#unredeemed

Damned / unredeemed (2018)

1. (Ecclesiastical  Terms) Christianity not  saved  or  redeemed  from  sin

2. spiritually  or  physically  doomed  or  destroyed;  "lost  souls";  "a  lost  generation";  "a  lost  ship"

Here on Fandom Wikia:

"I'm his mu- we're his mums"

New Post has been published on https://www.crownofcompassion.org/2018/11/28/the-things-we-accomplish-unredeemed/

The things we accomplish unredeemed

“Maybe the walls of cynicism, compromise, disconnection, irrelevance, pride, burnout, and emptiness show us the poverty of life apart from God.  They do for me.  Essentially, these are the things I accomplish unredeemed — untouched by grace and the regenerative work of God.”- Carey Nieuwhof

Carey Nieuwhof completes the Conclusion of Didn’t See It Coming as he discusses four things self-aware people know that others don’t.  In Pastor Nieuwhof’s experience, self-aware people realize:

their impact on others.  Carey considers this characteristic the most endearing.  Because you grow as a person when you stop using your emotions as the sole filter through which you process your thoughts and actions.  As you self-regulate, you become more interested in other people than you are in yourself.

their weaknesses.  When you understand and respect your weaknesses, you’re easier to work with and more valuable to the people around you.  In addition, self-aware people limit their activities in areas where they aren’t gifted.

their strengths.  Self-aware people know their God-given talents and abilities.  But, they don’t brag about it.  They just do it.

their limits.  Carey believes that to ignore your limits constitutes one of the deadliest mistakes you can make.  Therefore, self-aware people realistically know where their limits end and where others need to begin.

Finally, Calvin believed that if you neve really know yourself, you’ll be content with your capacity and abilities.  As a result, you’ll never feel your need for God.  Carey concludes:

“And so it comes full circle.  Without knowledge of self, there’s no knowledge of God.  And without knowledge of God, there’s no knowledge of self.  With that circle closed, you will be in a far better position to see what’s coming.  And, best yet, you’ll be ready to deal with it, not alone, but together with a God who created you and who deeply loves you.”

Today’s question: How has God’s grace touched the unredeemed portions of your life?  Please share.

Special note: the annotated bibliography of Didn’t See It Coming posts Monday, December 3rd

New addition to Crown Jewels: “A mind is a terrible thing to waste”

New Post has been published on http://www.crownofcompassion.org/2016/04/06/redemption/

Redemption

“And so it seems that the very word redeemed needs its own personal redemption.”- Matt Bays

As Matt Bays concludes Chapter 1 of Finding God in the Ruins, he expresses his belief that redemption has been misunderstood.  Pastor Bays offers his own personal take on how modern Christianity has defined the term:

Redemption (n).  A state of existence in which the faithful to God receive what they expect to receive out of life (and out of God), and what ails them is converted into something fresh and new (getting the desires of one’s heart).

Matt emphasizes that when redemption is defined this way, it becomes hard to approach God, unless it is in the context of getting what we want.  This then leads either to disillusionment with God or a petty and shallow faith experience.  We may feel God owes us- that because we are chosen, He should deliver.

Furthermore, we may equate the word redeemed with the removal of pain.  We envision whatever is broken in our lives getting fixed within a specified time frame.  To correctly understand redemption, Matt differentiates between the unredeemed and the redeemed.

The unredeemed

a.  those whose lives have been neither helped not healed by the usual remedies

b.  have experienced great loss and continue to experience the residual pain of despair

c.  believe their promise of redemption seems far away from the here and now

d.  think their pain isn’t going away soon- if ever

The redeemed

a.  acknowledge the harsh reality of their broken story- to the best of their ability

b.  accept that their pain does not define them

c.  have somehow managed to find God in the ruins

d.  have the capacity to be reasonably happy despite their pain and allow God to use their brokenness for good

Matt concludes:

“But redemption will always be the most powerful when we can trace God’s hand along the way. . . . Looking back to see where God’s hands have pushed the clay of brokenness into something we never thought it could become is truly redemptive.”

Today’s question: Do you currently fit in with the unredeemed or the redeemed?  Please share.