Free Indeed?

Psalm 22:5 says, "They cried to You and were set free; they trusted in You and were not disgraced."

As Christians, we are like prisoners who have been set free from our chains. Jesus took our shackles and burdens and tore them into pieces when He rose from the grave. But sometimes, we don't act like free men and women of Christ. I've myself found myself acting more like a slave than a free man in this life after Christ. Why? What does that look like?

Imagine if all that was said happened; Jesus took your chains in substitution, through His death, and broke them into pieces, through His ressurection. Sometimes as Christians, we go back to the place where He shattered all of our pain and start picking up the broken pieces of our shackles. Can you imagine seeing that? A prisoner who has been set free yet runs back into his cell to take with him the burden of heavy iron?

What does this really look like in our lives? The truth is we all do this. Even after Jesus paid for our sins completely, we picked up our struggles and our pains and brought them with us. Why? Because glorification comes later in the Christian life. God sent His Son to die for us and then gave us the Holy Spirit to walk this journey. The Spirit helps us take our focus off of our chains and on to the Kingdom of Heaven. When we focus on our shackles, they get heavier. When we look towards the Kingdom, the city becomes brighter. The Spirit is sent by the Father to refine us so when it's time to reach the gates of Heaven, the only weight we carry are the refined peices of gold and silver fit for a crown.

John 8:36 says that if the Son has set you free then you are free indeed. What does that mean?

Everytime I hear that phrase, I think of it as useless repetition (Even though nothing in the inspired Word of God is useless). But think about that. When the Bible says free indeed, it urges us to live out that freedom; to live as free men and women. This means living without holding the weight of sins but instead living in light that God has lifted that burden, put it on His Son, and it is paid for and dealt with.

So that is the urge; to live in light of the freedom. I am the best boxer in the world when it comes to self-affliction. I am always the first and last person to tell myself that I am a failure, but that's not what the Bible says. Sure, man is depraved, but even more so is man redeemed. So let's live in light of our redemption and not depravity. To live with the idea of depravity (which I completely believe in) is to live in an old and done-away-with state of mind. When you mess up, you are forgiven. Done. Paid for. When you try to fix it (which can sometimes, but not always, be in the form of praying more or reading more or writing a blog even) you are telling Jesus "Hey, is their room on that cross for me? I know You're God, but I really feel like I need to do at least something!"

No, that's inconceivable.

If this is new news to you, please, contact me by e-mail and we can talk further about the Gospel and the work of Christ done for you.

Philippians 1:27a "Live your life in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ" - Forsake All

Abandoning Ship

Matthew 6:19-21 says “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

There is a story of a King who sends a group of men by ship to reach a new land. The men say goodbye to everyone they love and climb aboard. They start a trek that seems to take forever and the more time spent on the boat increases the amount that they miss their families. They not only think about the people they miss but also the control that they used to have. They finally get so caught up in their reminiscing that they began to frantically move around the boat.

One man takes his place as captain. His fierce hold on the ship’s wheel cannot become unclenched. Another takes his place at the top of the mass and rebukes anyone for even touching his wooden home. Still another drew a circle around him and hissed when people got close. Everyone had their place on the ship and that was all that they cared about; except for one man.

This man watched the madness take place and stood back and shouted to the men, “We’re not there yet!” Everyone heard the yell clearly and turned their attention to the man with no appearance of belonging. “Beware your grip,” he exclaimed, “for the day will come when we will reach the new world and we’ll leave this ship behind; never to return.”

I started thinking about this story when I read this passage. It kept coming up in my mind and it made no sense for why the men were holding on to things that would soon fade away. But then I thought, “How many times have we done the same?”

This world will end - soon. When we store up treasures for ourselves on this earth, we are just like the men who draw lines and erect boundaries on their ship. One day, Jesus will come for us and take us to our Home where we will spend the rest of eternity, and when that day comes, we’ll leave everything behind; never to return to any of it.

I pray that this message comes across not to beg you to sell every last bit of material but to look at what you own with an eternal mindset - a Kingdom Mindset. This also is not slander against those who have more than they need for their place in the Kingdom is just as important and needed as the ones who give up their lives. This story is to encourage you to examine how you’re doing. Are you storing up treasures in Heaven or are you gripped tight to the boat that you’ll soon leave?

“Cause one day we’ll get there and start life anew. Please keep your minds on Abandoning Ship” –Forsake All