Stain and Nails, Jesus Bought our Redemption

[Mrs. Warrior]

We recently selected the hardwood flooring for the sun room my son and husband are building. We chose solid hickory for our new addition. We already stained the knotty white pine boards on the walls and painted the ceiling a light spruce green.

My husband and son were talking about a nail gun that would be strong enough to drive all the way through the wood flooring without damaging it. As I was sitting looking at how the stain made the patterns in the heartwood and knots of the wall boards I saw how the contrasting patterns and figures in the wood became more vivid from the stain.

Through a gentle whisper to my soul, Jesus reminded me that in order to break the curse of sin, how women who had to labor to bring forth children and men who had to do back breaking work to get the land to produce provision there had to be a reconciliation, a payment and a payer because God Almighty is Righteous and Just and Merciful.

At the cross there was a nail standing between mankind and hell. It was His love to forgive, to save, to become a Father to lost and orphaned children. Jesus who knew no sin, who did no sin, became sin for us all. He said “drive that nail in I will hang on this cross”. His broken and bloodied body was offered for all mankind, but more importantly, for each of us if we would only accept the payment made for us and in our stead. This substitution is what stops us from sliding down that slippery slope to hell,what pulls our souls from spiritual death and sin; where Love asks, “lay down your sin, enter in to the heavenly kingdom where God's love, light and children for eternity begin”?

As believers, no longer having to carry our sorrows, sins and sickness, we can become light-hearted and free to run into the world, to explore the roads that lead us to wonders and miracles of His Creation, to learn to let love be the blossoming flower that was waiting for the warmth of the Son; to let it break through the winter frost of our former condition, and no longer have to fold and protect ourselves but to open in awakening, to embrace, to glorify God while in this world waiting for springs first embrace!

[sauropod]

Redeemed bkmk.

[Pilgrim's Progress]

“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

“For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).