Redeem: to gain or regain possession of (something) in exchange for payment.

I have been physically and spiritually transformed; I am no longer the person I used to be. What did I gain possession of? Freedom! Freedom from the physical weight. Freedom from the sins I had committed. Freedom from the negative thoughts I had about myself. Freedom from the guilt I carried around. Freedom from the shame I felt. So what was the payment that I had to pay for this freedom? That’s the really awesome part –the only thing God asks us to do is to bring it to the cross. We have freedom because of His son Jesus Christ. We have freedom because of His death on that cross. I gained complete freedom the very moment that I brought it all to Him; brought it all to the cross.

The enemy never gives up though; he is always trying to tempt me back to sin. I have found that he tries to use those same things that used to be “hooks” to hook me back into sinful behavior. I found myself starting to allow my old hook (food) to take up residence in my life again. It wasn’t that I was overeating again but I was allowing cravings to take up thoughts that no longer belonged.

Last Sunday at church the sermon was on “What The Bible says about footholds and strongholds.” Our pastor talked about how sin can take a foothold in our lives and if it is not stopped, it can become a stronghold that gets harder and harder to break away from. There was a cross down in the front and at the end of the sermon, he invited anyone that had something in their life that had either a foothold or a stronghold over them to write it down on a piece of paper and come down and literally nail it to the cross. I had to admit to myself that I had allowed a foothold back in my life. After I went down and symbolically nailed my foothold to the cross, I literally brought it to the cross and asked the Lord to remove those cravings. Later that day, The Lord blessed me and reminded me that I AM free. The chains HAVE been broken. I AM NO LONGER THE PERSON I USED TO BE! The enemy no longer has control over me or my thoughts. He HAS BEEN defeated! When the enemy tries to remind me of my prior faults and accuse me of the things I was once guilty for, I need only to think of nailing it to the cross because I am redeemed.

I AM redeemed! (And the cravings are gone again – yay!!)

Think about this for a second – do you have something that is out of control in your life? Is there something that controls you more than you control it? Thoughts, negative emotions, substances? If something just came to mind, you have something that has a foothold or stronghold over you! Ask for freedom from the only one that is able to grant it to you – bring it to the cross of Jesus Christ!

I know there are some out there that do not believe all of it – God, Jesus…the whole thing. Let me leave you with something. Here are before and after pictures of me. These are not before and after weight loss pictures – these are before and after REDEMPTION pictures! The physical transformation is merely an external indicator of the spiritual transformation that has changed my life. God has changed MY life! His son Jesus has changed MY life! What will you let Him do for you?

Thank you Jesus for the redeeming power of the cross! Thank you!!