The following is an excerpt from our daily devotional series “Back to the Basics,” written by IFA contributing writer Gloria Robles.

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers (Acts 2:42).

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The disciples broke bread regularly. They took Communion often, though we are not sure how often. They made sure to continue practicing what Jesus had done with them.

Who is praying on the wall?

In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me” (1 Cor. 11:25 NIV).

The power isn’t in the bread and wine. The power is in remembering Christ’s broken body and shed blood. Perhaps it was their firsthand encounter in seeing His body ripped to shreds, or His blood running down His face and hands — and them knowing all the while that He was innocent. Whatever the reason, the disciples did not take the blood of Jesus lightly.

The disciples understood the Old Covenant. The blood of animals brought temporary atonement. In the New Testament, Christ’s blood nullified the need for sacrifice. He was the sinless Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.

The Corinthian church received correction from Paul when he found out that they were abusing the Communion service (see 1 Cor. 11:17–31). And there is this admonishment in the book of Hebrews:

For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? (Heb. 10:26–29)

This is an eye-opening verse — or at least it should be. We can profane the blood of Jesus. Most of us would think we could never do such a thing, to take the precious blood of Jesus and trample it as though it were worthless. This scripture, though, warns that when we willfully continue in sin, we are doing just that. The blood of Jesus was worth living and dying for to the early Church.

Has the Church lost its reverence for the blood of Jesus? It seems so. The old hymns seem outdated in today’s service. We used to sing: “What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.” We used to sing: “There is power, power, wonder-working power in the precious blood of the Lamb.” Today such hymns and songs seem to have been shelved along with their memories. Has the blood of Jesus become a mere Christian buzzword?

The blood of Jesus is precious. It cost the Father everything He had, and the Father was willing to bruise Him (see Isa. 53:10). That blood was for us, and we never deserved a single drop of it, but the Father knew it was the only way we could be rescued from damnation. His blood redeemed us, reconciled us, and washed away our scarlet sins. The blood of Jesus justified us, freed us, sanctified us, cleansed our conscience, and made us overcomers. It brought a new and better covenant in which His blood is speaking up for us (see Hebrews 12:24).

How could we not honor the blood of Jesus? How have we strayed so far? The Church recognized the power of the blood of Jesus, that if not for that blood, there would never have been any hope. Believers would have still been offering up animals in place of their sins, but it was the blood of Jesus that brought ultimate victory over sin. Let’s get back to that. Let’s never take lightly or tread upon the blood of the Messiah.

Reflection:

In an honest examination of yourself before the Lord, ask: How have I esteemed the blood of Jesus?  Have I let it become a part of my “Christianese,” or do I really believe in the power of that blood? Come to the Lord, seek His forgiveness for treating His blood lightly. It was costly to the Father, and it should be costly to us as well.

Prayer:

Father, forgive me if I have treated the blood of Jesus as if it were something common. His blood was spilled for me. It was the only way I could ever be reconciled to You and enter Your awesome presence — so let me never forget the cost. Let me never forget the power that is in that blood. Let me never forget that His blood is speaking in my behalf in the courts of heaven. Let me live my life for Him who laid His life down for me. Amen.

And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death (Rev. 12:11).

But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ. (Eph. 2:13 NLT).

He went once for all into the Holy Place [the Holy of Holies of heaven, into the presence of God], and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, having obtained and secured eternal redemption [that is, the salvation of all who personally believe in Him as Savior]. For if the sprinkling of [ceremonially] defiled persons with the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a [burnt] heifer is sufficient for the cleansing of the body,  how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal [Holy] Spirit willingly offered Himself unblemished [that is, without moral or spiritual imperfection as a sacrifice] to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works and lifeless observances to serve the ever living God? (Heb. 9:12–14 AMP).

Share this article to remind people of the power of Christ’s blood.

IFA contributing writer Gloria Robles is a passionate intercessor with a prophetic voice for today. For more from Gloria, go to Spotify or Anchor and listen to her podcast, Something To Share. Photo Credit: Bjorn Brekelmans/Getty Images.