Chapter 7A-Redeemed—From what? For what? And at What price?

The pain was excruciating as they moved me from the stretcher onto the bed. The nurses tried to be as gentile as possible; yet, the pain was sharp and ran deep. I tried to smile and whisper “thank you.” Yet, there was a problem—my only IV site had infiltrated and there was no way to give me any pain medication. The surgery was done to rebuild my abdominal wall with pig fascia. So many surgeries had left my abdomen with nothing to attach the fascia to except my ribs. The surgeon had ever so carefully placed 100s of stitches across the highly innervated ribs. I could barely whisper because any attempt to breath sent pains shooting through my body—my whole body shivered and trembled from the pain. I could not move. The team that places a special IV that runs through a deep vein up to the heart would be coming; but, they were very busy and it would be several hours before they arrived. I closed my eyes to pray as I waited. At first, I prayed that God would ease the pain or hurry the team. Then as I lay there suddenly I remembered how Christ had been beaten with the whips until His ribs lay bare with the flesh torn around them. There had been no hope of pain medications for my Savior and in fact, He would be nailed to a cross He was forced to carry. Suddenly, my pain seemed so trivial in comparison to His. My prayer no longer was for my immediate relief—instead I began to pray a thank you prayer to my Redeemer, my Lord, and my Savior. I whispered, “God, give me strength to bare this pain for however long you deem necessary that I never forget the price you paid for me at Calvary.” Then the team arrived, my IV was placed and the pain medicine was running into my veins to ease the pain. I was redeemed. I am redeemed by the blood of Christ shed on the cross.

Artwork used with permission of Ronald Barba who owns the copyright ©2014. Click on picture for information regarding obtaining copies

Ephesians 1: Jesus Christ “⁷ In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;” So, in Christ; I am His Blessed, Beloved Saint and I am His redeemed.

To redeem something or someone means that the full price is paid for their purchase, their restoration, and improvement. But what does that really mean? Though we may say the words with ease; do we fully grasp the significance of being redeemed? For this truth to penetrate our hearts and have significance in our lives, we must understand 3 key points to being redeemed. Those 3 are what are we redeemed from, what are we redeemed for, and what was the price of our redemption?

Continue reading REDEEMED-FROM WHAT? FOR WHAT? AND AT WHAT PRICE? →

Power-filled Positive Thinking-Chapter 6c—10 steps to Rejoicing that You are Blessed

The word blessed as we have seen in the previous two sections is synonymous with being fulfilled, happy, honored and prosperous. Some might say, “If in Christ I am blessed; then, why is my life such a mess?” What happened?  Struggling from paycheck to paycheck, working way too many hours, an unappreciative spouse, illness, and so on our minds can get filled with today’s conflicts and trials. With these thoughts going through our head, we become caught with our emotions spiraling downward into depression, anger, and despair. Indeed some will run off seeking, searching and striving to find that happiness by running away or chasing after futile counterfeit joys. They may search for fulfillment in adulterous affairs, alcohol, drugs, divorce, or climbing the success ladder at all cost. Some will follow teachers who will tell them that if they just give more money and have more faith, they can name what they want and God will give it to them. When that fails, they are then laden with guilt and anxiety because they must have failed. All of this coming from a misconception of what it means to be the Blessed, Beloved Saint in Christ, because of Christ’s finished work of redemption on the Cross.

photo used by permission

courtesy of Vanessa Barrientos 

Yes, in Christ I am blessed with all spiritual blessings. My joy comes from an abiding relationship with God in which His love and His joy so fills my heart that it permeates everything inside and around me. How I view trials changes. How I perceive life’s challenges changes. What I value as my greatest treasures changes.

It comes from deep within the central core of my being—knowing, believing and trusting that an omnipotent, Sovereign Omniscient God loves me, bestows His honor and favor upon me because of who He is to the glory of His own name. It is His pleasure to bestow His joy, His love and His glory upon me. In fact, I was born for just that purpose. It is I who fails to grasp that at times when I wander off in search of other treasures and other blessing that cannot satisfy.

Continue reading 10 steps to Rejoicing that You are Blessed →

TO GOD-MY LOVE, MY HOPE, MY JOY

by Effie Darlene Barba

 

My life-so filled with hopes and dreams

Lay shattered at Your feet

So many tears, so many pains

I laid before Thy seat

 

Can I look upon Your face of love

And question what You’ve done?

For You have been my only hope

My only morning sun

 

You’ve seen my heart when crushed with pain

Your hands have held it tight

When I have been so weak, so frail

You’ve shown Your strength, Your might

 

You’ve held me close within Your arms

When darkness filled my night

And when I could not see my way

Your eyes, they gave me sight

 

I lay my life within Your hands

That You may heal my soul

And keep my eyes upon You Lord

That I may reach Your goal

 

Shine forth Thy grace, Thy mercy Lord

And let me be Thy light

That all may see Your eyes of love

The blind, they might have sight

 

Let not the sorrows, nor the pains

Bring bitterness within

And give me strength to walk this path

Protect my heart from sin

 

I lay my heart, my soul, my dreams

Before Thy throne of love

I lift my eyes to You, My God

And seek Your will above

 

Thou art the only one I need

To fill my heart with glee

It is Your face, my one true love

Tis all I need to see

 

So lift me up and hold me close

Reveal Thy love divine

That through the holes within my heart

A world might see You shine

 

And if the sorrows of my past

Can touch a wayward one

I thank you Lord for each dark path

That lead them to Your son

 

I praise You now from mountains high

For each dark path I’ve trod

Twas there I found Your heart, Your love

Twas there I found You God

 

What great and wondrous joy I know

Because You are my king

And though the path I cannot see

My heart will trust and sing

 

A song of praise unto You Lord

Who knows what’s best for me

You’ll hold my hand and lead me on

In darkness, I can see

 

Your love, Your help, Your guiding hand

Is all I’ll ever need

So hold me close unto Your path

For this is all I plead

 

I’ll skip with joy along this path

Though darkness may surround

Because I know You hold my hand

My feet will e’er touch ground

 

I cannot fall outside Your love

I cannot lose my way

I’ll hold my broken dreams once more

And see them real, one day

 

A song of praise unto You Lord

Who knows what’s best for me

You’ll hold my hand and lead me on

In darkness, I can see

 

Your love, Your help, Your guiding hand

Is all I’ll ever need

So hold me close unto Your path

For this is all I plead

© 2015 Effie Darlene Barba

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to any brands, products or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides regarding the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Power Filled Positive Thinking—Chapter 6 (Blessed) part B- TO KNOW THAT I AM BLESSED

What does it mean in the Bible to be blessed? The Greek words in the Bible which have been translated as Blessed are Μακάριος (Makarios) and εὐλογέω  (Eulogeo).  Μακάριος means satisfaction from experiencing the fullness of God—not lacking in anything. In that lies the sensation of happiness, joy, and peace. εὐλογέω (Eulogeo) means to speak well of or show favor toward. In Christ we are blessed by God with every spiritual blessing as found in Ephesians 1 is an example of God speaking well toward us and bestowing His favor upon us. Ephesians 1: “³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: ⁴ According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: ⁵ Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, ⁶ To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.”

Read this very slowly, His having chosen to bestow His favor upon me came as an act of pure grace and love with its foundation being in Christ. It is in Christ that I have been declared holy and blameless before God. It is in Christ that I have been adopted as His precious child. All of this according to what? “The good pleasure of his will and to the praise of the glory of His grace” He made me accepted in Christ, by Christ and through Christ—the beloved.

Because I know Christ as my Savior, I am blessed by God. He has chosen to bestow His

Continue reading TO KNOW THAT I AM BLESSED →

Power filled positive thinking—Chapter 6A Blessed—Mourning into Dancing

We stepped onto the dance floor for the mother/son dance. My heart was overflowing with so much joy. As we stepped onto the floor, a video of Alberto’s life was playing on a big screen; so few were watching as he lowered his head onto my shoulder and whispered, “Mom, thank you for always believing and always praying—this is the happiest day of my life.” Then, I whispered, “Oh, but son—this has little to do with me and everything to do with Christ”. His reply, “Yes, mom; but who introduced me to Jesus? That was you mom.” Immediately I was overwhelmed by how blessed I really was. I looked across the room and saw Ron at the table with his family and saw him laughing with his infectious laugh of joy. Beside him, sat my beautiful daughter and her family. My heart was so overflowing with joy as I knew beyond all hope, how blessed I had been by God’s Grace, God’s Love, and God’s faithfulness to keep His Promises because of His own Heart. Thirty years had passed from a crucial crossroad decision, when God had asked me to trust and obey him against all odds. His promise? He would protect, guide and lead my children through whatever trials would come. Oh, yes; trials came, difficulties presented as they do in life; but, through it all I could now see God’s mighty hand writing every detail of my story. As a mother, did I always get it right? Know the right thing to say or do? No. In fact, often I had failed in my own eyes; yet, God was faithful. My sons were teenagers when their father died. Then, there had been my cancer and the years of illness that followed which by all counts, I should not have survived. Yet, here I was; alive and well. So much grace and such overflowing blessings.

That night I danced with the greatest dance partners.  That night I danced with overflowing joy. That night I danced a praise song to God who had been faithful through it all and who had kept His promises to me. Never again would I be able to question His Abiding Love. I knew how truly Blessed I had been and how blessed I am in Christ.

Continue reading Mourning into Dancing →