Redemmed

Some of you may not have heard of the Christian recording group Big Daddy Weave. Yes, you read that correctly. Well, they have a wonderful song called Redeemed. The first verse and the chorus are below.

Seems like all I could see was the struggle
Haunted by ghosts that lived in my past
Bound up in shackles of all my failures
Wondering how long is this gonna last
Then You look at this prisoner and say to me
“Son, stop fighting a fight that's already been won”

(Chorus)
I am redeemed
You set me free
So I'll shake off theses heavy chains
And wipe away every stain
Now I'm not who I used to be
I am redeemed
I am redeemed

The Scriptures put it this way. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. . .Reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ[1].

Do not live as people stuck in the past! You are no longer the slave of sin and death. You have been redeemed. You do not need to crawl like the lowest servant into the presence of the king. You may enter as one of his own children, an heir of the kingdom of God.

If we are no longer prisoners, why do we walk along our Christian journey bound by the chains of our past? We live free. We live victoriously. We live eternally. We live forgiven.

Pastor Craig

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[1] Romans 6:5-6,11

Forgiveness

So, how do we do this whole forgiveness thing? I ask because, like many of you, I really need to know. I ask because I believe that, somehow, the quality of my relationship with Jesus Christ is linked to my relationship to those around me. If I have problems giving and receiving forgiveness with those around me, might I not have problems receiving and understanding forgiveness and restoration through Jesus Christ for myself?

We pray Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. Do we believe that? Do we forgive others as though our own forgiveness depended on it?

I think much of the time we just don’t know how to get started. Most of the time, we ask forgiveness for things we do accidentally. Those are easy. We trip and drop a plate at a friend’s dinner party breaking a piece of their china. Our apology is out almost before the plate hits the floor. We offer to buy another one. We go to the store and look for the same pattern, and, even though we are shocked by the price when we find it, we order a new one and take it to our friend because we want to restore the relationship.

However, it seems that we find it hardest to confess our sins when they are purposefully committed against someone else. That might be because they were done with intention. We meant to hurt. We meant to embarrass. We wanted to cause pain. It is just that we don’t want to admit that we are the kind of person who could do those things intentionally.

Mark 7:21-23 says, For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these things come from within, and defile the man. It is difficult for us to admit that all these things flow out of our own heart. It is so much more comfortable to blame them on any outside influence. We just don’t want to admit that those things are part of the way we are.

When we ask forgiveness we admit that this is our nature. We show we need forgiveness and regeneration. It is the difference from saying we made a “mistake” and saying we have committed a sin, a hurtful act. Forgiveness cannot begin until we know that we are in need of redemption. However, forgiveness is completed when we accept redemption and restoration through Jesus Christ.

Pastor Craig

The Message of the Church?

What is the message of the church? It seemed very clear to first century Christians. They scattered across the known world, and a little bit beyond, to tell people that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ had removed the curse of the Garden of Eden and made it possible for humanity to be restored to its Creator.

When we look around our part of the world it seems that there are churches everywhere. Everyone we know belongs somewhere, even if the seldom attend. So, is the mission of Christ to the Western world complete? Can we say as Christ said on the cross, “It is finished!”? I hardly think so.

Unfortunately, we live in a society that is so overrun with religious language and messages that we become oblivious to them. People wear crosses as jewelry without any thought of the message of the cross and little effort to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ. What if cross wearing was a punishable offense? Would most of us still hold onto our jewelry? Or, would we abandon it as easily as we do our faith for convenience?

I say “We” because it would be easy to point to celebrities and famous people who pray before performances or point heavenward after the performance of some athletic feat but don’t back up talk with walk! In reality, “they” are “we.” If our lives were put on screen for some reality TV show, how would our witness stand up in our local community?

James 3:9-10 says, With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. It may be that something as simple as our language, I don’t necessarily mean language free from curse words, shows what is really in our heart. When we do nothing but condemn, what does it say about our heart? Even Jesus, when confronted by the worst of sinners, saved his strongest condemnation for the religious hypocrites of his day.

The Gospel, from the first Church all the way to our church, is this. Jesus heals broken people. You and I are broken ourselves. We are surrounded by broken people. There are people caught in addictions of all kinds, a behavior that controls them and will not let them live free. Those closest to us may live amid a tattered landscape of broken relationships, families living in the same house that are separated as far as the East is from the West. There are people who can see nothing good in themselves because they have been told that they are worthless for their entire life.

We carry the good news to those people. We offer the love and compassion of Jesus Christ to them. Our message is not a simple repent and believe, but one of come and be made whole. Yes, that wholeness may involve a large portion of repentance, but wholeness comes as one broken person reaches out in forgiveness and love to another broken person and calls them family!

Pastor Craig