Well I know I could give a simple answer... YES!
Yet the solution is so simple, as the God man passes by, He looks straight through my eyes, the darkness cannot hide! Do YOU want to be free? Lift your chains I hold the key. All power of Heaven and Earth belong to Me! Well that is simple, Jesus asks us if we want to be FREE! Well who doesn't? Well, thats that reason for today's little blog! Why is it so easy to be released from bondage, but so hard for me (us) to say; Yes! I want to be FREE! I do not know the answer to this for you all, but for me, the answer is I'm afraid to surrender, I'm in a comfort zone. Even though I'm tormented in this comfy state, I still resort back to what I know, which is unfortunately the evil that has me in chains to begin with.
The only thing that gives me hope and promise for release is the Love, Grace and Mercy of my Lord, Jesus Christ! "But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in MERCY, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-it is by GRACE you have been saved! Ephesians 2:4-5. Yet that is not all our Lord has to say to comfort us, in John chapter 8, Jesus, said to a woman who was engulfed in sin and was blunt with His words! "Go NOW and leave your life of Sin!" Let's just say Jesus had a remarkable way for getting straight to the point with most things, and even when He used parables, they reached those they needed too, the ignorant were left laughing, the humbled where left...well humbled!
For me I know that the darkness in my life is easy to hide in, you can become so devoured by the darkness that you do not even realize you in it! Yet be encouraged Matt, Psalm 139:11-12, (my paraphrase) God, there is no such thing as darkness in your presence, the darkest of night, becomes the brightest of day when you are near! What also is assuring (which was also in the song) was "Jesus said to them, all authority in Heaven and on Earth has been given to Me!" Matthew 28:18.
I know that God has the ability to rescue and set me FREE!!! He sets me free daily, whenever I call out to Him, He lifts the chains off and delivers me from the darkness! Yet daily I go back to the chains, I am persuaded to go back into a life of sin, because for me its a way to cope with loneliness, depression, hurt, boredom, basically anything that God has tried to relieve me of, and me resorting back to it!
Well I need to stop! I need to retire, and stay retired! No more Brett Farve "ing" life, my pastor on Sunday gave a great message, and said one thing that really stuck out and has stuck with me... "We live in a world of INCONSISTENCIES, yet we as Christians need to live a CONSISTENT life!" Well how true is that? How many times does society fail us? and how many times does God fail us? The spectrum the quite lopsided in favor the one Who set the captives FREE! I also learned that when we fail, and ask God for forgiveness, He immediately forgives, but we tend to keep reminding ourselves of that sin! Why you ask? Because we have yet to forgive ourselves!!! You (me) have to forgive ourselves in order to be set FREE!
I know my Lord, is the same yesterday, today and forever, if He saved and rescued then He does the same today! My God has promised us many things, including that He will be with us, forever, but He encourages us by sending His Son Jesus to die for our sins, for all of our imperfections which are HIGH and MIGHTY! My God still Loves me, still cares for me enough to want me, to hold me, to break the chains of sin away! In conclusion I have three pretty powerful verses that God allowed me to find the first being Ephesians 6:10 "Finally, be STRONG in the Lord!" The next verse being Romans 6:18, is good too, "You have been set FREE from sin and have become slaves to one thing, RIGHTEOUSNESS!" Finally this verse is from John 8:36, but for all the people that remember Steven Curtis Chapman this was the bridge in one of his which I will use to concluded this blog! "So, if the Son sets you FREE, you WILL be FREE indeed!"
So with me cast down your chains, drop the bondage they have on your life, give God the chance to set you free, and keep you free! Like me do not fall back and keep needing God for bail, He will not get tired of it cause He loves us! But we need to live consistent in our world full of inconsistencies!
Love you Lord!
God's grace has broken every chain... WE'RE FREE!!!!
Very insightful Matt. Someone once noted that “We prefer the security of our bondage over the uncertainty of an unknown future in Christ." This is much like the man at the pool whom Jesus ask; "do you want to be whole?" His response was to make excuses about not being able to get into the pool and lamenting that there was no one to help him get in. The question was direct, but he had been in his state for 38 years to the point that it had become his identity - "the lame man who had been there 38 years." The account does not end here for Jesus spoke, the man obeyed and he walked away having been made whole. So with us, we need to hear the Spirit witness with our spirit that we are the children of God - free in Christ! No longer bound by sin, but free. Freedom to live for Christ. Hallelujah!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing Matt!