Speak Out

 Happy Sunday!

"Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.  Has the Lord Redeemed you? Then SPEAK OUT! Tell others he has redeemed you from your enemies."(Psalm 107:1-2 NLT).

The Webster's 1828 Dictionary defines the word "Redeemed" as "delivered from bondage, distress, penalty, liability, or from the possession of another, by paying an equivalent".  Now that's good news!  Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."(KJV).  Romans 3:23 says, "For ALL have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;"(KJV).  Don't miss this!  We all have missed the mark in our lives.  The wages or payment for our wrong doing is death! BUT if we acknowledge the fact that we can't pay our debt, and we accept Jesus as our Redeemer, we can have abundant life!

Now that we have been Redeemed, we need to "Speak Out"!  We need to tell others what God has done for us!  When is the last time you testified?  Do you remember testimonies at church?  A member would stand up and tell about the goodness of God.  They may recall that they didn't have a job, and the Lord created a job for them.  Or they would tell of being sick, and being miraculously healed by the power of God.  We need to tell others just how good God has been to us!   We need to "Speak Out"! 

These scriptures in Psalms 107 made me think of my Mother-in-Law, Minnie Pruitt.  She told me about "Laundry Days" decades ago.  Throughout the neighborhood women would hang their laundry outside on the clothes lines.  Your neighbors and passersby could see your clean clothes. If your clothes looked cleaner or brighter, they may ask you what detergent you used.  They could see the difference and wanted their clothes to be as clean or cleaner. 

It's just like speaking out about what God has done for you. In Acts 16, Paul and Silas had been beaten and thrown in prison.  They hadn't done anything wrong, and could have wined about how unfair this all was, but instead they prayed and sang praises unto God!  An earthquake shook the prison, and all their chains fell off.  In those days, the Jailer would be killed if any inmates escaped, and he was terrified.  He decided to kill himself, "But Paul yelled to him, “Don’t do it! We are all here!” Trembling with fear, the jailer called for lights and ran to the dungeon and fell down before Paul and Silas. He brought them out and begged them, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”(Acts 16:28-30 Living Bible).  People should see our lives and hear how we praise God!  When they do we can "Speak Out" and tell them how amazing life can be with Jesus Christ Our Lord!

Love and prayers, Cynthia

PS:  I will put a few links below of testimonies that have blessed me!

https://youtu.be/cp-tDcThl-o?si=zxkXSeT61-OXX_yZ

https://youtu.be/E_iHJ_My0Yg?si=sBgDpIMeC42tzHJZ

https://youtu.be/LcAfgoFd2Os?si=-isWJmV6ij4YxwwF