March 2 Devotion - We have been redeemed and forgiven

For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will.

Colossians 1:14, Ephesians 1:5

الذي لنا فيه الفداء بدمه غفران الخطايا.

5 اذ سبق فعيّننا للتبني بيسوع المسيح لنفسه حسب مسرة مشيئته

Forgiveness (Greek: Aphesis) speaks of a canceled debt. You and I can be forgiven because Christ went to the cross and shed His blood for me and for you. Our debt has been cancelled because Jesus died in our place.

We are forgiven when we accept that He has died in our place, for our sins. Salvation is not something we earn through good deeds or bargain for, in exchange for promising to improve. God has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the Kingdom of His Son Jesus Christ, whom He loves.

The Greek word for adoption to sonship is a legal term referring to the full legal standing of an adopted male heir in Roman culture. When we surrender our lives to Christ and accept the fact that He bore our sins in His own body at The Cross, and when we declare Him as our Lord and Saviour, at that moment we are born again through the spirit and become children of God.

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for loving me with a deep and everlasting love, thank You for Your abundant blessings in my life, and for the riches of Your grace upon my life. Thank You Lord that I am now a child of God because I was purchased with the precious blood of Christ. Thank You Lord that You redeemed me and granted me forgiveness of my sins, according to the riches of Your grace. Thank you Jesus that You paid for my sins and they have been canceled. You paid a very high price for me: Your blood. LORD, I pray that out of Your  glorious riches You strengthen me with power through Your Spirit in my inner being, so that I can forgive others and forgive myself. Please help others to forgive me. Strengthen me Lord so that I continue to declare to the world that Christ is my Lord and Saviour and Jesus may continue to dwell in my heart through faith. I pray in the holy name of Jesus and I declare Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. To Jesus be the power, the glory, the majesty, the blessings, and the dominion before all time and now and forever. Amen.

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein