"Only by grace can we enter,
Only by grace can we stand
Not by our human endeavor,
But by the blood of the Lamb.
Into Your presence You call us;
You call us to come.
Into Your presence You draw us,
Now by Your grace we come."

As the song states, it is only by the grace of God that we can enter into His presence. "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works..." Ephesians 2:8-9

"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior." Titus 3:5-6

We enter by the blood of Jesus Christ who is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world: "The next day he saw Jesus coming to him, and said, 'Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!'" John 1:29

1 John 3:5 tells us,
"And you know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin."

"He (God) made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." 2 Corinthians 5:21

"But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed." Isaiah 53:5

What and awesome thing it is to enter into the presence of the Living God!! What it cost Him is beyond the understanding of the finite mind. We read of the physical suffering that Jesus bore that is beyond comprehension, but worse was the spiritual suffering -- taking on all sin to the point of becoming sin itself. I believe it was so terrible a scene that in God's love He covered it with darkness: "And it was now about the sixth hour, and darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour, the sun being obscured; and the veil of the temple was torn in two." Luke 23:44-45

With reverence and awe, this week we remember this most important event on Good Friday. As beloved children of God, let us with grateful hearts that are filled with thanksgiving, walk the worthy walk praising, honoring and glorifying our Mighty God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This is after all, our reasonable service!