But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.–Ephesians 2:13
Commenting on this verse, the late Ray Stedman wrote: A South American Indian told the missionary who led him to Christ. When I was living in the jungle, we never knew a day without fear. When we woke up in the morning, we were afraid. When we went out of our houses, we were afraid. When we walked along the river, we were afraid. We saw an evil spirit in every stone and tree and waterfall. And when night fell, fear came into our huts and slept with us all night long. That is what paganism is. And this is what the world is returning to. All around us, as Christian truth begins to fade, this pagan darkness settles upon the land. How thankful it ought to make our hearts that God has called us out of such darkness!

Without the instruction of those who came to know God and then brought the message to us, we would have been nothing but pagans. Without any light in our darkness other than the natural light that came from our inner being, indicating that there is a God somewhere, we would be living like that still. But now, having once been far off, we have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

It isn’t merely the death of Christ. Paul says that it is the blood of Christ. It is significant that he uses that term. Death, of course, is not always bloody. You can die without losing your blood. The Scriptures sometimes speak of the death of Christ and more often of the cross of Christ. But still more often they speak of the blood of Christ. Many don’t like this today. They don’t like to think of the cross or of the death of Jesus as being bloody. But God emphasizes it because blood is always a sign of violence. You see, the death of Jesus was not just a simple passing away—dying of old age on a comfortable bed. No, it was a violent death, a bloody, gory, ugly, revolting scene—a man hanging torn and wretched upon a cross with blood streaming down His sides.

God wants us to remember that violent death, because violence is the ultimate result of paganism. It is the final expression of a godless society. Cruelty arises immediately when love and truth disappear from society. And God is reminding us that when humanity had done its worst, had sunk to its lowest, had vented its anger in the utter wretchedness and violence and blood of the cross, His love reached down to that very place and, utilizing that violent act, began to redeem, to call back those who were far off and bring them near—in the blood of Christ.

As for us, my brethren, the beauty of Christ is such that if we go
into a barn to worship, we are quite as satisfied as though it were
a cathedral, with grained arches and glowing windows.

Such is the beauty of Christ in our eyes, that we are quite
content to hear of him without the pealing organ and the swell of
Gregorian chants; and we are even satisfied though there should
be no display of taste, nothing sensuous and scenic, nothing to
please the eye or charm the ear.

Jesus alone affords our mind all that delightful architecture,
poetry, and music could profess to give. And when our soul gets
near to him, she looks upon all ‘outward adornments’ as mere
child’s toys, fit to amuse the rattle-brains of this poor idiot
world; but vain gewgaws to men in Christ Jesus, who by reason of
use, have had their senses trained, and learned to delight
in nobler things than those in which the swine of this earth
delight themselves.–C. H. Spurgeon

For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. – Psalm 103:11-12

A drunken husband snuck up the stairs quietly one evening as his wife was sleeping. He looked in the bathroom mirror and bandaged the bumps and bruises he’d received in a fight earlier that night. He doctored himself up, then proceeded to climb into bed, smiling at the thought that he’d pulled one over on his wife.

When morning came, he opened his eyes and there stood his wife. “You were drunk last night weren’t you!”

“No, honey. I wasn’t.”

“Well, if you weren’t, then who put all the Band-Aids on the bathroom mirror?”

Many people today are much like that husband. They look into the mirror of their lives, see their scars, and do the best they can to bandage themselves up, replacing “bad behavior” with “good behavior.” But the reality is when they do that, they’re simply putting bandages on a mirror and doing nothing to really heal the sin in their lives.

But in Christ, you have a whole hospital of spiritual healing at your disposal that takes the sin in your lives and doesn’t just hide it, but separates it from you as far as the east is from the west. So instead of just trying to be a “good person” trust fully in Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and experience healing in His name!

Ask God to help you get beyond just being a “good person” to fully trusting in the forgiveness Christ offers from sin.– Senior Living

Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults.– Psalm 19:12
Of all people we most easily deceive ourselves. We have a terrible tendency to misjudge ourselves and think more highly of ourselves than we should. Because of this danger, and it is a danger, we ought to examine ourselves on a regular basis.If we truly saw ourselves as God sees us we would surely respond to the call of God’s Word to “repent”. We don’t see much repentance because people don’t see their needs. And a large number of preachers don’t see the need to help them with this. They are so concerned about being popular that they never speak of sin.

You’ve probably heard the old saying,”Can you ever really know a person?”. Perhaps a better question is,”Do we really know ourselves?” I’m afraid not. In our desire to put ourselves in the best possible light, we not only deceive others, we deceive ourselves. And that can be deadly.

But, how do we see ourselves for what we really are? How do we determine how good or bad we are? What are we looking for? Where do we look? To sum it up quickly, here’s some things we must consider—
1. Prayer— Without the help of God’s Spirit we can never see ourselves as we are.
2. God’s Word— This is our only sure standard of right and wrong. It is through His Word that God reveals His will.
3. Our deeds— Every person shall be judged by their deeds, whether they be good or bad. Our behavior often speaks louder than our beliefs.
4. Our thoughts— God looks upon the heart and we must give an account for the thoughts we entertain. If people knew all of your thoughts they would be horrified.
5. Our motives— Not only does God consider what you do, He considers why you do it. Motive matters to God. You can do the right thing for the wrong reason.
6. Jesus— He is our example. To properly judge ourselves we must consider Him.

So, how are you doing? If you are really honest, not too good. Neither am I. Taking all these things into consideration everyone of us comes up short and we find some reason to repent. What is yours? Now that you’ve found it, what are you going to do about it? Ignore it? Excuse it? Blame somebody else? Hide it? Deny it? Or confess it?

—- the deceitfulness of sin.— Hebrews 3:13
It has been said that no one would follow the devil if they could see the end result. Sadly they don’t. Satan is a master of deceit, and has operated that way since man was created. But, due to our sinful nature, even if Satan was removed from the picture we would be tempted to sin. Not seeing the danger of sin is an invitation to disaster. To be safe we must ever be on guard.

Vine said,”Deceitfulness is the characteristic element of sin— Deceit induces a person to believe that what is false is true; it holds out as a benefit what actually proves to  be an injury.” How sad and senseless that we often welcome into our lives the very thing that will take our life. It is like Judas, it kisses–then kills. It is like Joab, it salutes–then slays. It is like Jael, it butters-up–then batters you to death. It approaches as a friend, then attacks as a foe.It promises pleasure, but produces pain. Rather than delight it brings destruction.

A. W. Pink wrote:”Sin presents itself in another dress than its own. It lyingly offers fair advantages. It insensibly bewitches our mind. It accommodates itself to each individual’s particular temperament and circumstances. It clothes its hideousness by assuming an attractive garb. It deludes us into a false estimate of ourselves One great reason why God has mercifully given us His Word is to expose the real character of sin.” That is exactly right. And without the aid of God’s Word you are sure to be deceived and defeated. Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, and practice it to be holy. Then, and only then, you will be happy!