BOUGHT.

That's the word that came to me as I was praying for inspired ideas, trying to help our Worship Leader with our church's Good Friday service.

I know I am bought, GP (God's Property)...

"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price." 1 Corinthians 6:19-20a

...sold as a slave from one master to Another.

"But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life." Romans 6:22

And I also know that the price paid was costly.

"...the church of God, which he bought with his own blood." Acts 20:28b

^“Hence, when He [Christ] entered into the world, He said, Sacrifices and offerings You have not desired, but instead You have made ready a body for Me [to offer]; In burnt offerings and sin offerings You have taken no delight. Then I said, Behold, here I am, coming to do Your will, O God--[to fulfill] what is written of Me in the volume of the Book. When He said just before, You have neither desired, nor have You taken delight in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings--all of which are offered according to the Law-- He then went on to say, Behold, [here] I am, coming to do Your will. Thus He does away with and annuls the first (former) order [as a means of expiating sin] so that He might inaugurate and establish the second (latter) order.

And in accordance with this will [of God], we have been made holy (consecrated and sanctified) through the offering made once for all of the body of Jesus Christ (the Anointed One). Furthermore, every [human] priest stands [at his altar of service] ministering daily, offering the same sacrifices over and over again, which never are able to strip [from every side of us] the sins [that envelop us] and take them away--Whereas this One [Christ], after He had offered a single sacrifice for our sins [that shall avail] for all time, sat down at the right hand of God,Then to wait until His enemies should be made a stool beneath His feet.

For by a single offering He has forever completely cleansed and perfected those who are consecrated and made holy. And also the Holy Spirit adds His testimony to us [in confirmation of this]. For having said,

This is the agreement (testament, covenant) that I will set up and conclude with them after those days, says the Lord: I will imprint My laws upon their hearts, and I will inscribe them on their minds (on their inmost thoughts and understanding), He then goes on to say, And their sins and their lawbreaking I will remember no more. .Now where there is absolute remission (forgiveness and cancellation of the penalty) of these [sins and lawbreaking], there is no longer any offering made to atone for sin.

Therefore, brethren, since we have full freedom and confidence to enter into the [Holy of] Holies [by the power and virtue] in the blood of Jesus, By this fresh (new) and living way which He initiated and dedicated and opened for us through the separating curtain (veil of the Holy of Holies), that is, through His flesh, And since we have [such] a great and wonderful and noble Priest [Who rules] over the house of God,

Let us all come forward and draw near with true (honest and sincere) hearts in unqualified assurance and absolute conviction engendered by faith (by that leaning of the entire human personality on God in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness), having our hearts sprinkled and purified from a guilty (evil) conscience and our bodies cleansed with pure water." Hebrew 10:5-22 AMP

I know that the only way to receive Christ is to draw near enough to Him to have our hearts sprinkled by His blood, and the only way this is possible is to come to the foot of His cross, blood dripping from his mangled body and twisted crown, with our chins lifted high, faces looking into His, disfigured beyond human likeness... Hearts and souls bared before Him in a posture of submission and desperation. An intimacy with Him, willing to know Him and be known by Him...

Michael and I watched The Passion of the Christ last night in preparation for Easter weekend and the reality of just how precious our ransom was became even more clear.

YES. I KNOW I've been bought, but do I really LIVE like it? Do I fully understand that NOTHING I have is MINE?

Nothing.

Not my body, not my house, or any thing. He gave these to me and He will take them away in His time. All matter belongs to Christ.

Not my job or my talents and gifts. He gave these to me to allow me to have a purpose on the planet, and to cooperate with His Kingdom plans. All abilities are made possible by Christ.

Not my trials, defeats, healings, or victories. Not even my testimony. The experiences I have in this life are meant to be shared with the Body and with non-believers to bring Him glory and bless others. These things are simply arrows pointing to Christ.

Not my kids. Even though they came from my body, my children are on loan. They are a precious gift and grave responsibility, but they are not mine. They were made by and belong to Christ.

Not my husband. He is a miraculous gift of grace that I do not deserve, and though we will share this life together and have some properties of ownership while we dwell in these bodies, ultimately we will be put asunder and our marriage certificate is not binding after death. My eternal husband is CHRIST.

Not my friends. They are absolute TREASURES that I definitely will enjoy forever, but they definitely do not belong to me any more than my eye belongs to my thumb. Our souls belong to Christ.

Can you think of anything else you can own? It's NOT YOURS!

How would it change the way I think, live, and act if I REALLY began to BELIEVE that? How about you? How are you living like you’re BOUGHT?