Return to Me
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I Have Set You Free
Isa 44:22 I have swept away your sins like a cloud. I have scattered your offenses like the morning mist. Oh, return to me, for I have paid the price to set you free.”
The NLT Version translates "redeemed you" as "I have paid the price to set you free", which expresses the heart of redemption. God pays the full price to deliver us from the bondage of our old way of living to the freedom of His New Life. We are baptized into Christ, adopted into the family of God, and promised victory over the wickedness that opposes us. And all this because of the redemptive victories of Christ.
Isa 44:22 God calls His people to return to Him. He is not obligated to call them; He is not obligated to forgive them. He could let them go their own way. But because He is their Father, He loves them, and chooses to call them back to a relationship with Himself. God uses the concept of redemption to communicate that He is the One who has purchased our return ticket; He, Himself, pays the full price of our restoration.
The foundation of redemption is blood, which makes every part of redemption a work of Christ. Without blood, there would be no such thing as victory over our enemies, no restoration, and no forgiveness. The blood of Jesus is the only currency that can pay our debt. This is why God says, "I have swept away your sins like a cloud.”
Redemption is real and the wise person will step out of their sinfulness into the transforming work of Christ. Redemption is God's work from front to back and the only way we can be truly free from the stranglehold of our sins. Think about it, the whole purpose of the Cross is to redeem us from sinfulness to righteousness, and from death to life. Why not drink deeply of the body and blood of Christ, why not fill yourself with the healing mercies of God. Redemption brings us out of bondage to the devil - remember, Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil, 1John 3:8.
Redemption cannot be earned. It is a gift purchased by blood and given to all who believe. You cannot redeem yourself; you cannot make yourself pure. You cannot free yourself from the guilt or power of sin. You can change your clothes but not your heart. You can put on new behavior but cannot change what you are. Only the Spirit of Christ can make you free from who and what you are. If Christ is not in you then there is no freedom and no new Life in you.
The scriptures teach the blood of Jesus alone has the power to transform our life. Jesus said if we will eat and drink His blood then we would be have His life in us. Only by faith in Christ can we be given a new mind, a new heart, and a new Spirit. Without inward change, there is no real change at all. Without inward change, all other change is superficial. Real change is from God alone. This is why the scripture says, “I have paid the price to set you free.”
If we could cleanse ourselves, we would not need God or His redemptive work. Clearly, without God, our sins become our ruin. It’s easy to think we can change; it is easy to think we can stop sinning whenever we choose. We think we can change only until we try to change. Once we try to change, we soon learn we have played the fool, and our foot is caught. We find without God’s power we are powerless to change. Without God's power, we just kick the can down the road. Without God's power, we stay the same old person, keep the same old heart, but occasionally dressing up in a new suit! It is the redemptive work of Jesus that breaks this endless cycle of working with no real change.
Redemption speaks to us. It says, I have made provision for you. Come to me and I will fix you. I am from God and my purpose is to make you whole. My purpose is to set you free. I have the power to heal you. If you come to Me, I will fix you on the inside.
Though your sins be as scarlet they will be white as snow is a promise showing the power of redemption to restore a life from great sinfulness to great righteousness. Sin can tattoo our heart with darkness, but the blood of Jesus, will deliver our soul and create in us a new heart - one that is "whiter than snow."
You can be free. You don’t have to stay in your sins, you don't have to continue the same old hopeless way of living. If you are willing, you can confess and forsake your sins and according to scripture you will receive mercy. Sins have no inherent power to hold us, they have only the power we give them. Jesus destroyed the power of sin for every man, and he bids us come to Him that we might receive His victory. If Jesus make you free then you will be free indeed!
Sins will destroy the person who refuses to confess and forsake his/her sins. The nature of sin is to steal, kill, and destroy. It may promise a fulfilled life, it may give profound pleasure, that is until its poison deadens the soul. Sin can appear beautiful, but like a serpent it is beautiful only until it bites you. We all have been bitten by this foul serpent, but Jesus is God's anti-venom to all who will look to Him.
God says “whosoever will call on the Name of the Lord will be saved”. Today, you can be free. There is nothing stopping you from receiving the redemptive work of Christ.
Listen to the promise:
Isa 44:22 I have swept away your sins like a cloud. I have scattered your offenses like the morning mist. Oh, return to me, for I have paid the price to set you free.”
If you know a person who is caught in their sins, who wants to be free but for whatever reason cannot escape. Share/send this message with them. Show them that Christ sets them free.
God bless you,
Jim
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