December 5, The New Covenant

Today’s reading: Psalms 26-30

“The Lord confides in those who fear him;
he makes his covenant known to them” - Psalm 25:14.

The Lord is a covenant-making and covenant-keeping God. He is the One who initiated the covenants, which have been defined as “a mutual agreement between two parties usually ratified in blood.” The blood indicated the seriousness of the pact, which was a life and death bond between those who entered into it. When you are in covenant with God, He is obligated to fulfill the terms of the covenant, as are you. What are God’s terms of the new covenant made in Christ? Jesus told us at the Last Supper when He said, “Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins’” (Matthew 26:27-28). God’s role in the new covenant is to forgive sins. Your role is to acknowledge your sins, ask forgiveness through Christ, and accept God’s forgiveness. Then you are to forgive others as God has forgiven you. Are you walking in the terms of the new covenant on a daily basis? Do you ask for forgiveness of your sins? Do you accept that forgiveness, forgiving yourself as the Father forgives you? Do you see that you cannot earn forgiveness, but God grants it freely as one of the stipulations of the new covenant made through Jesus’ death on the cross?