Redemptive Relationship Series

I enjoy reading Mikey’s Funnies at times. It is a humorous, daily, blog post from Mike Atkinson. Some time ago, he posted this:

If you can start the day without caffeine; if you can get going without pep pills; if you can always be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains; if you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles; if you can eat the same food every day and be grateful for it; if you can understand when your loved ones are too busy to give you any time; if you can overlook it when those you love take it out on you when through no fault of yours something goes wrong; if you can take criticism and blame without resentment; if you can ignore a friend's limited education and never correct him; if you can resist treating a rich friend better than a poor friend; if you can face the world without lies and deceit; if you can conquer tension without medical help; if you can relax without liquor; if you can sleep without the aid of drugs; if you can say honestly that deep in your heart you have no prejudice against creed, color, religion, or politics; then, my friend, you are almost as good as your dog. (Mike Atkinson, Mikey's Funnies, 6-26-02, www.mikeysfunnies.com)

It’s pretty bad when you realize that your dog has more decency than you. So many people strive for goodness, but never seem to find it. So many people struggle to live free from guilt and sin, but realize they aren’t half as good as their dog.

Does that describe some of you? Would you like to live truly free from guilt and sin? Then don’t make the mistake that some people do. Don’t depend on a restrictive religion, which is limited in its procedures, place, people, and power. We saw that a couple of weeks ago. Trying to live by a set of rules and rituals only enslaves you. No!

If you want to live a life truly free from sin and guilt, there is a better way. And if you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Hebrews 9, Hebrews 9, which shows us that better way.

Hebrews 9:11-12 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. (ESV)

After Jesus died on a cross, shedding His blood as a sacrifice for our sins, He entered into heaven itself. He did not go into any earthly sanctuary. Instead, He entered into the presence of God Himself; and there, He secured for those who trust Him an eternal redemption. That is to say, He purchased their forever freedom with His own blood!

So, if you want to live truly free from sin and guilt, then don’t depend on a restrictive religion. Instead, enter into a redemptive relationship with Jesus Christ. Get close to Jesus. Trust Him with your life. Live your life in dependence upon Christ, and…

LET HIM SET YOU FREE FOREVER!

Let Him deliver you unceasingly. Let Him rescue you for all eternity.

Four years ago (2014), the Ebola virus was spreading all over West Africa, leading to a horrible, bloody death in most of its victims. Though urged to leave, Dr. Kent Brantly with Samaritan’s Purse stayed in Monrovia, Liberia, to care for sick Ebola patients. Then in July of that year (2014), he caught the Ebola virus himself. As his condition grew worse, he was flown to the United States in an air ambulance. However, before he left Liberia, one of his former patients, a 14-year-old Ebola survivor, gave him “a unit of blood” for a transfusion.

After his recovery in August 2014, Brantly donated his plasma to Samaritan's Purse colleague Dr. Rick Sacra and freelance cameraman Ashoka Mukpo, both of whom were receiving treatment for Ebola. Brantly also donated some blood to another American Ebola patient, Dallas nurse Nina Pham.

You see, doctors believe that when confronted with a virus, the immune system creates antibodies to specifically target that virus, kill it, and keep it from coming back. Once a person has antibodies, they stay in their blood for life. If the Ebola antibodies found in an Ebola survivor's blood can be imported into a struggling Ebola patient's body, those antibodies can theoretically help the patient's immune system fight off the deadly virus. Doctors say that even though the sick person's body is trying to make antibodies, an infection can be so overwhelming that the sick person's immune system might not be able to keep up with the invading virus. As a result, the sooner someone gets a plasma transfusion, the more likely it is to help that person recover. (Sydney Lupkin, “Why Blood Transfusions from Ebola Survivor Dr. Ken Brantly Could Help Survivors,” ABC News, 10-14-14; www.PreachingToday.com)