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Made precious by His BLOOD, you are indeed precious. ‘You are precious, honored in My sight, and I love you, are the very words of the God of heaven and earth, as He promises to build you up, the ramifications of which will see a display of His glory, For the Lord builds up Zion; He appears in His glory [Psalm 102:16]. As a descendant of Abraham by faith in the Son of God, you also can hold on to the promise of being built as a city with foundations whose Architect and Builder is God Himself [Hebrews 11:10]. And even as it is in the natural and physical realm, spiritually too it all begins with the foundation, or in other words, the cornerstone. It is how the Lord begins to build you, and all that is a part of your life here on earth.
The Precious – CORNERSTONE:
Therefore, thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold, I am the One who has laid as a foundation in Zion a foundation, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation. He who believes in it will not be disturbed [Isaiah 28:16]. The world around you could be on shaky foundations right now, but you have a Savior. And with the Rock of Christ as your foundation, you can be on solid ground, able to withstand what could be coming against you, threateningly and disturbingly, and may be in these days of waves and variants, totally unexpectedly. For you have been chosen by God, as the fact that you are seated in His presence undeniably establishes.
‘You did not choose Me, but I chose you’, are the Lord’s words making the point absolutely clear. And the wondrous truth that flows from it is that being called by God is itself a firm and unshaken foundation. You can be rejected by men, but you are accepted by God, even as the Savior was, as He walked on earth. It is His good favor upon you that sees you saved. And over you is His banner of love. You love Him for He loved you first.
The redemption story:
It has all been made possible, for sin has been dealt with, by the Blood of Christ that was shed on the Cross as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. By it, you have been redeemed, for there can be no remission and forgiveness of sins without the shedding of blood. It is in essence the precious Cornerstone, the firm foundation on which the Master Designer, Architect, and Builder build up your life to be a spiritual palace, that will be His glorious abode. Christ in you is the hope of glory.
The Precious – FOUNDATION:
The foundation of Christ by which you are redeemed, is most precious, for the Savior on the Cross has paid for it with His Blood, the Blood of the sinless Lamb of God. It accomplishes what nothing else can, in setting you free from the empty and futile ways that have come into your life as an inheritance from your forefathers.
The Precious – BLOOD:
Redemption’s cost was precious, as the apostle writes; Knowing that you were redeemed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers not with perishable things like silver or gold but with the precious blood of Christ like that of a lamb without blemish or spot [1 Peter 1:18,19]. It is the indisputable truth that nothing can ever be as valuable as the Blood of the Lord, that was shed on the Cross for the sins of the whole world, to open the way to the Father, and eternal life. But a mind that is captivated by the allure of worldly glitter, needs to be renewed by the power of the Spirit and the word of God in order to experience the truth of it.
A genetic predisposition, or what is in you, that was also there in your ancestors when it comes to physical ailments, is something that even the medical doctor acknowledges and looks out for when it comes to treating your physical body. And when applied in the spiritual realm, the first man, Adam is where your lineage or ancestry begins. Sin is the problem, and it runs in the blood, from generation to generation. You and I come into this world fully loaded, when it comes to having a sinful nature, and are prone to follow the pattern of the world, its futile ways, and empty traditions.
It could have kept you bowed down and helpless, unable to do the good that you desire to do, as the apostle Paul has described his plight to be. ’Who will deliver me from this body of death?’, is his cry for help, only to be answered in the very next verse about the victory that is available for every believer through the Lord Jesus Christ [Romans 7:21-25]. It is the message of the Cross, where the Savior laid down His life, to redeem the one who trusts in Him and His finished work of the Cross. As the fulfillment of the ages, it was God’s hand of intervention, so that whoever trusts in the Lord may be set free from the empty traditions of the world, its vain philosophies that would ultimately be nothing but an exercise of futility, bringing no lasting satisfaction within you.
Redeemed by BLOOD so precious:
a. From traditions to eternal TRUTH:
From a worldly perspective, being traditional is often meant to be about being conservative, the opposite of which is described as being modern. And in the church too often these descriptions come into play to define the style of worship and the nature and attitude of the congregation. And even when it comes to theology that drives a particular church, it could be one that is orthodox, or on the other hand, one that has embraced the so-called modern or liberal theology. But old or young, ancient or modern, one ought to remember, that it was Christ who declared,’ On this rock, I will build My church, and the gates of hell shall not overcome it.’
The church established thus, still stands, and will stand until the Day of Christ. The one thing that matters is therefore the faith in you regarding the truth of the word of God that there can be only one foundation, and that is Jesus Christ. Anything else would be shifting sand. And the truth is the person of Jesus Christ who has declared that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life, the God who has spoken, ‘I the Lord do not change’. Truth can never be subjective, for truth is truth only if it is eternal and not if it keeps changing like shifting shadows according to the changing times. And it can never be irrelevant, no matter how many years go by. As the psalm that is all about the nature of God’s word declares, All your words are true; All your righteous laws are eternal [Psalm 119:160].
b. From philosophies to CHRIST:
See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy that depends on human tradition and basic principles of the world rather than on Christ [Colossians 2:8]. Coming to you with their high-sounding theories that are founded on twisted logic, people of the world can try and make you captive to vain philosophies that seemingly promise freedom, but in reality, are entry into bondage and lies of the enemy, and it is with the discernment of the Holy Spirit that you can keep yourself from falling prey to it.
CHRIST – your tested cornerstone:
He is the tried and tested cornerstone, upon whom you can put your trust and never ever be disappointed. And Christ is also the test when it comes to distinguishing between what is true and what is false when it comes to traditions and philosophies that are an integral part of day-to-day living. Being part of a local church that worships the Lord in spirit and truth, and not neglecting the gathering saints, could be a tradition that has been handed down to you by your forefathers. It is a tradition that is good, for it is about Christ. The word of God encourages you to hold on to it for you are encouraged by it [Hebrews 10:23].
But in a society that is divided and separated along the fault lines of caste, adhering to it as a tradition that has come to you from earlier generations would not be about Christ. In fact, it would be a rebuilding of the walls of division that Christ has brought down by His death on the Cross.
Keeping to the right!:
‘Keep left’ is the traffic rule to be obeyed on the road in our nation! In a different scenario though, when you have to choose between two approaches to life’s questions, the right, and wrong, or profitable and unprofitable when Christ is your tested cornerstone, it is in choosing what is right, even at the cost of it not being seemingly profitable, that your life needs to be built. For His word that declares, ’Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God’, shows you the road that is right. The world’s route may with compromises and bending of rules, appear to bring quick success. It was what the devil tempted the Lord with; and the Lord overcame it saying, ‘It is written, you shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only’.
Taking the path, paved by God may seem long and at times challenging, but at the end of it is eternal life. And ultimately it is always ‘keeping to the right’, that pays, as you submit to God until He lifts you up. And then, you will never be below, but will always be above. But in bowing to the world’s philosophies, what you compromise with, in your climb to the top, will end up controlling you, when you are at the top! It will never be a good success that God desires you to have; for it can come only in keeping to His word, in keeping to the right!
Letting go, by letting God!:
Sin is the root of all that is crooked and wrong in the world. And sin is deceitful, self-deception the most dangerous, as you are blinded, not even knowing that you have been deceived. Above all, sin is more powerful than your self-efforts. But philosophies of the world can seep into your cognitive processes in subtle and not-so-subtle ways, to lull you into a false sense of security, trusting in your self-dependence, as a result, edge God out of the equation.
But letting go of wrong philosophies is only possible by letting God do it, as you depend on His strength for self-realization of what is sinful and what is not from Him to dawn within you, leading you to repentance and restoration. It comes to you by grace and through faith in Christ, and not by works that man may boast in himself. Self-made religions, which are the philosophies of the world, may have an appearance of wisdom, but are of no value, for they cannot conquer sin’s temptation that you and I encounter in our life’s journey [Colossians 2:19-23].
It is the precious Blood of Christ that redeems you from sin’s corrupt vileness. He whom the Son sets free is free indeed. You are built up as you hold fast to the word of God, in Christ your Redeemer and Savior. You are no longer in slavery to the basic principles of the world [Galatians 4:3]. And led by the Spirit of God in you, your worship will not be in vain, as you hold on to the word of God, and not the traditions of men [Mark 7:7,8]. You have the confidence to enter the Most Holy Place, by the Blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is His flesh [Hebrews 10:19,20]. And therefore, you have been redeemed
By BLOOD so precious:
From empty ways to a new way of living. It can be seen and experienced by you in-
1. A new future:
Forgiveness of sins gives you a clean slate, erased of all the sinful negatives of your past. Heart washed clean by the precious Blood of the Lamb, you can experience a joyous release, for, by the amazing grace of God, your chains are gone. You have been set free. In Him, we have redemption by His Blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of God’s grace [Ephesians 1:7]. You can enjoy a new start, forgetting what lies behind, and reach forward to be built according to the Designer’s pattern, fulfilling your purpose and your calling that has been skillfully drawn by God, the Architect, and Builder.
2. A new; powerful relationship:
May the God of the peace who through the Blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, the Great Shepherd of the sheep [Hebrews 13:20]. You are a blood relative of God in a covenant relationship that you remember and acknowledge every time you partake of the Lord’s Table. You declare that by His stripes you are healed, and you have victory in Christ. It is a precious relationship much deeper than a purely need-based one, as it stands on the truth that He who did not spare His own Son, will together with Him, surely give you all other things [Romans 8:32].
3. A new identity:
Redeemed by Blood so precious, you are no longer a sinner without hope, but a king and a priest. To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His Blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve His God and Father, to Him be glory and power forever and ever, Amen [Revelation 1:6]. It is royalty that comes with responsibility. You are a priest interceding on behalf of people before God, and as in prayer as you hear from God to speak to those whom He brings to you, it will touch and heal them at their point of need.
4. The new way of VICTORIOUS living!
It is what being redeemed by the Blood so precious entails – blessing and victory! For you are a people blessed by the Lord. And, there is no sorcery against Jacob; There is no divination against Israel. Now it shall be said of Jacob and Israel, See, what God has done [Numbers 23:24]. No weapon formed against you shall prosper, for the Lord has crushed the head of the evil one on the Cross. You and I stand redeemed by His perfect work. And today we bless those who curse us so that their lives are transformed. He who is in you is greater than he that is in the world. And, what describes your wondrous portion as the redeemed of the Lord is, They overcame him by the Blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony [Revelation 12:10].
Indeed, Christ is enough for you; Everything you need is in Him! May this be the ever-abiding song of thankfulness that your heart and soul sing unto the Father expressing your overwhelming gratitude for redeeming you by the Blood so precious, from emptiness to fullness, fruitfulness and the faithfulness of the Lord, so that your life is not built on a fake foundation that crumbles, but the true foundation of Christ, your living Redeemer. In the Name of Christ Jesus Amen.
