The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the broken-hearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. (NLT)
I find it very sad, and I’m sure that God does too, that so many think that freedom means we can do anything we want or to live any way we want. That concept of freedom has led to the enslavement of many and has caused many hearts and spirits to be broken. I’m not only writing of those who were enslaved in the early history of our Republic, though they certainly must be included in any serious discussion of freedom –vs.- slavery, but also of the millions who have found themselves trapped in various forms of slavery in so many parts of the world, including and up to today. We have yet to rid ourselves of this terrible form of inhumanity to our fellow man.
But there is another form of slavery that has entrapped us all. It is slavery to sin, and no proclamation or decree of man or nation can free even one person from this terrible form of slavery. But God can and did!
Writing to the believers at Ephesus, the Apostle Paul reminds them of their past. “You were dead in your trespasses and sin.” (Eph. 2:1). Any reminder of a terrible past is horrific, and certainly this one is not good news, but there is good news associated with it because Paul writes “YOU WERE.” In verse 11 he writes, “You were separate from Christ.” In the 5th chapter he states “You were formerly darkness.” (v8). But all of this past tense talk is thrown out in Ephesians 1:3 where we read: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing…”
Now freedom has to be redefined. Instead of freedom being the right to live anyway we want, we have discovered that true freedom is the God given power to live they way we should. PRAISE THE LORD!
I love being pastor of the Journey church! If you're looking for a truly loving and caring group of people, why not be our guest!
Pastor Jim
I find it very sad, and I’m sure that God does too, that so many think that freedom means we can do anything we want or to live any way we want. That concept of freedom has led to the enslavement of many and has caused many hearts and spirits to be broken. I’m not only writing of those who were enslaved in the early history of our Republic, though they certainly must be included in any serious discussion of freedom –vs.- slavery, but also of the millions who have found themselves trapped in various forms of slavery in so many parts of the world, including and up to today. We have yet to rid ourselves of this terrible form of inhumanity to our fellow man.
But there is another form of slavery that has entrapped us all. It is slavery to sin, and no proclamation or decree of man or nation can free even one person from this terrible form of slavery. But God can and did!
Writing to the believers at Ephesus, the Apostle Paul reminds them of their past. “You were dead in your trespasses and sin.” (Eph. 2:1). Any reminder of a terrible past is horrific, and certainly this one is not good news, but there is good news associated with it because Paul writes “YOU WERE.” In verse 11 he writes, “You were separate from Christ.” In the 5th chapter he states “You were formerly darkness.” (v8). But all of this past tense talk is thrown out in Ephesians 1:3 where we read: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing…”
Now freedom has to be redefined. Instead of freedom being the right to live anyway we want, we have discovered that true freedom is the God given power to live they way we should. PRAISE THE LORD!
I love being pastor of the Journey church! If you're looking for a truly loving and caring group of people, why not be our guest!
Pastor Jim