FreshBread-  Raven Ministries'  Newsletter

 Happy Easter 2007

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       Have the last few months been difficult for you? If so, you are not alone. The sound of redemption often starts with the sounds of suffering. Ow. That wasn't very encouraging. But wait! God wants you to know that it's time to "lift  up your head for your redemption draws near."

So what is the "sound of redemption?"  The word redemption means to set free, or separation. All of us have areas of our lives that need to be separated from us- whether circumstances or sins. They are the things that seem to constantly hold us back from moving forward toward our destiny.

The closer Jesus got to the most important moment of history, the more difficult His life became. Betrayal, public humiliation and torture, excruciating physical pain, and finally total abandonment, all hit at once. In the space of a few hours, Jesus moved from high value minister to trash worthy of death. And yet in His heart, the sound of redemption called Him forward to finish what He had begun.

Let's start with Song of Solomon 8:6. A nice obscure Scripure most of us have overlooked. "Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm; for love is strong as death; jealousy is as hard and cruel as Sheol. Its flashes are flashes of fire, a most vehement flame -- a very flame of the Lord."

In the ancient Middle East, seals were used as legal signatures for decrees, agreements, and even the tomb of Jesus. The signet appearing on the seal was a sign of authority, and had to be reckoned with by all. The Song of Solomon passage references the Holy Spirit as a seal of God upon us- He comes with the flames of fire (Acts 2), and seals us forever as His own. (Rev 7)

Recently I hit what is commonly referred to as the "dark night of the soul." I live hard, love hard, play hard, and have not one lukewarm bone in my body. Wrestling powers and principalities actually energizes me. But a

personal heartache simply threatened to break me into a pile of crunchy little pieces. I cried out to the Lord, and something very special happened....He actually answered with small encouragements toward redemption. His response to my broken heart was immediate.

As I quieted my tears, and listened, there was a soft song of love in my heart. And in one moment of peace, I felt the paws of the Lion of Judah on my chest as He roared over me with the passionate jealousy of a lover. He stood guard over my heart with His power. I was completely overwhelmed.

The Holy Spirit of God is our seal- His fiery Presence within us, the Blood-bought redemption promise of the Living God.  Every time you worship Him ,and open your mouth to speak in tongues, or close your eyes to see the peaks and rivers of heaven, you can know the redemption of God belongs to you.

If you are heavy with burdens this Easter, if circumstances have piled up on you past your own ability to handle, the Lord wants you to know that your redemption is near! Man has always sought to seal us into the tomb of death, demanding that we face reality and never realize our destiny. But GOD- His plan is redemption, to set us free and separate us to His destiny in spite of the trials we face.

Today you are set free, you are redeemed, your destiny is assured. Romans 8, Eccl 3:14, Job 42:1 all declare that no man or spirit can remove God's purposes from our lives. Listen for the sound of redemption in your life- He is about to ring it softly in your heart. Open your ears to hear Him, and walk forward in the confidence that His destiny is yours forever!