Today is April 5.

May the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way.    
 
Take a moment and quiet yourself. Take a deep breath. Welcome God’s presence. And say, “Come Holy Spirit.”    
   
Today’s reading is from the book of Hebrews, chapter 9.  
 

For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.  
  

The writer of Hebrews tells us that if Christ appeared the first time to bear our sin, his second coming will be to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. As you enter into prayer today, I imagine there are plenty of things you are waiting for. Some of those things might feel trite. Others, though, probably feel very weighty in the waiting. Can you bring those things before the Lord? 
   
Jewish Christians would have been use to, from their Jewish tradition, a constant need to make sacrifices to atone for sin. What do you think it meant to the Hebrews to be reminded that Jesus came ‘once for all – to do away with sin’? 
 
Think about this interruption of their pattern of non-stop sacrifice... Non-stop guilt... Listen to the text again and consider what it would have been like to really understand that Jesus is your ‘once and for all’ salvation?  
   
God, through Christ, brought salvation to all who are waiting for Him. That means that no matter what else we’re waiting for... we can hold onto the truth that we have been saved into a relationship with God that is eternal. That is often a difficult tension to hold: to wait, to experience the ‘not yet’ of the kingdom... and yet to trust in God. As we end our time today, invite God into any areas of waiting that are difficult for you. Ask Him to teach you how to trust Him in the ‘not yet’ of waiting.

Lord God, Almighty and everlasting Father, you have brought me in safety to this new day: Preserve me with your mighty power, that I may not fall into sin, nor be overcome by adversity; and in all I do, direct me to the fulfilling of your purpose; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.  

Music - Nothing But The Blood - Joshua Miller