Let the Redeemed of the Lord say so...

When you think of “treasure”, what comes to your mind? Probably something like...diamonds, coins, pearls and maybe some rare literature or paintings? Notice the word in the title... “Redeemed?” well, some would say that IS a treasure. Let us dive in this shall we?!

In Proverbs 2:4-5 it is written “If you seek her as silver, And search for her as for hidden treasures; Then you will discern the fear of the LORD, And discover the knowledge of God.” So, you were willed some old documents that are very old and worn. You read them and discover that these papers show you now own property somewhere and it is rumored that your lineage attached to said property buried their valuables, no banks around at that time. The property never was built on, still totally raw earth. You then would be VERY ENCOURAGED to go to that property and investigate it, wouldn’t you say?!

You then would spend your time and money “looking or seeking” for that said “treasure,” makes total sense right? Now back to the word in the title, “Redeemed.” The definition of the word “redeemed” is 1) Granted redemption or salvation 2) Saved from the bondage of sin. WOW!! The web’s dictionary lines up with what God say’s IT IS!! In God’s Word it is written in Ephesians 1:7 “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace,.” This continues through verse 12. Now this IS TREASURE as in Proverbs 2:4-5!

As in Proverbs 2:4-5, the Word speaks about discerning the fear of the LORD as part of this fabulous Treasure as well. To “discern” the fear of the LORD is to use good judgement in what you see and wisdom to be able to act accordingly. The “fear” is not for you to be afraid of Him, be in awe of Him! Because when you screw up, and you will, the Cross, the Blood the LAMB shed for you on that Cross, caused you to be able to ask Jesus to be The LORD of your life! God then immediately sends His own Spirit to live in you! He is the One that will guide you and help you when you screw up so that you will not live in sin! He, Holy Spirit will convict your heart to REPENT until you REPENT! If you do not...uh oh!! God turned His own back to Jesus while on that very Cross when Jesus TOOK EVERY SIN MAN WOULD COMMIT and HAD COMMITTED, such as the curse Adam and EVE caused! Jesus became sin that NEVER SINNED!! EVER!! So, if you stay in sin do you think God will not turn His back on you??

This is where His grace comes in!! Holy Spirit WILL REMIND YOU of what sin needs repentance that you may be in! His sweet, soft voice will speak to you, not as in a thought that pops in your head. No, His voice will cause you to listen inwardly, like “did you hear that”? But it is you asking you if you heard it! He IS AMAZING! Holy Spirit will NEVER condemn you, try to guilt you! Guilt and condemnation are satin's tools! Holy Spirit will ALWAYS LEAD YOU TO JESUS!

Do not be afraid of God! He has set you up for success if you will meet His requirements. Remember Proverbs 2:4-5, starts out by giving you something to do, “If you seek”, see? You have stuff to do, and boy will you be BLESSED by doing what He requires!!! Think of your Bible as a “TREASURE Map,” you will become such a contagious child of God that Wakulla County will be blessed as well! Everyone will want WHO you have my friend!

Be encouraged,

Deb Quimby-Quackenbush,

If you do not know Jesus and want to, say this out loud and believe...

Romans 10: 13 for “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” “Jesus, I am a sinner I know, I repent and turn away from all that I did as a sinner. I believe in faith that God sent You to be my sin on the Cross, to cleanse me from all my sin and now make me new. I believe You died and rose on the 3rd day so that I may live and become Your Righteousness. I now give you my life and live for You! By God’s Grace I am now Born Again. Your next step is to be water baptized (1 Peter 3:21, 1 Corinthians 6:11) CONGRATULATIONS!

Looking into a Mirror...

His reflection through us is what is on my heart this day. As I go out each day, I am around a lot of people sharing their life experiences. The stories they share are quite eye opening to who they live for, the kingdom they serve. My response to their stories is an eye opener to them of who I live for and the kingdom I serve as well. The same goes for you who are reading this. I bring this up to ask ourselves...are we mimicking Jesus and His ways? As we grow in God, our interests and desires start to change. The conversations we would partake in are no longer interesting to us. The same goes for how we spend our time.

So, when we look in the “mirror” of our mind of a conversation or time spent with someone, the reflection of that situation we were in...was it “carnal” or Christ like? Did we encourage the people we were with to be more like the world or Jesus? I do not mean by preaching at them, just simply through our new way of living...the joy we now have in us, the peace we now have. Scripture says this “Proverbs 27:19 As in water, face reflects face, So the heart of man reflects man.” It becomes evident in us, through our words and actions how we spend our time and Who we spend our time with. Scripture says this “Luke 6:45 "The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.”

The “Fruit” God is growing in us should start to be seen by others. Scripture says this “2 Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.” His WORD is our Seed for His Harvest that is in the world. Matthew 9:37 Then He *said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. 38 Therefore, plead with the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.” We are His workers. Praise God!! Be encouraged in and through His WORD, allow Him to do in you what only God can do! His WORD is the ONLY way for anyone and anything to change! Remember!! NO MATTER WHAT WE’VE DONE!!! HE LOVES US!!!

Stay encouraged in Him,

Deb Quimby-Quackenbush

If you do not know Jesus and want to, say this out loud... Romans 10: 13 for “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” “Jesus, I am a sinner I know, I repent and turn away from all that I did as a sinner, I renounce their hold on me. I believe in faith God sent You to become my sin, on the Cross, to cleanse me from them and now make me new. I believe You died and rose on the 3rd day so that I may live and become Your Righteousness. I now give you my life and live for You! By God’s Grace I am now Born Again. WOOOHHHOOOO!! Welcome to the family! Your life just got EXCITING!!! The next step is to be water baptized (1 Peter 3:21, 1 Corinthians 6:11) so that our old self will be buried. It is important now to get involved in a Spirit filled full Gospel church and dive in and learn all about who you now are becoming. Congratulations my friend!

Begin

Greetings everyone! Happy 2025!! We hope 2024 brought you closer to God, that a beautiful relationship has begun! Thank you again for allowing us to encourage you to engage with Him!

As 2025 begins a new and fabulous year, know that for you that are Born Again no matter your age...a brand-new life has begun for you! All things are new 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were entreating through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

You ARE BRAND NEW!! Begin this year trusting God to complete what He starts, it doesn’t happen overnight, if you will allow Him, He will change you to be who He has called you to be for Himself, His purposes! Philippians 1:6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

Know that God in His Fullness loves each one of you so much!!! He has set you up for success in and through Jesus for Himself!! Go and have fun and enjoy the life He gave you, my friends!!!

***For those that do not know God***

For those that are not Born Again in Christ, God will position people to come across your paths to encourage you to search for and call out to Jesus, to invite Him in to become your Lord and Savior. You will start to notice people coming across your paths in many ways to get your attention on Jesus! This column being just that! Your spirit He gave you will cause you to have thoughts of Him because your spirit knows who you belong to! When experiences like these begin to happen, God is calling you to Him, Jesus! You cannot know Jesus except through God and you cannot know God except through Jesus! John 14:6 Jesus said to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me. He is pouring out His Grace upon you!! Here are His Words for the examples I just gave you; Luke 10:2 And He was saying to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” Romans 8: 16-17 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him. Titus 2: 11-14 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus; who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds. This is when you either agree to His invitation and accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior or not. He will keep trying for a time, which is up to Him! God will NEVER CALL YOU TO HIM THROUGH FEAR!! In 1 John 4:18 He says, There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. The fire and brimstone sermons are not from Him! You would be coming to Him only for one reason...you don’t want to burn in hell!! God searches your heart...your motives...your intent! Remember, He made you! He calls because He knows you instinctively love Him and will endure to the end! Be encouraged, if He is calling RUN TO HIM!!

If you do not know Jesus as your Lord and Savior and want to, say this out loud and believe; In Romans 10:13 God, Your Word says “for “EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.” “Jesus, I am a sinner I know, I repent, and I choose to turn away from all the sinful things I did as a sinner. I believe in faith that You God sent Your Son to become my sin and cleanse me from all sin and make me new. Jesus, You paid the debt I owe and cannot pay on the Cross with Your Life for my life and died, You were buried for 3 days and rose from the dead on the 3rd day as the First Born-Again Child of God. I ask You Jesus, to come into my life and be my Lord and Savior. Take my life to serve Your purposes! I confess I am now born again in Christ Jesus to serve Him and His purposes! Your next step is to be water baptized, 1Peter 3:21 and 1 Corinthians 6:11. CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

Sincerely,

Deb Quimby-Quackenbush

1/1/2025