Jesus said ‘unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves.” Jn 6:53. The body and the blood of Jesus Christ is to be consumed. And this truth is pictured in the Lord’s Supper. Though still in His body, Jesus said concerning the bread, “Take, eat, this is my body.” And the same He said about the fruit of the vine. We eat and drink these emblems to remember Calvary and so we eat and we drink.

If you would be clean and pure before God, you must be washed in the blood. We are never far from the cross. John saw the martyred saints in heaven and he was told, “they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” Unless you have bathed in the blood of Jesus, you are not clean. This cleansing by the blood first is received at baptism. The Hebrews writer said, “let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” Heb 10:22. And as you walk faithfully as a Christian, the blood continues to wash away sins.

“For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” 1 Cor. 1:18.

The cross is a symbol of death and a curse. “As it is written, ‘cursed is everyone that hangs on a tree.” Gal. 3:13. But the cross was the pinnacle moment of God’s love when His only begotten Son was crucified for sinful man. The cross could not be avoided. Evil men put Jesus on the cross, but the perfect Jesus was the perfect Lamb who could atone for us who have sinned against our God. The cross, which is a symbol of death and a curse, is become the thing to boast in. This means there is no works of man worthy to be boasted in, but we boast in what Jesus Christ has accomplished for us in the cross.

And still we are not finished with the cross. Jesus finished the work of redemption paving the way for all men to be saved if they put their faith in Him. But Jesus said to take up your own cross, die to self, and follow Me. Until their is the dying there can’t be the living. Carry your cross and be the living sacrifice which is pleasing to God, Rom. 12:1,2.

The Christian faith is rooted in, bathed in, and surrounded by the death of Jesus Christ. His resurrection on the third day and the victory over death requires first the death. “unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” Jn 12:24. It was true with Jesus. And it is true with us. Until there is the dying to self, there no life, no hope. We must die to live. We must carry our cross daily that Christ be seen through us. You must be thoroughly washed in the blood to be cleansed. You must eat Jesus body and drink his blood or you can’t have life. You must bear the cross today upon your shoulders if you wish to have eternal life.

Pray. Draw near to God. Confess and repent before Him. Remember from where you have fallen. Love Him like you did in the beginning. Do the works you did at first. Hear and overcome while you can. God bless you. 

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