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The redemption of property seems to reinforce the idea that man does not own the land; God owns the land.  In the same way the Israelites are not to make each other slaves because ultimately God owns the people as well.  What does it mean for God to have ownership over me and everything I own?  It means that I should take care of what I have because I am acting as God’s steward.  I am caretaking a possession or person for a time.  It also means that I should be continually seeking out God’s will for my life and property, and the lives of my family.  God gets to decide where we are and what we do and who we are doing it with.

Ultimately, if we are obedient to God, God will bless us.  By this I am not saying that we will be materially successful or even psychologically happy, but we will be blessed.  If we are disobedient to God, there are consequences for that disobedience, and those consequences are God’s punishment.

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Today’s message focused on relationships. We are all a part of many different teams. There is a team that does music ministry, a team that does youth ministry, a team that does children’s ministry, a team that gather for church, and a team of Christians throughout the world. For any of these teams to work effectively we need to be able to work together and therefore we need to be in healthy relationships.

What relationships need to be initiated? Who are the people that you avoid at church dinners? Those are the people you need to initiate relationship with. It is a terribly hard thing to go and sit down next to someone you normally avoid and purposefully have a conversation. But, sometimes that is what he need to do.

What relationships need to be nurtured? Do you have a family member or old friend who you have drifted away from? These are the relationships we need to build back up before they blow away.

What relationships need to be restored? Who have you offended? When we know we have offended or hurt a person we need to go to that person and work to restore the relationship. If someone has hurt or offended us, we need to go to that person and work to restore the relationship. It is not the other persons job to come to me…it is always my job to go to the people I know and work to repair the broken relationships in my life.

What relationships need to be severed? Who (or what) is pulling you away from God? What relationship are you not able to handle at this point in your life? It is important for each of us to honestly look at our lives and recognize what we need to stop doing.

Dear God, show me your vision, your revelation, your guidance for me in regards to my relationships. Help me obey that I may know the joy and happiness that comes from walking with you. Amen.

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