As followers of Christ we are called to freedom. We are called to live abundant life to the full. We are no longer bound by our sinful nature, but we are washed, we are sanctified and we are made holy by Jesus’ perfect life, death, and resurrection. We are in covenant with Him.
You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge in sinful nature, rather, serve one another in love.
-Galations 5:13
We prayed a BIG prayer last night.
Lord, what in my life is not pleasing to you? What more of myself can I surrender to you?
We have become so good at rationalizing, that we have convinced ourselves that our reasoning must be truth.
We all have a face that we hide behind- an identity that we feel the need to grasp onto in order to fit in or be noticed.
We all have junk in our lives that has become so common place, we don’t even notice it anymore. We have made pets out of our sins and justified them in order to indulge in them.
I can’t afford to buy that CD- I’ll get it from a friend.
When you allow the Lord to reveal truth, to strip away the lies and to call light into darkness, all you see is:
An identity that is not fully in Christ
A lack of trust in the Lord’s provision
that I may praise your name.
-Psalm 142:7
Is this freedom? Or have I convinced myself that because I do not live under the old law anymore that I can do what I want? Yes, Jesus loves you regardless and has already forgiven you of your past, present AND future. There is nothing you can do to make Him love you less and you can do nothing to make Him love you more. You are under His grace and that grace covers ALL.
SO are we living in freedom or captivity?
The Lord answered my question- the question of what more I could give Him.
- Stop working out:
I identify myself as a runner- in maintaining good shape and living a healthy lifestyle. I do love to run BUT my fear of gaining weight outweighs my love for running. I define my beauty in having a good figure and if I miss a run or a work out, I feel guilt. Is that glorifying the Father? Is rationalizing a “healthy lifestyle” worth ignoring the fact that my beauty is NOT defined by the world’s standards but by my Lover’s?
- Take out your nose ring:
I have had my nose pierced for 7 years. I love the attention that I get from a simple hoop in my nose that makes me stand out. It is unique… but it is not who I am. Am I finding my identity in a simple piercing? Why was it so hard for me to let the hole close up? I don’t want anyone to identify me as anyone but a Christ follower.
- Delete any music that you have not paid for:
I had over 2000 songs on my computer. Only 106 of them I had bought for myself and all the rest I had taken from friends. My rationalization was the fact that music is SO expensive and why not? Is that not a lack of trust in my Father to provide me the funds to fairly purchase music and support the artists? Yes, it is incredible having so many songs to worship to, but in stealing songs I have neglected to support the worship leaders who are trusting the Lord to provide.
Radical? Yes. We serve a radical God and He calls us to fully onboard with Him. In John 14, Jesus says that if we LOVE Him, we will obey His commands.
Great love results in great obedience.
When I struggle deleting a song on my computer or taking out a piercing, I am not living with hands open to freely give and receive. I am in bondage to idols that I have unknowingly built that have absolutely nothing to do with my identity in Christ.
Do you know what I am learning? It’s not worth it. It’s not worth it to live any other way than with arms wide open embracing the love of the Father.
No nose ring! All that is there is a daughter of the King 🙂
