RUSSELL SANDERS

12-4-2025

THE LIFE IS IN HIS BLOOD

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The sin of Adam, the first man created by God in the perfection of God’s image, brought the curse of death upon mankind. (Genesis Ch. 3.) It was both a physical death and spiritual death (severance of relationship to God spiritually). Adam had been created to live physically on earth forever. Sin took that away and brought the curse of death and the burden of sin upon all future generations. His disobedience to the one and only thing God had commanded him not to do caused this.

When bad things are willfully done, there is a penalty to pay. If a person robs a store and shoots the clerk, the law will judge him in court and judicate the penalty he must pay, prison or death. It is called justice.

Born into sin because of Adam, we are essentially in a spiritual prison bound to sin. God does not wish such spiritual darkness upon mankind, so He made a plan to free us from that darkness. He is a righteous and holy God. He cannot condone sin and evil. He is a just God and payment for sin must be made in order to set us free. What plan did He make to set us free from our bondage to sin?

The ultimate penalty for sin is death. Only pure, righteous, and sinless blood could pay that penalty for all mankind. No human blood was sinlessly pure. Only Jesus’ sinless blood would suffice. That was God’s plan to redeem man from sin and restore relationship between God and man. Jesus, God the Son, was with God the Father in heaven. The Father sent the Son to be manifested as Jesus, the Son of man, in the flesh.

After teaching his followers for three and a half years about the kingdom of heaven, Jesus offered himself as a sacrifice on a Roman cross on the hill of Calvary outside Jerusalem. Jesus’ sinless blood sacrifice became the ultimate payment for the penalty of mankind’s sinful condition. That is how much He loves us. Jesus bore in his body on the cross the sin of all humanity. His shed blood paid the price of our redemption from sin and darkness. (Hebrews 9:22).

His sinless blood redeems us individually when we acknowledge we are sinners; repent of our waywardness (sin) and accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior we are redeemed. He died on that cross and three days later He was raised back to life. As we believe and put our faith in Him, his death, burial, and resurrection, then we too are resurrected from the death penalty of sin and receive newness of life in Him. After being risen from the dead Jesus was seen of many witnesses for 40 days and then ascended bodily into heaven. We too, will eventually die physically on earth, but our spirit that is born again lives on forever and will be there with him in heaven. All of this is the result of his great love for us.

Unfortunately, those who reject Jesus payment for their sin will have to pay for the penalty of their sin when their lives are over. Their destiny is torment in “hell,” which is death’s ultimate prison where one is separated from God for eternity. God does not wish that upon anyone, but each person makes their own choice. In II Peter 3:9 it says, “The Lord is …not willing (desirous) that any should perish, but that all should come (to Him) to repentance.” The choice is yours. Choose wisely.

HELEN SANDERS

12-4-2025

LEAH PART 1

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As we study the scriptures we learn about the genealogy of Abraham. He had lived in Ur of the Chaldees which is present-day Iraq. He left there with his wife Sarah and his nephew Lot. God brought them to the promised land of Canaan.

After many years God gave Abraham and Sarah the son of promise, Isaac. Abraham did not want Isaac to marry any of the pagan women in Canaan, so he sends a servant back to the land of his birth, and there the servant found Rebekah, who had a brother named Laban.

The servant brings Rebekah back to Canaan and she marries Isaac. Time goes by and Rebekah has twin boys, Jacob and Esau. While she was pregnant the LORD spoke to her and said in Genesis 25:23, “…Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.”

She gave birth to Esau and Jacob. Esau was a very hairy man and became a cunning hunter; a man of the field, while Jacob was a plain smooth skinned man that grew vegetables and lived in the tents. Isaac favored Esau and Rebekah favored Jacob. 

It was time for the blessing to be passed down to Isaac’s son, and he planned to give it to Esau. By this time of life Isaac was nearly blind.  Sarah overheard his plan and devised her own plan.  She put animal skins on Jacob to fool Isaac into giving the blessing to Jacob instead of Esau.

Perhaps she felt that since the Lord had told her the older brother would serve the younger brother that it would be okay to “help God” out. Anyway, her plan worked and Isaac gave the blessing to Jacob, thinking it was Esau.

Esau had been hunting and was so hungry when he got back and smelled food that Isaac had prepared. He was willing to give up his birthright for one bowl of red pottage [beans]. 

When Esau found out that Jacob had fooled his father and received the blessing, he hated Jacob and plotted to kill him. Rebekah told Jacob to flee to her brother Laban’s to protect him, and that is the beginning of the story of Leah. 

In spite of all the deception, God was going to use it for his glory. Tomorrow we will learn more about Leah and more trickery.