ENCOURAGEMENT FOR TODAY! – 4/02/14 – THE LIFTER OF OUR HEADS! Psalm 3:3 NKJV – “But You, O LORD, are a shield for me, my glory and the One who lifts up my head.” Psalm 3:3 TLB – “But Lord, You are my shield, my glory, and my only hope. You alone can lift my heard, now bowed in shame.” Comments: Not only is the LORD our shield and glory, but He is also the “lifter of our heads.” This phrase comes from the time when people were sold into slavery because they owed a debt they could not pay. These slaves were lined up before prospective buyers and displayed for inspection much the same as we examine items before we buy them. This was a very humiliating experience for the slaves and they bowed their heads in shame. After the inspection was complete, if the buyer decided to redeem or buy the slave, he would lift up their head as a clear signal of his desire to pay the price for that slave. In a sense, the buyer became that slave’s redeemer or savior. Ephesians 2:11-13 TLB – “Never forget that once you were heathen and that you were called godless and “unclean” by the Jews. (But their hearts too, were unclean, even though they were going through the ceremonies and rituals of the godly, for they circumcised themselves as a sign of godliness.) Remember that in those days you were living utterly apart from Christ; you were enemies of God’s children, and He had promised you no help. You were lost, without God, without hope, but now you belong to Christ Jesus and though you once were far away from God, now you have been brought very near to Him because of what Jesus Christ has done for you with His blood.” Ephesians 2:19 TLB – “Now you are no longer strangers to God and foreigners to heaven, but you are members of God’s very own family, citizens of God’s country, and you belong in God’s household with every other Christian.” At some point in our lives, we all wake up to the understanding that we owe a price that we cannot pay, and find to our shame we are being held captive by a slave master and that we have no way of escape except by the grace of God. Through Christ’s death on the Cross, burial, and subsequent resurrection, He has paid the price of our redemption from our former slave master, the god of this world – named Satan. Christ has become the “lifter of our heads.” Ephesians 2:8 NIV – “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” Our prayer: Thank You, Father, for sending Your Son to be the “lifter of our heads.” It is no small thing that Christ has accomplished, so help us to comprehend this marvelous good news. Take away the blindness of our eyes so that we might understand and receive this precious gift of salvation. From my heart to yours, Mike
Posted on: Thu, 03 Apr 2014 00:49:46 +0000
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