Hebrews 9-11 (Tuesday, July 22nd)

Howdy y'alllllllllllll!

Mmkay, continuing in Hebrews...

In Hebrews 9, Paul talks about how powerful Jesus' blood was when he died for us on the cross. Before Jesus, people had to make sacrifices to God; they'd get their fattest calf or their whitest sheep and slaughter it on an alter to give thanks to God. But in this chapter it talks about how Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice. His blood was so pure, so powerful, and so potent, that no one needed to make sacrifices ever again. Look at verses 13 and 14. Back in the Old Testament times, they were required to take the blood of their sacrifices and sprinkle it to cleanse what they needed. That's the only way you could make things clean, so without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. Now take that into account with Jesus' blood in mind. His precious blood was sprinkled on us. It made us clean and whole and forgiven.
Paul also talks about how now there is a new covenant. If you're good with the old testament,  you know that God made covenant Abraham in Genesis 17 "... God said to Abraham, 'As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants in every generation.'" God made different covenants with different people, but this was the very first one he made. And after Jesus died on the cross, he became the new covenant.

In Hebrews 10, I honestly feel attacked by Paul. I mean, c'mon dude, no one is perfect, that's why we've got Jesus! But he talks about how when people sinned, before Jesus, they had to sacrifice an animal to God. But Paul points out that these sacrifices can't take away people's sins. He says you can sin and sin and sin and sacrifice and sacrifice and sacrifice all you want, but that's not going to save you anymore, because the ultimate sacrifice was already made, and the Holy Spirit even said "Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more," which means that there is no need to make sacrifices for your sins. They are forgiven! Okay, that makes me feel a lot better, cause I don't really have a bunch of cows roaming around that I can sacrifice.
Hebrews encourages believers to persevere in their faith, especially when persecuted. Normally, suffering would be unanimously be considered bad. But, and I can tell you personal experiences, we feel God's presence more clearly in times of great stress. Knowing that Jesus is with in our suffering and that he will return one day helps grow in our relationship with him even more.

Faith- being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see (Hebrews 11:1-2).
All of chapter 11 is about faith. How faith got all of the Old Testament prophets through their tough times. Can you of a time when your faith in God has gotten you through a tough time? You should share it below!
So keep faith, friends. And rejoice in knowing that Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice for you.