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| TBT - Hey! Drop It, Step Away From The Chain! |
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October 20, 2008
HEY! DROP IT, STEP AWAY FROM THE CHAIN!
Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. ~John 8:36
You know, we all have issues from our pasts – habits, friends, hang-ups, etc. Some of these are good things, but some can be bad, and for some people their past issues can become stumbling blocks in their walk with Christ. As Christians, we need to really understand that Jesus does, in fact, set us free. It’s how we handle and accept that freedom that can strengthen or weaken our relationship with Christ. If you look up the meaning of “free” in the dictionary, you’ll find many, many definitions. One definition is: exempt or released from something specified that controls, restrains, burdens, etc. Let’s think about that for a moment, shall we? When we accepted Christ into our hearts, we told Him we believed that He died to save us from death because of our sin. We confessed that we were washed in His blood and made clean and whole and we asked for forgiveness of our sins. So, by confessing our belief in Jesus and His cleansing, He released us from the chains and shackles of sin’s burden. Why is it then, that so many of us still hang on to the issues of our pasts instead of releasing them? Why is it that those things that are behind us cause so much stumbling within the Body? Jesus desires for us to be completely free, He wants for us to truly let go of the chains that bind, that control, that restrain and that burden. I realize that some chains are much more difficult to release, but that is where you need to fully submit and trust in Jesus to take them from your hand.
Jesus desires so much more of us, He wants us to come to a full and complete understanding of who He is. I’ve been praying recently to understand what His fullness really is, and He is beginning to show me. It starts with His freedom. He died so that we can be free! Free from sin, free from our pasts, free from fear. No, I am not saying that we will have happy-go-lucky lives because we walk with Christ, what I am saying is that with Him in our hearts and in control, we are not bound to that which we did before we met Him. We don’t have to conform to anyone’s standards because His standard is the only one that matters. We don’t have to say yes to make people happy, we can say yes to make Him happy. We have the freedom to walk away from those who cause us to fall, and we have the freedom to forgive ourselves when we fall. We have the freedom to pray for others, and to pray for ourselves. We have been set free to live as children of the King and heirs to the Throne! There are too many Christians living in defeat because they don’t fully understand what freedom is. If you fall, God is there to pick you up, to strengthen you and to help keep you from falling again. Don’t beat yourself up because you fell, rejoice that He is there to help you up! Step away from the chains of your past, get out of that complacent comfort zone and begin to place your feet in God’s unfamiliar territory and let Jesus be your guide.
Let’s pray: Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for this gift of today. We know that You do not guarantee us “tomorrows”, so we thank You for the “todays” you have given us. We praise You for Your goodness and mercy; for Your faithfulness and love! We worship and adore You. Father, we are so grateful that You loved us so much that You sent Your Son to redeem us by His blood. We do believe that we have been set free, but we need Your help and attention to detail to help us release the chains that bind us and hinder us from growing closer to You. We desire to fully comprehend what Your freedom is, and we pray that You give us a revelation of Yourself. We ask for You to speak to our hearts, to reveal Your nature to us. Help us to walk away from those parts of our pasts that are not of You, give us strength and courage. Increase our faith as we step out into unfamiliar territory and open our eyes to see Your hand holding ours. All glory and honor to You! In Jesus’ name. Amen.
In Christ’s Service, Prudence Ramos |
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Angela |
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October 20, 2008 at 6:06am |
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| smiling with ya! |
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| Prue I once heard it put like this, Through Christ we are Justified...just as if i'd....never done it! Good blog Prue, love Stu! |
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| man...this is making me smile..i cant help it. =) this was very good...thank you!! |
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| The past is over, dead and gone, cannot be changed, BUT, what we do today can make the future different :) Let go. Thanks for this post! love it! |
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| well spoken and me too smiling..God is good ... |
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Ken |
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October 20, 2008 at 8:22am |
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| I think that you have us all smiling! Keep it up! |
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| Praise God!!!! He's got you smiling!!! I'm just the messenger. :) |
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