 |
Home | Mission Statement | Video Gallery | Audio Gallery | Photo Gallery | Daily Manna | Testimonies | | Links | Contact us |
 |
For I know the plans I have for you,declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jer 29:11 |
 |
| Archived Manna: | |
Dear
Friend,
If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for collecting daily manna), make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning. Monday, April 17, 2017
Today's Passage : Subject:Christ Our Advocate Bible Verse:1 John 2:1-2 (ESV) "My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. " Message:
First off, we need to understand the word "propitiation", for it is a long word that is almost never used any more. "Propitiate" is a transitive verb, that is, you have to use a direct object with it. You cannot say, "I will propitiate for my error"; you have to say, "I will propitiate so-and-so for my error". The definition of propitiate in the World English Dictionary is "to appease or make well disposed; conciliate".
It means to make someone who is angry with you happy with you, to take away someone's anger. So, if you ran over your neighbor's mailbox, you might propitiate him by buying him a new one.
Sin makes God angry. The Jews in the Old Testament propitiated God by making sin offerings on an altar, sacrificing grain or meat; but the problem with this practice is that, as soon as one makes such a sacrifice, one immediately sins again. The Jews tried very hard not to sin, but this proved fruitless. In fact, the purpose of the law of Moses was to show mankind that they could not follow God's law. We need help.
So, a propitiation in this context is something that takes away God's anger towards our sin and reconciles us with Him. That was why Christ came to earth, because it isn't something we can do effectively for ourselves. So Christ made one last, final sacrifice: Himself. That is why He is sometimes called "the Lamb of God"; lambs were often sacrificed as sin offerings.
So, it is important not to just mouth the words or let the sentences flow over us, feeling only some vague notion about Christ. Christ's role as the propitiator of God, on behalf of anyone in the whole world who sincerely follows Him, is real and specific.
Meditation : Prayer : God of love, Father of all, the darkness that covered the earth has given way to the bright dawn of your Word made flesh. Make me and all who confess your holy name people of this light. Make us faithful to your Word that we may bring your life to the waiting world. Grant this through Christ our Lord. Amen. |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
 |
