The Heritage Keepers

Living in Covenant

Giving One's All

Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5) 

Called to a New Life in Christ

Hebrews 9:11-22 The Message

Pointing to the Realities of Heaven

11-15 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.
16-17 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.
18-22 Even the first plan required a death to set it in motion. After Moses had read out all the terms of the plan of the law—God’s “will”—he took the blood of sacrificed animals and, in a solemn ritual, sprinkled the document and the people who were its beneficiaries. And then he attested its validity with the words, “This is the blood of the covenant commanded by God.” He did the same thing with the place of worship and its furniture. Moses said to the people, “This is the blood of the covenant God has established with you.” Practically everything in a will hinges on a death. That’s why blood, the evidence of death, is used so much in our tradition, especially regarding forgiveness of sins.

For Reflection

As Jesus has shown us, God is no longer housed in a temple.  God is now within reach of all people. God is accessible everywhere. No longer are rituals determinants of our faith.  We all have been freed from the old religions. We are free to follow the Christ, who resides in our souls.
The entry key for the new covenant is death.  The death of our ego-driven lives and resurrection into a God-driven existence.

Pray

Pray so that you will fulfill the will of God and become the person you were meant to be.  Pray so that you can remain free from the pressures of your old corporeal life.  Pray so that you will see God's Creation through the mirror of Jesus Christ.

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