If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. John 8:36 KJV
I don't think anyone truly wants... or plans on going to prison and yet our prisons are full! Our prisons are either at capacity or in overflow conditions... for one reason and only one... our world has no answers for our sinful nature... and it rejects the truth that brings FREEDOM!
There is more than one kind of prison however... and while it might not have chains or bars to shackle us physically... it can be just as crippling and confining. Sadly there are many Christians who are serving life sentences... without the slightest notion that they have been set free... they have been pardoned by the precious blood of Jesus! A prisoner on death row waits anxiously... right up until the very last moment for a reprieve from the governor! If we are saved... we already have our clemency in Jesus Christ and He has set us free!
Be it a major failure... or an accumulation of many small failures... the result is always the same. We feel unworthy of enjoying intimate fellowship with God. We must learn to live in the present... we have no business wallowing in the sins of our past or fretting over the potential hazards of our future. We need to continually draw... moment by moment... on the Lord for our strength. We may not always "feel" victorious... but we are not to rely on our feelings! We rely solely on the Word of God!
So why do we continue to let our past... rule our present? Why do we allow the emotional baggage that we grew up with... keep us tethered and bound on a daily basis? How can we break free and stay free... and live our lives victoriously? Or... is it even possible?
We do not have to be "Super Christians" to achieve an abundant life in Christ! Rather, it comes from an understanding of our true position in Christ. There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Romans 8:1 When we don't understand that position of complete forgiveness... guilt, frustration and spiritual fatigue will beset us. If we focus on our past sins and failures... we will be overwhelmed. This is simply a tool of Satan that is meant to steal our joy, our spiritual strength and our spiritual growth!
Get into God's Word when you are overwhelmed with yourself... feast on His truths and not your own feelings! I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20 KJV You and I have tried to keep the rules by working as hard as we can to please God... and it didn't work. When will we quit being a "law man" and become a "God man..." Christ's life will not only show us how... but He will enable us to do it!
As we identify ourselves completely with Jesus... we will be crucified with Him and Him alone. We can stop trying to look righteous to others and we can leave their opinion of us behind! The life we will be living... will not be our own... it will be lived by faith in the Son of God, who loves and gave himself for us. Now, not only will we live free... we will live victorious!! Why would any of us want to go back... to keeping the rules or pleasing our peers... if that was the way to attain a glorious life... Jesus would not have come to die for our sins!
So... how do you choose to live? Will you be a "law man" or a "God man?"
I don't think anyone truly wants... or plans on going to prison and yet our prisons are full! Our prisons are either at capacity or in overflow conditions... for one reason and only one... our world has no answers for our sinful nature... and it rejects the truth that brings FREEDOM!
There is more than one kind of prison however... and while it might not have chains or bars to shackle us physically... it can be just as crippling and confining. Sadly there are many Christians who are serving life sentences... without the slightest notion that they have been set free... they have been pardoned by the precious blood of Jesus! A prisoner on death row waits anxiously... right up until the very last moment for a reprieve from the governor! If we are saved... we already have our clemency in Jesus Christ and He has set us free!
Be it a major failure... or an accumulation of many small failures... the result is always the same. We feel unworthy of enjoying intimate fellowship with God. We must learn to live in the present... we have no business wallowing in the sins of our past or fretting over the potential hazards of our future. We need to continually draw... moment by moment... on the Lord for our strength. We may not always "feel" victorious... but we are not to rely on our feelings! We rely solely on the Word of God!
So why do we continue to let our past... rule our present? Why do we allow the emotional baggage that we grew up with... keep us tethered and bound on a daily basis? How can we break free and stay free... and live our lives victoriously? Or... is it even possible?
We do not have to be "Super Christians" to achieve an abundant life in Christ! Rather, it comes from an understanding of our true position in Christ. There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Romans 8:1 When we don't understand that position of complete forgiveness... guilt, frustration and spiritual fatigue will beset us. If we focus on our past sins and failures... we will be overwhelmed. This is simply a tool of Satan that is meant to steal our joy, our spiritual strength and our spiritual growth!
Get into God's Word when you are overwhelmed with yourself... feast on His truths and not your own feelings! I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20 KJV You and I have tried to keep the rules by working as hard as we can to please God... and it didn't work. When will we quit being a "law man" and become a "God man..." Christ's life will not only show us how... but He will enable us to do it!
As we identify ourselves completely with Jesus... we will be crucified with Him and Him alone. We can stop trying to look righteous to others and we can leave their opinion of us behind! The life we will be living... will not be our own... it will be lived by faith in the Son of God, who loves and gave himself for us. Now, not only will we live free... we will live victorious!! Why would any of us want to go back... to keeping the rules or pleasing our peers... if that was the way to attain a glorious life... Jesus would not have come to die for our sins!
So... how do you choose to live? Will you be a "law man" or a "God man?"
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