Restored Generations

Restored Generations

God is our comforter

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.  See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?  I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. Isaiah 43:18-19                                          

Many generations can be impacted by one single event. One person can change the course of history for the entire family. When an abortion occurs, the course of history has changed for multiple generational levels. Obviously, the immediate family is impacted and then the list goes on and on.

Sometimes we see the impact of the abortion loss right away. Other times it is a silent loss that leaves an empty space where a person should have been, a teacher will be missed, or a doctor, a plumber is not available, a husband or a wife is not found.

Throughout the Bible, the actions of one or two people resulted in both saving a nation by their bravery or had devastating consequences lasting into many generations.

When Adam and Eve sinned against God in the garden, sin entered all mankind impacting every generation to come. God could have chosen to do away with them and start all over again.  Instead God chose to redeem them from their sin and to restore them back to His original purpose. We find this in the following verses:

Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned. Romans 5:12

For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 1 Corinthians 15:21-22

For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. Romans 14:7-9

Throughout the Old Testament we begin to see the promise of the Messiah. When God shed the innocent blood of animals to make coverings for Adam and Eve’s nakedness, the blood was symbolic of the shedding of blood that Jesus the Messiah would someday provide to cover all our sin. When the Messiah comes again, He will reclaim what was temporarily lost and fully restore what was destroyed by sin.

In the following three verses, who redeems us and what can you glean about God’s redemption?

In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed. In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling. Exodus 15:13

The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. Psalm 24:1

But now, this is what the Lord says— he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.” Isaiah 43:1

Jesus Christ is the Messiah who came into the world to redeem mankind. Redeemed means to buy or to purchase and can also be translated as ransom [as in paying a ransom to set someone free from slavery].  Through the sin of Adam, you and I were taken captive (enslaved) by sin. Satan held us in bondage until the price was paid to set us free. Jesus paid a high price to redeem mankind as revealed in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4:

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.       

What do the following verses say was necessary for redemption to take place?

Christ 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” in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Galatians 3:13-14 NASB

For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 1 Peter 1:18-19

Read Romans 8:31-39 (below) – Where is Jesus now and what is He doing?

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

What can separate us from God’s love?

What does Jesus reveal about children below in Mark 10:13-15: 

People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them.  When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

Read 2 Corinthians 5:1-9:

For we know that when this tent we live in now is taken down—when we die and leave these bodies—we will have wonderful new bodies in heaven, homes that will be ours forevermore, made for us by God himself and not by human hands. How weary we grow of our present bodies. That is why we look forward eagerly to the day when we shall have heavenly bodies that we shall put on like new clothes. For we shall not be merely spirits without bodies. These earthly bodies make us groan and sigh, but we wouldn’t like to think of dying and having no bodies at all. We want to slip into our new bodies so that these dying bodies will, as it were, be swallowed up by everlasting life. This is what God has prepared for us, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit.

Now we look forward with confidence to our heavenly bodies, realizing that every moment we spend in these earthly bodies is time spent away from our eternal home in heaven with Jesus. We know these things are true by believing, not by seeing. And we are not afraid but are quite content to die, for then we will be at home with the Lord. So our aim is to please him always in everything we do, whether we are here in this body or away from this body and with him in heaven.

List the differences you can find between a heavenly body and an earthly body:

Heavenly Body                                                                                                      Earthly Body

 What did you learn about where heavenly bodies dwell?

Abortion robs children of life and the pursuit of God. Jesus redeemed mankind. Because children in the womb have not had any opportunities to sin, His blood redeems them from death and restores them back to life in heaven. Through redemption we no longer need to worry about where these children are. Our blessed hope is to one day be in the presence of God and be restored with the generation that was lost.

You can trust Jesus Christ to restore all that has been taken. Jesus wants us to be sure to know the way to heaven.

If you do not know Jesus Christ as Savior, it is easy to understand from the following verses the importance of doing so. Knowing Jesus as your Savior assures us that we can be with our grandchild in heaven. Choose Him today and rest in the security of eternal life.

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6

Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. John 5:24

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25-26

And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. Romans 10:9-10

You have a story to tell. It is a story of redemption, forgiveness, and healing. Your story may not be complete yet.  That is fine as you have begun to work on healing your heart. When that has taken root in your life it will begin to grow and be given to others.

Complete the following:

Healing Activity 8.1 – A Letter from God — Sit down in a quiet place where you will not be disturbed. Using a plain piece of paper, begin the letter with: Dear (your name) and end with Love, God.  Ask God to talk to you through this letter writing process and write out everything He shares with you. Begin in prayer asking God to speak to your heart and allow you to hear His voice. Share your letter with a trusted friend.