Redeeming Love #4-Redeemed
More from Francine Rivers...
"To be redeemed is to have our freedom purchased by someone else, someone who is willing to pay the price for our freedom, no matter the cost...Spiritually, we are free from the consequences of every bad thing we've ever done, every evil thought we've ever held, every cruel, untrue, unkind, nasty word we've said. No, it's not fair. It's not just. It's not deserved. That's why it's called God's grace."
Learning what Love Is
The other day I was chatting with a young woman who just experienced her first Christmas as a married woman. She shared how difficult it was to make everyone feel loved, by being certain all the parents and in laws had equal time. Long standing traditions had to be changed and it was very stressful. I told her expectations cause life to be very messy at times.
Rivers states-"Human love is ultimately about getting what we want and need. But God doesn't need anything from us. He loves us with no expectation of gaining anything by it; He does not "Seek His own." His love is selfless and perfect."
Remember God is the Giver of Good Gifts
Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. James 1:17
"When we think about being redeemed, we might have a picture of God leading us out of the bad things that held us captive. But do we think about what He is leading us into?...God is bringing us into freedom. Into joy and beauty. Into love, both human and divine."
God delights in giving good gifts to his children.
We are commanded to Relinquish Idols for our good.
Anything we love more than God of consider more important than Him can become an idol.
You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol. Exodus 20:3-4
God makes this command because he wants what is best for us. "We need to avoid idols because when we worship them, we take our gaze away from the One who deserves worship....He wants us to know Him more fully and understand who He is:the one true God who is faithful from everlasting to everlasting."
God Can Satisfy Our Longings
"Do you have a longing you fear will never be fulfilled? ... We might even think there's no way to go on with life if we don't attain what we're longing for...God helps us by lining up our desires with His."
Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him. Psalm 37:4-7
Christ Teaches Us Sacrificial Love
Do nothing out of selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Philippians 2:3-4
"Jesus gave up his divine privileges to come to earth as a human."
When Bargaining Doesn't Work
We have all probably done some bargaining with God. Whew. I can remember as a teenage athlete, who wore a cross around her neck, doing some bargaining if God would help me though a tennis match. Ugh, so piddly.
I'll leave us with this tough challenges from Mrs. Rivers-"We spend so much time and effort trying to save our lives-trying to avoid pain or difficulty, trying to make things go the way we want. How would it feel to let go of that? To surrender ourselves to God and let Him make the choices, trusting that He is good? What would it be like to deny ourselves and lose our lives for His sake?"
The Song Redeemed by Casting Crowns
