Advent Alphabet - "R" - "Redeemer"

“Their redeemer is strong: the Lord of hosts is His name. He will surely and thoroughly plead their case and defend their cause.” (Jeremiah 50:34) When I was a child and until about 40 years ago we collected “green stamps” when we bought anything from a cooperating store. After we filled our “green stamp” book/s we could take them to a “redemption” center where we could exchange our stamp books for a desired item on the shelf or in the catalog. This analogy gives a “down to earth” (although not complete) picture of how we have been redeemed by the blood that He gave - that redemption plan started with that baby in a manger. Because we were “slaves” to sin and could not free ourselves, a ransom had to be paid for our freedom. The will and plan of the Father was to have a perfect, sinless sacrifice to pay for our ransom; and Jesus being willing to pay the ransom price, which was His blood on the cross; the plan was “finished.” All who will accept that ransom price of Jesus’ blood, then you will be free from the bondage of sin. “So if the Son liberates you and makes you free, then you are really free” (John 8:36). You are free from the bondage of “having” to sin (you can’t help yourself), and free from the fearful things to come for all who have not been redeemed. So live as free people, without employing your freedom as a pretext for wickedness; but live at all times as servants of God (I Peter 2:16). A famous American scientist once said, “If you want to send an idea, wrap it up on a person.” This is exactly what God did at Bethlehem. He sent unto our lost world the saving truth of His grace, wrapped up in a virgin-born baby…a baby who, in manhood said, “I AM the TRUTH.” An anonymous author, in commenting on this One baby has written, “Longfellow could take a worthless sheet of paper, write a poem on it and make it worth $6,000.00…that is genius! Rockefeller can sign his name to a piece of paper and make it worth millions…that is capital! A mechanic can take a piece of metal worth $5.00 and make an article worth $20.00…that is skill! An artist can take a cheap piece of canvas, paint a picture on it and make it worth $l,000,000.00…that is art! The Lord Jesus Christ can take a worthless life, put His Spirit into it and make it both a blessing to humanity and fit for citizenship in Heaven…that is redemption! The apostle Paul, realizing the truth of this, was inspired to write in II Corinthians 5:17, “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation; old things pass away; behold, all things become new.” And this is what redemption is all about! (Anonymous) Blog address: http://lightfrommywindow.blogspot.com