Ephesians 5:15-16 Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk, not as unwise but wise, redeeming the time because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.
Dear Friends!
Have you ever been labeled by your past or your social status?
I have a serious question for you! Do you really know who YOU ARE in Christ Jesus? Because if you don’t know who YOU are, you will believe the lies of the labels that have been placed on you by the world!
There is a demand over your soul because you are one of a kind. There is no-one else who has been created like you. You are rare!!!
My son Reed Swanson is actually writing a book called, “How To Redeem the Time in Evil Days” First four chapters of his book are on Identity: Learning how to love yourself, how to value your value, being worthy of love, and forgiven! God has given him a powerful Word from the book of Ephesians!
In this week’s podcast, Reed opens up and talks about his struggle with depression, break-ups, the pandemic and all the losses he faced the past couple of years. It has really been hard! But out of all that, a book is being birthed and a church is being planted! God is showing Reed how to walk out his identity in every aspect of his life!
And today, I want you to WALK OUT your TRUE identity in your every day walk!
If you think about it, whole book of Ephesians is about REDEMPTION! God REDEEMS the time! It’s about having that redemption come TO YOU….and then flow THROUGH YOU!
The Word of God is so powerful! Most people really don’t understand what the word REDEMPTION even means.
HOW do you REDEEM THE TIME?
Redeem the time in Greek: eksagorázō to take full advantage of a buying opportunity, i.e. making the most of the present opportunity (recognizing the genuine, future gain).
Literally, it’s creating God moments throughout your day!
Don’t waste time, but look for opportunities to buy up the time! This “time” that you have is given by God. The Bible says that we should not be drunk with wine (alcohol) but instead, be wise, knowing that the days are evil….REDEEM THE TIME!
Don’t waste your time, but invest your time by understanding what the will of the Lord is!
Creating “GOD MOMENTS” throughout your day with your spouse, with your children, your friends etc. When you create moments, you are investing your time, when you invest your time, you are redeeming the time. You can only redeem the time when you understand that YOU HAVE BEEN REDEEMED by JESUS!
You don’t have to do anything to become REDEEMED, but it’s God who is always at work and it is HE who redeems you! The Holy Spirit is searching for those hearts who have an ear to hear what the Lord has to say! All you have to do is respond to the drawing of the Holy Spirit, the Love of God, and say YES to HIM!
In this week’s podcast, Reed explains how powerful this is. I’m not gonna lie….I am so impressed with this young man!!! The words that God has given him are so powerful!!!
You are not going to regret this. Your whole walk with Jesus is based on identity! Your love for God will increase significantly when you start emphasizing who you are inside of HIM. What ever you submit to you put your identity into it!
SUBMIT is a beautiful word. Submission means to come under the mission of. So, when the Bible says, “Wives, submit to your husband” doesn’t mean, let your husband run all over, take advantage of you, do whatever he tells you to do or things alike. But it means to come under the vision and mission that he has for the family that comes from GOD.
FIRST, we all submit to God when we get saved. So you are coming under the mission of Jesus Christ!
James 4:7 ESV
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Ephesians 5:24 ESV
Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.
This is a beautiful picture! I want to encourage you to listen to this week’s podcast to understand more about “Redeeming the Time”!
Click here to listen: https://www.charismapodcastnetwork.com/show/onevoicemakesadifference
This is episode 71 with One Voice Makes A Difference Podcast with Janet Swanson and Reed Swanson
If you would like to give toward the church plant AGAPE in Chicago with Reed, go to the link here: https://pushpay.com/g/mycrcc
