Sin

We like to make light of our own sin. I'm not really sure why. Perhaps because Jesus already paid the price for it, and all that we have to do now is place our faith in him to have forgiveness of our sin (in the simplest terms at least).
I wonder if we would take it so lightly if we had to sacrifice things according to Levitical law. My sacrifice has already been made, but it's easy for me to forget about it. To forget what it looked like. Smelled like. Felt like.
Here's what they used to have to do according to Leviticus 4:33-35, in case you were wondering:

He must put his hand on the animal's head and kill it as a sin offering in the place where the whole burnt offering is killed. The priest must take some of the blood from the sin offering on his finger and put it on the corners of the altar of burnt offering. He must pour out the rest of the lamb's blood at the bottom of the altar. Then the priest must remove all the lamb's fat in the same way that the lamb's fat is removed from the fellowship offerings. He must burn the pieces on the altar on top of the offerings made by fire for the Lord. In this way the priest will remove that person's sins so he will belong to the Lord, and the Lord will forgive him.

JM

Redemption

It's amazing to me how the storyline of redemption runs throughout the whole Bible, like a constant theme that never changes hidden just beneath the surface. I read part of Exodus tonight and noticed this verse at the beginning of Exodus 34 "The Lord said to Moses, "Cut two more stone tablets like the first two, and I will write the same words on them that were on the first two stones which you broke."
It's so awesome that God is always looking to forgive and to redeem the broken. To take our mistakes and turn them into distant memories. To make it as though it never happened. JM

Matthew 27:2-5

Continuing on in the drama they tie up Jesus. Surely they don't think Jesus is a flight risk or a physical threat to them, but I'm sure that they wanted to make a more dramatic presentation to Pilate.
Judas realizes that they are going to kill Jesus and feels remorse, gives back the money, and goes off to hang himself. I wonder what he thought that they were going to do with Jesus. But here Judas has a chance to redeem himself. To go and stand by Jesus but he is too ashamed and goes off to kill himself.
Jesus always wants to restore our relationship with God, that's kind of his whole mission here on earth, but so many times we feel that we are too far gone. That God can do nothing with us because of what we've done. Yet all Jesus wants from us is our commitment irregardless of our history. JM

Matthew 18:21-35

When you put things in perspective, we should be extremely motivated to forgive people. We don't like to do it, though. We feel just when we don't forgive. We've been so wronged. We like to hold it over them. Man, I bet that makes God mad. I mean, he forgave us of so much, and yet we feel like we can hold little stuff over people's heads. Pretty sad. JM