God is amazing. He is our Father, our Immanuel, our indwelling Spirit. He sits on the throne as Ruler of all, and He is our Savior and our Forgiver.

I found studying and praying through these roles of God last week expanded my vision of my Lord. I need to get Him OUT of ANY box I ever placed Him. He is uncontainable. Unboxable. And yet, He is knowable. Amazing.

Keep praising Him with me through 31 straight days. Just think of how many facets of our precious Jesus we will want learn, which will serve to increase our thankfulness for Him.

WHO is God? My Redeemer. WHAT does God do? He redeems! Today, lets thank Him for being our Redeemer.

As my Savior and my Forgiver, Jesus dealt with my sin- receiving its judgement and washing its stain.  When the Lord saves and forgives me, He offers redemption.

Redemption enriches my understanding of salvation. I had been taken captive by my sin nature, and then Jesus found me, paid my ransom, and set me free. The picture of redemption highlights my helplessness and the Lord’s active saving.

The Lord has always been His people’s Redeemer. And His desire to rescue flows from His great lovingkindness.

• O Israel, hope in the LORD; For with the LORD there is lovingkindness, And with Him is abundant redemption. And He will redeem Israel From all his iniquities. (Psalm 130:7-8 NASB)

I get myself in a pickle rather often. My sin rushes out of my mouth, and I react with harshness. I ignore with laziness. I hoard with worldliness. I am held tightly in the enemy’s territory, and though I try to escape, I can’t find my way out. But my Redeemer rescues and transfers me from that dark place to His Kingdom. How do I say thank you enough for that freedom?

• For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:13-14 NASB)

My Redeemer pays for my freedom with His own blood. It is the most sacrificial ransom, and completes the transaction voluntarily. All that is left for me to do is receive His gift and say thank you.

• In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us. (Ephesians 1:7-8a NASB)

No matter how deep a pit I get myself into, it not deeper than my Redeemer reaches. Not only does He lift me out and set me on solid ground, but He crowns me with love and compassion. That is full restoration, my friend. How grateful I am that He loves me so extravagantly.

• Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget none of His benefits; ... Who redeems your life from the pit, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion; (Psalm 103:2, 4 NASB)

Another area Jesus acts as Redeemer is in my circumstances. The spiritual economy of the Redeemer takes the worst event and causes good to flow from it. No matter how difficult circumstances have been in the past, how sorrowful, costly, or destructive, they are not past usefulness in the hands of the Redeemer. Our redemptive God can ransom the worst situation imaginable for His glory.

• The LORD has done great things for us; we are glad. ... Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him. (Psalm 126:3, 5-6 ESV)

There will be loss in my life. But, I can leave that with my Redeemer who promises to make up (in His way and His time) for the years the locust has eaten.

• "Then I will make up to you for the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the creeping locust, the stripping locust and the gnawing locust, (Joel 2:25 NASB)

The story of Joseph in Genesis is one where one bad thing after another happened at his every turn. Just when things were looking up, another whopper occurred, and he was even worse off. But it all conspired together to put Joseph in just the right place at just the right time to save millions of people. I can place every difficulty, unfairness, or lie in the hands of my Redeemer, thank Him for what He is going to do, and then wait for His resolution.

• As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. (Genesis 50:20 ESV)

Jesus gave Himself to redeem His people. Today let’s thank Him and allow that miraculous redemption to purify us that we might be zealous about His work.

• looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds. (Titus 2:13-14 NASB)

Prayer

Oh Lord, my Redeemer, thank You for paying my ransom. Sometimes I forget how much my salvation cost You. You ransomed me from the punishment I deserved and the slavery I earned. Thank You for not leaving me in the dark territory of my enemy, but granting me citizenship in Your Kingdom of Light.

Your love astounds me. The forgiveness, which I require daily, You freely and lavishly bestow. I am amazed by this love.

Lord, I confess that every time I take my eyes off You and place them on myself, I find myself in trouble. Thank You for redeeming me from the pits I get myself into: The pit of despair, the pit of loneliness, the pit of jealousy, the pit of me, myself & I. From every pit I either place myself or stumble into, You promise deliverance. Thank You for redeeming me when I can’t possibly redeem myself.

Thank You also for redeeming my situations. Lord, thank You that with You there is no loss, helplessness, hopelessness, difficult, or tragedy outside of Your redemptive power. May every problem, big or small, in my life be used to proclaim You to the world.

Lord, there are spots of locust-eating junk in my life. They seem impossible places for glory. But I place them in Your hands and ask You to take over what the enemy meant for evil. May You cause GOOD to redemptively flow in astounding ways.

Thank You for being my Redeemer and placing a crown of lovingkindness on my head. My the crown of Your love proclaim Your name to everyone I meet.

Amen

• Break forth together into singing, you waste places of Jerusalem, for the LORD has comforted his people; he has redeemed Jerusalem. The LORD has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. (Isaiah 52:9-10 ESV)

Dear Friend, I hope today you bask in the glory of redemption. Every time the enemy whispers that your junk is too bad for Jesus to redeem, turn and proclaim, “I am redeemed and EVERY. SINGLE. THING. in my life belongs to my Redeemer and WILL be used for good! So go away!”

Let’s live in the victory and freedom our Lord has purchased for us!

• For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body. (1 Corinthians 6:20 NASB)