Afraid of Blood? (14 views) Subscribe   
   From:  David (DavidABrown)    Mar-23 9:24 am  
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Blood Phobia
Bryan Hupperts
Mar 23, 2004

 SheepTrax is an ezine of humor, insight, and Christian teaching featuring the wit, wisdom and deepthinking of Bryan Hupperts. Bryan is the author of numerous newspaper and magazine articles, as well as the book, "A Raven's Gift." Help Bryan feed his sheep. Buy this book! Click to order: http://www.sheeptrax.com/html/sheepstore.html Please forward this message! 
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March 23, 2004 
Blood Phobia 

Hi, SheepTrax! 

In a quirky twist of events, an actress who played a vampire in the infamous Edinburgh Dungeons fainted during her tour performance at the site of real blood from a nosebleed. 

Edinburgh has a dark past when it comes to criminals. Deep beneath its streets is housed a dungeon complete with torture chamber reserved in the good ole bygone days for witches, murders and the like. These days it is a fright-filled tourist destination that highlights the infamous history of this torture chamber/asylum/prison. 

Alas, in America, the closest thing we have to an actual dungeon would be the subway system in New York where it is less a Dracula-esque, "I vant to bite your neck," freak show in favor of a more modern mugger-esque, "I vant to steal your cash, ATM card, jewelry, laptop, MP3 Player, and designer tennis shoes." While some subway riders may not carry garlic to ward away evil, it is an established fact that many of them eat it by the handful presumably to ward away anyone wanting to share a seat with them! 

All of which brings me to the fear of blood common in modern culture. 

A would-be vampire fainting at the site of running blood is hilarious but among Christian circles, there seems to be a kind of phobia rooted in "not offending anyone," by not mentioning blood, specifically the blood of Jesus as it relates to the saving Gospel. 

I formerly attended a most contemporary church. The service was well ordered, the music exciting, and the preaching predictable. It wasn't long until I finally realized what was missing  references to the saving blood of Jesus. Curious, I leafed through their extensive inventory of song lyrics. There was anything and everything but the blood of Jesus mentioned! 

Blood is a God-ordained testimony and sign. Exodus 12:7, 13, "And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt." 

God ordered the Hebrews to apply the blood of a slain lamb to the doorposts of their houses so that when the angel of the Lord passed by, they would be passed over and spared His wrath. When the angel saw the blood, it was a sign that those inside believed God. The blood was applied to the top of the door and to the side posts. As it dripped down, it formed the shape of a cross, which prefigured the coming redemptive death of Jesus! 

The first mention of shed blood in the Bible is in reference to the first murder. Genesis 4:10, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood cries out to Me from the ground." God told Cain that his brother's blood "cried from the ground," probably a cry for justice. It is not hard to imagine that the shed blood of Jesus which dripped to the ground now also cries out to the Father, but cries out for mercy on behalf of those who come to him by faith. It is his shed blood that paid the price for our forgiveness. 

With the release of Mel Gibson's, The Passion Of The Christ, I laughed as "Always go for the R rating" Hollywood insiders balked at the blood and violence in the film. There is something profoundly disturbing about the blood of Jesus that either drives you to prayer or to rage. If demons haunt movie theaters, they must be freaking out every time this film is shown! 

I am so grateful that God has used this film; it's Catholic foibles and all, to re-introduce the reality of the shed blood of Jesus to the world and the church. 1Peter 1:18-19, "Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold but with the precious blood of Christ." Why? Ephesians 1:7, "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins." 

Overcoming victory depends of the shed blood of Jesus. Revelation 12:11, "And they overcame him (the devil) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death." It is the blood, the blood, the blood of Jesus that serves as evidence that we have been bought and paid for by God himself! Romans 5:9, "Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him." 

Don't be afraid to, by faith, look upon the shed blood of Jesus. Sing about it, preach about it, testify to the world this truth: 

"What can take away my sins? 

Nothing but the blood of Jesus! 

What can make me whole again? 

Nothing but the blood of Jesus!" 

Yep, there's no other fount I know. There is nothing but the blood of Jesus! 


Bryan Hupperts  2004 
SheepTrax Media  
PO Box 270256 
St. Louis, MO 63127 USA 
deepsheep@sheeptrax.com 
www.SheepTrax.com 
http://www.sheeptrax.injesus.com 


Legal Stuff: Copyright  2004 Bryan Hupperts. Permission to distribute this material via email, or individual copies, is automatically granted on the condition it will be used for non-commercial purposes and will not be sold. 




David A. Brown
Basic Christian: Forum
www.BasicChristian.org

 
 
