The purpose of this devotional is to help prepare you for the celebration of the birth of Jesus. You may do this as your own quiet time, but we would encourage you to gather some family or loved ones to go through it together.

I like to see what people can do when they apply themselves. In fact, my mother always told me, “You can do anything you want to if you put your mind to it.” I guess that contributed to my love for a good challenge.

I don’t however, enjoy failing. Do you?

What’s the one thing you’d never want to fail at? I bet you can think of a number of things, but what’s the most important? We’ve all failed at something BIG! From the earliest people, mankind failed to be faithful to our Creator. We failed, and we each stand guilty of the sin of unfaithfulness and rebellion toward God. All our attempts at faithfulness end in failure and rebellion against God’s perfect love for us. We can’t achieve what we want. We can’t fix our problem. We need forgiveness.

Let’s look at a few verses on how forgiveness is accomplished:

Hebrews 9:22 states, “without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins.” That’s right! We are actually forgiven—that is cleansed, by the shedding of blood. Doesn’t that sound odd in our culture? We don’t tend to hear about such messy stuff anymore! Yet there it is, “without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins.” We can’t achieve it, can’t fix it; we’re separated from God.

But out of His loving kindness toward us, God promised to fix it.

At first, the cleansing blood came from a lamb. The blood of this lamb, spread over the door of each Israelite household, saved God’s people as death passed over their homes, and spared their firstborn sons. They were also delivered from suffering any longer in slavery.

Later, God established an exquisite process to demonstrate forgiveness.Yet, all the while, these ceremonies only foreshadowed our TRUE cleansing. Hebrews 10:4 says, “it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” So It’s not us, and it’s not the blood of bulls and goats. God, we need your help!

We end today, not with resolution of our sin problem, but with the promise of God. Read Isaiah 1:11 & 18: “What good to Me is your multitude of sacrifices?” says the LORD. “I am full from the burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed cattle; I take no delight in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. “Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are as red as crimson, they will become like wool."

In today’s devotion, we are left waiting for the true cleansing of blood, but we are left with a PROMISE from our faithful God. Do you see it above, our scarlet sins will become as white as snow?! Friend, just as in the days of old, God has a promise. And though these days leave us groaning for help and for hope, we know that we can trust in a God who has PROMISED.

He is sovereign over all the chaos, sovereign over all the division, sovereign over sickness, and He holds us, dear ones, in His hands! He who promised is faithful (Hebrews 10:23)!

In the coming days, you will learn more about this promise from God. You will hear of his plan to cleanse us once for all. You will hear of His plan for all eternity. What a blessed hope we live in! Meanwhile, take a peek forward at Hebrews 10:5-18.

I get excited because God really CAN do anything He wants when He puts His mind to it!

-Vicki Gatchell