“Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood even the forgiveness of sins.”
Colossians 1:12-14

Oswald Chambers wrote, “The only basis on which God can forgive us is the tremendous tragedy of the Cross of Christ. To base our forgiveness on any other ground is unconscious blasphemy. The only ground on which God can forgive our sin and reinstate us to His favor is through the Cross of Christ. There is no other way! Forgiveness, which is so easy for us to accept, cost the agony at Calvary. We should never take the forgiveness of sin, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and our sanctification in simple faith, and then forget the enormous cost to God that made all of this ours.”

With all that we have to be thankful for, at the top of our list should be the finished work of the Lord Jesus on Calvary.  Just as the Apostle Paul wrote in our Scripture, we should be “Giving thanks unto the Father.” I am afraid that we grow cold and stale as time marches by when it comes to our gratitude for what has been done for us in the saving of our soul.  How soon we forget and as we forget we take for granted the sacrifice, the agony, the humiliation and the violence that played out upon that hill so many years ago.

 I am thankful for God’s kindness and love. The saving of my soul never grows old. The measure of our gratefulness should be in the fact that we were so far from God and that our sin was the cause of the distance, yet God commended His love toward us while we were yet sinners.

Let’s allow the depth of our gratitude to be fueled by the measure of the sacrifice that Jesus Christ endured.  We should be thankful indeed for such a wonderful Salvation.

Thank God for the Saviour!  Thank God for Salvation!  Thank God for reconciliation! Thank God for redemption!

“To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherewith he hath made us acceptable in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace” Ephesians 1:6-7

The devil likes nothing better than when the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is watered down to an unrecognizable rubble of human views and philosophies.  Religion and traditions has been a sharp tool in the hands of the devil which has led many down the road to hell all through the ages.  Many are preaching and teaching that the blood of Jesus is too barbaric, to unsettling, to controversial for the pulpits and the pews and so:
I. The value of the Cross is not confirmed.
II. The violence of the Cross is not considered.
III. The victory on the Cross is not conveyed.

Many have been and continue today, to be the pawns of Satan all the while leading many astray. In his book, Faith Undone, author Roger Oakland writes, “Some emerging church leaders do say they love the Cross, but an underlying theme is gaining momentum among them.   It says Jesus’ going to the Cross was an example of sacrifice and servant hood that we should follow; but the idea that God would send His Son to a violent death for the sins of mankind-well that is not who God is.  A loving God would never do that!   Such a violent act would make Christianity a “slaughterhouse religion.”  Such thinking should make us pray with a fervency for the lost that has not been matched in any time found in history.

This is not a cry or a complaint-This is a call, this is a challenge to stand your ground and hold the line when it comes to God’s Word.   In an ever changing world where truth seems to be scarce, hold the line; where wisdom (godly wisdom) has been thrown out the window, stand your ground.  The stand you take today will be firm footing for someone tomorrow.  The truth and the wisdom of the Bible have been set aside.  This is nothing new.   In the third chapter of Genesis, Satan, the deceiver, planted the seeds of doubt in the mind of Eve.  God’s instructions were clear and with consequences.  They were not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The consequence was death. The serpent deceived Eve and sin and death were introduced into the world. Deception has its roots in the Garden and the devil was the author, he is still authoring deception today.
                                                
It is through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ on the Cross at Calvary that the debt of sin has been paid. To down play, dumb down or delete the Blood of Christ, is to completely take away from the truth of God’s Word, the very sacrifice that is needed for the cleansing of the sins of lost man. Without the blood of Jesus Christ, there is no hope.   The Bible gives many wonderful truths concerning the blood of Christ.  I would like to share four of them.

1. The Redeeming Blood- “To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherewith he hath made us acceptable in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.”(Ephesians 1:6-7) The word redeemed means, “to release a prisoner by the payment of a ransom.”  The ransom was paid by Jesus on Calvary and through His finished work on the Cross the lost sinner can be set free as they come to Christ through faith. Thank God for the redeeming Blood of Jesus.
2. The Cleansing Blood- “And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood” (Revelation 1:5.)  The importance of the Blood is so great that the devil will go to great links to discredit it.  Share the truth and never leave out the cleansing Blood of The Lord Jesus Christ.
3. The Sustaining Blood- “The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (I John 1:7.) As believers, the Bible teaches us that we have an advocate, His name is Jesus.  When one goes to court, they take an advocate (lawyer) with them and he or she pleads their case.  The Lord Jesus is our advocate before the throne of God.   Hebrews 4:15-16 is a powerful section of scripture that each believer should take the time to walk in, to study upon and plant in their hearts, "For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need."  Bible teacher Warren Wiersbe writes, "When we confess our sins to God, because of Christ's advocacy God forgives us."  It is not a matter of if we will sin but when we will sin but the Bible says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (I John 1:9.)  That is the sustaining Blood of Christ.
4. The Shared Blood- John 3:16
The devil wants nothing more than the cleansing, redeeming, sustaining and shared Blood of the Lord Jesus to be absent from the pulpits and thus missing from the pews.   That is why it is of most vital importance that it is preached, proclaimed and shared because , “Without shedding of blood is no remission” (forgiveness.) 

Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my meditation. Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray. My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up. Psalm 5:1-3

My friend these words have such depth to them- David is not playing games. These words are not simply from the heart they have made their way up from deep down within. My prayer for myself and whoever else may read this is that we would find ourselves at such a place right now! No gimmicks, no games and no playing religion. Oh, to be a living sacrifice for the Lord to do with as He would and to give ourselves over to His will willingly. To come to such a place of desire for God should be the burning ambition of us all. Take a moment and read the verses slowly and deliberately again and again. Allow each word to have its moment. Make the verses your own prayer.

David has spread himself out before the One True God. He seems to be completely and utterly emptied of self. David has not come lightly- He is all in. He is not looking around he is looking up. He doesn’t appear to desire anything or anyone more than his Lord, his King and his God and they are all one in the same.

Come up close to the Lord, and anticipate Him meeting with you.