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“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.” (Hebrews 10:223) March 2004 Dear Friend, Trusting that all is well with you and your loved ones. We are fine, and have survived the harshest winter in years. For those of us on the East Coast, this winter was certainly a challenge with the sub zero temperatures and snow storms. How did you make out with it? We would love to read your testimonies of how God saw you through this; send them in! Thank God, March is here, and spring is on its way! This winter has given us much time to be indoors, which in one way was a blessing for me. I completed my dissertation and last course for Graduate School during this time, and have finally earned my Ph.D. Degree in the Discipline of Ministry. For those of you who prayed me through, thank you so very much! Now I am praying as to how God will use what I have learned, and what plans He has in store for CHN. I am excited my friend, because we serve a faithful God, and when we are faithful to do what He called us to do, He is even more faithful to bring to pass His promises. What promises have you received from God? Are you still waiting to see them come to pass? Pray them in! Persevere, be faithful to His Word, and He will bring it to pass. In order to truly understand the promises of God, we need to know the Promise Giver. God has always wanted to be near His people. The first human couple knew what it was like to enjoy unbroken intimacy and fellowship with God. They were given everything they needed to live in peace and contentment, but unfortunately they fell for the devil’s lies when he twisted God’s words to encourage them to question His authority and eat of the forbidden fruit. As we all know, sin entered the world then, and this broke that relationship between God and man. Adam and Eve immediately knew they were naked after this sin, and they tried to cover their nakedness, or in other words, sin, with leaves. Their conscience was awakened and they were ridden with guilt. But God wanted to be near us so much, that He made a way out! He killed an innocent animal and covered them with its skins. Adam and Eve were therefore clothed in the death of another. The innocent died for the guilty. This blood sacrifice was the first of all animal sacrifices that pointed to the New Covenant sacrifice, the body and blood of Jesus Christ. (John 1:29,36; Heb. 10:1-12). God had made a covenant (a binding agreement unto death) with them with terms of blessings and curses. Adam and Eve received the coats of skins as tokens to them of their faith in the atoning sacrifice of the Adamic Covenant. (Gen. 3:21). Throughout history we read in the Bible that people continued to fail in trying to obey God. God was merciful, and continued to make covenants with those who were faithful; Noah, Abraham, Moses, Israel, and David. Each time, He set terms with the deciding factor placed upon mans obedience and faithfulness, and each time they failed. By himself man is sinful, and cannot ever live up to the terms of the covenants, and God, of course, knew that. The Law was made to make man aware of his guilt, and to realize that only God can change a man’s heart. Now is the good part! All of this led to God sending His only Son to the earth, to be conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, to live a sinless life, and shed His blood on the Cross of Calvary for the sins of mankind, once and for all. There would be no more need of animal sacrifices. No more need of having to obey over 600 laws perfectly. When Moses received the tablets of stone where the commandments were written, God caused his face to shine with great joy. (Exo. 34:29). But, deeper than that, and far more wonderful than that are His commandments written on our hearts! When we give the Holy Spirit His way in our life, He teaches us and gives us the power to live the Christian life. “And we have such trust through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God.” (2 Cor. 3:4-5). We need to get to the place where we are beyond trusting in ourselves my friend! God has made a way for us, where there was no way! “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful” (Heb. 10:23) As we spend this month considering the work that led to Calvary, let us remember two important things. There is much failure in self-assurance, resting upon what we can do to please God. There is nothing that we can do to please Him. He already loves us so much, just as we are, because we are His creation. He has promised to be with us at all times, and we can honestly say that the Lord is our helper. (Heb. 13:5-6). Our confidence should be in Him, the One who knows the end from the beginning. When Jesus died on the Cross, He was the blood sacrifice for mankind, and this was done, once and for all, so that sins can be forgiven to those who believe and call upon His Name. This is the good news of the new covenant, and as believers, we are now under this covenant. The Holy Spirit is the gift of the new covenant, and it is He who helps us to live the Christian life. He gives us wisdom, knowledge, understanding, gifts to edify the body of Christ, and fruit to become the people God called us to be. Jesus has sanctified us with His blood, He is now our covering, and under His covering, we can boldly enter into the Holy of Holies and present our needs to God. Glory! When God made a covenant with David, there was the sacrifice of the body and blood of animals, but he also offered the sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving. This later became part of the New Covenant order of worship. (Psalm 27:6; 141:1; Heb. 13: 15, 16; 1 Pet. 2:5). Let us take the time this month to offer to God the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving for all that He has done, and is doing in our lives. God bless you! Rev. Dr. Barbara Anne Yovino
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