Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, For His lovingkindness is everlasting. Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the adversary.  Psalm 107:1-2 NASB

To redeem something or someone is defined as compensating for the faults or bad aspects of something, or to do something that compensates for poor past performance or behavior, or atone or make amends for error or evil. It is also defined as regaining possession of something or carrying out a promise or a pledge.

Now when I say I am redeemed, I am saying that God did all of these things for me. You see I had faults and some really bad behaviors, but when I trusted in Him He compensated for those. I also had a history of poor past performance, but again He compensated for that as well. I made lots of mistakes in my life and while I don’t like to describe myself as evil, I could go that way when someone committed a wrong against me. But Jesus atoned for all that when He died on the cross to save me of my sins. He allowed me to regain the shelter and the freedom from sin that I had once had. He carried out God’s promise to save me from my sins. I am redeemed. There is an awesome song out there by Big Daddy Weave entitled I Am Redeemed and well, you know me. Since I began writing this blog, that song is stuck in my head. The chorus says, “I am redeemed. You set me free. So, I’ll shake off these heavy chains and wipe away every stain now that I’m not who I used to be. I am redeemed. I’m redeemed.”

If you don’t feel redeemed, but feel those heavy chains weighing you down, know that they can be removed and you can be set free from the bondage of sin. Know that Jesus paid the price to compensate for our shortcomings. If you have not cried out to Him and trusted Him as your savior, it’s not too late. If you have trusted in Him but have backslidden, know that there is no better time than now to be redeemed.

Jesus Christ gave His life to save you and me. He gave His all. He asks that we give our all to Him (Matthew 22:37). He doesn’t want a portion of our attention. He doesn’t want a half hearted effort to obey His commands, He wants all of our focus. He wants us to stay focused on Him and trust in Him to handle everything else for us. So, are you willing to give Him your all?

There was a time in my life when I wanted to hang on to some of my sin. I just felt that it was impossible for me to live without it. Now that’s a long story that would take up a whole other blog, but the devil will convince us that our sin is necessary and that God will just give us a pass. My friend, that is a big fat lie! Don’t believe it! Sin is sin and it is unacceptable in God’s sight. I had to cry out to God to help me get rid of the sin in my life. I had to give it over to Him. He destroyed the situation in my life that caused my sin in a matter of hours. But within 48 hours, he totally compensated me. I was redeemed. Every since that day which was August 22, 2010, I have been redeemed. God has provided all that I need. God has taken good care of me. He has given me so much more than I gave up. He has blessed me beyond measure.

If you want to be blessed, if you want to be truly redeemed, just give it all to Him. He will break it up, shake it up and make the pieces fall into place. Then you too can say, “I am redeemed.”

Have a great day!