Iron Rose Sister Ministries

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Published: 28 January 2015

• redemption

Contributed by IRSM Board President, Katie Forbess

In my life there is a group of men that represent redemption in a very transparent way. SOZO is a Recovery Center for men dealing with substance abuse in Arkansas.  They are knocked down and have chosen to allow God to lift them up and sozo them.  Sozo means to save, deliver, defend, and make whole again.  They encourage me and are tangible examples to me and my family in our daily desires and struggles to be more like Jesus.  They are humble in their way of walking through recovery.  Aren't we all recovering from something? A death in our family? A lost job? A wayward relationship? Can't we all lament opportunities that we didn't take to be Christ to others?  I pray for these guys daily and I hold them close to my heart.  Addiction isn't easy and I don't pretend to know the half of it.  I do know that Satan uses it to destroy lives and families but God the great physician and Divine healer saves delivers and defends us through the blood of Jesus Christ every day.  Ephesians 6:12 "Our fight is not against flesh and blood."  

For more information about SOZO for yourself or someone you love go to:
- Facebook SOZO Recovery Centers 
- http://www.sozorecoverycenters.com/
- or contact Bob O'Dowd, Executive Director at 501-984-5317,
 sozo_recoveryctrs@yahoo.com

Details

Published: 28 January 2015

• redemption

Our Redeemer lives. Redemption is possible. We can be bought back when we had no other hope of rescue.

But Ruth and Naomi didn’t understand these possibilities. The family name was dead. There were no men to carry on the family name, no rights or land, no hope for a stable future.

What started as a daring risk: a mother-in-law instructing her daughter-in-law to go and lay at the feet of a kind land-owner, a distant cousin of the family, ended as a promising story of God’s eternal plan for redemption.

Boaz served as kinsman-redeemer for Ruth and Naomi. His kind heart honored Ruth’s faithfulness to her mother-in-law and he took action to bless and redeem Naomi’s family name. Naomi rejoiced in the redemption of her family, but also in the loving care for her daughter-in-law.

The action Boaz took as kinsman-redeemer for Ruth and Naomi was more than a one-generation blessing for a family in the city of Bethlehem. You see, the Ultimate Redeemer would be born in Bethlehem a few centuries later, the distant grandson of Boaz and Ruth’s son, Obed, the father of Jesse, the father of David.

Father, I thank you for your redemptive plan in my life. You knew of our need for rescue and we see in your Word how you worked through history, orchestrating your perfect plan of redemption that culminated in your Son. Our Redeemer lives. Redemption is possible. Thank you for providing us with the hope of rescue and the promise of redemption for those who submit to you.

(For more details about this powerful story, I invite you to subscribe to the blog and receive a free download of the 1st ePetal study – Iron Rose Sisters: a deeper look at Ruth and Naomi.)