Free to Set Free - Day 2
Tuesday, August 28th
Read: Galatians 5:1 (over and over; in several different translations)
Remember: “This isn’t a one-time, ‘sinner’s prayer’ kind of thing. This is an Every-Moment-You’re-About-to-Lose-Your-Crazy kind of thing. There’s no brilliant formula for being a super-Christian. We are all broken and in desperate need of a Savior. We are nothing without Him. We are everything in Him.”
Oh, how I loved the words that Rebekah Lyons wrote above! We ARE nothing without Him and we ARE everything in Him! And, as we have learned, we ARE FREE in Him.
Paul writes in Galatians 5:1 “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not yourselves be burdened again by the yolk of slavery.”
I think it is important to note that God freed us for us to enjoy the benefits of freedom. Jesus came to free us from the law; he came to change the following of rituals and rules to the building of relationship with Him. Simply put, Jesus came to give us life, life abundant.
Paul seems to also be issuing us a warning here, sisters, and we should take heed. He is asking us to be careful and to not get caught in the chains that we have been enslaved prior to claiming our freedom.
Can you just imagine how the evil one celebrates when we become captive again to bondage of any sort – especially those chains of which we thought we were freed. Can you just imagine how the enemy does a happy dance when we simply just shuffle through life in shackles and chains when abundance is there for the taking? Based upon this warning, we must continue to put on the armor of God daily and stay in His word. We must continually confess our need for Him and our desire for freedom. And, without a doubt, we must encourage each other by lifting each other up and cheering each other on in this battle for true freedom and life abundant in Him. We must help each other find key to unlock the padlocks of the strongholds that keep us captive.
Rest: What is the pain, the memory, the bondage that always threatens to steal your freedom AGAIN. We have to be vigilant in our battle against these things. Whatever IT is for you, write it down in your journal today. If you don’t have a journal, write it down on something that you can keep close to you forever. Make a commitment to pray daily concerning this opponent. Openly acknowledge that as strongly as this threatens to keep you in bondage, God in Jesus Christ is stronger. In Him, you are free!
Dear Lord,
Thank you for freeing us and giving us life abundant. Lord, enjoying that freedom in you is a continual fight as the enemy wants to keep us down. He wants us to believe we aren’t worthy of the freedom that you offer, and he wants to see us in slavery to bondage. Lord, please help all of us remember that in you we are free to be all that you’ve created us to be. In you we can do all things. In you, we can take our own stories of personal bondage, share it with others, and help them realize that there is true freedom in you! Lord when we walk down a road that leads us toward bondage, convict us and remind us that you are there, all we have to do is whisper your name. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen
