A Year of Prayer: Season One Weekday DevotionalsSample

Ephesians 1:7-8 says, ‘In him, we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us.’

In today’s scripture in Isaiah 1, our sins are likened to the colours scarlet, red and crimson. These are the colours of blood. Again and again, sin is likened to bloodstain and bloodshed, the spilling of life that equals death. To see volumes of blood onscreen or, God forbid, in a real-life scene is incredibly upsetting. We as human beings are wired for the smell and sight of blood to produce fear and thoughts of our own survival.

In the same vein, sin being likened to blood makes sense with the ensuing horror and guilt or fear. We can see how ideas of self-preservation and survival quickly rear their ugly heads. How many sentences did it take Adam in Genesis before he began to make excuses for his sin? One!

After his committal and denial of sin, Genesis records that human sin had to be rectified through the shedding of an innocent animal’s blood, to take the place of an individual’s divine judgement. The first time this happened was when God slayed an animal to clothe Adam and Eve’s nakedness – their exposure because of their knowledge of their sin. This set the precedent for centuries to come.

This process of repentance and atonement—owning up to where you had fallen short and offering a sacrifice to make things right—would go on day after day, year after year, as those who knew God would try desperately to live in relationship with their Creator but repeatedly fail to live perfectly.

But Jesus came to make a better way. In Hebrews 9:12, it says, ‘[Jesus] did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.’

Jesus erased the sin of the world by shedding the blood on our behalf. As this week's scripture reflects, his blood removes our sins to make us white as snow. In Him, we have the forgiveness of sins. Though our sins were as scarlet, crimson, terror, shame, guilt, stained, and fearful - we can be as wool as we embrace the blood of the lamb and become the sheep of his flock. Jesus clothes us in white robes, the final garment of praise we will wear when we enter heaven and worship God for eternity. Praise be to the Lamb who was slain!

Prayer: Jesus, show me my sin, not only that I may be ashamed and turn to run to you, but that I may turn and run from sin. I renounce lust, temptation, gossip, slander, irritability, pride, anger, and all that may dominate me. I shall be cleansed and washed by your blood, making me whole and clean again. Hallelujah!

Action: Spend some time thanking God for Jesus and the sacrifice Christ offered in our stead and for our sake.