Old Testament Credit Cards

I'm sure you've gone to a store and paid for an item using your credit card.  You walked out of the store with it even though it wasn’t actually paid for. Your credit card was a guarantee the bill would be paid sometime in the future.

People who lived in the Old Testament used their animals as credit cards. They sinned against God and needed to pay the debt, so they "charged" their sins on spiritual credit cards through animal sacrifices.  

They took their VISA cards (Very Important Sacrifice of Animals) to the Temple in Jerusalem where the transaction took place. The priests (the store clerks) sacrificed the animals on the altar (like scanning your credit card) and the client's sins were charged by faith to the future Messiah's account.

Millions of animals were sacrificed over the centuries but not one drop of that animal blood could ever wash away sins. “For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Heb. 10:4).  So why did God have them sacrifice so many animals? It was an object lesson for them. Without the sacrificial system, they would have never understood why Jesus had to die for their sins.

Jesus died on the cross as the sacrificial Lamb who paid for the sins of the world when they were placed in His body (John 1:29, 1 Pet. 2:24). When He said, "It is finished," He declared that the spiritual debt of sins had been paid.  He paid for your salvation but you must receive Him as Lord and Savior for the transaction to be completed. 

Have you asked Jesus to take away YOUR sins?

www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com  www.makinglifecount.net 

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BIBLE STUDY: "Does Everything Happen for a Reason?" 

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Making Life Count Ministries

P.O. Box 680174

Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174

www.makinglifecount.net  Twitter: @KentCrockett

A Testimony for Caiaphas

When Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, Peter tried to fight off the attackers. “Simon Peter then, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear; and the slave’s name was Malchus” (John 18:10). Jesus picked up the ear and placed it back on Malchus’ head! (Luke 22:51). This miracle would serve as a testimony to Caiaphas as proof that Jesus is the Messiah.

It was no accident that this happened to “the high priest’s slave.” After Jesus was arrested, He stood on trial before Caiaphas, who was the high priest that year (Matt. 26:57). The heavenly high priest stood on trial before the earthly high priest, but Caiaphas didn’t recognize Him.

There can be no doubt Malchus reported this incredible miracle to his boss, the high priest. Caiaphas had previously prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation (John 11:49-51) but now God gave him undeniable evidence to consider so he would believe in Jesus. Caiaphas chose to send Jesus to the cross.

On Judgment Day, the roles will be reversed. Caiaphas the earthly high priest will stand on trial before Jesus the heavenly high priest. I’m sure Malchus’ ear will come up in the conversation, along with the fact Jesus rose from the dead. Although we don’t know if Caiaphas ever repented, tradition tells us he later converted to Christianity. If that’s true, the miracle of the severed ear might have had something to do with it.

God has also given us undeniable evidence to consider so that we will believe in Jesus, including proof the Bible is true, proof that God designed the human body, and testimonies of near-death experiences. Don’t ignore what clearly is the Truth leading to eternal life. www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com www.makinglifecount.net

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Making Life Count Ministries

P.O. Box 680174

Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174

www.makinglifecount.net  Twitter: @KentCrockett

God Will Light Your Path

Do you need to make an important decision? Have you asked God to guide you? God says, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go.” (Psalm 32:8).

When you’re driving at night you won’t see the entire highway lit up all at once. You can only see how far your car’s headlights shine down the road. But as your car moves forward, the light keeps moving ahead of you to light your path. You’ll eventually reach your destination by following the light.

When God led Israel through the wilderness, “The pillar of cloud did not leave them by day, to guide them on their way, nor the pillar of fire by night, to light for them the way in which they were to go” (Nehemiah 9:19). Although God doesn’t lead us exactly like that today, He still guides us by illuminating our paths.

When you seek the Lord to guide you He will shine light on the right path. It might only be enough light to take one step. But when you take that step, He’ll give light for another step. He reveals His will to you a little bit at a time—like a scroll being unrolled. 

God lights the path through…

1. God’s Word. “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Ps. 119:105). God will never lead us in a path that contradicts the Scriptures.

2. Desires in your heart. “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart” (Ps. 37:4). When you seek God to make the right decision, He will put the desires in your heart to want what He wants.

3. Open and closed doors. He will open the right door or may close a wrong door. See Revelation 3:7-8.

Read The Sure Cure for Worry for much more information about how God will guide you on the right path. www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com

Visit our NEW WEBSITE www.makinglifecount.net

CLICK HERE for 83 Answers to Bible Questions

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Making Life Count Ministries

P.O. Box 680174

Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174

www.makinglifecount.net  Twitter: @KentCrockett

Walking by Faith (Baby Steps)

In the comedy movie What About Bob?, Bill Murray plays a man who is afraid of everything. He goes to a psychotherapist, Dr. Leo Marvin, who tells him the answer to his problem is to take baby steps. Bill asks, “What are baby steps?”

Dr. Marvin explains, “It means setting small reasonable goals for yourself, one tiny step at a time. For instance, when you leave this office, don’t think about everything you have to do to get out of the building, just think about what you must do to get out of the room. When you get to the hall, deal with the hall, and so on. Do you see?”

Bill Murray understands and says, “Baby steps!” As he leaves, he takes six-inch steps as he’s repeating to himself, “Baby steps…baby steps through the office….baby steps out the door...”

Your first step of faith doesn’t have to be a huge step. It can be a baby step. Just like a toddler learns to walk, every follower of Christ needs to learn how to walk by faith. Paul says, “For we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7). When God told Abraham to leave his country, “he went out, not knowing where he was going” (Heb. 11:8). He took a baby step out the door and kept walking by faith...and God led him to the Promised Land.

Walking by faith means obeying what God tells you to do. It might be stepping into unfamiliar territory like Abraham. It may be speaking up about what you believe like Stephen (Acts 6-7) or doing something you’ve never done before like Noah (Heb.11:7).

What is calling you to do? Take a step of faith into the unknown and trust God to lead you. Now take another step. That’s walking by faith. It’s as simple as taking baby steps. www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com  www.makinglifecount.net

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Making Life Count Ministries

P.O. Box 680174

Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174

www.makinglifecount.net  Twitter: @KentCrockett

The Potential of Your Faith

Jesus used shock treatments to jolt people out of thinking like humans so we would start thinking like God. He stunned everyone when He said, “Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him” (Mark 11:23). His statement seemed so impossible that He reinforced it by saying, "Truly I say to you." In other words, “What I’m telling you really is true!”

Jesus chose this mind-boggling example to show the potential of faith. Imagine speaking to a huge mountain and then see it rise out of the ground, hover in mid-air and then zoom miles away into an ocean. His statement was so astonishing that if Christ Himself had not spoken these words, it certainly would not have been recorded in God’s Word. But it is.

We usually think inside the box so He chose an example that we would never consider—something that’s totally out of the realm of human possibility. Grasping this truth about God’s ability to do the impossible (Mark 10:27) is the key to growing in our faith. (If God Knows What I Need, Why Should I Pray? pp. 22-23)

The same supernatural God that can move a mountain is more than able to solve any human problem. What is the difficulty that you’re facing today? Take it to the Lord in prayer and trust Him. And remember that nothing is impossible with God. www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com www.makinglifecount.net

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Making Life Count Ministries

P.O. Box 680174

Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174

www.makinglifecount.net  Twitter: @KentCrockett

The Object of Your Faith

All faith, whether it’s real or counterfeit, focuses on an object. Jesus told His disciples, “Have faith in God” (Mark 11:22). The “object” of our faith is the all-powerful, all-knowing God. If we place our trust in wrong objects, when those things fail, our faith will also fail. Jesus told Peter, “I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail” (Luke 22:32).

It's not whether your faith is strong or weak, but whether the object of our faith is strong or weak. Suppose you have strong faith that a frozen lake will hold you up if you walk on it. To prove your faith, you run and jump on the ice. Immediately you crash into the icy waters. Your faith failed because the object of your faith failed. You had faith in a weak object because the ice was a half-inch thick.

Now assume you have weak faith. You aren’t sure the ice will hold you up, so you slowly edge out onto it. You’re pleased to discover the ice supports your weight because it’s 10 inches thick. Your faith didn’t fail because you placed it in a strong object. (If God Knows What I Need, Why Should I Pray? pp.57-58)

It’s better to have weak faith on thick ice than strong faith on thin ice. Are you placing your faith in God, or in something else? Psalm 20:7 says, “Some trust in chariots, others in horses (wrong objects), but we trust the Lord our God (right object).”

Faith that won’t fail is established on the historical fact that Jesus died for our sins, rose from the dead and is alive today. Paul wrote, “For I delivered to you of first importance …that Christ died for our sins…and that He was raised” (1 Cor. 15:3-4). He is the one who can forgive your sins, and His kingdom will endure forever. That’s why I put my trust in Him.  www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com www.makinglifecount.net

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Receive these devotionals (free) by email: You can subscribe in the box on the right at www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com (Your email will not be given out. You’ll receive an email when the new devotional is posted)

Making Life Count Ministries

P.O. Box 680174

Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174

www.makinglifecount.net  Twitter: @KentCrockett

What Does "Washing Feet" Mean Today?

In Jesus’ day people wore sandals and walked on dusty roads which made their feet filthy. This made it necessary for their feet to be washed every day. At the last supper, Jesus washed the disciples’ feet and said, “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash on another’s feet. For I have given you an example that you should do as I have done to you” (John 13:14-15).

Jesus did this to leave us “an example.” Does this mean we should be washing people’s feet today? In those days they walked on dirty roads. Today we ride in cars on paved roads, so there’s no need to wash feet. I know of a church that washes people feet every Sunday because Jesus said this. They miss the point. It’s an example that goes beyond changes in culture.

First, it’s an example of humility. In those days washing other people’s feet was a slave’s job. Jesus said, “A slave is not greater than his master” (13:16) and washed their feet. If no job was too humiliating for Jesus, no job should be beneath us.

Second, it’s an example of serving others. Jesus did not say, “If I wash your feet, you can serve Me by washing My feet.” He said wash other people's feet. In other words, the way we serve God is to serve others. So what does “washing feet” mean today? 

It could mean mowing someone’s yard, cleaning a bathroom, fixing someone’s flat tire, shoveling snow off your neighbor’s driveway, or taking a meal to a sick person. Ask God what He wants you to do. So have you washed any feet lately?  www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com www.makinglifecount.net

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Receive these devotionals (free) by email: You can subscribe in the box on the right at www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com (Your email will not be given out. You’ll receive an email when the new devotional is posted)

Making Life Count Ministries

P.O. Box 680174

Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174

www.makinglifecount.net  Twitter: @KentCrockett