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forgiveness

Day of Redemption

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“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 ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.”
 1 Peter 1:18-19, NIV

I approached the counter and handed the clerk my purchase along with a 20% off coupon.

“I’m sorry, ma‛am,” she said. “You won’t be able to use this. Its expiration date was yesterday.”

Later, I went to a bookstore I haven’t frequented in a while. At the register, I piled my books on the counter, dug into my pocketbook for my annual membership card which awards a 10% discount, and handed it to the young man at the register.

“I’m sorry ma‛am. This card has expired. It expired—yesterday.”

Good grief. What is it with me and coupons? I have friends who save megabucks with them. Me? Not so much. Whenever I remember I have one, it’s either lying on my desk at home, I’m a day too early for the sale, it doesn’t work on the items I want to purchase, or it’s expired—just expired. Like…YESTERDAY.

On the rare occasion that I do pull out a coupon that’s redeemable, I squelch my overwhelming desire to grab the store intercom and shout, “The lady in aisle three just received $1.00 off of her in-store purchase.”

I’ve learned the hard way. Coupons work best when I deliberately set out to use them. Maybe even purchase items in advance, so that when I need them, I have them.

Over two-thousand years ago, God made all of humanity an incredible offer—one which has superseded every offer since. With the blood of his only Son, Jesus, he purchased our redemption in advance. He offered us forgiveness and the opportunity to live for eternity with him in Paradise. Good news, huh?

But all special offers have redemption dates. The opportunity to receive God’s gift of salvation ceases the day we expire. On that day our reward will either become a reality or a missed opportunity. We can’t afford to live on the assumption that when we get to Heaven’s pearly gates, Saint Peter will overlook the fine print. If we haven’t made the deliberate choice to accept God’s remarkable offer in advance, our day of arrival will be too late.

Have you received God’s gift of salvation? “Your redemption draweth nigh” (Luke 21:28), but it’s not too late. Choose to live deliberately and ACT. Acknowledge your need for a Savior, Confess your sin, and Turn to Jesus. When you do, you’ll gain the peace of knowing that when redemption day comes, you won’t hear “Expired,” you’ll hear—“REDEEMED!”

Blessings,

Starr

Playing Hide and Seek

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 I have strayed like a lost sheep. Seek your servant, for I have not forgotten your commands.

Psalm 119:176 NIV

Do you remembers playing hide and seek as kids? The feeling of retreating to your hiding spot in hopes that you won’t get caught before you made it back to “base” or “safety”. The object of the entire game is for others to HIDE while one person is to SEEK those people out.

GOD IS OUR SEEKER

We may attempt to hide from Him, either as a lost person or a believer plagued with shame and guilt, but either way He seeks us out and He will find us.

While we may try to hide from God, to hide those ugly and messy parts, God sees and He knows. He sees us in the good, bad and the ugly (even when you lose your temper with your spouse/kids or when you backslide in a unhealthy habit)

He sees. He knows. He loves us still.

Psalm 119:176 – I have strayed like a lost sheep. Seek your servant, for I have not forgotten your commands.

When we hide and we don’t feel worthy of going before him, we give the enemy an advantage. He will do anything and everything he can to steal, kill and destroy what God is doing. That tug that you feel to apologize or ask for forgiveness is Godly sorrow.

When “the seeker” finds us, we are far from put together, but when we use that tug to pull us towards God and not away from Him, we are made new in His grace.

To experience the fullness of God you must embrace the fullness of forgiveness.

Just like the actual game of hide and seek, we can be relieved when we are found, because that means that we don’t have to take matters into our own hands and try to find our way back to “base” or “safety”. When we follow the one that “seeks” us we will be found, and never have to “hide” again. Praise God!

Many blessings sweet friends,

Stephanie

 

Photo credit: image created via wordswag

It All Builds Up

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“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.” 

Galatians 6:7, NLT

lint_filterI was sitting with a group of friends when one of them asked about the similarity between lint in a lint filter and sin. On the face of it, this sounded to me like one of those “what the heck?” type of questions! I mean, where did that idea come from? But, I paused and thought, “Well, is there any similarity”? So, we tossed around our thoughts on the matter. The question for me became, what, if anything, does lint in filters and unchecked sin have in common? I considered what happens with lint when I dry the laundry in a dryer. Then, I considered what happens with what we commonly term insignificant or little sins, as opposed to those considered big ones.  I was surprised by what I discovered!

Whenever I checked the lint filter and there was just a little bit of lint on it, I tended to let it go because I didn’t see it as enough lint to bother cleaning off. When I checked the filter and the lint had accumulated significantly, I tended to it right away, because, by that time, it threatened a clogged filter and an inability for the dryer to effectively dry the clothes. It was actually harder to clean off the faint dusting of lint than a greater accumulation! The full filter of lint rolled right out so much easier. But, proper maintenance on the filter with little lint would have prevented further build up and subsequent consequences!

sinsI experienced a time in my life when I let my so-called little sins progress unchecked to the point that they multiplied and became glaringly obvious to everyone around me. I could no longer hide them! I was left wondering, “How’d they get so big so quickly?” Truth is, it wasn’t an overnight growth, and I was compelled to address it. By that time, I was willing to confess everything and check those sins at the throne of God’s forgiveness! It cost me too, as some of those consequences continue today. It’s my reminder of the truth that we’d reap what we’ve sown.

Based on my friend’s question, I concluded that there is indeed a similarity between lint in lint filters and sin; left unchecked, it all builds up. Once built up, it must be addressed. So wouldn’t we want to address it before it builds up, and reap rewards instead of consequences?

By grace through faith,

Rita