Sunday, July 31, 2011

ABIDING FAITHFULNESS

Our spiritual nature should be properly controlled.
And if we do this faithfully, our Lord will keep us whole.
But we must keep on doing it. We mustn’t drop our guard;
And while we are persistent, the task will not be hard.
Look at what God required every single year.
They celebrated Passover, for God had made it clear,
That this was not just something they’d never do again;
But rather a rehearsal of Jesus in His pain.
It may have been in Egypt, the first timed it was done,
But it was more a foretaste of what was still to come.
The blood upon the door tops and also on the sides,
Showed the crucifixion and how the Saviour died.
If this was followed faithfully throughout the coming years,
The Father would forgive them their sinfulness and tears.
We may not understand the reason why it was this way,
But this has been their practice down to this very day.
Of course, the blood was central to the ritual each year.
It represented Jesus blood; that’s very, very clear.
For God had told His people, the life was in the blood.
So Jesus’ atonement became a mighty flood.
All of this was planned before the world was ever made.
So it is not surprising that the system was obeyed.
The purpose was that Jesus be the sacrificial “ram”!
He wasn’t just an infant; He wasn’t just a lamb.
The Law required an offering of an animal mature.
And Jesus’ maturity was absolutely sure.
So everything was carried out and faithfully maintained.
The slightest variation could never be sustained.
For that would break the pattern that Father God required,
To show us that His only Son was all that He desired.
We’ve wondered why He did it. Why Jesus had to die.
But Someone had to suffer for the sins of you and I.
That’s why He could be faithful. He knew what He would do;
To pay the price of all the sins that everyone would do.
It couldn’t be a simple slap upon the wrist.
But something that the Lord Most High would certainly insist.
It had to show God’s hatred of each and every sin.
But something that His Son could face and ultimately win.
So let us praise His faithfulness. He didn’t miss a trick.
And though the pain and suffering would make us all feel sick,
It solved the Master’s problem and brought us to His side,
Where through the blood of Jesus we could evermore abide.
Jim Strickland – written Monday, 01 August 2011