“Written on our Hearts”

 

BIBLE READING: Jeremiah 30-31


                The Bible is the most unique collection of writings to ever exist. It was written over 1,500 years by God through 44 different people. Each book tells a story about real people, and together they form the grand narrative of a God who loves us, pursues a relationship with us, and rescues us.

The entire Bible, including Jeremiah’s prophecies, point to our need for a hero and that hero is Jesus.

In Jeremiah 31, hundreds of years before Jesus’ birth, God promises to save Israel and to create a new covenant. In this new covenant, people will experience forgiveness and a closeness to God they’ve never known.

                Jesus established the new covenant with his life, death, and resurrection. The first covenant relied on the people’s ability to follow the Ten Commandments, but time and time again they failed. Under the old covenant, the people had to offer a sacrifice to pay the debt their sin created. When Jesus came, He did what we could never do. He lived a sinless life, and in sacrificing Himself on the cross, He paid the debt for our sin once and for all.

                In the new covenant, God promised to “put [his] law in their minds and write it on their hearts” and forget His people’s sins once and for all (Jeremiah 31:33-34). That’s exactly what happens when we ask Jesus into our lives today and obey Him in baptism. God forgives our sins— past, present and future — and we receive the Holy Spirit, who guides us toward what God wants for our lives.

                                                                                                                                                                                -Selected

 

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