Can the wrongs you’ve done in your life ever be forgiven? Can they actually be turned around and used for good? Do you believe God can – and will – do these things for YOU?
From our human perspective, it can be hard to believe this. Yet, we have a loving, compassionate and forgiving God. A God who wants nothing more than for us to come back to Him after we’ve wandered and ask Him to redeem us.
Ask Him to use you, in all your brokenness, for His glory.
In this series, we’ve been looking at some of the ways we typically respond to change and trial, how we often allow the worry and stress to overtake and drown us or we try to run away from the path we find ourselves on. We’re also learning some new tools to help us better face change and trial:
- Deepen our relationship with Jesus and root ourselves firmly in scripture.
- Engage in a Christian community who can support us through the storm.
- Rely on prayer, bringing God into the conversation when you’re facing change and trusting Him to lead you through it.
However, even with all our new tools and better preparation, we’ll still sometimes fall back into old habits. We’ll run away, we’ll allow ourselves to drown in the stress and worry, we’ll fight change.
How do we come back and start again? If you’ve wandered far off the path already, how do you come back and get a fresh start?
God wants us to come home. Like the prodigal son, God is lovingly waiting for us to come back and ask for that fresh start. He wants us to ask for REDEMPTION!
What exactly does redemption mean? Random House Dictionary defines REDEEM as: to fulfill a promise or pledge; to make up for or make amends for some shortcoming or fault; to deliver from sin; to free, liberate, rescue, save.
1) To be redeemed means we’ve done something wrong (sinned) from which we need to be rescued.
We first need to admit our sin. We must own up to the fact that we’ve fallen away from God in some way.
Maybe you’re drowning because you’re not trusting God, putting something else ahead of God. Maybe you’ve turned off a path God laid out before you. Maybe you’ve taken escape too far and brought additional storms (obsessions, addictions, etc) into your life.
Whatever it is, you first need to admit your sin to God and decide you want to be rescued from it.
2) To be redeemed, we need to make amends (apologize).
Once we admit we’ve sinned, we need to apologize.
This one’s critical. Even if you get back on the right path and begin living out your faith, you still need to apologize for where you’ve been. So, no matter how long it’s been since you turned back, if you haven’t apologized yet, start now.
You won’t truly be able to move to the next step until you and God have that conversation.
3) To be redeemed is to be set free.
When we come back – admit our sin and ask for forgiveness – God can do amazing things with us. He forgives us and sets us free.
Do you still carry around a weight of shame over past mistakes? Let God take that away and free you!
Once you’re freed from those burdens, watch what God can do with your story to turn it into something for His glory!
I want to close today with a song. “Come Back Home” from Kutless, written by Sam Mizell & Jeff Pardo. Soak in these words and then spend some time in prayer. Pour out your heart to Jesus today and be freed.
[youtube id=”8-1w3zQaE0k” height=”353″ width=”574″ marginbottom=”15″]
How long till you come to the end of your reckless streak How long till the freedom weighs you down How long till your heart figures out that you need me
How long until you turn around
Redemption Is To Be Set Free! – Prayer & Possibilities
Can the wrongs you’ve done in your life ever be forgiven? Can they actually be turned around and used for good? Do you believe God can – and will – do these things for YOU?
From our human perspective, it can be hard to believe this. Yet, we have a loving, compassionate and forgiving God. A God who wants nothing more than for us to come back to Him after we’ve wandered and ask Him to redeem us.
Ask Him to use you, in all your brokenness, for His glory.
In this series, we’ve been looking at some of the ways we typically respond to change and trial, how we often allow the worry and stress to overtake and drown us or we try to run away from the path we find ourselves on. We’re also learning some new tools to help us better face change and trial:
However, even with all our new tools and better preparation, we’ll still sometimes fall back into old habits. We’ll run away, we’ll allow ourselves to drown in the stress and worry, we’ll fight change.
How do we come back and start again? If you’ve wandered far off the path already, how do you come back and get a fresh start?
God wants us to come home. Like the prodigal son, God is lovingly waiting for us to come back and ask for that fresh start. He wants us to ask for REDEMPTION!
What exactly does redemption mean? Random House Dictionary defines REDEEM as: to fulfill a promise or pledge; to make up for or make amends for some shortcoming or fault; to deliver from sin; to free, liberate, rescue, save.
1) To be redeemed means we’ve done something wrong (sinned) from which we need to be rescued.
We first need to admit our sin. We must own up to the fact that we’ve fallen away from God in some way.
Maybe you’re drowning because you’re not trusting God, putting something else ahead of God. Maybe you’ve turned off a path God laid out before you. Maybe you’ve taken escape too far and brought additional storms (obsessions, addictions, etc) into your life.
Whatever it is, you first need to admit your sin to God and decide you want to be rescued from it.
2) To be redeemed, we need to make amends (apologize).
Once we admit we’ve sinned, we need to apologize.
This one’s critical. Even if you get back on the right path and begin living out your faith, you still need to apologize for where you’ve been. So, no matter how long it’s been since you turned back, if you haven’t apologized yet, start now.
You won’t truly be able to move to the next step until you and God have that conversation.
3) To be redeemed is to be set free.
When we come back – admit our sin and ask for forgiveness – God can do amazing things with us. He forgives us and sets us free.
Do you still carry around a weight of shame over past mistakes? Let God take that away and free you!
Once you’re freed from those burdens, watch what God can do with your story to turn it into something for His glory!
I want to close today with a song. “Come Back Home” from Kutless, written by Sam Mizell & Jeff Pardo. Soak in these words and then spend some time in prayer. Pour out your heart to Jesus today and be freed.
[youtube id=”8-1w3zQaE0k” height=”353″ width=”574″ marginbottom=”15″]
How long till you come to the end of your reckless streak How long till the freedom weighs you down How long till your heart figures out that you need me
How long until you turn around