Tag Archives: redemption

Finally Free

“If the Son has set us free, then we must be free indeed…..”  The words reverberated in the car, bounced off the windows, absorbed into the leather seats, filling my heart.

Free. I’m free! The song by Nichole Nordemon, Finally Free, is one of my favorites. I sing along with Nichole, allowing myself to experience the feeling of wonder as the lyrics sink into my soul. Redemption is not just a word…it is the breath of life.

How many of us spend our days feeling chained? Chained to the lies of the Deceiver? The thoughts that worm their way into our hearts. The words that break our hearts. Who has never thought that he/she is not good enough? Smart enough? Beautiful enough?  The self talk stabs at the spirit, and leaks pain…and the manacles tighten, bruising the flesh.

Who has ever felt broken by their past? Lost to their future? Scared of the unknown? Tired of the decisions that turned out to be the wrong ones. Frustrated by the plans that did not see fruition.

Chained.

Thank God, Christ broke the chains. The chains from my past that hung on me and weighed me down…the chains of uncertainty for my days that lay ahead, and the chains of negative self talk. He considers me worthy. The chains that bound me fast, are broken, laying on the ground around me. I step away…and step towards Him.

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Galations 5:1  NIV

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No chain is strong enough
No choice is wrong enough
No mountain high enough that He
can’t climb

No shadow dark enough
No night is black enough
No road is lost enough that He can’t find

And if the Son has set us free
Then we must be, free indeed
Let the chains fall away, starting today
Everything has changed
I’m finally free

No pain is deep enough
No heart could bleed enough
Nothing but Jesus’ love can make a way

And if the Son has set us free
Then we must be, free indeed
Let the chains fall away, starting today
Everything has changed
I’m finally free! 

—-Finally Free by Nichole Nordemon

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Redemption

The Cross

Bonnie, at Faith Barista, posed this question for today… Share something new you’re learning in your relationship with Jesus? Click on the Faith Barista graphic in my right side bar to find out what others are learning.

As I walk toward Easter, I am reminded of the price that was paid..for me. For you. For us all. May this story never grow old.

When others look at me, this is what they see.

I’m a 42, almost 43 year old, middle class, female.

I’m a follower of Jesus Christ. I believe the Bible is God‘s word to the world.

I’m college educated.

I am a former special education teacher, turned home school mom.

I shop at Walmart and Aldi‘s. I drive a mini van.

I crave organization and stability.

I love dogs. I’m learning to love cats.

I hate spiders and mice. Mice even more than spiders. That’s why it helps to have cats.

I grew up in the country. Then I lived in the city. Now I’m back in the country…and I love it. I shop at Tractor Supply.

I was married….then widowed…then married again. I informed my new husband he better not die on me….or at least live to 120.

I am a mom. Some days I am a good one…other days…um…not so much. I never stop trying.

I love Fall. October is my favorite month.

I’m a voracious reader. I enjoy talk radio. I love to decorate and create. I love sweaters and socks. They are sort of my “thing”.

I have a flair for the dramatic.

I’m nostalgic about “Americana”.

I have several pet peeves that really get on my nerves.

I’m a fairly decent cook. My favorite food is loaded nachos. My favorite drink is southern style sweet tea.

I am a writer. Blogger. Note taker. Chart keeper. Folder filer.

I love to tell stories……..

There is more to my story.

I struggle with selfishness.

Sometimes I say things that would be better left unsaid. Me and my big mouth.

I don’t forget things. I can hold a grudge. Bitterness creeps in.

I want do-overs, if I don’t like how things are turning out the first time around.

I like to have control of situations.

I tend towards perfectionism….which can be insidious.

Patience is not a virtue that I have mastered. Resentments are real.

Sometimes I yell.  Sometimes I get quiet.

At times, I like to be by myself. In my own space.

People can overwhelm.

I want to be left alone.

I am a sinner in desperate need of a Savior.

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

Romans 6:23a  “…The wages of sin is death…”

Romans 6:23b  “…But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

The thorns gouging into the skin…

The beard plucked…

Being spit on and mocked…

Nailed to a rough wooden cross…the pain too horrid to imagine.

Thirsty. Can’t breathe. Even the smallest movement excruciating.

He was innocent. He could have called an army of angels to save Him from this.

But He didn’t.

Because He knew. He knew that my sin required a sacrifice. Blood. His blood. For me. Redemption.

Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Luke 23:34 NIV

Romans 5:8,  “God demonstrates His own love for us, in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us!”

Standing at the foot of the cross on that dark day….

***Join me tomorrow as I finish the story.***

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God’s Story

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Life has joy mixed with sorrow. Incredible highs punctuated with incredible lows. Births and marriages. Smiles and friendships, scattered amongst deaths, chronic illness, financial challenges and broken promises.

There are so many people that I know that are going through difficult times. People that are hurting because life has handed them situations that seem almost impossible to handle.

*Family members that continue to fight through treatments to rid their bodies of cancer. Their bodies are tired.

*A friend whose husband has to face early onset Alzheimers in his 40’s…and she has to watch it.  It seems so unfair.

*A friend of a friend who woke up yesterday morning to find her teen had passed away during the night. And a mother’s heart breaks.

*A woman from my home school group who said goodbye to her husband one morning in early November, he died hours later in an accident. And she is lonely.

* A mother who has three children and all three children are on the autism scale. She feels overwhelmed.

*Friends whose hearts are broken because of divorce. And they feel like failures.

*Financial devastation. Lost jobs. Foreclosures. And they are scared.

It’s easy to love God when life is going well. When the bills are paid, the house is warm, and the family is safe. How do I feel about Him when life is hard and seems unfair to me? I thought I wasn’t supposed to get more than I could handle? WHERE IS GOD?!

Not being able to get pregnant again after my only child. A first husband who died from a chronic illness. A father who chose to take his own life. A second husband who lost his job of 22 years. Pain. Broken dreams. Confusion. Scared. I have been there.

Life isn’t fair. I said it out loud. It tastes bitter in my mouth. I gag on the pain of saying it. And yet it is true.

Bad things happen to good people. Bad things happen to bad people. Good things happen to both. It really doesn’t make any sense by itself.

Each of our lives must be looked at in the scope of eternity. Each of our lives is but a chapter in God’s great story of redemption. When we just “read” our chapter, most of the time it doesn’t make sense by itself. It seems jumbled and confusing. And not fair. It is impossible for us to fully understand how we fit into the story…how our chapter is interwoven with others.

But God does. He knows. His story began before time. He is an exceptional and deliberate writer. He sees each smile, and marks every tear. As He penned the story He already knew how it would end. Each of us is a part of His grand story of redemption. In light of His son, Jesus Christ, everything begins to make sense. It is Jesus that makes this story special. And real. And alive.

It is He, that is the main character in God’s story of redemption. The reader begins to see the central theme of God’s story is love.

Love for a hurting and dying world.

 

 

 

 

 

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