Freedom!

Today is Memorial Day....a day to remember those who have fought for the freedoms which this country so much enjoys. I love history & so this day, along with Veterans Day is a special day for me personally. I have read much about the blood that was shed, so that we can live in the freedoms we experience today.

A "memorial" is defined as a marker or statue to remember. As I think about & am so thankful for those who have given everything for this nation in which I live, I am reminded also this day of the God-man who gave everything so that I could have freedom in Him (no matter where I live physically). So today is a "memorial day" to remember the freedom that has been purchased for me by the cross. I pray that you will use this day as a "marker" for remembering what freedom was bought for you by the blood of Jesus.

Galations 5:1 says, "It is for freedom that Christ has set you free. Stand firm then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." What did Christ's blood "buy" you and me? FREEDOM! No more are we to be bound by sin.

To be set free is to be cut loose! What have you & I been cut loose from? We are cut loose from: "repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or to be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community. I could go on." (Galations 5:19-21 Messge Translation). These are some of the sins that we have been freed from! We need to begin living the life that Jesus paid for--the brutal, painful, humiliating death that He experienced to bring each one of us LIFE!

David Foster, in his book A Renegade's Guide to God talks about this freedom we have, because the JESUS LIFE lives in us! The greatest point of history--Jesus didn't stay in the ground. He was raised to life and offers us this gift of life. He lives in me, which gives me the freedom to stand firm. "Jesus' aliveness living in me gives the freedom to become an authentic version of who He created me to be. I am no longer bound by my inner demons, dumb habits, or the insane need to prove my worth to the world. We are free from the dread of the past and the fear of the future. Under the loving leadership of Jesus, I have authority and standing."
(p. 163)


Step into the freedom that Jesus' life offers. Make this your "memorial day"...a day to mark that your freedom is purchased & you will NOT go back into a land of slavery! To be free spiritually is the greatest gift purchased on the cross!

Take some time to think about what yokes of slavery are you under? What have you allowed to continue to steal, kill and destroy in your attitudes? Behaviors? Mindsets? Belief systems? Take that ground back. Those of us who are in Christ Jesus are free. We have no longer to let the slavery of sin control us. Remind your body & mind WHO is in control!

David Foster writes, "We need renegades for God who dare to live FREE, have fun, and change the world." (p. 247)

John Wesley, founder of the Methodist Church said, "Give me a hundred men who fear nothing but sin, and desire nothing but God, and I will shake the world. I care not a straw whether they be clergy or laymen; and such alone will overthrow the kingdom of satan and build up the Kingdom of God on earth."

This world needs believers to be free! Live in the freedom that was purchased for you, so we can shake the world and build up the Kingdom of God on earth!