FREEDOM
FREEDOM
I love the 4th of July. The food, the family, the friends and the fireworks. I love the good ole USA and the freedoms we enjoy living in this country. Every year I thank God that He put me in this country and especially the family He put me in where I was told about Jesus and how I can find freedom in Him.
I was sitting in church this past weekend listening to a missionary I know from Egypt. Nathan lives in a culture without religious freedom. In fact, his father was murdered for his Christian faith when Nathan was just six years old. I love Nathan's story because God took what was a broken life and turned it into something beautiful. God took his painful life circumstances and put a passion in Nathan's heart for his people. Now, Nathan and his wife write children's Biblical curriculum to impact the next generation. Even under oppression, Nathan and his wife share the freedom that comes from knowing Jesus to the people around them.
I got to thinking about the freedom we have in Jesus. In John chapter 8, Jesus is talking to some Jewish people about who He really is, the Son of God. He was telling them that He is the truth and that knowing Him, knowing the truth, would set them free. In verse 34, Jesus says, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." These verses just blow my mind. Because I know Jesus, I have been set free! But my stupid sin nature keeps me bound up in slavery to sin. If only I could get it through my head that when temptation enters my life, I don't have to accept it because I have already been set free from the sin that wants to keep me in bondage. What a concept that is!
I personally really struggle with fear. I don't know if that is a universal widow default, or just my own neurosis. But I am tempted to be fearful about so many things. My kids, money, job, cars, house, you name it and I can come up with some reason to fear a disaster. There are times that, because I am without my person in life, I feel vulnerable and exposed. There is a weight of caring the load of being a single parent that brings such anxiety. I don't sleep, I eat poorly, I shut people out and spend too much time in a dark corner of my mind waiting for the worst to happen. If only, in those times, I could remind myself that Jesus has set me free from having to live with the fear of the unknown- how much more could I enjoy living in peace?
I recently heard from a friend who talked about how she memorizes scripture verses that speak to her temptations. She takes these verses with her like an asthmatic would take their inhaler with them... that's everywhere!! I love this idea!! It's a constant reminder that Jesus has already won our battles for us! Now, this isn't to say that we won't be tempted to sin again, only that Jesus has provided a way for us to flee from it. Who the Son has set free is free INDEED! God, may we always be reminded that we don't have to give into our temptations because you have set us free so we can live in your peace through our beautifully broken lives.
I love the 4th of July. The food, the family, the friends and the fireworks. I love the good ole USA and the freedoms we enjoy living in this country. Every year I thank God that He put me in this country and especially the family He put me in where I was told about Jesus and how I can find freedom in Him.
I was sitting in church this past weekend listening to a missionary I know from Egypt. Nathan lives in a culture without religious freedom. In fact, his father was murdered for his Christian faith when Nathan was just six years old. I love Nathan's story because God took what was a broken life and turned it into something beautiful. God took his painful life circumstances and put a passion in Nathan's heart for his people. Now, Nathan and his wife write children's Biblical curriculum to impact the next generation. Even under oppression, Nathan and his wife share the freedom that comes from knowing Jesus to the people around them.
I got to thinking about the freedom we have in Jesus. In John chapter 8, Jesus is talking to some Jewish people about who He really is, the Son of God. He was telling them that He is the truth and that knowing Him, knowing the truth, would set them free. In verse 34, Jesus says, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." These verses just blow my mind. Because I know Jesus, I have been set free! But my stupid sin nature keeps me bound up in slavery to sin. If only I could get it through my head that when temptation enters my life, I don't have to accept it because I have already been set free from the sin that wants to keep me in bondage. What a concept that is!
I personally really struggle with fear. I don't know if that is a universal widow default, or just my own neurosis. But I am tempted to be fearful about so many things. My kids, money, job, cars, house, you name it and I can come up with some reason to fear a disaster. There are times that, because I am without my person in life, I feel vulnerable and exposed. There is a weight of caring the load of being a single parent that brings such anxiety. I don't sleep, I eat poorly, I shut people out and spend too much time in a dark corner of my mind waiting for the worst to happen. If only, in those times, I could remind myself that Jesus has set me free from having to live with the fear of the unknown- how much more could I enjoy living in peace?
I recently heard from a friend who talked about how she memorizes scripture verses that speak to her temptations. She takes these verses with her like an asthmatic would take their inhaler with them... that's everywhere!! I love this idea!! It's a constant reminder that Jesus has already won our battles for us! Now, this isn't to say that we won't be tempted to sin again, only that Jesus has provided a way for us to flee from it. Who the Son has set free is free INDEED! God, may we always be reminded that we don't have to give into our temptations because you have set us free so we can live in your peace through our beautifully broken lives.
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