For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Galatians 5:13-14 NLT
It has been said, "When the will to be free is greater than the will of bondage, the way to freedom can be found." However, the price of freedom has always been paid in heartache and blood - of the oppressed, of the oppressors, and of the liberators.
It's been eye-opening to realize the percentage of the generations once and twice removed who seem to have forgotten and/or fail to recognize and acknowledge the freedoms we enjoy here in the states and the ultimate price that's been paid so we can enjoy them - freedoms many people in the world still today can only dream of. God help us all.
For our Christian walk, Christ willingly paid the ultimate sacrifice to liberate us from our sinful nature. His Blood cleanses us from all unrighteousness and frees us to love others as He loved us. Have we forgotten? Do we fail to recognize and acknowledge what He has done so we may walk in it?
Freedom was God's plan from the beginning. Even Isaiah prophesied, "I, the Lord, made you, and I will not forget you. I have swept away your sins like a cloud. I have scattered your offenses like the morning mist. Oh, return to me, for I have paid the price to set you free.” Freedom isn't free.
Prayer:
Father,
Thank You for loving us more than enough to set us free from a lifetime of being slaves to sin. Thank You for setting our spirit free so that even in chains, we cannot be bound. Thank You for Your Word that assures us if Your Son has set us free, then we are free indeed. May we have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep Your love is. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen
Showing posts with label Freedom isn't free. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Freedom isn't free. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 5, 2020
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
Taking a Stand +
Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back. So let's keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision—you'll see it yet! Now that we're on the right track, let's stay on it.
Philippians 3:13-16 The Message.
Christ giving His life for ours as the final Blood sacrifice for our sin is the ultimate freedom. The Crucifixion is what allowed and enabled every other freedom that we have and enjoy. We need to remember - we MUST remember - true freedom comes with a great price. There are things we must know in every fiber of our being in order to be able to make and take a stand for freedom.
As Houston, Texas pastors square off against demands from city government, I just want to take a moment to remind us again of the price paid for the freedoms we enjoy and often take for granted. There is ALWAYS a price for freedom.
Bill Belew, Christian Worldview Examiner, wrote the following:
******************************************************Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence ?
Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died.
Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned.
Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army; another had two sons captured.
Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War.
They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.
What kind of men were they?
Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists. Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners; men of means, well educated, but they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured.
Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in rags.
Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward.
Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.
At the battle of Yorktown , Thomas Nelson, Jr., noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt.
Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months.
John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished.
Skipping down, Mr. Belew goes on to write: Remember: freedom is never free!
Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned.
Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army; another had two sons captured.
Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War.
They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.
What kind of men were they?
Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists. Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners; men of means, well educated, but they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured.
Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in rags.
Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward.
Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.
At the battle of Yorktown , Thomas Nelson, Jr., noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt.
Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months.
John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished.
Skipping down, Mr. Belew goes on to write: Remember: freedom is never free!
***************************************************
What will we do when it's our turn. Will you take a stand?
Prayer:
Father,
Drive it home deep within us. Let us not make light work of the price of freedom, but rather, let us make true freedom our life's work in all arenas of our lives and for all people. It is Your will that none should perish, but that all should have everlasting life. Thank You for sending Your Son to pay the price for our sins. Lord, make us courageous in the fight to stand for Your Truths. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen
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