All Access - April 23 - Day 8

READ – Romans 7:1-6

The book to the Romans was written by a first-century missionary named Paul. In Romans 7, Paul begins with an example from marriage to illustrate that Christians are ruled by the Holy Spirit and not by the ancient Jewish law. 

He tells the Romans that, when one spouse dies, the other is free to remarry should he or she choose. Marrying another while your spouse is alive is committing adultery, but marrying as a widow or widower is not sinful because the death of one’s spouse releases him or her from the marriage oath.

In the same way, Paul writes, when you “die” to yourself by going through the ceremony of baptism (see Romans 6:1-14) you have been released from the Jewish Law and serve God in a new way: by the Holy Spirit that lives within you.

In other words, the Christian life isn’t about rules; it’s about being in relationship with your Heavenly Father. That means, when you encounter temptation, and your willpower runs out, you have access to God’s.

All Access - April 22 - Day 7

Let me ask you something: How have you been trying to gain access to God?

Some people try to get access to God by being extra good and never messing up.
The problem with that is that we can’t be perfect.

Some people try to get access to God by learning all they can about God.
The problem with that is knowing about God isn’t the same as knowing God.

Some people think they will gain access because their parents are/were Christians.
The problem with that is the only way to get access to God is through Jesus.

Hebrews 10:21-22 (NLT)
And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, 22let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.

The cleansing of the conscience that verse talks about is being baptized. When you choose to follow Jesus and publicly acknowledge him as God by being baptized, you can go right into God’s presence because Jesus gives you an all-access pass to God.

If you’ve not yet publicly declared your faith in Jesus and been baptized for the forgiveness of your sin, don’t you think it’s time you did? 

All Access - April 21 - Day 6

READ – Hebrews 10:11-18

Ritual can never take the place of relationship. Imagine the drudgery of the ancient sacrificial system. It wasn’t just the worshippers who had to contend with the monotony; it was the worship leaders, too. They manned their stations without fail offering sacrifice after sacrifice. It must have been a gory, terribly tedious job.

The funny thing is, we often try to connect with God through ritual instead of relationship. Don’t get me wrong, there is a place for ritual. There is something that is often reassuring and calming about experiencing a routine. The church gathers every Sunday, after all. We sing songs, and commune together around the Lord’s table every Sunday. There is a place for ritual.

But ritual must never take the place of relationship.

Because a ritual cannot connect you to God. Only a relationship with his son, Jesus Christ, can do that. He provides you with an all-access pass to the Father