Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalms 118:24)

This Christmas Eve post is inspired by today’s song by Aware Worship. The song’s chorus says…

No more distance, in between us
I have access to Your presence
No more striving, to be perfect
By Your great love, I’m made righteous

I have access
I have access to Your Presencе

So today, let’s take a moment or two to contemplate and appreciate the direct access that Jesus Christ has restored with God.

Today’s scripture, Romans 5:10-11 (NLT) says…
[10] For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. [11] So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.

Consider…
We began the week unwrapping the perfect gift given by God is New Life in and through Christ.

And yesterday we reflected on the reason Christ came was to be the Light out of the darkness of sin and death, and the unblemished Lamb who takes away the sins of the world.

Today we’ll pivot from God’s perfect Present (new/eternal life), and Christ’s divine Purpose (guiding Light and atoning Lamb) to what it means for us.

Because of who God gave and what Christ did we once again have direct access to Him, the Triune God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit)!

Today’s scripture uses interesting language, in that it speaks of restored friendship with God.

That got me to wondering, did God considered Adam a friend? Which made me read Genesis 3:8-9 (NLT) from a friend’s perspective…
[8] When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the LORD God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the LORD God among the trees. [9] Then the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?”

There’s nothing ominous about God looking for Adam, it was Adam’s guilt and shame that caused him to hide from God.

The Holy Spirit showed me, God always comes looking for us, it’s us who avoid Him because of our sin.

Then the Holy Spirit reminded of Jesus’ words in John 3:17-21 (NLT)…
[17] God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. [18] “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. [19] And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. [20] All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. [21] But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.”

Those words from our Lord and Savior make me double down on God was looking for Adam as a friend, not a judge. However, Adam judged himself and thus tried to avoid God rather than simply acknowledging his disobedience and asking for forgiveness.

Unfortunately Adam didn’t know 1 John 1:9 (NLT) says…But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.

As a result Romans 5:12 (NLT) explains…When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.

However, because of Christ we read a few verses later in Romans 5:15-16 (NLT)…
[15] But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ. [16] And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins.

Here’s what the Holy Spirit showed me, the only difference between self-condemnation and forgiveness is the acceptance of Christ. He led me to Romans 8:1-2 (NLT) which declares…
[1] So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. [2] And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.

Notice belonging to Christ empowers us through God’s life-giving Spirit be free from the power of sin over us.

Hebrews 9:13-14 (NLT) explains it better than I can…
[13] Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer could cleanse people’s bodies from ceremonial impurity. [14] Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins.

Reading Christ offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice triggered me hearing some of my favorite words from Jesus, spoken in John 15:13 (NLT)…There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

There it is again, God identifying us as friends.

As I am reading the scriptures I’m beginning to wonder if we have more of a sin problem than God.

The Holy Spirit affirmed my assessment with Psalms 103:10-14 (NLT)…
[10] He does not punish us for all our sins; he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve. [11] For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. [12] He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west. [13] The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him. [14] For he knows how weak we are; he remembers we are only dust.

I believe the Holy Spirit is showing me that because of Christ, our direct access to God’s friendship comes from His sacrifice doing as the Hebrews text said…
the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God.

The Holy Spirit showed me that God didn’t make us enemies with Him, we did.

Then the Holy Spirit had me read Colossians 1:19-22 (NLT), which says…
[19] For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, [20] and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross. [21] This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. [22] Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.

Notice verse 21 says…
you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions.

But here’s the blessing, God’s response to our separation is Christ’s reconciliation.

Verse 22 says…
Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence

This is why we celebrate Christ for restoring direct access to God.

The Holy Spirit is telling me to close with the encouragement of 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 (NLT)…
[17] This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! [18] And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. [19] For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. [20] So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” [21] For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

Tomorrow as we thank God for His gift of new life through and in Christ, let’s make sure we include thanking Him for bringing us back to Himself through Him too.

Today’s song is…
Access

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)