We forget how blessed we are. In our consumeristic age, we often are so focused on what we need and what we lack to the neglect of what we already have. For those of you who have put your faith in Christ, it means you have been redeemed.

It means you are redeemed from your shame and your failures that you carry around inside, sometimes secretly. There is no longer any need to carry those since Jesus bore those on the cross in your place. His blood forever washed them out of existence.

It means you have more worth than you ever could imagine. You are worth all the agony and torture of the cross, all the sweat and tears, and all the blood poured out at Calvary. Jesus would have gone through every bit of it if only just for you.

It means that you have a fresh, clean start. That whatever is past has passed and the future is now wide-open to all the possibilities God has for you. You get as many second chances as you have breaths in your body. And the ending for you will be a Happily Ever After Forever!

It means that you have a story to tell. And no one will ever be able to argue with your testimony or cast doubt on what Jesus has done for you. The power of a changed life is the best testimony anyone can have, and that power that changed your life is the power that raised Jesus from the dead. That kind of power!

So let your song be a song of Redemption. How you were on a runaway train bound for hell until Jesus came and snatched you up. How you no longer have to fear death or the grave, or let anyone ever hold your past over you, or let them speak condemnation into your life EVER again. May that be your song through endless ages, how Jesus led you all the way from death and despair and hopelessness to triumph and freedom and unfailing hope.

Walk in that freedom. Walk in that victory. Live as the Beloved of God. Because you are all these things and so much more!

Amen and amen!