Theme:   People of the Second Chance - Breaking Down Walls With Grace

This eDevotional was written by a volunteer from Timberlake Church.

READ:  John 12:23-26; Galatians 2:20

THINK: The primary message of the gospel is redemption. But the word redemption is not something we use in everyday language. I thought of the word “redemption” while watching the seventh game of the World Series. And I think of the word, “redeem” when I use a coupon for a discount on a great pair of boots. But I think I may be missing the full scope of the word. Let’s find out what it means. To redeem means to “win or to buy back.” It means that something has been lost and it takes some kind of action in order to get it back.  

If we have not come to Jesus yet, God sees us as lost, and far away from Him. But the message of the bible is that we can’t redeem ourselves. Nothing we can do can bring us closer to God. But Jesus is able to “win or buy back” God’s lost and dying world. John 3:16 says,

“God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son
so that whoever believes in him may not be lost, but have eternal life.”

Jesus talks about redemption another way in John 12:24,

“I tell you the truth, a grain of wheat must fall to the ground and
die to make many seeds. But if it never dies, it remains only a single seed.”

Sometimes we have to let something die in order for God to redeem it and make it live. Maybe it is a dream or a hope or a wish, something to which we are holding too tight. Maybe it is that grain of wheat that we need to surrender and bury so that God can redeem it and make it grow. We cannot make something grow. But we can surrender it, let go of it and let God grow it, redeem it, reproduce it in the way He sees fit.

Though surrendering things we care about is a challenging task, we can be sure that God has something in store that far exceeds our plans, dreams and wishes. Ephesians 1:7 says

“In Him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins,
 in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.”

DO: Write down one thing that you will hold with an open hand for God to do what He wishes.

PRAY: God, help me to have a deeper understanding of Your redeeming power and grace. Help me to surrender the things I hold tightly to so that You can take them and redeem them for Your glory. Amen!