Every Day Freedom

^“Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves.” 1 Peter 2:16

I was sitting on the front row of the sanctuary when I felt the Holy Spirit tug at my heart. I was 9 years old and I knew I wanted Jesus in my heart so I could follow Him. I accepted Christ that day and became a new creation in Him. My life had full access to freedom in Christ from that day forward. I lived free, not using this freedom to cover up evil and I was only a slave to God up until today. Easy, huh? Ok, ok… not so much. I did accept Christ that day and I am free. However, the years following have looked a little different. I didn’t realize at 9 years of age the full measure of grace that I would need in the years to come. I didn’t fully see the amount of effort Satan would exert to keep me in the chains that he loves to wrap around us. To live out this freedom that Christ offers us is much harder than it sounds, isn’t it?

As I look at this wonderful freedom we have as children of God, it is the misuse of it that I find the most interesting and most difficult to swallow.  I don’t know about you, but it is so disappointing when I find out after the fact that I missed out on something BIG because I just didn’t know.  I hate when I’ve caught myself saying, “If I only knew, I would have done that differently.”  But here’s the thing. We do know that this freedom is ours and we misuse it. EVERY. DAY.  So, if this is an every day problem, we need an every day solution.

We have to choose FREEDOM every day. Let’s go on this journey together through the month of July. Let’s write out scriptures that lead us to understand what keeps us in bondage and wrapped up in chains. Let’s begin to break free every day from those things in our lives once and for all. EVERY DAY let us break free from these things that Satan puts in front of us. Let’s choose to live as free people. Let’s choose to use our freedom as God intended for us! We are only slaves to Jesus, free slaves that twirl around in love and contentment no matter our circumstances!

I pray that over the next month you and Jesus will walk together, that He will reveal the things in your life that keep you from His freedom. Below are the verses that we will be writing out together and meditating on each day. We look forward to what God is going to do in all of us.