That Story, Again?

Good Thursday to you, friends!  Isn't it funny how Monday can seem so long and then suddenly your find yourself waking on the next to last day of the work week?  Time is an odd experience.  I wonder what it is like to be God, for whom a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like a day.  Imagine an existence not bound and determined by time!

Today I want to share one thing with you, and that is a quick word about what is most important to our God: 

Redemption.

I remember my youth pastor once saying that redemption is the summary word of the Biblical story from Genesis to Revelation.  In the beginning, God, and from the beginning, God, had a plan to redeem His people.

Do you ever feel like you hear the same story over and over again at church?

I hope you do, because according to the Scriptures, the most important thing we can grasp is that Christ died, Christ rose, and Christ will come again.  The Bible talks about the Messiah so much, because it is the most important message of the Word and the foundation upon which transformation is built.

What is your biggest problem today?

It might not be what you think.

The Bible tells us our biggest problem is that we are separated from God, His enemies, helplessly lost in sin.  The Bible also tells us that God addresses our biggest problem in Jesus Christ, redeeming our lives through his.  

Redemption - noun - the action of regaining or gaining possession of something in exchange for payment, or clearing a debt.

If you are in Christ, if you have put your trust and faith in Him, your biggest earthly woe has been addressed.  You are saved.  God has regained possessed of you and your debt has been cleared because of Jesus' death and resurrection.  And He is coming again to take you into glory with Him!

In Galatians 2:20-21, which our pastor preached on Sunday to remind us of the Good News then call us to action, read:

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!

Friends, never let go of this message of redemption. You died with Christ and you live with Him.  Your biggest problem is not the temporal thing that came to mind first when I asked the question above.  If you are a Christian, your biggest problem of your entire life ever has been addressed and fixed.  YOU BELONG TO GOD.

Christ did not die for nothing.  Your righteousness does not come from your good works.  No, sir.  Your righteousness comes direct from God Himself by the work of Jesus, so that you can be free to go forth and do good works for His glory and to the praise of His name.

If you feel like you hear the same story over and over at church, thank your pastor.  He or she is keeping you close to the only solid foundation upon which a faithful life can be built.

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures ...  I Corinthians 15:3-4

The message of redemption, of all God's promises fulfilled, is of first importance!

• Are you building  your life upon that solid rock or still trying to earn God's favor?
• Are you clinging daily to grace and rejoicing at the freedom you have in Christ to pursue righteousness for His sake?

Let's ask ourselves these questions each day, so that we do not scoff at God's gift of redemption.  No one will ever give us a more precious gift!