Day 20: Wake up and recovery your life!
Scripture focus: But when the Messiah arrived, high priest of the superior things of this new covenant, he bypassed the old tent and its trappings in this created world and went straight into heaven's "tent"—the true Holy Place—once and for all. He also bypassed the sacrifices consisting of goat and calf blood, instead using his own blood as the price to set us free once and for all. If that animal blood and the other rituals of purification were effective in cleaning up certain matters of our religion and behavior, think how much more the blood of Christ cleans up our whole lives, inside and out. Through the Spirit, Christ offered himself as an unblemished sacrifice, freeing us from all those dead-end efforts to make ourselves respectable, so that we can live all out for God. Like a will that takes effect when someone dies, the new covenant was put into action at Jesus' death. His death marked the transition from the old plan to the new one, canceling the old obligations and accompanying sins, and summoning the heirs to receive the eternal inheritance that was promised them. He brought together God and his people in this new way. Hebrews 9:11-17 (The Message)
The book of Hebrews reminds us that this new thing that God is up to doesn't come with an instruction manual requiring compliance to all the rules. (I know I know – we do have God's word found in scripture. Hang with me on this point and don't jump to conclusions, or think that I'm denying the power of scripture and its role in our daily lives.) Scripture is chock full of instruction and information. But let's face it – we have to interpret and apply it to our lives. This is a challenge. But here's the good news: God isn't asking us to become rigid and ritualistic, rule-driven and so firm in our convictions that the world sees us as hard and brittle.
The new covenant is about learning how to live in committed relationship, not live to perform out of a sense of obligation.
This clarity helps us learn how to adapt. Certainly there are some non-negotiables, and we will learn them as we peer intently into the word of God, pray without ceasing and daily approach the throne of grace with confidence.
We have been brought together with God in a new way. We no longer focus on our behaviors alone. We can become a people who focus on who we are in Christ. We can learn what it means to care about what God cares about, do what God does, love as God loves. This is more like attending a dance than completing a daily set of drills.
May you hear God's music and dance with him today.
Recommended reading: Romans 1 - 3
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