Romans 6:7 for he who has died is freed from sin.
Romans 6:22 But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit,
resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death,
but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Galatians 5:1 It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to
a yoke of slavery.
How
important is freedom to you? Do you long to be free, not only from something,
but to something. Being free involves the freedom to not be in bondage or
slavery to any one or anything thing. Free from sin, the entanglement of
addictions, the fears that control your life are just a few of the enslavements
that God desires to set you free.
The late
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said it well when he said, “Free at last.” It was
also the hallmark of the early American patriot Patrick Henry who said, “Give
me liberty (freedom) or give me death.” Freedom was the message of the Bible
throughout the New Testament. It proclaims Freedom from the power and the penalty
of sin; Freedom from the legalism of the law; and Freedom from the flesh.
In order
to be truly free it is necessary to have a living vital relationship with God
in Christ. Jesus came to earth to give you life, and life more abundantly. In
order to do that he needed to take your sinful nature and nail it to a cross.
When Jesus died you died with Him. It is only as you accept your death and
resurrection in Christ and put your trust in Him that you can truly be free.
You will
be constantly bombarded with freedom killers, people and situations that want
to take your freedom from you. No wonder the Book of Galatians reminds you to
stand firm in your freedom. Don’t allow the grace killers, the sin persuaders,
and negative defeated people to remove you from your place in God’s freedom.
Sin can
defeat you until you realize and believe and embrace your freedom that Christ
secured for you on the cross and an empty tomb. Live life abundantly in
freedom.
Greetings from Starbucks in beautiful Osage Beach, MO
Happy 4th of July, Independence Day, Freedom Day:
Well I have found that the weather in MO does change rapidly. The highs when I wrote last week were around 100 degrees. By Monday morning this week at our campground the temperature was 58 degrees. We have even donned our jackets a couple of times. It is no longer hot, humid and YUKKY.
We have had a wonderful time visiting family and friends. It would be impossible to mention all of them. I had some wonderful times with my Dad and brother. They are both doing well. See pic of me and my Dad. He is 88 years old. His hearing and eyesight are not very good. His memory is slipping a little, but he is still the same great man that raised me.
Sunday afternoon around 75 of cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents and friends gathered at a local park. We enjoyed about three hours of great fellowship.
We will be at Sandy's brother's home over the 4th of July weekend in Springfield. Several of our past acquaintances live there. We hope to see several of them also. On Sunday July 7th I will be preaching at Second Baptist Church in Lebanon, MO. Last Sunday, June 30th I was able to share God's word with the First Baptist Church of Eldon, my home town. It was really good to meet with family, friends and old classmates.
I do hope you celebrate our country's birth this week. We are so blessed in so many ways. The freedom to make choices, move around as we please, chose our leaders, enjoy an abundant lifestyle and worship as we please are just a few of those things that I am so thankful for every day.
Thanks for your prayers. The past three or four days I have had some problems with the liver, but feeling better this morning. Appreciate all of your concern.
May God bless you with His freedom.
No comments:
Post a Comment