Redemption Defined

"I cannot redeem it for myself"

Ruth 4:6

I came across an interesting definition the other day.  I love definitions.  Sometimes I forget what word I'm looking up, because I get so distracted by my curiosity about words other than my target word.  Does that ever happen to you? 

I often look up words I already know the definition for ~ or think I already know the definition for ~ with the goal of better understanding the word, or learning its origin.  And I often find I have new insight into a Bible verse containing that word.

Well, this recently happened to me with the word "redeemed".  My pastor used the word during a sermon, and all of a sudden, I thought, "I wonder what the whole definition of that word is..."  So when I got home, I looked it up.  And sure enough, the definition opened my eyes.

Redeem is a word that is used frequently in Scripture, and if you've asked Jesus to be your Savior, then you have probably already come to the conclusion that you need a Redeemer.  Romans 3:23 says "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."  Our lives need to be redeemed to Him, by Him.   The most common definition of redeem is "to save" and that's the aspect of the redemption that will give us eternal life with Him.

But it's more than that. Because in addition to the definition "to save," redeem also means "to compensate for faults or the bad aspects of something."  Don't you love that?  Do you appreciate all that the Lord does for us as our Redeemer?   Every failing, every flaw, every weakness.... every hole is filled in by Him.  That knowledge brings to mind 2 Corinthians 12:9 ~ "My strength is made perfect in weakness" and Romans 8:26 ~ "The Spirit helps us in our weaknesses."

It's not the first time I've realized that my appreciation for all He does for me only touches the surface.  At the end of my life on this earth, I will be redeemed, once and for all.  But in the meantime, He's doing a lot more redeeming than I realize.

~ "Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, 

The Holy One of Israel: 

'I am the Lord your God... 

Who leads you by the way you should go' " ~

Isaiah 48:17

The, um, other Samaritan

"A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, 

and fell among thieves, 

who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.  

Now by chance, a certain priest came down that road.  

And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.  

Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, 

came and looked, and passed by on the other side.  

But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was.  

And when he saw him, he had compassion.  

So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, 

pouring on oil and wine; 

and he set him on his own animals, brought him to an inn, 

and took care of him."

Luke 10:30-34

The story of the Good Samaritan.  You probably know it well.  It's one of those Bible passages that is known worldwide, even by those who don't read the Bible.  Hospitals and organizations have borrowed the title, and it's informally used to label anyone who steps up to help a stranger in need.

But do you know the rest of the story of the Good Samaritan?

He had left his house that day specifically to undertake a mission of mercy.  Sam, as we'll call him, kissed his kids and wife goodbye, and went out to do a good deed for someone.  Someone who needed something specific, who was in a discouraged place in life.  Sam knew what was needed and he wanted to help that person, so off he went.

And then, going down the road, he came across A Certain Man.  Now, when he saw him, he knew what he had to do, but he wasn't happy about it.  I mean, he did have compassion for the Certain Man.  He could tell what had happened to the Certain Man, and he knew he needed to help him, so he did.  But he grumbled a lot under his breath.  He had an errand he had to take care of.  And it was an important errand; an unselfish errand to bless someone else.  And this unexpected, unplanned-for need on the part of the Certain Man was annoyingly and irritatingly interfering with his accomplishment of his very unselfish, very merciful, very righteous deed.

Okay, not really.

That wasn't Sam.

That was me.  Annoyed and self-righteous.

Sigh.... Sometimes spiritual growth seems like it's "one step forward; two steps back" doesn't it?

~ "Therefore, as we have the opportunity,

let us do good to all..." ~

Galatians 6:10

What's behind Door #3?

"all the kingdoms of the world and their glory"

Matthew 4:8

The temptation of Jesus.  There are few things more chilling in Scripture than the knowledge that satan tempted Jesus.  It's even more sobering than the account of what God allowed satan to do in the life of Job.

But there it is.  Temptation.  It's a fact.

Now, there are two kinds of temptation.  Two sources, really.  Matthew 4:3 calls satan "the tempter," so obviously, he is one source.

But the other sources is more insidious, I think.   James 1:14 says "Each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires, and enticed."

So the other source?  You.

Wanting something might lead you to sin, in an attempt to get it.  Certainly that's what happens with thieves.

But the act of wanting can be a sin, too.  After all, "do not covet..." 

The enemy says, "There is something better for you than where you are."  he wants you to desire something other than what God has given you.   It's what the serpent said to Eve.  he made Eve believe that life could get better than the Garden of Eden. 

Is that what he's telling you?  Is he telling you that there's something better?  A better job?  A better spouse?  A bigger home?  Is the grass greener somewhere else? 

Who are you going to believe?  If your desire is to be in God's will, then don't mess that up.  Don't want something else. 

When God wants you to move on to something new, He'll let you know.  If you're not sure, then ask Him.  And ask yourself why it's not good enough where you are. 

In the meantime, the grass doesn't get any greener than where God has you.

A little give and take

"come, follow Me"

Matthew 19:21

Do you know the parable of the rich young ruler?   It's in Matthew 19.  He came to Jesus asking what he needed to do to have eternal life.  After he assured Jesus that he had kept all of the commandments since his youth, Jesus replied, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."

Now, this particular account in the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, is the one instance where we see Jesus telling anyone that their possessions are getting in the way of their salvation. And I think that's because it's not the case with everyone.  After all, money is not a problem.  But love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.  That's from 1 Timothy 6:10, which also says that money causes some to stray from their faith.   Apparently that was the case with this young man, because after Jesus' words, "he went away sorrowful."

Now, how would you have felt if those words had been directed to you?  I know for some, it wouldn't even faze them.  Missionaries, for instance, are used to living with very little in the way of material goods.  So that would probably not be as much of a hardship for them as for others.

I got to thinking about all this the other day, when I overheard someone using the phrase, "I will take all you have to give."  I thought about what means to desire God's will in your life; to want to live for Him.  And all of a sudden, I imagined those words being spoken by Jesus.  And it seemed like a warning.  Not ominous, or frightening, but a sobering statement of fact.  This is what we are agreeing to, when we acknowledge Him as our Savior and Lord.

He will empty us.

So what is it you need to surrender?  What will He take from you?  Money?  Security?  Health?  Comfort?  If you are willing, He will call you into a life of challenge. 

But He's gracious.  Gentle.  If you aren't willing, He won't push.  He didn't with the rich young man.  He didn't call him back urgently, saying, "Okay, okay, how about half?"  The choice was his to make.

Just as it's yours.

~ "Now may the God of hope fill you

with all joy and peace in believing,

that you may abound in hope

by the power of the Holy Spirit" ~

Romans 15:13

A Sheep looks at Psalm 23

The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want.

 I will not

I will never

I will not know want

I will not desire

I will never be in need

He makes me lie down in green pastures

He compels me

He guides me

He makes me lie down to rest

to sleep

 to stop

He leads me beside quiet waters

 He leads me to a place of silence

a place to think

a place of refreshment

of sound

of peace

and beauty

He restores my soul

 He replenishes my spirit

He guides me in paths of righteousness

He guides me in right choices

He leads me to be blameless

virtuous

He makes me... He leads me... He guides me...

why?

For His name's sake

 To bring Him glory

 

Even though I walk through the valley

of the shadow of death

Whether now

or in the future

It does not matter

It is only a shadow

I will fear no evil

why?

 

 You are with me

 You.  me.  together.  now. 

You promise

I am confident

Your rod and Your staff,

they comfort me

though they might hurt

they discipline

and they comfort

You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies

 My enemies are still in my presence

but so are You

You anoint my head with oil

I am chosen

I am called

 

my cup overflows

I am blessed

to abundance

milk and honey

and eternal life

 

Surely goodness and love will follow me 

all the days of my life

I will be a blessing to others around me

I will leave goodness and love in my wake

 

and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Now

and always

The land of fruits and nuts

"And God saw that it was good"

Genesis 1:12

My family went camping recently, in a National Park in the mountains of central California.  It's a several hour drive to get there, but it's a pretty drive.  I grew up on the East Coast of the US, and when we drove several hours to get someplace, we drove through several states.  It was so weird, when I moved to California as a teenager, to find that you could drive all day and still be in the same state.

I love road trips, though.  The only ones I don't like as much are when I'm on a route I've been on hundreds of times.  When I feel like I've seen the same exact scenery over and over, it's not as much fun.  Mostly, though, I love looking out the window and seeing how the topography, the trees and plant life, the architecture, and even the people, change from place to place. 

A drive through central California is unusual, though.  Specifically, the plants and trees.  Although it's interesting to see, in any state or country, what kind of plants grow there, seeing what's growing in Central California feels personal.  Because a lot of what grows there, is what you and I eat.  California is the single biggest producer of agricultural products in the U.S.  And most of that comes from Central California.  Without ever leaving the freeway, we saw stalks of corn; miles of vineyards; acres of almond, walnut and pistachio trees; orchards of orange, peach and avocado trees; and those beautiful, distinctive strawberry plants. 

I was just in awe.  I knew that my family and I were the recipients of that growth.  As a matter of fact, when we arrived at our destination, I got out the bag of almonds we had brought along to snack on, and checked the label.  Sure enough, they'd come from that very county we had just driven through.

But there was something else.  Plants and trees are always beautiful ~ lush and green (usually) and each species unique.  But there's just something about plants that are growing food for us.  They were just so.... productive.   The leaves on an orange tree are such a dark, rich green.  And when the oranges are growing, they are these beautiful polka dots of color all over it.  Almond trees have an almost lacy look to them; a delicate quality.  Corn ~ well, corn is like nothing else.  We even saw corn growing in the median of the freeway!  Though I'm not sure anyone is actually gonna harvest those stragglers...

Fruitfulness is so beautiful.  And I think that's true of people, too.  I think of people I know who are accomplishing things for God, and invariably, I find them beautiful.  Not necessarily in the way the world thinks ~ everybody's opinion differs on that kind of stuff.  But they are dynamic, joyful, and magnetic.  They are a pleasure to be around.   They manifest the fruits of the Spirit ~ love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

This is a good goal for us to have.  And it's the natural response of our obedience; of our being in His will.  He will make us fruitful, and we will be beautiful and useful to Him in this world.

~ "Then the trees of the field shall yield their fruit,

and the earth shall yield her increase... 

and they shall know that I am the Lord" ~

Ezekiel 34:27

The lowdown on humility

"Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord

and He will lift you up"

James 4:10

What does that verse mean to you?  I love it, because of the dichotomy of it: lower yourself and you will be lifted up.  It's got that wonderful "God's wisdom is man's foolishness" aspect to it. 

But I also love it because of the many meanings of the word "humble".  It means all of the following ~ {and maybe even more, if you choose to adjust the wording slightly} :

• to be modest, or consider oneself of low importance
• of low social or political rank
• without pretension or grandeur
• to lower someone in dignity or importance
• to decisively defeat someone, particularly someone previously thought superior
• to accept humiliation
• to lower one's own pride or rank

the word comes from the Latin humilis: "low, lowly" and humus: "ground"

So with all of that being said, what does this verse mean to you?

I think, when I was younger, I thought it was just about not being proud.  Be modest, and then God will exalt you. 

But then I came to a point where the emphasis in the verse seemed to be on the word "yourself".  That you have to bring yourself down, before He would bring you up.  Not just being humble in exaltation, like a celebrity who stays grounded.  Or not just staying level while being exalted, but actually lowering oneself.  I think this understanding of the verse came to me about the same time that I realized the origin of the word ~ low and ground.  It paints a picture of submissiveness; of bowing before the greater knowledge and wisdom of God; of realizing I have nothing ~ nothing ~ on which to base my pride in myself.  Because anything in me that's worthy of being proud of, is not me.  It's Him in me. 

But recently I had a new thought.  All of a sudden the verse took on another nuance.  It still includes the idea of my being willing.  That's key to understanding "humble yourself".  But this concept also includes His involvement, but to a greater extent.  It's the idea of not just humbling myself and then enjoying the spiritual exaltation that follows, but of allowing Him to humble me.  That's submission.  Humbling myself not just to a level that I choose, but to His wisdom.

It's sort of like when a house needs a major remodel.  First, they might have to destroy much of it.  Like pulling down drywall, or taking off the roof, or pulling up the flooring.  There has to be demolition before there can be renovation.

So what might that be?  What sort of humbling might I be agreeing to?  Hard to say.  That's the scary part.  The mind boggles at the possibilities.  And the heart quakes.

Would you ~ will you ~ allow yourself to be lowered... hurt... wounded... so that you can be lifted up?

He did it for you.

"What is man, that You should exalt him,

that You should set Your heart on him?"

Job 7:17