A Ransom No One Could Pay

     It was the middle of the night and darkness had surrounded me. I was in the hands of someone I didn't know. Fear engulfed me. I tried to look in his face but the darkness covered it. He was laughing an evil laugh and when he spoke, I felt paralyzed. He said he was holding me for Ransom and that I would be his until someone came to pay it. I looked around, I could see a line of people who had come to help but their faces stared back at me with a helpless expression. They wanted to help but they couldn't. Not one could pay the ransom. I thought to myself, I am doomed; I will be in his clutches forever. He continued to laugh. There was a train right there and he said it was time for us to leave. I was scared; everyone I loved was standing by watching. He took my hand and turned toward the train.

     Suddenly I saw a man coming toward us. He was just a simple man dressed in old clothes. He walked toward us slowly and when He reached the place where we were standing, He snatched the ransom note from my captor's hand. He looked at me with Love, took my hand in His and led me away. I was in awe! Who was this person? What was it about Him that caused my captor to set me free? He knew what I was thinking and when we stopped walking He looked at me and said, "I Paid the Price." "Follow Me."

     Suddenly I was awake, it had been a dream, an awesome dream. As I thought about it, I could see clearly who the person was that had me bound, and had been able to fill me with lies. It was satan. The people who were there to offer their help were all those people who through the years cared and prayed for me. In their hearts they always wanted to help make my life better, but it was not in their power. The man who rescued me was Jesus. He was the one who pad the price for my life. He paid it 2000 years ago, when He died on the cross. He died to set me free from all the bondage in my life. He was able to break the chains that held me back for so long. He wanted me to know that the blood He shed was for my sins and that His death on the cross was the Price He Paid for all. He was not going to let the enemy swallow me up. How blessed I am, was all I could say to myself.

     In Mark 10:45, Jesus said, "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many." Jesus came to earth to die for us, to pay the Ransom for our sins and give us access to Our Father in heaven through the blood that was shed not just for some, but for many. We are all included in the "many." We need only to receive His sacrifice, His love, His forgiveness, His grace and His mercy. We are free to walk with Him, to come to Him in prayer and to walk in His blessings, not because of our works but because of His death and resurrection. He wants to set you free, He wants to let you know that the "Price has been Paid," and we no longer have to be held captive by the enemy. We can receive His free gift, we can receive Him as Lord and Savior and Our Redeemer. We can be taken from the darkness into the Light with one simple prayer. "Jesus come into my heart, forgive me my sins and fill me with your Holy Spirit." If you have never prayed this prayer, won't you do it today? He paid the price and now wants you to walk in His Light rather than the darkness.

     Jesus loves you…He showed that Love with His death on the cross…He rose again and now sits at the right hand of the Father making intercession for us…He will come again to take us home!!!