Whose Blood?

This is a series of devotions and meditations on scripture that reject fear and champion faith. It discusses the story of Mephibosheth and how it represents God's relationship with us. It emphasizes the importance of Jesus' blood in our lives and how it brings healing and restoration. It encourages believers to have faith in God's promises of renewal and health. The transcript also highlights the need to be disciples of Jesus and the joy of worshiping and celebrating God's love. It concludes with a reminder that we are valued and loved by God. Welcome to Fear No Fear. Grace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. May the Holy Spirit embrace you today. This is a series of devotions and meditations on scripture. We reject fear in any and all forms. Fear is a spiritual force, the currency of darkness and ignorance. It's what we inherited when Adam gave up his faith and Satan uses it to keep people down. His only weapon is words. If he can get you believing or looking at words of fear, he's got you. Instead, we champion faith as an allegiance to God, as a belief and trust and loyalty to the Lord God Almighty. We accept the evidence of his word as unvarnished truth, as is, just as it's written. We get close to his perfect love through the word, and perfect love casts out fear. 1 John 4.18 All scripture is taken from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Visit eBible.org 2 Samuel 9.7 David said to him, Don't be afraid, for I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan for your father's sake, and will restore to you all the land of Saul, your father. You will eat bread at my table continually. Here is a beautiful piece of Messianic scripture. Mephibosheth was the only member of Saul's family left alive. David had made a covenant with Jonathan that he, David, would always take care of him, Jonathan, and show both him and his line kindness. Time had passed, Saul and his sons had been killed in battle, and the line of Saul was basically non-existent. But covenant promises are not idle promises. They're to be taken seriously, and David took it seriously. David looked around, desperate to find someone to whom he could show the kindness of God. Verse 3 When he heard about a crippled, impoverished son of Jonathan, he was overjoyed and lost no time bringing him to the palace, restoring to him family property, appointing caretakers to work his property, and making sure he always had a place of honor at the table of the king. This is a great picture of God's relationship to us. Jesus died for us. He determined to die for us before the world was made, John 17, 24, Acts 48. He loved us before we were able to do wrong or right. He sought us out, looked for us, desperate to show us the goodness and graciousness of God, eager to restore the fellowship and the covenant that he had with Adam and Eve. In fact, it was by that grace that Jesus was able to save us and deliver us from ourselves and the world around us. We've been released from the curse, Galatians 3, 13. His body was broken for us, 1 Corinthians 11, 23. And that shed his blood, and that is something special. Blood does a lot. All life is in the blood, Leviticus 17, 10-11, and then verse 14. All healing is in the blood. Did you know that? It carries carbon dioxide and other waste materials to the lungs, kidneys, and digestive system. All nutrients are in our blood. Our food is turned into fuel, and the blood takes it throughout our bodies. All protection is in the blood. Our wounds clot, and bruises are sectioned off. That's the discoloration you see. The immune system is blood-based. All sustenance is in the blood. It carries oxygen to your body. All life is in the blood. If you have blood, you're alive. How you die is the flow being interrupted, or the blood leaking out, or the blood becoming poisoned. As long as it's moving, you're golden. As long as it's healthy, you're great. Well, what about sickness? Disease is also carried by the blood. All disease is in the blood, from minor things to cancers to chronic disease. It's almost a you-name-it, and it has a connection to the blood. That's one of the reasons that sicknesses and disease can be so hard to fight medically. They're in the thing, the blood, that is the repair system for the body. When your tool is broken, it's hard to fix anything. That's not how it used to be. There used to be a supernatural protective flow in our blood. There was no disease there, only life. When Adam rebelled, his blood changed. It lost its protective flow, and it passed on down the bloodline to all humanity. Adam's blood was so powerful, the sin within it is still killing people. But Jesus died shedding his blood for us. Salvation is a transfusion of Jesus' blood for Adam's blood. The first Adam had bad blood. But Jesus, the last Adam, has perfect blood. He shed it for you. He breaks the cycle. He broke disease on the cross. The Father broke decay with Jesus' resurrection. What did Jesus say? Eat of my flesh, drink of my blood. Because we have his blood within us, his cells are fixing our cells. Every time it pumps through your system, you become a little bit more like Jesus. A little bit more like Jesus. A little bit more like Jesus. Jesus is the truth. And in truth, he is the bread of life, John 6.35. And he offers it to us by grace. We can't earn it. We don't have the work to keep it. It costs us nothing. Whoever eats that bread, accepts his sacrifice, confesses him as Lord, and believes that he was raised from the dead to eternal life, will never go hungry again. We get to eat at his table always, literally. He is our living water, our living bread, John 7.37-39. And what does he say? If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, from within him will flow rivers of living water. Bread and water, a full meal, unearned, freely given, out of love, to me, to you, to us all. It's so simple, isn't it? We replace our blood with his blood. Or really, the part of his blood that we are missing mingles with ours, giving us new life, restoring us to where we should have been. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new, 2 Corinthians 5.17. If we have Jesus' protective spiritual flow in our blood, then why are we accepting any sickness? Why do we let disease take root? Our blood has no disease anymore. Our blood carries the repair and restoration factors of the cross within it. There is every reason for us to put faith in that, to believe it and receive it. Jesus lives within us. His blood is our blood. His blood, with every pump of our hearts, is circulating in our systems, bringing life-giving restoration to every cell we have. Praise the Lord, my soul. And don't forget all his benefits, who forgives all your sins, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies, who satisfies your desire with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagles, Psalm 103, 2-5. These are foundational promises. This is the nature of God. This is the attitude of God. This is something for all of us. It doesn't depend on anything but God. The Lord forgives our sins and heals our diseases. He has redeemed our life from destruction. He renews us to our youth, eliminating the so-called natural decay that robs us of the ability to move, speak, hear and think the way that we should. The men and women of faith in the Bible died in old age, but they did not die infirm. There's a difference between aging and deteriorating. They were energetic as they aged, capable. If we have the blood of Jesus in us, there's no reason for us to accept the decaying process, the aging process as the world sees it. We can age with full capacity. I mean, yes, we need to be good stewards of our bodies because they're going to age, but they don't need to deteriorate. So no, we can't just lie around and never exercise while we eat junk. But why should we accept Alzheimer's? Why should we accept immortality? Why should we accept fading eyesight? We don't have to. According to Psalm 103, 2-5, keeping our minds clear and active, our bodies mobile and our eyesight clear is part of our right as believers. We got saved, didn't we? Redeemed into eternal life, right? So we can also be healed. It is also a promise. We can also have the capabilities of our youth restored. God's not a respecter of persons, Acts 10-34. That means that we can have the same as other men and women of God who walked with Him, Moses, Abraham, etc. If we're willing to do what they did, if we are willing to walk at the level that they walked with the dedication and the wholeness of heart toward Yahweh that they walked, if we're willing to live the righteous life that they did, if we're willing to be sanctified as they were, if we are willing to be restricted as they were, because none of this is ever a license to do whatever we want, but a process of learning to want what pleases God. Now, if we're willing to do all that, then we can have the same rewards and benefits as they did. What does Jesus say to us? Take up your cross and follow me. He doesn't say, okay, yeah, believe in me, and then everything you get. No, seek me first. Seek the Father first. Seek the kingdom first. And then all the rest follows. Moses sought the kingdom first. He was climbing mountains at 120. Abraham sought the kingdom first. What did he do? In this miracle of old age, and it was, he and his wife had a baby, and then the baby grew up, and Mama died, and then Abraham remarried, and had like five other kids. He was renewed into the powers of his youth, but he did it by being so totally committed to the Lord that he was willing to give up everything for the Lord. God is a God of life. He's not a God of decay. He's a Redeemer, a Restorer, a Renewer. If we accept Jesus and everything that he did on the cross, we must learn to accept that renewal and health is part of the package. We can live in it, and we can receive it. It is just as much a part of the package as our willingness to submit to the yoke of Jesus. Light though it is, submit we will. It is just as much a part of the package as choosing obedience, as strengthening faith, as taking up our cross, and broken and submitted to his will going on through life. Eagles molt from the head to the tail. When we accept that we can be renewed, it has to start with our minds. The word renews our minds. Romans 12 too. The rest of us can follow. There's no reason why it won't. There's no reason why the process won't continue from head to feet as long as we are renewing our minds and submitting to what we find in the word that we are reading to renew them. We'll still need completely new heavenly bodies at the resurrection, but while we're here on earth, we can live in bodies that age but don't decay. We can get old without getting infirm. We can keep our faculties. Instead of rotting away locked into a care home, prisoners of our minds, we can spend our time walking, talking, and witnessing Jesus to this world. Our diet can be the secret to draw others nearer to God. After all, who doesn't want to know the secret of aging well? Do you know it in your heart of hearts? Have you had that chance? Have you taken it? You have it again. Now, if you want to never be hungry or thirsty again, if you want salvation, call on the Lord and be saved. Acts 2 21. Pray this prayer with your heart. Lord Jesus, I've heard your word. Create in me a new beginning. I declare that you are Lord. You are my Savior. You are my King. You died for sin and was resurrected to life. I declare that the power of sin, Satan, hell, and the grave is broken over my life. From now and forever, I declare I am a child of God. In the name of Jesus, I will be obedient, and I will walk in your ways. Teach me, correct me, guide me. Now, you've received transfusion, life for death, health for sickness, spiritually, and from there to every corner of your life through the power of Jesus. His blood is flowing, and it will reach every cell of your being. The work is finished. It is done by Jesus, by grace, through faith. Living with Jesus in your heart and in fellowship with the Holy Spirit on a daily basis is the best life imaginable. In fact, it's so great and full of life and blessing that it is unimaginable in the human mind. It can only be believed and received, and only because he gave us the faith to believe it. The Lord has done all the heaving lifting. All we need to do is to accept his grace and put on his yoke. It's awesome. Welcome to the family. Praise God today and start the next step. Salvation is not the end point, but the beginning point. We must all be disciples of Jesus, studiers of the word, worshipers of the Father, and listeners of the Holy Spirit, not to just hear him, but to hear and do. We must die to ourselves every day and strive to learn the ways of God. It can seem daunting, but we can do it. Jesus said it was easy. We are new creatures. We're allowed to act like it. Our daily affirmation of God's love is Psalm 149. God is a good God. His mercy to us is steadfast and lasts forever. We enjoy, or at least we have permission and are encouraged to enjoy, him. To sing, praise, dance, and make noise before him and toward him. He takes pleasure in us, but he is righteous and we are called to be righteous as well. This isn't celebrating our faults. This is celebrating him. This is celebrating who we can be in him. He has a double-edged sword, which we are told can get to the root of every issue in order to put it out of our lives, Hebrews 4.12. This isn't a painless experience, but it's not to be dreaded. Rather, it is to be celebrated for the freedom that he grants us. We have the opportunity to be humble and to let him remove all those things that aren't compatible with his nature, to break our chains and fetters, to release us into new life in Jesus. In Jesus, we can experience the victory that he won for us. In Jesus, we have new life. In Jesus, we have freedom. In Jesus, we are refined. In Jesus, we are perfected. Everything is in Jesus, by Jesus, through Jesus, and for Jesus. Because of that, we can come boldly into God's presence, singing and dancing, eager for a chance to worship the God of all creation, our father, our groom, our all. As we close, remember that you have worth. You are precious and valuable. Declare this. Today, God loves that I, now you, fill in the blank. Was it a meal you made? A smile you gave? Did you get out of bed? Read? Put on socks? There's no wrong answers here. There is no end to God's love, and no end to the things about you that he loves, each and every day. Pick one. And remember, the Lord loves you, just because you're you. 1 John 4, 9-10 tells us, By this, God's love was revealed in us, that God has sent his only-born Son into the world, that we might live through him. And this is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins. His perfect love turned away God's wrath because of sin, and it casts out our fear too. See verses 18 and 19. We love because he first loved us. He just loves us. Can't get enough of us. And that is wonderful. See you next time.