Post Eighteen: Trust?

creekside

Do I trust Him?

Do I believe in a good God?

Post Eleven: Chains and Strings

rusted chains

I hear the voice of the Lord, whispering softly, urgently:

The strings are cut. This is live. This is real. This is Me, pursuing you.

Post Nine: Living as One

sublimity

Perhaps I need to dive more into the character of God for another day-- or twelve. One day and one chapter may not be enough. During this process, I am asking, When I say, thy will be done, do I mean it?

These are the dreams of my Partner:

I thought to myself, How wonderful it would be to treat you like children and give you a beautiful land, an inheritance unrivaled among the nations. And I thought, You will call me father, and you won't turn away from me.

This is His promise:

Return, unfaithful Israel, declares the Lord. I won't reject you, for I'm faithful, declares the Lord; I won't stay angry forever.

from Jeremiah 3

I encourage you to do this as well, to supplement what is given here.

Post Eight: Knowing our Partner

viewpoint

Psalm 111-


Praise the Lord!
 I will thank the Lord with all my heart
      as I meet with his godly people.
 How amazing are the deeds of the Lord!
      All who delight in him should ponder them.
 Everything he does reveals his glory and majesty.
      His righteousness never fails.
 He causes us to remember his wonderful works.
      How gracious and merciful is our Lord!
 He gives food to those who fear him;
      he always remembers his covenant.
 He has shown his great power to his people
      by giving them the lands of other nations.
 All he does is just and good,
      and all his commandments are trustworthy.
 They are forever true,
      to be obeyed faithfully and with integrity.
 He has paid a full ransom for his people.
      He has guaranteed his covenant with them forever.
      What a holy, awe-inspiring name he has!
 Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true wisdom.
      All who obey his commandments will grow in wisdom.
 Praise him forever!

Post Two: Redemption Defined

No Entry

We, as Christians, believe Christ redeemed our lives with His death on the Cross. We speak of the redeeming power of the blood of Christ, but do we know what this means? 

I suppose if I am going to do a blog series on Redemption, I should define the word. Besides, I am an editor of English reference books, so its in my nature to want to define things. Today's entry will be simple definitions:

Redemption means:

1. the state of being redeemed (yeah, need to define this further, so see below)

2. deliverance (this too!); rescue from sin 

3. salvation (protection from harm)

4. atonement for guilt

5. repurchase, as of something sold

Redeem means:

1. to pay off

2. to buy back

3. to exchange

Deliverance means:

1. salvation

2. liberation

3. a thought or judgment expressed; an authoritative pronouncement

A synonym for redemption is "ransom." I always think of the movies with the rich, heiress hostages and the cute police officers who negotiate a way to free the beautiful, smart hostage and capture the evil psychopathic kidnapper. Ransom is mostly used nowadays in a monetary sense. But the meaning is basically the same as redemption. Think of Christ's blood as the ransom to free us from sin's bondage. 

An antonym for redemption is "abandon." In difficult times, this is exactly what we think God has done, isn't it? 

But I am getting ahead of myself...

October: Redemption

For the month of October, I will be on a visual, literary, and Biblical journey here on Sea and Islands. I will ask hard questions regarding redemption. I want to know how the Lord is working out redemption in my life. I want to know where the ransom is for our aching souls. I want to know where God is in the earthquakes, the hurricanes, the stillborn children, the violent wars.

I do not know where this will take me. Tune in to find out...

[And feel free to ask your own questions and add your own observations, of course.]