October 27th
“When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!” Hebrews 9:11-14 NIV
These verses highlight the important difference between the old covenant and the new covenant. Under the old covenant, sins were atoned for, but the consciences of the sinners were not cleansed (Hebrews 9:9). Jesus, as the Mediator of the new covenant, shed his own blood for us so we can be inwardly clean in our hearts and minds.
This has powerful implications for sex addicts. Cleaning up the thoughtlife of porn images and sinful fantasies can be a daunting task, especially if we’ve spent years loading our minds with it. Aside from stopping the input of porn, this can be the hardest part of breaking sex addiction. The miracle of the new covenant is that our minds can be cleansed from the dead works of sin – including the lust-filled memories associated with sex addiction. This can be an instantaneous cleaning (i.e. a miracle), but more often it happens over a period of time as we faithfully walk with the Lord.
The Lord has given us a wonderful tool to be used for a daily cleansing and reprogramming of our minds according to righteousness: the Word of God. Through daily Bible study and meditation in our quiet times, we can purge the sinful thought patterns and memories from our minds. As we continue loading God’s Word into our minds, we’ll then have more and more heavenly material to dwell on, and the dead works and thoughts of the past will fade even faster.
The final part of the above passage reveals why Jesus died to purify us: so that we may serve him. If you are seeking freedom from addiction and have not made plans on how you will glorify the Lord when you get free, start making your plans! God does not free us so we can go back to our old sinful ways of living as a carnal Christian. He heals us so we will go and sow seed in his kingdom and bear fruits of righteousness. God paid a tremendously high price for our freedom and we owe our lives to him for rescuing us through Jesus. There could not be a higher or nobler call than to serve the Creator of the Universe. He has an awesome plan for each of us. He’s waiting for us to seek him so he can reveal it to us and help us get started in fulfilling the divine purpose for our lives.
Questions for further thought:
How is the blood of Jesus significant in spiritual warfare? (Revelation 12:10-11)
The word helps “reprogram” our minds according to whose desires? (Romans 12:1-2, Romans 8:5-17)
How applicable and useful is the word for the daily situations we face? (Hebrews 4:12, Psalm 119:9-11, 2 Timothy 3:16-17)
Related page: Blood of Jesus
Prayer:
“Lord Jesus, thank you for shedding your blood shed for me! I praise you and submit myself to your lordship. I reckon myself with your finished work on the cross. Lord, please wash my mind with your blood now. Please cleanse me from the dead works of sin. I commit myself to a daily intake of your word. Please help me to faithfully walk with you in purity. Thank you, Lord! I praise you now and forever, Amen.”