On Redemption

What another whirlwind of a week... God has already started to answer my scary prayer for change and has begun to chip away more of that part of me that I just despise. The prideful part, the joyless part, the despairing part of me.

In the last six weeks, I've been learning a lot about redemption. Actually, six weeks ago, I can't say that I really knew what that word even meant. And I still can't give you a book definition of it... but if you want one of those, man, go get a dictionary.

This week I watched/listened to Mark Driscoll's six-part study on the book of Ruth, called Redeeming Ruth. I had read through the book of Ruth once or twice before, but definitely didn't "get it" the way I do now. The whole story paints a picture of Ruth leaving her old way of life and trusting in God to redeem her.

I don't really know how to put all the stuff I soaked up this week into beautiful prose, so I'm just going to type out some things I wrote down in my notes...


On God...
-- God really is BIG, sovereign, and really, really in charge.
-- God is GOOD!
-- God is BIGGER than sin and He can redeem even the worst of it
-- God uses our suffering to sanctify us, and can use our sin to cause us to obey him more readily
-- God works through ME!
-- God does not bless sin, but he does use it for good
-- God is my Father
-- God loves me
-- God will bless me


On myself...
-- I am aiming to have character like Ruth... she's a hard worker, she runs to God in hardship instead of away from him, she loves her friends, gets connected, reads her Bible, prays, and tries to live righteously.
-- I do not offer a "path of least resistance" to Boaz, either
-- I do not--ever--want to be married to a dude who can't figure anything out
-- I want to live in a way that prepares me for the deepest desires of my heart

On the future "Dude of Dudes"... (my Boaz)
-- he will see me as worthy, as Boaz saw Ruth
-- protector and defender
-- has stuff figured out, and if he doesn't, he'll find a way TO figure it out
-- he won't be just looking for a woman who has followed a path of least resistance
-- he'll have an "end-game"
-- he won't be intimidated by any obstacle that stands between us
-- he won't be able to live without me :-)
-- he is a kind, prayerful man
-- he gets things done
-- he will talk to me
-- loves Jesus, and has a job


On "religion"...
-- it is the enemy of redemption
-- it says "if I obey, God will love me"
-- it says that there are good and bad people
-- it tells me that it is all about what I do
-- it never leads to joy or humility... only pride and despair


On "redemption"...
-- it says "God loves you"... period
-- it says that I can love God back
-- There are no good people, only bad people........and Jesus
-- redemption only cares about my new birth
-- it tells me that its NOT about what i've done, but about what JESUS has done
-- it's a gift that Jesus paid for


What else...
-- its not good fortune or luck, or happenstance, or karma... it's God's providence
-- Good legacy > good time
-- taking a risk is not foolish
-- sometimes we need to answer our own prayers... we ask God to do something and sometimes fail to notice when he has already equipped us to do it ourselves


sooooo... that's a lot of stuff. i think the biggest thing is that God is going to use me. I've got this weeeeiiiird feeling inside, not a bad weird, a good weird... I'm anxious and excited and nervous and a bit scared to see how God's gonna work His providence through me.