Does the Bible ever totally confuse you? It’s okay to be honest! Sometimes the Bible can be a little hard to understand. The Old Testament has stories of people fighting each other, animals being sacrificed, and even God destroying nations. But then when you get to the New Testament the sacrifices seem to stop (except one, but we will get to that soon!), God does not destroy any more nations, and everyone seems to be fighting over whether or not they believe that Jesus is God’s Son.
Want to know what happens and changes things between the Old and New Testament? Jesus. His life changes everything. He changed everything then, and He changes everything now! Jesus changes you and me and our relationship with God.
In the Old Testament, people had to sacrifice animals to pay for their sins. However, the Bible tells us that God sent Jesus to be the perfect payment, which means that people no longer have to sacrifice animals. Now, Jesus’s perfect love makes everything right between God and His people. No animal or action could ever be good enough to make us right with God, so He sent Jesus to take care of it.
Do you know how wonderful this news is? It means that you do not have to keep working to be good enough for God. God does not need you to prove how good you are. He wants you to have the unconditional love that He sent in His Son, Jesus.
Titus 3:5 says, “He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.” God showed how much He loves you by sending Jesus to die for your sins. Now, He wants you to accept that love and allow Him to make you clean.
Dear God, thank You for paying for my sins and making me right with You. Thank You for the reminder that I am made right and good because of You. Help me to never try to earn Your love, but to rest knowing that You love me already. Thank You for the changes You make in my life and in the world! In Jesus’s name, amen.