Freedom to Serve

“¹For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery…¹³For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” — Galatians 5:1&13 (ESV)

This morning I am brought back to a passage I have been to many times. I have a number of notes in the margin and yet, I am still getting more and more each time I come to the Word of God.

God freed us from the yoke of sin with the death and resurrection of Jesus on the cross. This freedom is not from any persecution, it is freedom from death due to my sin. This freedom has provided me the opportunity to serve God without fear of what comes in this world. I have to remember to follow the freedom as it was intended and not use it for my own license to sin. I have to use this freedom to spring me into action for the Lord and not for my own gain. That action for the Lord is rooted in serving Him by way of serving others.

What are you doing with your freedom? Are you using it as some excuse to do what you want? What if you were to embrace your freedom in God and use that freedom to serve Him through your service of others?

Freedom in the Spirit

Seems like when I make the statement as in the title of this writing, “Freedom in the Spirit”, I may be saying that freedom is not tangible and really only something that we are really not able to experience. Well that is not true at all. It is the word “the” that makes it completely different and does create the tangible thing for us all to experience.

“¹⁷Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” — 2 Corinthians 3:17 (ESV)

You see, here Paul is speaking of the Holy Spirit and as we know, the Lord is the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ all in one. And therefore, when we are dwelling in the Spirit and the Spirit in us, we are dwelling in the Lord and He in us. This dwelling gives us freedom from this world and all that is in it. Actually one of you following my blog gave the comment; “Being in close communion with the Trinity frees me from the lies spewed out by gov. big business and TV which promotes hatred, worry and confusion.” and I could not agree more. When we are in the Spirit, we are free from the influences of the world and are able to live a life above the world with Jesus.

I have to be careful as I do not want to mislead and indicated that I am greater than the world, that is not the case, as I live in this world just as everyone else does and am subject to what goes on in this world. What I am saying is that I do not have to worry with what goes on in this world, as I serve a higher power and when in service of God, the consequences of the world do not concern me as it is the favor of God that I am serving and not the favor of this world.

This favor of God is what gives me the freedom to live in this world and know that I am only here for a little while, passing through on my way to heaven where I will spend eternity. In heaven I will not have to concern myself with this world as I will no longer be it in and will live free to serve and glorify God even still.

Where are you looking for freedom? Are you looking to the world to provide freedom for you? What if you were to dwell in the Spirit to experience the freedom that comes with His dwelling in you?

The World is Waiting for the Freedom of Christians

I know that this is quite the statement from me. But it is not from me at all, I have gathered this from the passage I read this morning in Romans. Paul writes about future glory in Romans 8 and part of that future glory is freedom for creation.

“¹⁹For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. ²⁰For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope ²¹that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.” — Romans 8:19-21 (ESV)

You see, right there in verse 19 Paul writes of the eager waiting by creation. And as you read further, you can see the waiting for the freedom that is experienced by the “children of God”.

Creation, the world itself, has been subjected to evil since Adam and Eve ate from the fruit in disobedience of God. Yes, the world is subjected to evil and has to wait for God’s redemption for the world to be relieved of the evil. That redemption of the world will be fully realized with the rapture and God’s win in the war with evil. So until that day, the world or creation will be waiting for the freedom that I have as a result of the gift of grace and salvation I have accepted from the LORD.

Yes I have freedom and yet the world does not. That is evident by simply watching the state of the world today and each day as we move forward. There is social upheaval, wars over ideologies, displays of “power” through authoritarian regimes, and just bad stuff happening all over. I have the ability to walk away from the evil and find solace in the family of God, as do the rest of my fellow Christians. The world does not have that ability and is subject to all that goes on in and around it.

The world waits on for the freedom of salvation. I can only do my part to bring the gift of the gospel and what salvation imparts to others. I present the gospel and allow others the opportunity to accept the free gift and experience the freedom that comes with it for themselves. Yet, the world must wait on the LORD to establish His freedom in the world as the world is not able to accept the freedom for itself.

What does freedom look like in you? What about your world, is freedom part of everywhere you go? What if you continued to do your part and brought the gospel to all persons and allowed them to accept, knowing that creation, or the world will not experience freedom until that day with Christ comes again?

Jesus’ Death and God’s Forgiveness, Once is Enough

It may sound a bit difficult to believe and after my writings to and understanding to continually ask for and seek out forgiveness from the LORD, but once is all it took for it all to take. Jesus’ death on the cross and God’s subsequent forgiveness of our sins only needed to happen once for the benefit to be realized.

“¹⁴For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified…¹⁷then he adds, ‘I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.’ ¹⁸Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.” — Hebrews 10:14 & 17-18 (ESV)

Here in Hebrews the writer reminds us of what I wrote above. The Jesus died and gave Himself as an offering of sacrifice for our sins and God recognized that sacrifice and forgave us. This one act took the place of all other sacrifices for sin that had, were, or will be offered. There is no longer the need for sacrifice for my sin as that has already been done and accepted.

But, that does not mean that I am without sin any longer. This is where the continued need for forgiveness comes in. Even with the one sacrifice and forgiveness event for my sins, I am still a sinner and in need of forgiveness. I have to recognize my sin and repent of it to the LORD in acknowledgment of His grace and salvation. I have to know that now that I have accepted grace and salvation from the LORD, I will not be plucked from His loving arms, I also have to remain humble and know that I will continue to sin and need His love each day.

Once was certainly enough for my salvation. I still need to present myself daily to the LORD on my knees in reverence of what He has given to me and ask that it continue as I will always be in need.

What process are you following for forgiveness? Are you continuing to offer sacrifice in belief that the next one will do it for the foreseeable future? What if you accepted that Jesus’ death and God’s Forgiveness was enough in the one instance and that we still need to present ourselves to Him recognizing that we are always in need?

Just Thanks for Forgiveness

This morning I only wish to say Thank You for the forgiveness that has been provided to me. And that thank you is directed to God the Father in heaven.

“¹³He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, ¹⁴in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” — Colossians 1:13-14 (ESV)

There is not much to my thoughts, only the deep heartfelt thanks for the forgiveness of my sins that I have committed and will continue to commit. In fact, just this morning I confessed of a sin that I slipped into yesterday. I have struggled with this sin in my life and due to idleness, I allowed the evil one to draw me back in. I have no excuse for slipping, it was fully in my control and I allowed it to happen. Even in that slip, I know that my acknowledgment and repentance this morning leads to my forgiveness.

I am so glad that even in the disappointment with my sin, the LORD still forgives me. He loves me and knows that I am a sinner and will slip from time to time. What He is looking for from me is the acknowledgment that I have sinned and show repentance to be forgiven. At that repentance, from the heart, I will be forgiven. And, then the next step is to work to not sin again.

Thank you Father for the forgiveness that you heap upon me daily in my failures. I am ever grateful for your love and understanding of my sinfulness. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

What approach do you have as relates to your sin? Are you repentant of your sins? What if you were and were also thankful to the Father for the forgiveness of those sins?

Praise God for His Forgiveness

“³Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,…⁷In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,” — Ephesians 1:3&7 (ESV)

Paul, writing to the churches around Ephesus, praises God and tells them why he praises Him. There is more to it than just the couple of verses I have quoted above, yet the message is clear in just these two. Praise God as He forgives us for the sins in our lives that we have repented, and that only comes from His grace which He freely gives to you and me.

I think that it is too often that when something good comes of our situations, we are relieved and then we move on to the next and experience the more difficulty and that leads to even more anxiety in our lives. It seems as though there is not always the acknowledgment of the relieving of the difficulty, not to mention where that relief comes from.

I believe that the relief comes from the grace of God in those times when we have repented of the sin in our lives and allow Him to do the work He does as we do the work we are tasked with doing for Him. I look to my own life and recent events where I have experienced the relief. I continue to pray daily praising God for His glory and the provisions and blessing in my life. No, I have not been made rich in monetary means, but I am rich in love. I daily repent for the sins I know I have committed and even those that I may not be cognizant of that have impacted the Him. I ask Him for forgiveness for the sins I will commit, and then again for those I did, all the while raising Him up.

In my life I have recently been promoted to a new position and found additional relief in other areas of my life and relationships, to which I know only came from the relationship I have with God and His continued provision and blessing on my life. I praise Him for it all and will continue to praise Him for who He is not what He does. I continue to ask for forgiveness even when I know that He already has forgiven me. I praise Him for that forgiveness and continue to ask for more, knowing that it is only He who provides and blesses and it is due to the relationship, acknowledgment of sin, repentance of sin, thanksgiving to Him for it all.

Without forgiveness, there would be no provision or blessing from God. Yes, there may still be prosper in certain aspects of life, financial or status and the like, but it is short lived and that leave one continually searching for that prosper. Without forgiveness, we are slaves to the next thing and not able to move forward with praise and thanksgiving.

Paul gives the example to you and me that we are to praise God for the provision and blessings in our lives thanks to our repentance of sin and His forgiveness, grace, and salvation that he pours out on us freely and in abundance.

What is your approach when you have found relief in your life? Are you praising God for the relief? What if you praise God for the forgiveness of your sins and praised Him for the relief as a result and then asked for more forgiveness through repentance?

Forgiveness for All

This morning I continue in the book of Acts in my study of “forgiveness”. I am in chapter 10 at the passage titled in my bible, “Gentiles Hear the Good News”. I am drawn to this passage and title as I feel as though Peter is speaking directly to me as a Gentile.

“³⁴So Peter opened his mouth and said: ‘Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, ³⁵but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.’” — Acts 10:34-35 (ESV)

What a great opening to the passage. God is for all who acceptably do what is right and within His will. Peter makes it known right away that the gospel, grace, and salvation are for everyone and not just a select few. It is only required to repent, be forgiven, be baptized to be accepted into the family of God.

It seems like a simple thing, and it is. There are other parts that may make it more difficult, yet once one has been accepted into the family of God through forgiveness of sin, those more difficult things would become much less daunting. The prospects of contentment are solidified through the knowing that God will care for all of our needs and the rest just gets in the way or can be used for His glory. Take the instance of the young rich man who rejected Jesus as he could not part with all of his riches to follow Jesus (Matthew 19:16-22). As he was looking at only the physical, he missed out on the opportunity to enjoy and be a part of the family of God. He was not excluded based on God, but based on his own. He was not willing to do what was acceptably right in the eyes of God. It was his actions, or lack of actions.

I have to remember that ALL have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). And that is not just those who are “bad” but every one of us. Knowing that I have a better view of the words of Peter here at the end of the passage in Acts.

“⁴³To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” — Acts 10:43 (ESV)

“Everyone” is afforded the opportunity for the forgiveness of sins. The pathway is clear and is noted continually throughout God’s Word. Grace and salvation is for ALL who, repent, are forgiven, are baptized to demonstrate the new, clean self, and then going to do the work of God wherever He asks you to go.

What do you know of those who are or have the opportunity for salvation? Are you of the opinion that only certain people are afforded the opportunity? What if you instead took the approach that ALL have the opportunity for grace and salvation through repentance, forgiveness, and baptism?

Continued Message and Work in Alignment with Jesus

John the Baptist was aligned with Jesus, before He really began His ministry. Jesus spent His time continuing to preach and teach of forgiveness following repentance and demonstration through baptism. And as He reached the end of His time here in this world, Jesus turned the work over to His disciples and me to continue with the same message to all through the Great Commission.

Peter is chronicled in Acts with delivering the same message of repentance and forgiveness and baptism as a demonstration of the continued work of Jesus.

“³⁸And Peter said to them, ‘Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.’” — Acts 2:38-39 (ESV)

I read this morning and every morning in the Word of God and see the consistency in the gospel. I do not see contradiction in the message. I see the continued delivery of the gospel as from God through others who have been tasked with that delivery. In this example, I see John the Baptist and Peter aligned with Jesus in the message even as one came before and the other after. And as I study and remember, Paul and Timothy and more contemporaries were aligned as well.

I am here in this world and am tasked with continued delivery of the gospel in alignment with Jesus. I am to be giving the message of repentance, forgiveness, and baptism as demonstration of my cleanliness and devotion to the work of Christ to do all He has me to do and to go everywhere He has me to go.

My path is likely different than yours and our field of evangelism will likely be different as well, yet our work and message is the same. We are to deliver the gospel and the message is repent, be forgiven and be baptized to demonstrate your new cleanliness and devotion to continue the work of Christ. The key is that last part in that we are to continue the work and message of Jesus everywhere He would have us go.

What is your take on the gospel and the work to be done? Are you trying to figure it all out and working to create a new plan of the work and message? What if you just continued the work and message in alignment with Jesus as those who came before you (John the Baptist, Jesus Himself, Peter, etc.)?

Good and Perfect Gifts are from Above

“¹⁷Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” — James 1:17 (ESV)

These are the words of James and they are powerful indeed. I am continuing my study of “gift” and this morning I am brought here to read about the good and perfect gifts from above. What is meant “from above” in my thoughts here are me.

I know, a bit self-serving in what I am reading and thinking of and really shouldn’t I dig deeper into the passage to understand and not just pick and choose verses to fit my own thoughts? Yes, and that is what I have done as seen here in the following verse from James.

“¹⁸Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.” — James 1:18 (ESV)

See that James calls out that we were “brought forth” and are “firstfruits” of God. I was created by God and am a good and perfect gift of His. I was brought forth in this world to bring the gospel to others and to bring glory to Him. I just as noted, a “good gift…perfect gift” and was sent here from above.

I hear what I just wrote and want to clarify. I am NOT perfect. I do not claim to be anything other than what I am. I was created in the image of God and my purpose is to bring the gospel to this world as noted in His Word.

“¹⁹Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” — Matthew 28:19-20 (ESV)

From the words of Jesus Himself, I am to go and make more disciples of everyone. I am to to do so in the name of God who created and sent me to do so. I am the good and perfect gift of God.

How do you see yourself in this world? Do you see yourself as just existing and wondering how and where you fit? What if you looked at yourself as God’s good and perfect gift sent out in this world to bring glory to Him and the gospel to everyone?

Your Gift is Great, Do Not Neglect It

“¹⁴Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you.” — 1 Timothy 4:14 (ESV)

Paul is speaking to Timothy here and he is reminding him to utilize the gift that was given him. It is easy to move on to things that may seem to give more in return and step away from the gift that was given to us.

I know for me it was many years ago that I was asked to be a Sunday school teacher for the youth in my church. I accepted and truly enjoyed it, although life got in the way and I was pulled into my work and away from the teaching. As time went on, I was given the opportunity to become a trainer for my company and after only a few weeks realized that I had found my career. I would have gotten here a few years before had I only been focused on finding and using my gifts as it was and is in teaching that I have the impact.

I am still in the field of learning and development and know that I am right where I belong. I am no longer neglecting the gift I was given by God. I am here to live out my life bringing glory to Him in the way that He has planned for me. I may not know what is around the next corner in my career, although I do know that it will certainly be in the field of learning and development as I continue to enhance my gift and use it in my kingdom purpose.

Timothy was out in the world doing the work assigned by God through Paul. Paul stayed in contact with him to encourage and guide him in the work. I believe that this passage is a great one to lean on as it shows that the work will be completed, but only through the continued dedication to the work and using the gifts given by God to accomplish them.

“¹⁵Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress. ¹⁶Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.” — 1 Timothy 4:15-16 (ESV)

The work done and the gifts used will bring glory to God and touch the lives of those around you. I have embraced the gift of teaching and where it may not seem like much, I know that I am touching the lives of everyone that I come in contact with through the glory of God and His work.

What is your gift? Are you using that gift for the glory of God and to touch others? What if you were focused on the gift God gave you, enhancing it and using it to touch the lives of those around you?