Tag: redemption

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Ruth Devotionals

Redeemed

Ruth, Tamar, Leah, Rachel

May the Lord make the woman who is entering your house like Rachel and Leah, who together built the house of Israel…

May your house become like the house of Perez, the son Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring the Lord will give you by this young woman.” (Ruth 4:11-12)

This morning, I was thinking about Rachel, Leah, and Tamar. All three were broken in their own ways. (Genesis 29-30, 38)

And yet, none of them were ultimately remembered that way. They were remembered as blessed women.

Ruth too suffered brokenness in her life, and she is now remembered as blessed.

Not only that, all four women were used to bring our Redeemer into the world. All of them are in Jesus’ family tree.

And so God reminded me this morning, “You are not defined by your brokenness. I have redeemed you. And you are blessed.”

I was nothing before you found me.
You have given life to me.

Heartache, broken pieces,
Ruined lives are why you died on Calvary.

Your touch was what I longed for.
You have given life to me. — Bill and Gloria Gaither

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Exodus Devotions

What makes us different

Jesus and Passover

The blood on the houses where you are staying will be a distinguishing mark for you; when I see the blood, I will pass over you.

No plague will be among you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. (Exodus 12:13)

What made the Israelites different from the Egyptians? Why were the Israelites spared God’s judgment and not the Egyptians?

As we’ll see later in Exodus, it wasn’t because the Israelites were somehow morally superior to the Egyptians.

Rather, it was the blood of the sheep or goat that was shed for them.

It’s the same with us.

We deserve God’s judgment as much as anyone.

What distinguishes us and saves us from God’s judgment is not how good or faithful we are.

Rather, it is Jesus’ blood shed on the cross for us.

Perhaps David was thinking of the Israelites using hyssop to brush the blood on their doorposts when he prayed,

Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. (Psalm 51:7)

God told the Israelites to always remember what he did for them that day. (Exodus 12:24-27)

In the same way, let us always remember what Jesus did for us on the cross, and like the Israelites, fall down in worship.

It’s your blood that cleanses me.
It’s your blood that gives me life.
It’s your blood that took my place in redeeming sacrifice.
And washes me whiter than the snow.
My Jesus, God’s precious sacrifice. — Michael Christ

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Exodus Devotions

Who am I?

Worship

God spoke further to Moses and said to him, “I am Yahweh; and I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name, Yahweh, I was not known to them.” (Exodus 6:2-3, LSB)

Father, you are El Shaddai, God Almighty. You are Yahweh.

You are the God that was with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

You are the God that was with Moses.

And you are with me.

Who am I that you would care about me?

That you would hear my groanings?

That you would save me and redeem me?

That you would take me to be your own?

That you would bring me into your kingdom?

That you would be my God and reveal yourself to me?

That in Jesus you have revealed yourself to me in a way that even Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses didn’t know.

And so I choose to trust you, even in my struggles.

You were faithful then. You are faithful now. And you will be faithful throughout all eternity.

I love you, Abba.

In Jesus’ name, amen.

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Genesis Devotions

Remembering whose we are

worship

Joseph said to the people, “Understand today that I have acquired you and your land for Pharaoh.” (Genesis 47:23)

“You have saved our lives,’ they said. ‘We have found favor with our lord and will be Pharaoh’s slaves.” (Genesis 47:25)

Whenever I read those words, I can’t help but think of what Jesus did for us.

Like the Egyptians, we were dying, and Jesus purchased us for himself and his Father, saving our lives. (Revelation 5:9; 1 Peter 1:18-19)

Whenever the Egyptians gave the fifth of their harvest to Pharaoh, it was a time to reflect on Pharaoh’s goodness to them.

In the same way, whenever we give our tithes and offerings to God, it’s a time for us to remember his goodness to us.

But the awesome thing is that Jesus didn’t purchase us to become God’s slaves, but to become God’s children.

As Paul wrote,

For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear. Instead, you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father!”

The Spirit himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children, and if children, also heirs—heirs of God and coheirs with Christ… (Romans 8:15-17)

So with joy each day, let’s remember whose we are and honor him with our lives. As Paul also wrote,

You are not your own, for you were bought at a price. So glorify God with your body. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

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Exodus Devotions

He hears. He remembers. He sees. He knows.

God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob, and God saw the Israelites, and God knew (Exodus 2:24-25)

In what way were the Israelites groaning? Perhaps Asaph’s words in Psalm 77 reflected their feelings.

Will the Lord reject forever
and never again show favor?

Has his faithful love ceased forever?
Is his promise at an end for all generations?

Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has he in anger withheld his compassion?” (Psalm 77:7-9)

How often do we feel that way?

Wondering if God has rejected us?

Wondering if we have exhausted his love, patience, and grace?

But God hears us.

He remembers the new covenant in Jesus’ blood that was poured out for us. And in all our struggles, he sees us and knows what’s happening.

But most importantly, he saves.

He proved it in Egypt. And he proved it at the cross.

So let us reflect on what he has done.

Let us meditate on all his actions.

And as spiritual descendants of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph, let us sing with Asaph,

God, your way is holy.
What god is great like God?

You are the God who works wonders;
you revealed your strength among the peoples.

With power you redeemed your people… (Psalm 77:13-15)

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Psalms Devotionals 2

A rich redemption

Psalms

Israel, put your hope in the Lord.

For there is faithful love with the Lord,
and with him is redemption in abundance.

And he will redeem Israel
from all its iniquities. (Psalm 130:7-8)

When I read those  words, I couldn’t help but think of the angel’s words to Joseph:

[Mary] will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. (Matthew 1:21)

We live in a world broken by sin.

Your own life may be broken because of your sin and failures.

If God kept track of all of them, there is no way we could stand before him. (Psalm 130:3)

But put your hope in the Lord.

With him, there is grace, a love that is faithful to us even when we are faithless. (2 Timothy 2:13)

And by Jesus’ blood, we have received redemption.

But not just redemption.

Redemption in abundance.

Indeed, we have all received grace upon grace from his fullness, for the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. (John 1:16-17)

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Romans

To be accepted by God

Sitting at the cross

Our deepest need, whether felt or not, is to be accepted. And not just by anyone. But to be accepted by God.

When we are accepted by God, and we understand this in our souls, our life changes. We find contentment, joy, and peace. We find life.

But how can we be accepted by God? One thing Paul makes clear: it won’t come from following the law. In verse 23, he writes,

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)

The word for sin in Greek is a very interesting one. It’s an archery term that means “to miss the mark.”

But it’s not just a picture of missing the bullseye. It’s a picture of completely missing the target.

In other words, we’re not even close to perfection. We fall far short of God’s holiness.

Let’s put it this way. Imagine you sin three times a day. That’s not too bad right?

But multiply that by 365 days in a year. Then multiply that by your age. Suddenly, depending on your age, you’re talking about the tens of thousands.

God can literally read off a list against you that would take hours to complete. And that’s if you’re relatively “good.”

Because of this, we all stand condemned. None of us can stand before God and say, “I’m good enough to be accepted by you. I’ve kept all your laws perfectly.”

The good news? In verse 21, Paul tells us,

But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. (Romans 3:21)

How do we get this righteousness? Paul tells us in verses 22-25.

This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.

There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. (Romans 3:22-25)

What is Paul saying? We have a lot of what I call Christianese here.

First he talks about redemption. What is redemption?

Redemption is the buying of someone’s freedom out of slavery. All of us were in slavery to sin and the kingdom of Satan. But Jesus bought us out from all that. That’s redemption.

How did he buy us? Through his blood on the cross.

Paul says that God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement.

Atonement simply means a covering. That through Christ’s death on the cross, he covers over our sin and forgives it, drawing us to himself.

Perhaps a better translation of atonement would be another 50-cent word, “propitiation.”

The idea is that God poured his wrath for our sins on Jesus, and now that wrath toward us is appeased.

However you translate it, the point is clear. It is through Christ’s work on the cross we are accepted, not by our works.

And through his death we have now been justified. That simply means that with our sins paid for, God no longer looks upon us as sinners.

You can look at it this way. “God sees me just as if I’d never sinned.”

So now, we are accepted by grace.

Grace is simply the receiving of something that we don’t deserve. We deserved wrath because we turned our backs on God. But instead, God accepts us as his sons and daughters.

All we have to do is have faith, putting our trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins.

Have you done so?

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Luke Luke 5 Mark Mark 2 Matthew Matthew 9

Never beyond redemption

The gospels

I love these passages because it teaches us one thing. We’re never so far gone that God’s love can’t reach us.

One day, Jesus was walking past the tax collecting booth of a man named Matthew. I kind of wonder what was going through Matthew’s heart as he saw Jesus approaching.

I’m not sure, but at a guess, there was probably regret. Long ago, Matthew had “sold his soul.”

Tax collectors were among the most despised people in Israel. Not only were they considered collaborators for collecting taxes for the hated Roman government, they were also considered cheats for taking more money in “taxes” than they should have, and pocketing the excess.

Why Matthew took this path, we will never know. But perhaps as time went on, he discovered that the money he was making wasn’t worth the price. It wasn’t bringing him joy just having money and things. Instead, it was bringing only despair.

It’s possible that as he saw Jesus was approaching, Matthew felt a sting of jealousy for the throng that was following Jesus. Maybe a part of him wished that he too could follow after Jesus.

He had heard of all the things Jesus taught. He had heard of the miracles. And perhaps in Jesus, he thought there might be a way out from the hell he was in.

But he thought, “There’s no chance. There’s no way Jesus could accept me as a follower. I’m too far gone.”

Suddenly Jesus stopped at Matthew’s booth and looked at him. As he did, Matthew probably felt that everything in his heart was laid bare before that piercing gaze, and his head dropped in shame and guilt.

But then Jesus said, “Matthew.”

And when Matthew looked up, he didn’t see condemnation in Jesus’ eyes. He saw compassion. He saw forgiveness.

And Jesus said to him, “Follow me.”

Two simple words. “Follow me.”

But in those words were a wealth of meaning. “It’s not too late for you. There is forgiveness available to you. There is hope. There is redemption. Just follow me.”

And Matthew left all to follow Jesus. To be sure, there was a lot still that needed to be dealt with in Matthew’s life. But that day, he took a first step into a new life.

How about you? Do you feel that you are beyond redemption? That you’ve gone so far that God has given up on you.

He hasn’t. He still loves you. He looks upon you with compassion. And he offers you forgiveness and mercy. All you have to do is to take that first step and start following after him.

Change will take time. Like Matthew, you will not become perfect overnight. There will be struggles with sin. There will be times you will fall.

But when you take that first step and say, “Jesus I want to follow you. Please be my Lord,” Jesus will give you a new heart that can follow him, and he will change you from the inside out.

Will you take that first step today?

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Job

A final defense

Job

Job gives his longest speech here, and you could call it his final defense.

In chapter 27, he once again reiterates his contention that he is undeserving of all this suffering.

He then tells his “friends” that he hopes that they will someday suffer as they claimed the wicked do for making these false accusations against him.

And while he says these things in generalities concerning the wicked, by linking his friends as his adversaries, he’s indirectly saying to them, “What hope will you have when you are cut off, and God takes away your life?  Will God listen to your cry?” (Job 27:8-9)

He then basically repeats back to them all the curses they said come upon the wicked.

Having done that, he goes on in the next few chapters to give a further defense of himself.

He talks about wisdom in chapter 28, about how though men can find precious jewels in the depth of the earth, the treasure of wisdom is beyond them without God’s revelation.  They can’t even comprehend its worth without God’s help.

But Job says, “God has revealed wisdom to us. What is it?”

The fear of the Lord — that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.  (28:28)

We see here that though Job has his complaints, he does not deny what true wisdom is.  He still holds fast to his fear of the Lord.

But over the next three chapters, he once again voices his complaint about why he is suffering.

He starts in chapter 29 by talking about how his life was before, how he had been well respected, and how contrary to his friends’ accusations, he had done what was right.

He had shown generosity to the poor, given mercy to the widows and the fatherless, and stood up for the weak and powerless.  He had thought that because of all that, God would continue to bless him.

But in chapter 30, he talks about how God stripped him of everything.  How everyone now mocks him, and how God now refuses to respond to his cries.

He then pleads his case from the latter part of chapter 30 through 31.

“Didn’t I help the poor?  Didn’t I weep for those in trouble?  Haven’t I kept my eyes pure?

“If I have done wrong, if I have been adulterous, or denied people justice, or failed to be generous with the widows and poor, if I made money my god, if I worshiped false gods, if I rejoiced over my enemies’ suffering, if I hid sin in my heart, then fine, punish me.  I would deserve it.

“But I haven’t done anything!  Here’s my defense.  I sign it.  Now if you have anything to accuse me of, just tell me already!”

I think if there’s one thing to get from all this, it’s this:  Job’s friends were wrong in thinking that only the evil suffer.

But Job was wrong in thinking that just because he didn’t deserve to suffer, that he wouldn’t.

We’re living in a broken world filled with earthquakes, tornadoes and natural disasters.  We’re living in a world filled with sickness and death.

We’re living in a world filled with broken and evil people.  And as I’ve said before, what they do affects us.

We also have an enemy in Satan, and he has lots of help from his demons.  They also have an impact in our lives.

And with us living in this kind of world, God never promises that we won’t suffer.  On the contrary, he promises the exact opposite.

Jesus himself said,

In this world you will have trouble.  (John 16:33)

Note he says, “You will have trouble.”

Not, “You might possibly have a problem now and then.”

He says, “You will have trouble.”

And we have trouble for all the reasons I mentioned above.

You may be the wisest, most righteous person on earth.  But it doesn’t preclude you from suffering.

Jesus was wisdom and righteousness incarnate.  Yet he suffered.  Are we above him?

Some people think Jesus suffered so that we don’t have to.  But that’s not true.  Jesus suffered that we might be redeemed.  And Jesus suffered that one day all things might be made new.

But that day is not yet.  And until that day, all we can do is wait in hope.  But know that throughout whatever you may be suffering through now, that day will come.

Paul put it this way,

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.

For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed.

For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.

We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.

Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies.  For in this hope we were saved.

But hope that is seen is no hope at all.  Who hopes for what they already have?  But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.  (Romans 8:18-25)

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Jeremiah

Deliverer and Redeemer

Jeremiah

As I write this, Christmas is drawing near.  And as such, my thoughts turn even more than usual to the one who came 2000 years ago. 

Why did he come?  He came not to judge, but to deliver and redeem us from our captivity to sin and to set us free that we might have a relationship with him once again.

As usual, we see a lot of the judgment of God in this passage. 

God told Jeremiah not to mourn with those who had lost loved ones, because there was no comfort to give. God had withdrawn his blessing from the people.

And soon, so many would die that there would be no one left who could bring comfort to others.  All would be suffering from pain and loss.

Then he told him not to join in their feasting because all joy and gladness would soon be taken from them. 

God told Jeremiah to make crystal clear to the people why judgment would come.  That it would come because they had turned their backs on God and started serving other gods in the stubbornness of their own hearts.

But then the tone of the passage changes a bit in verses 14-15. 

God asked Jeremiah, “Do you know how people always look back at how I saved the Israelites from the hands of the Egyptians.  That’ll be nothing compared to how I’ll bring all my people back from exile into the land I promised their forefathers. 

“From that point on, people will no longer point back to the Exodus, but to their return from exile.”

And that’s exactly what God did.  He brought them back from Persia into their own land. 

And after Rome decimated Jerusalem during the time of the apostles and all the Jews were scattered, 2000 years later, in our very own time, he brought them back into their own land. 

Why did he do so?  To prove to them that he is their deliverer and redeemer, not the gods that they had been seeking. 

The day will come when all Israel will acknowledge that.  And God says concerning them,

“Therefore I will teach them — this time I will teach them my power and might.  Then they will know that my name is the Lord.”  (Jeremiah 16:21)

Today, there are many people lost in their sin.  Who like the Israelites have turned their backs on God in the stubbornness of their own hearts. 

But Jesus came to deliver and redeem them.  To show them who God really is, that they might know him and have a relationship with him.

So as we look around at the people around us this Christmas, let us keep that in mind and share with them the good news that they can be delivered and redeemed as well.

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Isaiah

Judgment and redemption

Isaiah

Judgment and redemption. 

These two ideas are seen throughout scripture and they are very evident here in these two chapters.

First, God metes out judgment against the nations in chapter 34 as all those who come against his people Israel shall be judged and destroyed.

And then in chapter 35, we see the redemption of his people. 

How does it come?  Through Jesus Christ. 

Isaiah encouraged the people saying,

Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.”  (Isaiah 35:3-4)

“Your God will come.” 

In the short term, God came and brought judgment against the Assyrians and then the Babylonians.  But not only did he bring judgment, he brought salvation.  He says in verses 5-6,

Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped.  Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. (Isaiah 35:5-6)

When John the Baptist was in prison, he sent his disciples to ask Jesus if he really was the Messiah.  Jesus answered them,

“Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.”  (Matthew 11:4-5)

I can’t help but think that this passage in Isaiah is what Jesus was referring to when he sent his message. 

He was saying, “Do you remember what Isaiah said about God coming and the blind seeing, the lame walking, and the deaf hearing?  Well that’s what’s happening now. 

“So strengthen your feeble hands, John.  Steady your knees that are giving way.  Be strong.  I, the Messiah, have come.  Do not be afraid, and do not lose hope.”

We, like John, may have times of doubt.  Our faith seems dry, and we start to wonder if God’s really there.  If he really cares.  If our redemption is really coming. 

But as Jesus told John, don’t give in to doubt.  Cling instead to our Savior.  He has come and he will come to you.  And in time,

Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.  The burning sand will become a pool, and the thirsty ground bubbling springs.  (Isaiah 35:6-7)

And always remember that the day will come when you enter Zion with singing, and everlasting joy will crown your head. 

Gladness and joy will overtake you, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.  (10)

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Genesis

Bought

Genesis

“It’s my life!”

“It’s my body! I have the right to do whatever I want.”

We often hear these phrases as people try to justify sin in their lives. But is it true?

The people of Egypt went through a very difficult time during the famine.

The whole land was wasting away because of the famine, and the people started crying out to Joseph for help, and so he started selling them grain.

But then their money ran out, so they sold him their livestock to pay for the grain.

But with their livestock now gone, and years of famine still to come, the people became desperate.

And so they said,

We cannot hide from our lord the fact that since our money is gone and our livestock belongs to you, there is nothing left for our lord except our bodies and our land.

Why should we perish before your eyes—we and our land as well?

Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we with our land will be in bondage to Pharaoh.

Give us seed so that we may live and not die, and that the land may not become desolate. (Genesis 47:18-19)

And so all the Egyptians in the land became Pharaoh’s, both their land and their lives, but because they gave themselves to Pharaoh, they were saved from the famine.

In the same way, we were dying, wasting away because of sin in our lives. And like the Egyptians, we were helpless to do anything about it.

Many of us tried to buy God’s favor at first, but in the end, we realized that we simply did not have enough to give God in order to receive forgiveness for our sins. The number of our sins was too overwhelming.

And so God did something about it. It says in Romans 5:6, “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.”

Why did Jesus die for us? He died to take the punishment for our sins. And in so doing, God purchased us as his own people.

It says in Revelation 5:9 concerning Jesus,

You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.

Again in 1 Peter 1:18-19, it says,

For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.

So what does this mean for us? The answer is found in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20.

You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

In other words, no Christian has the right to say any longer, “It’s my body. It’s my life. I can do whatever I please with it.”

When you became a Christian, God bought you with the blood of Jesus and you belong to him now, not yourself.

How are you living your life today? Are you living as though you belong to yourself? Are you living as though your time, your money, and your life all belong to you?

You are not your own. Your time is not your own. Your money is not your own. Your life is not your own.

You were bought with a price.

So let’s start living that way.

We lift our voices
We lift our hands
We lift our lives up to You
We are an offering

Lord use our voices
Lord use our hands
Lord use our lives they are Yours
We are an offering

All that I have
All that we are
All that we hope to be
We give to You
We give to You