redemption  I’m trying to understand exactly what that means…

ok, so God gave us Jesus, so that whoever might believe in Him could have forgiveness for their sins and eternal life.

He redeemed us.

why believe ???

I guess I kind of understand this one now…

IF I believe our Heavenly Father is going to do me right…

Believe… that’s another big word… like redemption… bigger that one might expect…

HOW do we believe ???

I believe it’s worth putting some thought into…

and back to Redemption… what EXACTLY does that mean?

I can pretend that I know, but do I really understand it?

Maybe… but only slightly… I’m growing and learning…

Getting to know God is overwhelmingly relational. While He is constant and never-changing, getting to know Him is not like memorizing a list of facts, or studying a simple textbook, or even the Bible.

The Bible doesn’t lend itself to that type of exercise. For instance, have you ever read a Bible verse and later in time found that the same verse meant something completely different to you? It’s not like getting to know God is like reading a bullet-item list… the Bible helps but you have to really marinate in it… to get it.

I believe that God wants us to get it…

I believe that God wants us…

God’s pursuit of mankind has been relentless…

1st Attempt:

The story of Adam & Eve, placed in a utopia called the Garden of Eden… they had it all… enter the serpent… and through the evil one’s temptation came the fall of mankind (i.e., WE BLEW IT) 

2nd Attempt:

God sent mankind out into the world… and through many trials and tribulations… continually… WE BLEW IT. Enter Noah, a man in whom God was well pleased. Noah believed, and in faith… having never even seen rain before… built an ark… and God decided to start over…

 
3rd Attempt:

Jesus enters the picture, and we’re now living in the time of grace. Jesus came and died for our sins, and what did we do? We continued to sin. God knew we were going to blow it again, so He made it even easier for us… just believe, He’ll give us an out for most everything else. If we just BELIEVE (there’s that 7-letter B-word again)… and live by the Word.

As God knows all, He surely knew what was going to happen at the fall of man, when Adam and Eve ate of the tree of good and evil. He knew He had to give us our free will, the power to choose to gain unconditional love. The only kind of love that really matters.

He knew the 1st and 2nd Attempts would be futile, and, for many of us, unfortunately, the 3rd attempt would be futile as well.

I believe it’s really all about knowing Him.

Knowing God is extremely relational…

I want to know more…

about God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit…

but will I really ever understand it?

Will I really understand what it means to be redeemed?

I want to… because to know Him is a gift…

and to know Him is to love Him.

And that, more than anything else, that is what I BELIEVE this life is all about.

What does it mean to you to be redeemed?

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