Full Access

One of my favourite verses is found in Hebrews 11 v 21 where we see that as Jacob was dying he released blessing and worshipped God. What a turnaround from the beginning of his life where he didn’t really know God and tricked people out of blessing instead of giving them! But what I really love here is that we see it is by faith that we worship. Why is this? Well when we worship we are coming to him, spending time intimately with him – its not just about singing songs but encountering him and fully giving him worth and value. Last week we read at the beginning of Chapter 11 that when we come to him we must believe that he exists and rewards those who earnestly seek him. You see we can’t come to God without faith and that’s why you need faith to worship.

Last week we celebrated remembrance Sunday here in the UK and honoured those men and women who have given their lives for us as a nation that we might know freedom. It is always good to honour others and the sacrifice that they make but it is even better to remember the sacrifice that Jesus made and the blood that he shed. Recently, God really spoke to me about the power that is in the blood of Jesus and all that was accomplished through the shedding of his blood.

There are many things that the blood speaks of but one of the ones that has stood out to me is that the blood speaks of access. It declares that I can now boldly approach God and come before him because the way has been made open by Jesus. When his blood was shed (through his back being beaten, the crown of thorns on his head, the nails in his hands and feet and the spear in his side), it brought my forgiveness, my cleansing and my redemption. No longer am I part of the kingdom of darkness but I am now owned and belong to Jesus, made pure and holy. The truth is that we have been washed so clean and made so pure that when God looks at us he sees us perfect through the blood of Jesus, just as if we’ve never sinned. This is truly amazing and is something to just pause and think about. Take a minute right now and think about this good news for you, allow it to fill your mind and meditate on it – don’t doubt it but accept it as truth for yourself.

Jesus shed his blood and took it into the most holy place to offer for you and me. As this happened the curtain that separated us from God was torn into two and the way was made open so that we can now access God. We can approach God and come to him because the way has been made open and because we have been made new, perfect in God’s sight.

This week in James 4 v 7-8 we hear the call to come near to God, to draw near to him and we can only do this by accepting what he has already done for us. We also read that we are to humble ourselves before him and one way this happens is when we choose to accept what he has done for us, that he has shed his blood for us, made us clean and made the way. We stop trying to get to God in our way and efforts and accept that he has done it all for us and that we can do nothing to add to it. This is the faith action that we need to take, to humbly accept the word of truth. There is no other way to the Father except through Jesus and by his blood.

When we do this we can worship him just like Jacob did, worshipping by faith, drawing near to him and encountering him for who he is, the one who exists and wants to be with us, so much that he made the way and gave us access.

The blood today speaks of access for you and for me so don’t waste it but make full use of it and approach the throne of grace with confidence to get the help you need and then live in the victory that God has for you.