He Paid the Cost for My Life

But God said, "Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine." Isaiah 43:1

Mel Gibson didn't want to pay his $2 million ransom, but Jesus paid it.
Ransom: money that is paid in order to free someone who is kidnapped or captured.

We were all captured by sin, but Jesus paid the price to set us free. Jesus was and is the ultimate ransom.
Because He paid for our lives so that we could be reconnected to Him, there is no reason to fear. Jesus will never leave us. Why would someone pay the hefty price for your life and then leave your side?

On the contrary, when a child is taken for ransom and a parent pays the cost, the parent holds that child even closer. The parent doesn't want the child to leave their side for the chance that they may be taken again.

So too, God will never leave our sides. He holds us so tight because He doesn't want to lose us again. Our God is a jealous God. And so He ransomed His life to free us and now He holds us tight, defending us, guarding us, doing whatever has to be done to keep us from being captured again.

When you know that Jesus has paid the price for your ransom, would you stay with your captors? Will you stay tied up in imprisonment or will you run to your savior who set you free? Once your in your saviors arms, would you look back?

Jesus paid your ransom. Be obedient to Him and live free of fear from being captured again. Let Him protect you. The debt is paid.

It's Going Down in 2014! Turn Up!

" But forget the former things; do not dwell in the past -- it is nothing compared to what I am going to do. For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?"  -Isaiah 43:18  (NLT emphasis added)

"If He did it before, He will do it again. Same God right now. Same God back then." These are the lyrics from the chorus of one of my favorite songs of 2013 (Tye Tribbett's Same God). But those lyrics will have to be remixed in 2014 because God is about to blow our minds.

The lyrics are absolutely true, but we dwell so much on what God did in the past that we start to put Him in a box.  We limit what God can do because we pray small prayers. We think low, even when we try to think high. God thinks above and beyond our thoughts. God does miracles.

You dream, "God will give me money to pay off my students loans."
God dreams, "I will make her student loan debt disappear."

You dream, "God will get this Obamacare web site to work for  me so I can get  health insurance to buy my blood pressure medicine."
God dreams, "I will remove high blood pressure from him, his children, and his children's children so there will be no need for the medicine."

You dream, "I will get an entry level position at the IT company of my choice."
God dreams, " I will help her open her own IT company that will help local businesses in her area."

Our prayers are so small in comparison to what God really wants to do for us. God wants to do a new thing in 2014. His new thing is stifled by our small imaginations. Don't put God in a box. Get ready for His new thing. It has already begun and if you aren't watching you will miss it.