He Died so that We could be FREE

How Free Are You?

8/15/2003

Don’t let the betrayal He experienced, His Blood, His Agony be in vain.

If you are washed in His Blood, then sin no longer has to be your master…You do NOT have to sin.

So, How free are YOU?

Free from anger, selfishness, jealousy, fear, and lust?

Free from the chains of the fleshly vices that have haunted you all your life (your lusts, your moods, your sleeping and eating habits)?

Free from fear of being hurt, alone, rejected, left out, misunderstood, or just plain wrong?

Free to LOVE!?!

He took the nails so that you could be FREE! NOT free to sin, but Free to NOT sin.

It’s for Freedom that He set you Free. And if you give in to all your wants, your pride, your circumstances or whatever it is, then you’re a slave. He didn’t die to set you free so that you could go on living like a slave. He didn’t die to set me free so that I could make other people a slave of my “predicament,” whatever it happens to be.

How free are you? I’m a slave if I’m driven by what I look like, what people think of me, what I can do or not do, what other people can do and not do. If all of those things have closed in on me and control what I think and how I feel, then I’m a slave. I’m not free. It’s for freedom that Jesus has set us free.

So, what am I going to do about it? How Free Am I? Am I free to continue to function even when I hurt? Am I free to live life and continue to try to contribute to the world around me somehow, in some way, working hard as best I can.

What does it mean to be set free? It certainly means freedom from the penalty of sin. If our hearts are truly towards him and truly penitent, then the penalty of sin is gone. Jesus gave that freedom to us as a gift. We’re as free as Jesus is free from the penalty of sin if our hearts are soft towards Him. “Those that call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” That’s a freedom that is inexpressible. Freedom from guilt, freedom from fear, freedom from a foul conscience. For those who’ve truly given their life to Jesus, that’s a freedom that is immeasurable, and beyond the scope of description, and beyond price.

But there is still MORE. The freedom of Life is the freedom from a self-centered life. Freedom from pondering yourself and your situation, and instead turning your heart, your mind, and your eyes towards the situations around you, counting those as more important than yours. Freedom to love. That doesn’t mean you won’t have difficulties and that doesn’t mean that there won’t be other people caring for you; that’s part of life. We all care for each other, and to have too much pride to not let others care about us is grotesque, too. He has given us freedom to be outside of ourselves. The practical life of not being controlled by thinking about yourself all the time—that’s Freedom!

Father, please grant us the Grace to Live in that Freedom…for the sake of Your Name, and Your Kingdom.

He took the nails so that you could be FREE! Will you take the Journey?

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