart. Zacchaeus realized that he was a sinner. He had made a lot of wealth by unfair means, which he realized was not right in the sight of God. The guilt of his sin was crushing him. He could no longer hide it from the Saviour. He wanted to testify, “He said, ‘Lord, the half of my property I give to the poor; and if I have taken anything from any man fraudulently, I restore fourfold.’ Jesus replied, ‘This day salvation is come to this house.’”

Zacchaeus received Jesus, as his Lord and Saviour, repented for his sins and thus received salvation instantly. You and I are all indeed like Zacchaeus, of little stature spiritually, heading towards eternal death! The only way to escape this doom and disaster is to receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour and atone for our sins for if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Dear reader, do you have the assurance of salvation? If not, repent for your sins, trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and receive the assurance of salvation right now!

- by Kumar N.

 

GHAR WAPSI (THE HOME COMING)

There is a story about a young man who took leave of his loving father with his share of inheritance and went to a far country. There he squandered the wealth in sinful pleasures, being away from the watchful eye of his father. A severe famine that followed landed him a slave feeding swine. He was in agonizing hunger and longed to fill his stomach with the husk, the swine feed, but none gave him even the husk. He then remembered his father’s bountiful home, where there was bread enough and to spare. His despicable condition brought him to his senses; then he arose and went to his father.

But the loving father kept waiting for the return of his son. He saw his son from the distance, shamefaced and slow-stepping in dirt and rags, sores and stink. Yet the father’s heart overflowed with compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. The prodigal thought of saying, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you and am no more worthy to be called your son: make me one of your hired servants.” But the loving father met the prodigal half way and before he could ask to be received as a servant, he said, “he was lost and is found.” The father also commanded him to be clothed with the best robe, put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet, and celebrated his home coming.

You and I have strayed from the glorious presence of the loving God and live in sin and are carried away by the passions and pleasures of ‘this far country’. But God does not desire that you and I perish in our sin. And in order to restore us back home unto Himself, God sent His beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ into the world, to bear the punishment of our sins. Lord Jesus Christ thus became sin for us; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. Lord Jesus Christ offered Himself on the cross as the atonement for your sins and my sins. He was buried but rose again on the third day and ascended to heaven and is seated on the right hand of God. He is coming soon to receive us unto Himself. There is no other way for salvation, for there is none other name given among men, save the name of Lord Jesus Christ, whereby you must be saved. Dear reader, God is earnestly awaiting your coming back home trusting Him and with true repentance. When you confess your sins and trust in the Savior, He shall clothe you with the garment of salvation and sup with you and the angels in heaven will rejoice in this solemn event!

- by Kumar N.