"Word of God Speak"

"Sacrifice and offering Thou didst not desire; mine ears hast Thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast Thou not required." (Psalms 40:6) Some things, although they might appear to be mysteries, are more plainly seen than we might otherwise have considered; for example, the sacrifice of an animal to take away the sins of a man, just how much sense does that make? Probably about as much as performing some sort of work to gain righteousness with God, or giving money to earn salvation and eternal life. Yet, how many people do you know that try and base their right standing with God upon their performance to adhere to His law? Jesus said, "Come unto Me", not because we needed to work our way to God, but because He would give us rest from trying to do something that was beyond our ability to do. Another way I think we can see this lived out, was in Abraham's obedience to separate himself from his father's house, and then to allow God guild and provide for him; in other words, Abraham became dependent upon God for that place which he should dwell; yet the place which Abraham looked for, was a place other than here on this earth, but was a place with God. If anything, those sacrifices which were made, were for man to know his need to be forgiven, just as the law was given to let us know how far we fall short of righteousness; they all worked together as a way to show our dependence upon God to provide a way, not for us to work or earn our way to eternal life, because that was not going to happen. I can remember the day that I asked Jesus into my heart, the thing that triggered my making that move, was not something I had seen, but something that I had heard; my ears had been opened to receive the truth, that my heart might receive it, and my mind would consider how urgent my need actually was. Once you see that urgency for salvation, you really come to realize that it is not something that anyone can work towards or obtain doing good, because it is too urgent of a need for that; but rather, it must instant and complete, because it is totally performed by God. Not only did a Man's blood get spilled for mans sins, but that Man was God, who not only took our place upon that cross, but He became sin for us, that we might be made free from that which has bound us, mainly our sinfulness... "But God commanded His love toward us, in that, while we yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son; much more, being reconciled we shall be saved by His life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement." (Romans 5:8-11)