Redemption

Redemption is payment or ransom paid to get something back. The price of our redemption was Christ’s own blood to redeem us. Enslaved by sin and powerless to free ourselves, Christ purchased us at an infinite price.

Paul wrote to the Ephesians, saying, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us” (Eph 1:7-8).

We experience redemption through forgiveness and God’s grace. When we have been forgiven, that redemption changes the way we think. It helps us to see the world differently—the way God intended for us to see it. Peter says that when we realize that we have been redeemed by the precious blood of Christ, we begin to understand how much this redemption costs (1 Peter 1:18-19). Jesus referred to his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45).

Forgiveness is God’s invention for coming to terms with a cruel world where people are hurt. Even people with their best intentions will hurt and disappoint others. God began by forgiving us. And he invites us all to forgive each other. Forgiving seems almost unnatural. Left to ourselves, we don’t want to forgive people who hurt us. Our sense of fairness tells us people should pay for the wrong they do. But redemption changes our hearts. God’s grace changes our hearts, and forgiveness radically changes our lives.

The theme of the entire Bible, from the first book to the last, is redemption. Nothing in the world is as powerful as redemption. God takes the broken, sinful, and rebellious and redeems them. This redemption begins when we repent and turn from sin, and then God’s lavish grace goes to work on our hearts.

Paul says that God has given his gifts to us “in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.” John D. Rockefeller, one of the world’s wealthiest men, used to stage moments where he gave gifts to some poor soul. What he gave was petty amounts in comparison to what he had. Rockefeller never gave in accordance with his wealth. God gives to us “in accordance with the riches of his grace.” He gives from his unlimited resources. When we begin to understand how wonderful redemption is by being forgiven and forgiving others—we begin to appreciate God’s grace at work in our lives.

We Need Someone to Sort it Out

Chaos can come out of nowhere and blindside us before we even know what hit us. Like the time Marilyn and I were supposed to board a plane for Antofagasta, Chile, out of Miami, but we found the airline was on strike. To make things worse, no other airline would accept our tickets because Braniff Airlines would not endorse them for payment. Hundreds of people were in our same dilemma. Their faces revealed that they were bewildered, frustrated, and even angry. I still remember the feeling of helplessness when I realized that we were stuck. Helplessness hardly describes the feeling when you have no answer.

My list of chaotic experiences could go on and on as yours could because life at times is beyond our control. When those undesirable things happen to us, and we cannot stop them, we experience a range of negative emotions. Only when we turned this problem over to God did he help us find a solution. He led us out of our confusion when we trusted him, as he has done scores of times for us.

We experience powerful negative emotions during and after a traumatic event that can cause us intrusive and painful thoughts for a long time. The pain of the event can play in our brain like a looped video. We need someone to help us sort it all out. We long for clarity in life—the ability to make sense out of seemingly meaningless occurrences. Some of our worst memories may have to do with broken relationships because of death, divorce, conflict, or other problems. Sometimes we do not know how to fix broken people, but God does. We need help to sort it all out. One can redeem our broken lives and make sense of the chaos.  He is Jesus the Redeemer.  Jesus Christ can turn chaos into meaning and purpose.  Chaos frequently comes from our sin or the mistakes of others.  God, however, specializes in turning chaos into meaning when we ask for his help.

(Parenting with a Long View) https://bovdbrooks.com/

Redemption is God´s Gift

 

It is difficult to wrap your head around all the violence going on in our country right now. It really seems unbelievable! Scores of people being shot, and others killed in our cities every week doesn’t make sense. The numbers are going higher while cities are actually defunding their police departments. Two different problems are unfolding before our eyes, criminals, and gangs are carrying out their deadly business and the everyday riots. The anarchists are wielding bats, rocks, frozen bottles, sharpen sticks and pipes as they brazenly fight the police while the criminals own the inner-cites. Local politicians affirm the actions of the rioters and ignore the lawlessness in their cities. Most of the media present these rioters and vandals as people with a valid cause. They, too, ignore the chaos in cities like Chicago, St. Louis, and New York. Since when do people with a legitimate purpose destroy and vandalize property and attack the police with impunity. These politicians have one policy toward the anarchists, and that is appeasement. The one problem with appeasement is it is never enough. Anyone supporting the BLM movement is either ignorant or ignoring what they stand for—communism, destruction of the nuclear family, and democratic government.

We are all responsible for our attitudes, actions, and behaviors. Blaming our actions on someone else is part and parcel of victimhood. There are reasonable ways to seek change in our way of life. Bullying people, destroying property, and harming others are not one of them. Rather than looking at our own attitudes and examining our own lives, it’s easier to blame someone else for our problems.

God’s way of dealing with hurt, resentment, bitterness, and hatred is through forgiveness and reconciliation. That means that we sit down and actually listen to each other and talk to each other. The outcome of that encounter produces and awareness of our own shortcomings and mistakes and prompts us to offer an apology. It is an apology that explains what we have done to the other person and how we know we have hurt them. Then a request for forgiveness is presented. The other person sensing the genuineness of the conversation, gives their forgiveness and offers their own apology. Forgiveness flows both ways, and reconciliation is now possible. Promises are made not to repeat the same mistakes.

We see hardly any of this. People are demanding reparations for the slavery of their ancestors from people who are 160 years removed from the horror of slavery. What we all need is redemption. Indeed, there are millions of people with hurt and deep wounds! Their anger toward the entire world will never heal those wounds—only true redemption. Yes, we should always be adjusting our laws to make sure they are just and fair. Since flawed people make all of our laws, there is a pretty good chance they can be faulty. However, our system of democracy has the framework to give us fair laws. To throw our entire system of government out because some spoiled rotten millennials are demanding we give them socialism would be the gravest mistake we could make.

We need more honest, genuine politicians who will seek real solutions that benefit the most significant number of people. Unfair laws that hurt the population come from dishonest and self-centered politicians who seek their own personal glory. This is why the elections just 100 days away are so important!

Redemption

We all wonder what God is up to at times. So many confusing things happen, and we question how this could fit into God’s plans. Why are these difficult problems in my life, and why aren’t they getting better? Why do difficult people surround me? Why do our prayers seem to go unanswered? Is He letting things happen that bring me harm? The definition of faith is trusting God when we don’t know what is happening. There are those moments though when we look back with insight and say, “Now I know why that happened.”

The prophet Jeremiah wrote a letter to the exiles in Babylon. The deportees were wondering where God was at and what He was doing. It felt like He had forgotten them. Psalm 137 gives a little insight into the mental mindset of the people. They were living in Babylon, but all they longed for was to go back to Jerusalem. They were sad and defeated. They were a depressed people who hung up their instruments, and at the same time they had hung up all their aspirations. When given the opportunity to share some joy with someone, they had none to share. They lived as if any day they would receive word that their captivity was over and they would be going back home. They held resentment and terrible hatred toward their captors. They wished for the worst to come upon these Babylonian tyrants. They thought that Jerusalem was their only source of joy—their highest joy as they called it. But it had been plundered and destroyed by the ravaging armies of Nebuchadnezzar (Ps 137:1-9).

Jeremiah’s letter told them to "Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease.  Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” (Jer 29:5-8).

Notice the verbs: build, settle, plant, eat, marry, have, find, give, seek, and pray. Remember this word comes from the Lord to His people in a time when they are in exile. At a time when their world has been turned upside down. They are being held captive against their will and prohibited from returning home, and yet God tells them to put down roots and establish His presence in this city they don’t like.

Then the letter said this, "When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jer 29:10-11).

When you understand that God’s promises of hope are plans to prosper His people while they are in the middle of their lonely trials, that changes your life. He plans to do this not by taking them out but by teaching them how to live where they live. God works in the middle of our afflictions. While we may want to escape our difficult circumstances in life, God wants to encourage us with the plans He as for us right where we are.

Jeremiah encouraged the Israelites in Babylon to work on their families. Raise families and help your children to raise families. Your business won’t matter at the end of your life. Your fame won’t matter. Your accomplishments won’t matter in the end, but your relationship with your family will matter. It can be a grind to work on your family. Sometimes it is easier to do something else or even start a new family. However, the rich fulfillment from a family that loves each other takes a lot of hard work.

We All Need a Redeemer

Chaos can come out of nowhere and blindside us before we even know what hit us. Like the time Marilyn and I were supposed to board a plane for Antofagasta, Chile, out of Miami, but we found the airline was on strike. To make things worse, no other airline would accept our tickets because Braniff Airlines would not endorse them for payment. Hundreds of people were sitting around and many even on the floor because there were no more seats. The faces of the people revealed they were bewildered, frustrated, and even angry. I still remember the feeling of helplessness when I went to tell Marilyn, after waiting my turn to find if there was a solution, that we were stuck. Helplessness hardly describes the feeling when you have no answer and there does not appear to be anyone who can help you find any either. My list of chaotic experiences could go on and on as yours could because life at times is beyond our control. When those undesirable things happen to us and we cannot stop them, we experience a range of negative emotions. Only when we turned this problem over to God did he help us find a solution. He led us out of our confusion when we trusted him, as he has done scores of times for us.

We experience powerful negative emotions during and after a traumatic event that can cause us intrusive and painful thoughts for a long time. The pain of the event can play in our brain like a looped video. We need someone to help us sort it all out. We long for clarity in life—the ability to make sense out of seemingly meaningless occurrences. Some of our worst memories may have to do with broken relationships because of death, divorce, conflict, or other problems. Sometimes we just do not know how to fix broken people, but God does. We need help to sort it all out. One can redeem our broken lives and make sense of the chaos—He is Jesus the Redeemer.

In the book of Ruth in the Bible, there is a story about redemption. Naomi has suffered enormous loss—her husband and two sons have died. She has been left with an emptiness she cannot fill and a disillusionment she cannot overcome. She has returned with her daughter-in-law Ruth to her homeland, impoverished and broken and with no hope. God comes to Naomi’s rescue, and he sends a redeemer to change their situation.

Just as God redeemed the loss and chaotic experiences in Naomi’s and Ruth’s lives, he does that for us today. Life is often filled with chaos, leaving us in a whirlwind of confusion. What do we do in those moments? We look to the Redeemer—Jesus Christ who is able to turn chaos into meaning and purpose. That chaos frequently comes from our own sin and other times from the mistakes of others. God, however, specializes in turning chaos into meaning when we ask for his help. That is what the book of Ruth is about—two people realizing they need a redeemer. They seek God’s help, and he redeems their lives. He can do the same for you today, too.

A Leap of Faith

The greatest danger we all face as we grow up in dysfunctional homes and acquire harmful habits and vices is that we become enslaved. These addictions are pervasive and destructive. To name just a few: Addictions to alcohol, to drugs, to food, to gambling, to pornography, to money, to fame, to perfectionism, to co-dependencies, to people’s approval, to obsessions with one’s appearance such as body building, Anorexia and Bulimia, to hoarding, to media  and to work. Jesus can set us free from these addictions, and when he does our lives are transformed. The transformation that Jesus makes in our lives when we surrender to him is freedom.

The greatest evidence of the power of the Gospel is changed lives. When a person who has been enslaved by an addiction is changed—that is indisputable evidence of the power of the Gospel. We find people like this in the gospels, and their stories are compelling. Zacchaeus is one of those people.

Although Zacchaeus was a little man, he was also the ruthless head of tax collection in Jericho. He and his band of tax collectors regularly ripped off people. For this he was despised and excluded from Jewish life. Even though wealthy, Zacchaeus like most of us probably experienced dissatisfaction with life. Most people who have wealth and don’t know the maker of all life are not really all that happy. They may be for a while, but deep down there is an unquenchable thirst for fulfillment.

Zacchaeus had a curiosity to see Jesus, so he went ahead of the crowd and climbed a large tree. He found a comfortable spot with a good view and waited.  This is what Zacchaeus prided himself in doing—getting ahead of the crowd. However, it was Christ’s response that shocked Zacchaeus. When Jesus reached the spot where he was, he stopped and looked up and said, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today" (Luke 19:5-6).  So he jumped down and welcomed him to his home.

That leap of faith from the tree into Jesus’ presence was the beginning of the transformation of Zacchaeus’ life.  What delight to be on the way to his house with Jesus as his guest! It didn’t matter what the people thought, his thoughts were on Jesus. How Zacchaeus enjoyed the talks with Jesus. During the stay Zacchaeus stated: "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount" (Luke 19:8).

One of my favorite words is magnanimous, and Zacchaeus was magnanimous in his words and actions. His generosity and integrity were visible. Zacchaeus’ life had always been characterized by getting—that is all he had ever known until now. Now all he could think about was giving. The compulsion to get more was gone, and in its place was a wonderful desire to share what he had with others. His petty heart had become a magnanimous heart. He was changed by the power of the Gospel.

Jesus followed Zacchaeus words with a powerful declaration: "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost" (Luke 19:10). This is a powerful statement that we need to hear. We are lost, and Jesus came to save us. We live in a lost world, and Jesus came to save our world. Jesus—the Son of Man came to this earth to seek out the lost like you and me and save us.