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As you know, an outbreak of Ebola is currently spreading around the globe. Over 8,000 infections have been confirmed, and over 4,000 of those infected have died. While the overwhelming majority of the cases are in the West African countries of Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea, more infections or suspected infections are popping up in other countries including Spain, the United States, Germany, and Australia.
Doctors and health organizations around the world are scrambling to find a solution to the epidemic. So far, the search to find a medicine that will successfully treat and heal someone infected with Ebola has been futile. However, there is one method of treatment that has been successful in healing Ebola victims — and that is a blood transfusion from someone who has already recovered from the deadly virus.
One of the first Ebola victims to be treated in the United States was Dr. Kent Brantly, a medical missionary who contracted the virus while working with Samaritan’s Purse in Liberia. Before he returned to America, he received a blood transfusion from a 14-year-old Liberian boy who had been cured of Ebola. A few days after Brantly began treatment at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, he was declared virus free.
In the weeks that followed his recovery, Dr. Brantly donated his blood to three other Americans who had contracted Ebola. One of them has already recovered, and the other two are expected to recover as well. Doctors and researchers are now looking into how the success of blood transfusions from Ebola survivors can be parlayed into a wide-spread solution for the Ebola epidemic.
Here is the reason a blood transfusion works so well against Ebola: Plasma is a component of blood that contains virus-fighting proteins called antibodies. According to Dr. William Schaffner, chair of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, When confronted with a virus, the immune system creates antibodies to specifically target that virus, kill it and keep it from coming back. Once a person has antibodies, they stay in their blood for life. If the Ebola antibodies found in an Ebola survivor’s blood can be imported into struggling Ebola patient’s body, those antibodies can theoretically help the patient’s immune system fight off the deadly virus. “What those antibodies do is bind to the virus. They find the virus and bind to it and prevent it from multiplying further.” So far, it appears as though a blood transfusion is the only effective and proven way to save people infected with Ebola.
When I read Dr. Schaffner’s explanation, I was reminded of an old hymn titled, “There is Power in the Blood.” Of course, that hymn is not talking about how a survivor’s blood can help save a victim of a disease. Rather, it is talking about how the blood of Jesus Christ is powerful enough to cleanse us from our sins and give us eternal life.
It may take a doctor to explain how plasma transfers antibodies from one person to another, but I want to explain to you how the blood of Jesus Christ works in our lives.
Jesus Christ is the Son of God who came to earth in the form of a man to pay for the sins of the whole world. According to God’s standards, the penalty of sin is death — the shedding of blood. For hundreds of years, God allowed people to atone for (or make amends for) their sins by sacrificing and shedding the blood of an animal such as a lamb. However, this shedding of blood was only a temporary solution to man’s sinfulness. Every time a person sinned, they had to go and sacrifice another lamb or goat. When Jesus Christ came to Earth, He was heralded as the ‘Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world.’ When Jesus Christ was whipped and crucified, He shed His holy blood as God poured out his divine wrath on His own Son in order to make it possible for us to be saved from our sins and the eternal consequences of sin. The Bible says that God saw the suffering of Jesus Christ on the cross — God saw Jesus’ blood being poured out — and He was satisfied. God sees Jesus’ sacrifice and bloodshed as sufficient payment for each and every one of us no matter how much wrong we have done. Simply put, Jesus Christ had atoned for the sins of the whole world. As Michael Houdmann, the founder of GotQuestions.org states, “The blood of Christ has the power to atone for an infinite number of sins committed by an infinite number of people throughout the ages, and all whose faith rests in that blood will be saved.”
My friend, you probably won’t get Ebola, but you already have a disease that is far worse. It is a disease that every man, woman, boy, and girl is infected with — the disease of sin. The Bible says, “all have sinned.” And the only way you can be saved from your sins and the punishment of sin is through the blood of Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ said, “My blood… is shed for many for the remission [cancellation or removal] of sins.”
The Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 1:7, “We have redemption through his blood, [and] the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.” He also wrote in Romans 5:9 that if we are “justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.”
There is indeed power in the blood of Jesus Christ. His blood alone can cleanse you of your sins and give you a new life, a relationship with God, and an eternal home in Heaven. Jesus Christ shed his blood and died on the cross, was buried, and rose again for you and me. However, we must believe on Him for salvation in order to take advantage of the salvation he offers through His blood. The Bible says, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.”
The Bible also tells us in Romans 10:9 and 13: “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
If you want to be saved right now, please pray a short prayer to let God know that you are making this all-important decision. Just repeat after me and mean it from your heart.
Holy Father God, I realize that I am a sinner and that I have done some bad things in my life. I realize that I deserve eternal punishment for my sins. For Jesus Christ sake, please forgive me of my sins. I believe with all of my heart that Jesus Christ died for me, was buried, and rose again. Lord Jesus, please come into my heart and save my soul and change my life today and forever so that I can have your peace and assurance about my life today and my eternal future. Amen.
If you just trusted Jesus Christ as your Saviour, and you prayed that prayer and meant it from your heart, I declare to you that based upon the Word of God, you are now saved and you are on your way to Heaven. Welcome to the family of God! Congratulations on doing the most important thing in life and that is receiving Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour. For more information to help you grow in your newfound faith in Christ, go to Gospel Light Society.com and read “What To Do After You Enter Through the Door.”
Believe by faith. Share the faith. And keep the faith! God Bless You!
MUSICAL SELECTION: “There is Power in the Blood” by Selah
Daniel Whyte III has spoken in meetings across the United States and in twenty-three foreign countries. He is the author of thirty-four books. He is also the president of Gospel Light Society International, a worldwide evangelistic ministry that reaches thousands with the Gospel each week, as well as president of Torch Ministries International, a Christian literature ministry which publishes a monthly magazine called The Torch Leader. He is heard by thousands each week on his radio broadcasts, The Prayer Motivator Devotional and the Prayer Motivator Minute, as well as Gospel Light Minute X, the Gospel Light Minute, the Sunday Evening Evangelistic Message, the Prophet Daniel’s Report and the Second Coming Watch Update. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Theology from Bethany Divinity College, a Bachelor’s degree in Religion from Texas Wesleyan University, and a Master’s degree in Religion from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary. He has been married to the former Meriqua Althea Dixon, of Christiana, Jamaica for twenty-five years. God has blessed their union with seven children. Find out more at www.danielwhyte3.com. Follow Daniel Whyte III on Twitter @prophetdaniel3 or on Facebook.
BCNN1 WP 