I Know That I Know!

A Scribd DevotionByDon
Sometimes it just starts with a song. Especially a song that reminds me of Scripture, of creation, of God and of How Great He Art! This time it was a song written and sung by Nicole Mullins. When I heard it, I immediately knew what the next devotion would be. Even though I didnt immediately know how the devotion and song would tie-in, I just knew that I knew. And that is what this songs about. Titled I Know My Redeemer Lives, it speaks of an assurance that God is our Redeemer and that our God lives forever. Here are the words to this song [Highlighted for the individual reader; for groups, see the last page.]. Follow them as I share reflections and then later as you hear the song. My first response to hearing the song was that it must have come from The Book of Job, when Job cited his assurance that his Redeemer lived: Job 19:25 27 (The Living Bible) But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and that he will stand upon the earth at last. And I know that after this body has decayed, this body shall see God! Then he will be on my side! Yes, I shall see him, not as a stranger, but as a friend! What a glorious hope! But as I read through the other song verses, I found the Redeemer reference was moreover to Jesus, or perhaps to the Triune God, as we read and hear theres an empty grave and He is the very same God that spins things in orbit. This is the God Who consoles me each time I have despair and Who brought and redeemed me from the depths where I stood before becoming a believer. Still, there is an important connection with Job and Gods conversation that led God to remind Job of Who He Is: The song asks, Who taught the sun where to stand?, Who told the ocean you can only come this far?, Who showed the moon where to hide?, and Whose words alone can catch a falling star? Similarly convincing (or convicting in Jobs case!) questions from God to Job are found in Job 38 (NAB), where God reminds Job of His omnipotence and might, in an awesome way. Hear some of Gods questions:

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Verses 4 & 5 (NAB): Where were you when I founded the earth? Who determined its size; do you know? Who stretched out the measuring line for it? Verses 8 11 (NIV): 8Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb, 9when I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness, 10when I fixed limits for it and set its doors and bars in place, 11when I said, This far you may come and no farther; here is where your proud waves halt? 12Have you ever given orders to the morning, or shown the dawn its place, ? Verses 18 20: Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth? Tell me, if you know all: Which is the way to the dwelling place of light, and where is the abode of darkness, That you may take them to their boundaries and set them on their homeward paths? Verses 24 & 28 30 (The Message): 24Can you find your way to where lightning is launched, or to the place from which the wind blows? 28And who do you think is the father of rain and dew, 29the mother of ice and frost? 30You dont for a minute imagine these marvels of weather just happen, do you? Verses 39 40: 39Can you teach the lioness to stalk her prey and satisfy the appetite of her cubs 40As they crouch in their den, waiting hungrily in their cave? In the end (Chapter 42), Job concluded God was God and he wasnt! My good friend told me of her friend whose husband used to ask her when God appointed her CEO of the universe .because she always felt her strength was needed to get things done. Perhaps Dick Woodwards Im not, but He is! helped her get it right. In Chapter 42, Job says in Verses 2 6: I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be hindered. I have dealt with great things that I do not understand; things too wonderful for me, which I cannot know. I had heard of you by word of mouth, but now my eye has seen you. Therefore I disown what I have said, and repent in dust and ashes. But how do you really know Jesus is our Redeemer? you ask. I wondered about the meaning of Redeemer so I looked it up. One dictionary said, One who buys back or recovers ownership by paying a specific sum. Eatons Bible Dictionary says, One charged with the duty of restoring the rights of another and avenging his wrongs. This title is peculiarly applied to Christ, as He redeems us from all evil by the payment of a ransom. The word Redeemer is found in the Bible 17 20 times,
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depending on the translation, with almost all of those being in the Old Testament. And while most of these Old Testament references (in Psalms, Proverbs, Isaiah & Jeremiah) are either by God or about God as Israels Redeemer, the Redeemer of this song is the God of the Old & New Testament: the God of today, Who lives! Psalm 103: 2 5 (The Message) tell us, O my soul, bless God, dont forget a single blessing! He forgives your sinsevery one. He heals your diseases every one. He redeems you from hellsaves your life! He crowns you with love and mercya paradise crown. He wraps you in goodnessbeauty eternal. He renews your youthyoure always young in his presence. Wow, thats quite a redeeming! One source pointed out that the need for a Redeemer began with the fall of man, after which God promised us a Redeemer. This commentary says God performed the first sacrifice of animals to provide their skins for Adam and Eve, referring to the garments of skin God made for them, and referencing Gen 3:21. Mark 10:45 tells us Jesus was that Redeemer, when it says, For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. Hear Colossians 1:13 & 14 (NAB), which says, He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. And in Titus 2:11-14 we see, For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say No to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hopethe glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. WikiAnswers, from the Internet, has it right in this definition of Kinsman Redeemer, stating, It is when a persons relative pays a debt that the person is unable to pay. Jesus is called our kinsman redeemer, because He came to the earth in the form of a man (thus related to us) & paid the price for our debt of sin, a price we could not pay. The law requires that a sinner be punished by death for their sins. The Bible says All have sinned & come short of the Glory of God. In other words, we are all sinners and have not been able to lay hold on Gods glory. Jesus being sinless died in our place to
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redeem us from hell. You aren't a recipient of His payment until you are saved. Read the book of Ruth in the King James Bible to see an account of a kinsman redeemer on the physical level. Read in the New Testament to see it in a spiritual sense . [End of Wiki definition] Way to go, Wiki! Nicoles knowing clearly has not only to do with Gods being our Redeemer, but also that He lives, and is evident in our creation. Dr. Francis Collins, former head of the Human Genome Project and now Director of the NIH, explains how he knows God lives in his book, The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief, in which he says he considers scientific discoveries an "opportunity to worship." Collins examines and subsequently rejects creationism and intelligent design, saying if your mind is open about whether God might exist, you can point to aspects of the universe that are consistent with that conclusion. In a later interview, Dr. Collins said As a believer, I see DNA, the information molecule of all living things, as God's language, and the elegance and complexity of our own bodies and the rest of nature as a reflection of God's plan. For me, that leap came in my 27th year, after a search to learn more about God's character led me to the person of Jesus Christ. Here was a person with remarkably strong historical evidence of his life, who made astounding statements about loving your neighbor, and whose claims about being God's son seemed to demand a decision about whether he was deluded or the real thing. After resisting for nearly two years, I found it impossible to go on living in such a state of uncertainty, and I became a follower of Jesus. Then Dr. Collins concluded with, I have found there is a wonderful harmony in the complementary truths of science and faith. The God of the Bible is also the God of the genome. God can be found in the cathedral or in the laboratory. By investigating God's majestic and awesome creation, science can actually be a means of worship. So in essence, Dr. Collins is saying what Nicole says: All creation testifies! To bring back a phrase Ive previously used: He surrounds, abounds and astounds! But for some of us that life within us testifying is simply our faith. We just know that we know. Hebrews 11:1-3 (NAB) speaks of this when it says, Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen. Because of it the ancients were well attested. By faith we understand that the universe was ordered by the word of God, so that what is visible came into being through the invisible. Said another way, in The Message, faith is, The
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fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. Its our handle on what we cant see. The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd. By faith, we see the world called into existence by Gods word, what we see created by what we dont see. When Nicole sings of Him running to the weary, I think of Isaiah 40:31 (NIV), and Ill bet she did, too. 28Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. 29He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. 30Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; 31but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. The same gentle hands that hold me when Im broken. From Scripture, we know gentle is an attribute of God. (Matthew 11:28 30 NIV: 28Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.) and we also learn it is an attribute He desires of us, as told to us in 2 Timothy 2:24 25a: A slave of the Lord should not quarrel, but should be gentle with everyone, able to teach, tolerant, 25correcting opponents with kindness. Then in 1 Peter 3:4 (NAB): 4but rather the hidden character of the heart, expressed in the imperishable beauty of a gentle and calm disposition, which is precious in the sight of God. (For more evidence on this, see my earlier devotion on Gentle Instructions.) What visual do you have when you think of gentle? [Wait for answers.] Maybe a mother or father holding their newborn baby? Or the touch of Mother Theresa as she cares for a beggar? They conquered death to bring me victory. 1 Corinthians 15:54b 57 says, Death is swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. And our victory is not just to survive but, rather, to thrive. The Bible has a running theme of choosing life over death. We should be reminded of this whenever we have a choice (i.e., a decision), and also be reminded that Jesus came to give us life abundantly.

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John 10:10b (NAB) is I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly. We can live a victorious life when we choose What (i.e., Who) gives life! And the further good news is that through our faith, we get to play a role in that victory. 1 John 5:3-5 For the love of God is this, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, for whoever is begotten by God conquers the world. And the victory that conquers the world is our faith. Who (indeed) is the victor over the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? He lives to take away my shame. This is a profound statement Nicole makes, that Jesus lives for us, to take away our shame. Good thing she can back it up with Scripture! Romans 10:9-13 9for, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. 11For the scripture says, No one who believes in him will be put to shame. 12For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all, enriching all who call upon him. 13For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Philippians 1:20 My eager expectation and hope is that I shall not be put to shame in any way, but that with all boldness, now as always, Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. 21For to me life is Christ, and death is gain. And 1 John 2:28-29 And now, children, remain in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not be put to shame by him at his coming. 29If you consider that he is righteous, you also know that everyone who acts in righteousness is begotten by him. I ask this for you to consider, but not to answer for others: How has God redeemed a situation where you were saved from being shamed maybe when you had fallen short? Forever Ill proclaim. This statement tells me we will proclaim God now and forever, into eternity! Forever? Really? Lets see what the Bible says about that!

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Well, John 6:51 (NIV) tell us we will live forever, if we just believe in Jesus. 51I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." 1 Thessalonians 4:17 (NIV) makes it even better, saying we will live with Him forever: 17After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 2 Peter 3:18 (NIV) tells us to give Him glory both now and forever: 18But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen. And 2 John 1:2 (NIV) states we will live forever and He will be with us forever because He, the Truth, lives in us and will forever! 2because of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever The payment for my sins was the precious life He gave. This phrase is used only once in the song, but is arguably the most important phrase and an understatement, to boot! Precious is defined as of high worth or cost. As I write this, Im lacking a word that fully describes what Jesus did for us. That may be a word that is only found in the dictionary we read in heaven. But His payment for our sins is shown to us in Scripture and here are four references: 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 19Do you not know that your body is a temple of the holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? 20For you have been purchased at a price. 1 Peter 1:17b-21 (The Message) Your life is a journey you must travel with a deep consciousness of God. 18It cost God plenty to get you out of that deadend, empty-headed life you grew up in. 19He paid with Christs sacred blood, you know. He died like an unblemished, sacrificial lamb. 20And this was no afterthought. Even though it has only latelyat the end of the agesbecome public knowledge, God always knew he was going to do this for you. 21Its because of this sacrificed Messiah, whom God then raised from the dead and glorified, that you trust God, that you know you have a future in God.

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Hebrews 9:12 (The Message) 12He also bypassed the sacrifices consisting of goat and calf blood, instead using his own blood as the price to set us free once and for all. AMEN! 1 John 2:2 (KJV) He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. But now Hes alive and theres an empty grave Nicoles reference to alive may bring to mind Acts 1:3 He presented himself alive to them by many proofs after he had suffered, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. And we learn of the empty grave in John 20:1 9 (The Message), 1Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we dont know where they have put him! 3So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. 8Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed 9(They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.). Appropriately, Nicole then ends with Im going to tell everybody! And thats our application! To go tell the world! All-in-all, this song is a powerful message, given with reminders of Gods omnipotence and majesty, of what He did for us and is still doing in our lives, .and of the devotional application of letting others know that we know that we know. Be encouraged as you now listen to Nicolle singing this song of devotion to God.
[Play song]

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Nicole C. Mullins, My Redeemer Lives lyrics Who taught the sun where to stand in the morning? And who told the ocean you can only come this far? And who showed the moon where to hide till evening? Whose words alone can catch a falling star? Chorus: Well I know my Redeemer lives I know my Redeemer lives All of creation testifies This life within me cries I know my Redeemer lives Ye-e-eah The very same God That spins things in orbit Runs to the weary, the worn and the weak And the same gentle hands that hold me when I'm broken They conquered death to bring me victory Now I know, my Redeemer lives I know my Redeemer lives Let all creation testify Let this life within me cry I-I-I know, My Redeemer He lives, To take away my shame And He lives, Forever I'll proclaim That the payment for my sins Was the precious life He gave And now He's alive and There's an empty Grave! And I know My Redeemer lives He lives I know My Redeemer lives Let all creation testify Let this life within me cry I-I-I know my Redeemer I know, My Redeemer lives *I know my Redeemer lives* *I know, That I know, that I know, that I know, that I know He lives *my redeemer lives* *Because He lives I can face tomorrow He lives *I know, I know* He lives *I spoke with Him this morning!* He lives *The tomb is empty* He lives *He Lives! I'm going to tell everybody!!*

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