Praying For Successful Vaccination Programs and To Be Cleansed With the Blood Of Jesus

Late last week Canada approved it’s third vaccine for emergency use – the one developed by Astrazeneca.  This should increase the flow of vaccine to Canada and allow for more people to be vaccinated more quickly. 

We know that this vaccine in certain places has been “downplayed” because it’s effectiveness isn’t up to 90⁺% like Pfizer and Moderna but it’s rates are still well beyond what we expect from an effective flu vaccine from year to year.  It keeps people out of hospital and away from severe disease and as more and more people are vaccinated and less and less virus is in the community it will be more than enough to get populations to that “herd immunity” level, for which we are very thankful.

I want to talk about something that keeps the deadly disease of sin away from us with 100% efficiency and that is the blood of Jesus.  We don’t seem to talk quite as much about this as we did when I was younger and I think that’s a pity.

Jesus Christ died on the cross and poured out His life’s blood for You and I so we could be forgiven for our sins and establish a new and life giving relationship with God. 

He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness.

I Peter 2:24

...how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?  Hebrews 9:14

There are so many older songs that speak of this wonderful truth.  Two old favourites are:

Would you be free from your burden of sin, there’s power in the blood

Would you o’er evil the victory win, there’s wonderful power in the blood

There is power, power, wonder-working power in the blood of the Lamb.

What can wash away my sin, nothing but the blood of Jesus

What can make me whole again, nothing but the blood of Jesus

Oh precious is the flow that makes me white as snow

No other power I know, nothing but the blood of Jesus

Every time we come together as a church and celebrate Communion we are remembering that Jesus poured out His blood on our behalf.  In Jesus’ own words we have the explanation of an amazing promise – a covenant that God has made with us through the blood of Jesus that washes us clean from sin.

In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new agreement between God and you that has been established and set in motion by my blood. Do this in remembrance of me whenever you drink it.” For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup you are retelling the message of the Lord’s death, that he has died for you. Do this until he comes again.  1 Corinthians 11:25-26

Lord, today we simply want to pause and give thanks that You would pay the ultimate price on our behalf.  We are hopeless on our own, spirits dead without You and only made alive when Your Spirit comes to live in us.  All of this is possible because You wash us from our sins.  I feel a lot like Paul did when he wonderful why You would do this for us but we’re grateful nonetheless.

When we were utterly helpless, with no way of escape, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners who had no use for him. Even if we were good, we really wouldn’t expect anyone to die for us, though, of course, that might be barely possible.  But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since, when we were his enemies, we were brought back to God by the death of his Son, what blessings he must have for us now that we are his friends and he is living within us!  Romans 5:6-8, 10

And so once again today we want to ask You to wash us in Your precious blood.  There are ways we’ve failed God that we are aware and many that we aren’t. God You want to free us from the effects of our own sinful behaviours and from the wounding and damaging effects of other sinners who have said hurtful things about us and done things to us that harmed us.  So we ask You to wash us, our conscious, our sub-conscious, and our unconscious being with Your blood.  Remove all effects of sin and evil from us in our body, our soul, and our spirit.  Make us completely clean and perfect. 

If we are living in the light of God’s presence, just as Christ does, then we have wonderful fellowship and joy with each other, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from every sin.  1 John 1:7

Thank you for this day when we can freely live in the light of your presence, have wonderful fellowship and joy with each other, and live in the cleansing from every sin that the blood of Jesus has won for us.  Amen

Freshened up after a shower or a relaxing soak in a tub really sets us up for a peaceful sleep at night or a good morning.  At whatever point in the day you are seeing this, I pray that You will experience a powerful freedom and blessing today as You walk, cleansed from every sin by the blood of Jesus.