Dad was late getting home that night. The kids were washed up and waiting to eat
dinner, which was always at 6:00 p.m.
It was normal to wait for father before starting our evening
meals, as it was the only time we had as a family each day. Seated at the table in the dining room we saw
my father backing into the driveway from the side window. That was rather strange; why wasn’t he parking
as usual in front of the big red barn?
The creaky screen door at the back of the house closed
and we could hear my father coming up the back steps into the kitchen. Grabbing hold of my mom’s arm Dad whisked her
out of the house.
Looking over his
shoulder as he exited the room he smiled and said, “Come see
what’s in the van.”
Welcome new friends this week from:
See if your city/state/country made the list.
New on DFB – Kikinda, Serbia; Serowe, Central
District , Botswana; Latvia; South Africa; Canada; India; Philippines; Germany;
France; Australia; Kenya; United Kingdom; Singapore; Netherlands; Cambodia; Mexico.
USA – Russellville, AR; Chandler, AZ; Culver City, CA; Johnson,
FL; Mount Pleasant & Watership Downs, NC; Rosenhayn, NJ; New Kingstown, PA;
Patrick, SC; Bridge City & Nederland, TX; #Burbank, WA.
I am so happy for your visit and hope that you come back
each week to participate in the weekly challenges. God has been faithful and we expect His favor
to abound in the lives of those who chose to Journey with Jesus on Daily Favor
Blog.
You are welcome to leave comments or prayer requests below. All are private. I would love to hear from
you and how Daily Favor has worked in your life. Contact me by leaving a message in the box at
the bottom of this week’s post.
Don't miss
out on this week's challenge (below).
Beauty in the Eyes of the Beholder
Wondering what my father brought home was exciting and
each of us got up to follow behind him in anticipation. As I pushed open the screen door I looked
around the yard, but didn’t see anything special.
Dad walked over to the Chevy step-up van and hurriedly placed
the ramp at the back of the vehicle.
With the ramp in place he opened the double doors and hopped up in the
van.
It was dark inside and we couldn’t
see what he was doing. Suddenly there was
a shadow that slowly stepped into the light … it was a pony, a black pony!
We could hardly believe it as we circled the van to get a
better look at our new member of the family.
Taking the lead in his hands, my father guided this shy but gentle, feeble
creature slowly down the incline. “Her name is Beauty … like in Black Beauty.”
He clarified as we gathered around this
rather unbecoming looking animal.
When the pony’s feet finally touched the ground our
gladness turned quickly to sadness. With
her paper thin skin and bulging bones sticking out everywhere, the word
“beauty” was the last thing that came to mind.
You could see torn flesh and scars on her back, sides and legs. The
little black pony was weak and scrawny, hardly anything to brag about to
friends.
Apparently my mother wasn’t clued in on the details of
the situation; we could tell by the way she questioned my father about how he
acquired Beauty.
“I found out that she was scheduled to be slaughtered
today if someone didn’t save her by 3:00 p.m.
Seeing Beauty I knew I couldn’t let that happen, so I went to the
authorities and redeemed her life for $25.00.
I didn’t want to leave her there any longer that’s why I had to bring
her home in the van.”
Dad continued to tell us the story of this sweet animal
and that she was terribly mistreated, starved and beaten. He believed that there was hope for her and
with proper care Beauty would soon live up to her name. Even though she wasn’t much to look at then,
our pony’s personality was certainly beautiful.
It wasn’t easy and took quite a long time for our latest
edition to the family to be re-born. To
a kid it seemed like forever before we would be able to ride Beauty. My Dad did everything for her and wouldn’t
let us even brush our new pony until her delicate flesh was healed. Finally the day came when she was restored,
and ready to live a life filled with love among her new family.
Although I no longer have photos of Black Beauty, the
vivid picture of her first steps into our life are forever captured in my
memory. As a child this act of mercy and
kindness was the most compassionate thing I remember my father doing.
The Story Reveals Jesus
In my prayer time I asked the Lord why He reminded me of
this childhood story, and what did it have to do with favor. Looking back on my notes from a few weeks ago
I could see how it tied in with the Easter holiday Christians celebrate.
The Bible talks about redemption or being redeemed in
both the Old and New Testaments almost sixty times. It also specifies that possessions, man and
animal may be redeemed and counted as Holy. (See Leviticus chapter 27)
When I look back at what happened the day Beauty was
redeemed from being destroyed, the details of the event reminded me of
the crucifixion of Jesus. The cost may
not be the same, but there was still a price to be paid.
Worthy of Redemption
Beauty had been redeemed from the slaughterhouse by my
Dad because she found grace and favor in his eyes. God showed me something by using my pony
story as a metaphor in several ways.
The Holy Spirit led me to various scriptures depicting
how Jesus was rejected, despised and how his flesh was torn from
beatings (much worse than what happened to Beauty). Isaiah 53 reveals some of what Christ
experienced when He was crucified on the cross at Calvary.
“Who has believed our report? … He has no form
or comeliness; and when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire
Him. He is despised and rejected by men.
A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces
from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried
our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
But He was wounded for our transgressions, He
was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
and by His stirpes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have
turned, every one, to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of
us all.
He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He
opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep
before its shearers is silent… (from
Isaiah 53 NJKV)
Our pony Black Beauty suffered great pain with being
tortured the way she was and didn’t look like anything of value, yet my father
saw something worth redeeming in her. The
metaphorical “Beauty” resembles us before we turned to Jesus and were re-born through salvation. While still in the ugliness of sin that covered
our bodies, God looked beyond our faults and saw us worth redeeming.
If a human can love someone that much, how much more does
God love us that He would show grace, kindness and mercy through the giving of
His Only Begotten Son?
Something was
missing; I still needed a connection to God's favor.
Reasons for Redemption
There
was another reason Dad redeemed that little black colt; we had a really small brown
pony that was lonely. By rescuing Beauty our family would be more complete. Now the stories were beginning to gel.
Jesus
died on the cross so the Heavenly Father’s family would be restored or
“complete.” In order for that to happen,
God’s Son had to take or receive all the sins of the world on to His flesh and
become that “ugly skin”.
The redemptive
process could take place when Jesus became the sacrifice for our sins. God would take the life of Christ as the
redeeming payment in exchange for our lives.
When Jesus died, our sins were transferred to Him and erased from the
presence of God.
“I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions, and
like a cloud, your sins. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.” (Isaiah 44:22)
Christ
became our Redeemer for sin. After Jesus
died on the cross He took all the sins that were ever committed past, present
and future, and left them in Hell never again to be seen. On the third day He rose from the dead
cleansed and ascended into Heaven to be with the His Father.
That
redeeming process hasn’t stopped. God’s
family is continually being restored with every life that is redeemed by the
blood of Jesus. When we accept Jesus as
the redeeming Savior that wiped away all our sin, by grace God receives us into
His Kingdom as His children.
“Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written,) cursed is everyone who hangs on
a tree (cross).” (Galatians 3:13)
“[The Redeemer of Israel] But now, thus says the Lord, who created
you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel: Fear not, for I have redeemed
you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine.” (Isaiah 43:1)
Grace & Favor – A Gift of the Cross
I saw how the two “scenarios” could be linked together,
after all Beauty found grace through my Dad, and we have done the same through
Christ. They still didn’t connect for me
concerning favor, although I knew that grace is also used as “favor” or “mercy”
in the Bible.
We have to journey back to the beginning of the Bible (the
Torah) where we learn about the characteristics of God in order to make the
connection of favor to the cross. When
you read the word grace in the original context it is “chen” and that word is derived from the root “shoresh.” Looking at grace
as “shoresh” it means favor, mercy
and kindness.
Instead of perceiving grace as a “gift” from God, we need
to understand it as an attribute or characteristic of God as well. Not what He is, but who He is. If God “is” favor, then when Jesus died for
us He sent His favor in place of our sin.
So when we read in the Bible how people cried out for God
to be gracious to them, they were really crying out for His favor (mercy,
grace, kindness) to redeem then from whatever was happening at the time.
This information makes it easy to recognize that there is no greater act of God’s favor than the gift of
Jesus for our redemption. Salvation by
faith in Jesus’ work on the cross is a “chen” (grace, favor) gift from God as
noted in Ephesians 2:8.
“For by grace (favor – chen) you have been
saved through faith.
And this
is not from yourselves, it is a gift of God.” (Ephesians 2:8 TLV)
After my father redeemed our little black pony, he
immediately went to work caring for her and she changed totally. We could finally see
what Dad saw in her, a rare Beauty.
When we have been made clean through the redemptive power
of Jesus, God sees beauty in us even when others don’t, and from the inside we
begin to change.
The Lord Jesus believed in the power of grace and favor through
the Holy Spirit so much that He put His life on the cross to redeem us. If that’s not favor, I don’t know what is.
This Week’s Challenge:
Believe You are “Chen”
Redeemed
It’s easy for us to grasp God is love, not just God
loves. Why then can’t we believe the
same when it comes to God is favor?
God cannot help but show favor to His children, because
it is who He is. Grace - chen favor
is given to us because of the love God has for His redeemed children.
After Dad redeemed our pony she wasn’t that broken down,
battered and worn out animal any more.
Something changed when he got hold of her. It’s the same with us when
Jesus takes away our sins.
When we have been “favor” (chen - grace) redeemed by Christ, praise the Lord we are no longer
what we used to be. God has removed all the chains of sin, set us free to be
His children and heirs of Jesus.
Believe that you are so valuable to God that He is
willing to redeem your life by faith through the sacrifice of His Son Jesus
Christ. He deemed you worthy to be loved,
worthy to be His child and worthy to have by His side forever!
Why does God see you as worthy? You have been
Chen Redeemed, chosen, FAVORED by
God’s overwhelming grace, mercy and lovingkindness.
Say it now – I am Chen, favored
redeemed by God.
If you haven’t accepted this grace and favor gift of the
cross, read here on how to become Favor Redeemed! It’s time you began your “Daily Favor” journey with
Jesus.
As we celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ this
weekend, let these words continually flow out of your mouth with thanksgiving.
“My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing to
You, and my soul,
One more because we have been Favor Redeemed ...
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post.
Until
next time, rejoice you are “chen” (favor) redeemed!
“Chen redemption was for you.”
Jesus Christ
*Unless
noted, the names in articles are changed to protect the individual(s) privacy.
Note: The
words satan or devil are not capitalized deliberately, because we give him no
place in our lives.
Disclaimer:
Article information is not meant to be used as treatment for mental or physical
issues, but geared toward spiritual awareness.
What’s New This Week: Click
on book or link.
by
Kerry Clarensau
Available
in Hardback, eBook & Spanish editions
Maybe you don’t know the Living God that I
know, but would like to have this kind of favor in your life also. Click on the above tab “Tell Me” for more
information on becoming a child of the Savior.
Content and Image Copyright from Favored1. Do not copy.
Scripture reference was taken from the New King James Bible Version provided by Gateway Bible.
Image credit: Google Images or Dreamstime Creative Common License if not specified.
Image: Girl in Window Chen/Favor/Grace
Disclaimer Notes: Results may vary due to lack of belief.
Chevy step-up van, Chen, Redemption, Resurrection, Easter, Jesus Christ Crucified, Jesus Son of God, Torah, Blood of Jesus, Favored1, Favor of God, Daily Favor Blog
