Costly Redemption

Before asking Jesus Christ to be my Lord and Savior, I was lost. By lost, I don’t mean that I was making a terrible mess of my life, I mean that I did not know where I should be going. Sure, I had my struggles, but the not knowing where to go was much harder for me. I didn’t have trusted counselors to seek guidance from. My parents were mostly absent. So I just made choices that seemed right to me. However, my choices were mostly short-sighted and very self-centered.

Then, I heard about what Jesus did for me. He sacrificed His own life, suffering greatly. His sacrifice paid for my redemption. I was selfish, lost, and in darkness. Jesus paid the full price to redeem me unto Himself. My redemption includes His forgiveness for my waywardness (sins), removing me from darkness and taking me into His glorious light, defeating death to give me life, and freeing me from my slavery to selfishness.

In Isaiah 54:8 God speaks to His people and says, “but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,” says the Lord, your Redeemer.” God always has sympathetic pity and concern for our sufferings and troubles. He knows our sufferings and has deep concern for us we go through them. His everlasting love never fails us and He brings us through our suffering, giving us the strength we need with joy.

Be Careful When You Speak

While most of the time, we speak what is on our minds, some times it is better to hold our tongues, at least temporarily. If we are brought into court, we are allowed to speak only at certain times. Other times, we should not speak simply out of courtesy to someone else who is speaking. Sometimes, we are so emotional that is better that we wait and consider our words before speaking.

James 4:6,10 says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.” When we stand in the presence of God, we can only yield to His greatness. When we understand and acknowledge our lowly status before Him, all His amazing blessings are available to us.

Memories of Him

If we haven’t seen someone in a while, our memories may become a bit fuzzy, depending on our history with this person. The image of the person may be unclear, and we may not clearly remember what they were like.

Psalm 99:1-3 says, “The LORD reigns; let the peoples tremble! He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake! The LORD is great in Zion; he is exalted over all the peoples. Let them praise your great and awesome name! Holy is he!” It is always good to remind ourselves who God is, frequently coming into His presence. He is holy, meaning He is pure and reigns over all authorities and people. He is enthroned in unmatched majesty.

Light and Joy

We often associate light with joy. July 4th celebrations are a classic example. We turn out by the thousands to watch the fireworks and light our own fireworks at home. All this is done to celebrate our nation’s birth. At Christmas, lights are lit nearly everywhere, offering joy to the onlookers and lighting the way to the joy of Christmas. We light candles for the cake to rejoice at another birthday. Light and joy just seem to go together.

Psalm 97:11-12 says, “Light is sown for the righteous, and joy for the upright in heart. Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous, and give thanks to his holy name.” God’s light reveals truth and the path of righteousness. Following the God given light fulfills our hearts desire, giving us joy forever.

A Face That Heals

For many reasons, we live in amazing times. One amazing development has been the ability to frequently see friends and relatives who live far away from us. Of course, we can travel to close the distance between us, but we can also just “dial them up” and see them through Face Time, Skype, and any number of apps. Seeing their faces brings a special kind of comfort and healing to our souls.

II Chronicles 7:14 says, “if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” If we want to make a big impact in our community, it will require that we be humble, repent from our sins, seek God wholeheartedly, and pray. By seeking God’s face, His presence, God will forgive us and bring healing and restoration to our community.