Our Mediator (Galatians 3:20-21)

Today’s scripture: Galatians 3:20-21

Jesus mediates between us and God. It was His sacrificial death and victorious resurrection that paid our sin debt. And now He sits at the Father’s right hand and intercedes on our behalf.

As we’ve said several times through our studies, the Son fulfilled the Law. He was not contrary to it. The Law itself could not save us from our sins. It could not “impart life.” Only the sacrifice of a perfect Lamb could do this.

I don’t know about you, but this gives me tremendous assurance and encouragement. I know I couldn’t become righteous on my own. Even though I’ve been walking with the Lord for a long time, and even though I do my best to follow His commandments, I fall … more often than I’d like. If I had to rely on my own abilities to be “good,” I’d be destined for eternal separation from God.

But I’m not. I am confident I’ll spend eternity with my Father. I know my sins are forgiven, and I know I’m righteous in my Father’s eyes.

Because I accepted the Son’s gift of payment for my sin. I committed my life to God—Father, Son, and Spirit.

And He has given me life. Eternal life.

No Curse! (Galatians 3:13-14)

Today’s scripture: Galatians 3:13-14

Today’s devotion is short, but (I hope) sweet. A balm for your soul.

We who follow Christ believe He took the sins of mankind on Himself when He died on the cross. But did you think of His “having become a curse for us”? He, the perfect Son of God, chose curse over perfection.

For us.

Jesus died for us. He took on our sin. He chose having His Father turn from Him—even for a moment.

For us.

We have received “the promise of the Spirit through faith.” Our Lord Jesus Christ’s taking on our curse makes us righteous in the eyes of our Father. He redeemed us. He saved us.

That’s how much He loves me. How much He loves you.

Have you thanked your Lord lately for His sacrifice? 

The Law Fulfilled (Galatians 2:19-21)

Today’s scripture: Galatians 2:19-21

These are familiar verses to many of us, and sometimes, when we’ve heard something over and over, we tend to overlook the importance of words.

Jesus fulfilled the Law. Before His death and resurrection, redemption came through adherence to the Law and a blood sacrifice. But Jesus’ payment of the penalty for our sin made certain aspects of the Law unnecessary. Ritual cleanliness. Circumcision. A perfect lamb’s spilled blood.

No longer does our righteousness come through the Law. We die to our sin. We die to the Law. And we live to God. But remember: It’s not we who live. It’s Christ living in us. Our faith in God gives us a heart to serve Him. Not because we’re trying to keep a bunch of rules and regulations. But because we want to please Him. We want to delight Him.

But don’t pass over that last verse. Sometimes we still feel we have to tow the line. If we give our tithe, if we serve at the homeless shelter, if we help our neighbor, we’ll sometimes be more righteous in the Father’s eyes. If that were the case, however, “then Christ died needlessly.”

Oh, my friend. What a tragic thought. Jesus suffered excruciating pain and torment needlessly? He died an agonizing death needlessly?

No. On the contrary, His suffering and death gave us a way to the Father apart from the Law. And when we strive to be righteous by what we do, we’re negating our Messiah’s sacrifice.

In the words of Paul, may it never be!

It Is Finished! (John 19:28-30)

Today's scripture: John 19:28-30

"It is finished!" These are the last words of Jesus as He hung on the cross. Three simple words with so much meaning.

It is finished ... Jesus certainly meant that His earthly life was finished. He did die. His heart did stop beating. He did take His last breath.

But His words meant more than just the completion of His on-earth ministry. "It is finished" means the end to the enemy's control. "It is finished" means the end of sin's hold on us. "It is finished" means the end of ritual sacrifice. "It is finished" means the end to mankind's being separated from God.

"It is finished" also means the beginning of new life in Christ for those who choose to follow Him. When Jesus died, He paid the ultimate price for our redemption. He was the final perfect sacrifice. We can come directly to God's throne because of these words.

These words speak triumph, and we should rejoice when we hear them. As Charles Spurgeon wrote: "The greatest note of triumph ever sounded in the ears of a startled universe was that sounded on the Cross of Christ—'It is finished!' That is the final word in the redemption of humankind."

Laying Down Our Lives (1 John 3:16)

Today's scripture: 1 John 3:16

Whew … John’s next admonition is tough! Yes, Christ loved us so much “He laid down His life for us.” He withstood pain and torture beyond what very few of us will ever experience. He hung on that cross for hours. Hearing the mockers. Straining for shallow breaths. Feeling the heat of the sun on His flayed body.

All for us. All because He loves us that much.

And we who follow Him are grateful—exceedingly grateful.

But what about the next part of this verse? We’ve been talking a lot about loving our brothers and sisters, and many of us really do strive to do so. But laying down our own lives for them? I don’t know.

I truly believe I’d be willing to sacrifice my own life for my husband or my mom or my siblings. Even my nieces and nephews. But as much as I love my dear friends, would I really be willing to throw myself in front of the proverbial bullet? I don’t know. And what about a total stranger? I really don’t know.

Yet that’s what John says real love is.

All I can do is pray, “Lord God, please make me selfless. Please create in me a love so deep for my brothers and sisters that I’d give my very life to spare theirs. Fill me with an overwhelming love for everyone. Amen.” 

He Died for All (1 Cor. 5:14-16)

For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf. Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer.
(2 Corinthians 5:14-16, NASB)

“He died for all …” All means … well, all.

He died for all people, regardless of gender, cultural background, race, socio-economic status.

All.

He was willing to take the sin of each and every one of us on Himself so that we might live. He suffered from betrayal and denial, beatings and ridicule, desertion … for all of us.

And how do we respond to such an amazing, selfless gift?

So many of us respond by saying, “Thanks, Jesus,” and then we go on our merry way, living however we choose. We continue down our selfish paths, doing our own thing. Oh, every once and a while, we pray or we crack open the Bible. But mostly, we’re living for ourselves.

How this must break the heart of our Savior, the one who gave His life for us.

When we accept the gift of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice, our lives should change. We should be living for Him at all times. In fact, we should be almost unrecognizable to those around us. We should be so loving and humble and kind and joyful that people look at us and say, “What’s different about them? I’m not sure, but I want what they have.”

Instead, because we’re so focused on condemning others or wanting our own way that they look at us and say, “I don’t want to be anything like them.”

And how this must break the heart of our Savior … the one who gave His life for us.

Do In Remembrance (1 Cor. 11:23-26)

For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
(1 Corinthians 11:23-26, NASB)

“Do this in remembrance of Me …”

Just three days ago, we celebrated the resurrection of our Lord and Savior—something we should certainly celebrate every single day.

But we Christ-followers follow another solemn tradition when we take part of communion or the Lord’s Supper.

Like many things, however, we may take this event for granted. Some churches have communion monthly or quarterly or as the Spirit leads. However often we partake, we must remember what eating of the bread and drinking of the wine really means.

We are remembering how Jesus was willing to experience the horrifying pain of a broken body and how His blood was spilled to save us from our sins. Thorns in His head. A cat o’ nine tails ripping apart His back.

For you. For me.

And so when we eat a bit of bread or a piece of cracker, we should do so with gratitude and humility. And when we sip the wine or juice, our hearts should break as we remember what He did for us.

Let’s never take the Lord’s Supper for granted. Let it never be just another ritual or tradition.

Rather, let us always do so in true remembrance of our Lord and Savior.