Freedom Purchased - Deal Closed

JESUS PURCHASED OUR FREEDOM THROUGH HIS BLOOD

He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding. (Ephesians 1:7-8 NLT)

WE ARE SAVED BY GRACE

Grace is God's voluntary and loving favor given to those he saves. We can't earn salvation, nor do we deserve it.

No religious, intellectual, or moral effort can gain it, because it comes only from God's mercy and love. Without God's grace, no person can be saved.

To receive it, we must acknowledge that we cannot save ourselves, that only God can save us, and that our only way to receive this loving favor is through faith in Christ.

Letting Go of the Familiar – No Turning Back

Letting go of the familiar is tough. Changing careers or colleges or moving to a new city can take an emotional toll on us. It's even more difficult to leave behind old habits, attitudes and behaviors.

Lot's wife wasn't able to let go of her home in Sodom, even though God sent angels to warn her family to run for their lives because judgment was coming. In fact, the angels' warnings included such grave commands as "Don't look back" and "Don't stop." Why in the world did this woman choose to stop and look back? Could it be that she loved the life she was leaving too much? Though Sodom was full to overflowing with sin and vice, apparently the dark and oppressive city was comfortably familiar to Lot's wife.

It is difficult to leave the familiar behind. That fact is as true today as it was in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah's destruction—even when God himself is saying, "It's time to move on." If you've ever struggled with a destructive habit, you've felt the pull of the familiar—even as you've sensed God's nudge, "Move on now." You've experienced the temptation to turn back just one more time, for one last look, one last taste, one last "fix"—even as God has whispered, "Don't look back." Maybe you've agonized over a loved one's downward spiral, desperately attempting to rescue them time and time again—until finally God impressed upon you, "Stop. Let go."

Unlike Lot's wife, none of us has ever become a pillar of salt by turning back for one last peek. Yet we all struggle with the difficulties of letting go of the old in order to grasp the new. Take heart. God understands that letting go of the familiar is hard. Yet he has called us to move on to new life in Jesus Christ by letting go of our old worldly lives, our old habits, our old dreams—to boldly move forward without looking back.

When you feel God's call to move, allow him to guide you. He will give you the grace to do whatever he has asked.

(Bible Reading: Genesis 19:1–26)

Are You Convicted by God or Satan?

There are two kinds of conviction: one is a tool of God, the other a tool of Satan.

Satan uses conviction to paralyze you, convincing you that you have no hope of change. He uses it to remind you of your failures long after God has both forgiven and forgotten them. Satan wrongly convicts you to rob you of your joy.

In contrast, God uses conviction to cause you to turn to him for forgiveness and cleansing. He uses conviction to show you your need for a Savior and to draw you to him. So who’s wielding this tool in your life now?

Hosea 5:15

"Then I will return to my lair

until they have borne their guilt

and seek my face—

in their misery

they will earnestly seek me."

Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit

I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe. (John 14:29)

"If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."

Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, "But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?"

Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.

"All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

"You heard me say, 'I am going away and I am coming back to you.' If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe. I will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold on me, but the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me.

"Come now; let us leave. {John 14:15-31 NIV)

---

Clarke's Commentary on the Bible
John 14:29 I have told you before it come to pass - Lest my death should be a stumbling-block to you, I have spoken of it beforehand, and showed you the necessity of it, that when it happens ye may believe, that as I could predict it so clearly, and so circumstantially, so all the good which I have promised shall be the result may be confidently expected by you; and that your sorrow, if not entirely removed, may at least be much mitigated.

---

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
John 14:29 And now I have told you before it came to pass,.... This is a strong proof of his true and proper deity, for none but the omniscient God can tell of things before they come to pass; this is peculiar to him, and distinguishes him from the gods of the Gentiles; see Isaiah 41:22;

that when it is come to pass, ye might believe: that is, that when he was removed from them, and gone to his Father, they might then believe that he was truly God, the Son of God, the promised Messiah; and that he was then in glory, and at the right hand of God.

---

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

John 14:28-31 Christ raises the expectations of his disciples to something beyond what they thought was their greatest happiness. His time was now short, he therefore spake largely to them. When we come to be sick, and to die, we may not be capable of talking much to those about us; such good counsel as we have to give, let us give while in health. Observe the prospect Christ had of an approaching conflict, not only with men, but with the powers of darkness. Satan has something in us to perplex us with, for we have all sinned; but when he would disturb Christ, he found nothing sinful to help him. The best evidence of our love to the Father is, our doing as he has commanded us. Let us rejoice in the Saviour's victories over Satan the prince of this world. Let us copy the example of his love and obedience.

Like a Double-Edged Sword

The Truth Struck Me Like a Double-Edged Sword Still I Yearn for More

When I hear or read the word "Christian" there's one experience from my childhood that brings a light at the back of my mind. Our teacher in catechism asked us the meaning of the word "CHRISTIAN". After we had given our answers, she erased the letters C-H-R-I-S-T leaving the letters I-A-N on the chalkboard.

Then she asked us, "Now that I have taken C-H-R-I-S-T, what was left?"

We answered in chorus, "I-A-N!"

"Do you know what this means?", our teacher asked.

The Great Book Exchange

What must I do to qualify?

Have you done the following?

Christening Baptism Confirmation Praying occasionally Going to church Believing in God Trying to be good

Great! But although these are all good things, none of these can qualify you. These are the popular misconceptions about the "requirements" of God's gift of forgiveness.

There are only two things that you must do to qualify:

The Greatest Love Story Ever

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Have you realized the great sacrifice God made for you? Are you worthy of that sacrifice? Why should Jesus die for you?

 ... because of LOVE

God loves you so much that although you have rejected Him