Throughout Scripture, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Messiah Jesus, there is a consistent thread of warnings against the shedding of innocent blood.  These warnings are accompanied with consequences for shedding innocent blood.

Surely at the commandment of the LORD came this upon Judah, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did; And also for the innocent blood that he shed: for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; which the LORD would not pardon.           II Kings 24:3 & 4

Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils, And shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan: and the land was polluted with blood. Psalms 106:38

If thou shalt keep all these commandments to do them, which I command thee this day, to love the LORD thy God, and to walk ever in his ways; then shalt thou add three cities more for thee, beside these three: That innocent blood be not shed in thy land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and so blood be upon thee.  But if any man hate his neighbor, and lie in wait for him, and rise up against him, and smite him mortally that he die, and fleeth into one of these cities: Then the elders of his city shall send and fetch him thence, and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die.  Thine eye shall not pity him, but thou shalt put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with thee. Deuteronomy 19:9-13

Be merciful, O LORD, unto thy people Israel, whom thou hast redeemed, and lay not innocent blood unto thy people of Israel’s charge.  And the blood shall be forgiven them. Deuteronomy 21:8

My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.  If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause: Proverbs 1:10 & 11

Judas Iscariot speaking: Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood.  And they said, What is that to us?  See thou to that. Matthew 27:4

They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous, and condemn the innocent blood. Psalms 94:21

These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, Proverbs 6:16,17 & 18

If ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt: Jeremiah 7:6

And the king said unto him, Do as he hath said, and fall upon him, and bury him; that thou mayest take away the innocent blood, which Joab shed, from me, and from the house of my father. I Kings 2:31

Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness, for the violence against the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land. Joel 3:19

Moreover Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; beside his sin wherewith he made Judah to sin, in doing that which was evil in the sight of the LORD. II Kings 21:16

But know ye for certain, that if ye put me to death, ye shall surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves, and upon this city, and upon the inhabitants thereof: for of a truth the LORD hath sent me unto you to speak all these words in your ears. Jeremiah 26:15

But thine eyes and thine heart are not but for thy covetousness, and for to shed innocent blood, and for oppression, and for violence, to do it. Jeremiah 22:17

Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are in their paths. Isaiah 59:7

Thus saith the LORD; Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place. Jeremiah 22:3

For he did put his life in his hand, and slew the Philistine, and the LORD wrought a great salvation for all Israel: thou sawest it, and didst rejoice: wherefore then wilt thou sin against innocent blood, to slay David without a cause?  I Samuel 19:5

So shalt thou put away the guilt of innocent blood from among you, when thou shalt do that which is right in the sight of the LORD.  Deuteronomy 21:9

When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it.  Matthew 27:24

Let’s put the shedding of innocent blood into perspective.  Hitler killed six million innocent Jews;  Stalin slaughtered twenty million of his fellow Russians; and the United States of America has terminated the lives of nearly sixty million innocent defenseless human babies in their mother’s womb.  Aren’t we something?

The DNA of that baby in the womb at conception is not the DNA of a dog or a cat.  It is the DNA of a human being. The only difference between the baby in the womb and any other human being outside the womb is the degree of development.  Would you kill a child because that child has not developed into an adult?

I believe that God’s judgment for the shedding of innocent blood  is already upon our country.  God will give those up who continually resist Him.  At some point the Holy Spirit will stop striving with men and women who continually resist His convicting power.  God can and will give them up to do or be whatever it is that their wicked heart desires.  The evidence  of this condition is clear today.  As a nation, we are no longer able to define what is morally correct.  As a nation we are losing the ability to discern right from wrong.

Repentance is the only thing that can turn God away from judgment.  Repentance is a changing of the mind.  The changing of the mind results in a change of direction.

Note:  ...at fertilization, a new individual with traits from both its mother and father is created.  Scientific American article – How Are Traits Passed on Through DNA?  by Stuart E. Ravnik

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Grace Greater Than Our Sin

Marvelous grace of our loving Lord,
Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt!
Yonder on Calvary’s mount outpoured,
There where the blood of the Lamb was spilled.

 Refrain:
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within;
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that is greater than all our sin!

Sin and despair, like the sea waves cold,
Threaten the soul with infinite loss;
Grace that is greater, yes, grace untold,
Points to the refuge, the mighty cross.

Dark is the stain that we cannot hide;
What can we do to wash it away?
Look! There is flowing a crimson tide,
Brighter than snow you may be today.

Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace,
Freely bestowed on all who believe!
You that are longing to see His face,
Will you this moment His grace receive?

Grace Greater than Our Sin
Julia H. Johnston, pub.1910, copyright status is Public Domain

Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.

Scripture: Romans 5:20-21

As a young person I took pains to fit in, and as a professing “Christian” I was a chameleon.  I changed colors to blend in with whatever group I found myself.   When I was nineteen God drew me to His Son, and I received Christ as my own personal Savior.   Change came as I began to identify with those who loved the Lord, with those who loved His Word, and with those who were not ashamed to obey His commandments.

I sometimes wondered as I grew older if I really understood salvation back then.  I wondered if I really was obedient to Christ.  I thought of those days of stocking shelves in the grocery stores while attending Bible school.  I remember being referred to as the “preacher”.  I recall my eyes welling up with tears when a manager took it on himself to challenge my faith.  The emotion came not from being confronted, but from seeing him spiritually blind, unable to see the truth, and me being so young in the faith that I didn’t know how to answer him.  When he saw my response, he hesitated and then said to me; I just wanted to see if it was real.  He never tested me again.

The chameleon kid became bold in the faith.  I quit trying to hide when my sister gave a gospel tract to a store cashier.  One time I filled up with gas at the Georgia state line and drove two miles  beyond, before I returned to the gas station and passed out gospel tracts to the rural men who had assembled for coffee.  I told them that I came back because someone there apparently needed what was in those tracts.  Another time I stopped along a road in Georgia and distributed gospel tracts to a motorcycle gang who had pulled over to rest.  When giving the tracts out, I made them promise to read it before I would let them have one.

I speak as a fool when I speak of my actions,  because it is all about what God did, in my heart and in my life.   He changed me!  He replaced my fear with faith.  He replaced the shame I felt with boldness.  He replaced my dread with expectation!  He replaced my sadness with rejoicing!  He took my sin and forgave me!  He lifted me from the darkness into the light!  He took my death and gave me life!  He took my guilt and soiled garments and replaced them with the  righteousness of His dear Son!

How can I not speak of Him?

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.  II Corinthians 5:17

Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul!  Psalm 66:16

Somewhere in this blog, the following statement can be found; If you believe in evolution, god is man’s idea. If you believe in creation, man was God’s idea.

The Creator God is the living God.  He is the great I AM.  I AM is in the present tense which means that the past, present and future are all alike to Him.  He is not confined or restricted by time.

Time is His creation and and as His creatures, we function within the confines of His creation.  The living God stands outside of time, observing everything that is taking place within, while bringing to pass His sovereign will according to His sovereign purpose.  

We are the participants, who knowingly or unknowingly walk according to His sovereign purpose.  I recall a certain person who said something to me over forty-five years ago that redirected my life’s path.

This individual doesn’t remember what he said to me.  To my knowledge he does not know the God that used his words to direct me.  He was just a sign post.  How sad!  God will accomplish His purposes using even unwilling, unknowing, and rebellious participants.  How much better it is to be a willing, knowing, and submissive participant!

Not long ago I had a conversation with a man with whom I had consumed a considerable amount of alcohol, while working a summer job when we were teenagers.  When I tried to convey to him how God had changed my life through Christ, he said to me; If I had it to do over again, I wouldn’t change a thing!  

After trying different approaches without success, I finally explained to him, what I have conveyed in the second and third paragraphs above, about who God is.  The man’s countenance changed, his belligerent confidence seemed to disappear, and then we were interrupted.  We never finished that conversation, but I pray that he will become a knowing and willing participant in God’s kingdom through Jesus Christ, who can change a heart of stone to a heart of flesh.

The living God can make Himself known to whomever He chooses, by His Spirit, His written word, and through His Son, Jesus Christ.

The lego god is whatever you want it to be, kinda like picking out food on a smorgasbord.  A couple of these, one of those, and oh, I will try this as well.  Isn’t this nice!  This god can be whatever you want it to be, because after all, this god is man’s idea.  Build a god to your liking and see if it can satisfy the deep craving of your soul.