Good Morning!
You wouldn't believe the struggle I've had trying to bring freedom from an abstract to a tangible in my own mind. I've been living in a free country my entire life! I've been in relationship with Jesus Christ since I was 7-years-old! And yet, I didn't know how to define freedom.
Yes, I know what Webster's says. I know the words that define freedom. But it has just recently become something I want to exercise well. So, in order to do that I needed to know what it is.
It's about having a choice. The choices have always been there, but the ability to see what those choices are and choose the best choice is freedom coupled with grace.
Just to be clear here, I'm sharing these thoughts from the perspective of someone who totally believes that Jesus is who He says He is. That He is God in the flesh. That there is no other way to have a relationship with God except by believing Jesus is who He says He is and that He is the only provision God has made for mankind to be in relationship with Him...which He wants! I believe God came to earth, lived in a human body for 33 sinless years, died a brutal death on purpose and in my place, rose from the grave three days later, is living in heaven and is preparing a place for me to live with Him there after I leave this earth.
Recognizing there is that choice is the freedom He paid to give me. I am no longer blind to who He is or what He did. Prior to my ability to see the separation, I didn't even know there was a choice involved. I was living in spiritual darkness. Did you know that light deprivation prevents us from being able to differentiate between truth and lies?
The birth of spiritual freedom begins when we recognize we have a choice to make about who we believe Jesus is and what we're going to do about Him. Whether we choose to follow Him or not, we're free. We are no longer a slave to sin, but if we refuse to follow Jesus we are choosing to stay blind servants of the one the Bible tells us in the Enemy, the Adversary, Satan, the father of lies. From that moment on we are responsible for our choices. We are no longer imprisoned in darkness but there by choice.
Going back to the man in the prison cell. As soon as Jesus shed light on his cell and opened that door, he was free. That freedom required him to make a choice. Leave the darkness and walk into the light and away from the dark or stay in the dark because the light hurt his eyes and required him to be led by the hand as his eyesight clears.
John 1:1-13 (NLT) says:
In the beginning the Word already existed.
The Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
2 He existed in the beginning with God.
3 God created everything through him,
and nothing was created except through him.
4 The Word gave life to everything that was created,
and his life brought light to everyone.
5 The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness can never extinguish it.
John 8:12 (NLT) says:
12 Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”
LORD Jesus, I so want to walk completely in Your light and not stumble through this life living in only a portion of the blessings You created me to enjoy or completing only a few of the good things you created me to do. Help me to see You clearly, LORD, and follow where You lead without hesitation. Free me from my fear of the unknown and fill me with Your light! Thank You! Amen.
You wouldn't believe the struggle I've had trying to bring freedom from an abstract to a tangible in my own mind. I've been living in a free country my entire life! I've been in relationship with Jesus Christ since I was 7-years-old! And yet, I didn't know how to define freedom.
Yes, I know what Webster's says. I know the words that define freedom. But it has just recently become something I want to exercise well. So, in order to do that I needed to know what it is.
It's about having a choice. The choices have always been there, but the ability to see what those choices are and choose the best choice is freedom coupled with grace.
Just to be clear here, I'm sharing these thoughts from the perspective of someone who totally believes that Jesus is who He says He is. That He is God in the flesh. That there is no other way to have a relationship with God except by believing Jesus is who He says He is and that He is the only provision God has made for mankind to be in relationship with Him...which He wants! I believe God came to earth, lived in a human body for 33 sinless years, died a brutal death on purpose and in my place, rose from the grave three days later, is living in heaven and is preparing a place for me to live with Him there after I leave this earth.
Recognizing there is that choice is the freedom He paid to give me. I am no longer blind to who He is or what He did. Prior to my ability to see the separation, I didn't even know there was a choice involved. I was living in spiritual darkness. Did you know that light deprivation prevents us from being able to differentiate between truth and lies?
The birth of spiritual freedom begins when we recognize we have a choice to make about who we believe Jesus is and what we're going to do about Him. Whether we choose to follow Him or not, we're free. We are no longer a slave to sin, but if we refuse to follow Jesus we are choosing to stay blind servants of the one the Bible tells us in the Enemy, the Adversary, Satan, the father of lies. From that moment on we are responsible for our choices. We are no longer imprisoned in darkness but there by choice.
Going back to the man in the prison cell. As soon as Jesus shed light on his cell and opened that door, he was free. That freedom required him to make a choice. Leave the darkness and walk into the light and away from the dark or stay in the dark because the light hurt his eyes and required him to be led by the hand as his eyesight clears.
John 1:1-13 (NLT) says:
In the beginning the Word already existed.
The Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
2 He existed in the beginning with God.
3 God created everything through him,
and nothing was created except through him.
4 The Word gave life to everything that was created,
and his life brought light to everyone.
5 The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness can never extinguish it.
6 God sent a man, John the Baptist,7 to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. 8 John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light. 9 The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.
10 He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. 11 He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. 12 But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. 13 They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.John 8:12 (NLT) says:
12 Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”
LORD Jesus, I so want to walk completely in Your light and not stumble through this life living in only a portion of the blessings You created me to enjoy or completing only a few of the good things you created me to do. Help me to see You clearly, LORD, and follow where You lead without hesitation. Free me from my fear of the unknown and fill me with Your light! Thank You! Amen.
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