I know you guys already know what verse I am obviously starting out with this week… 

“The Lord is an Avenger in all these things…” 1 Thessalonians 4:6b ESV 

Just kidding!  

But ironically we ARE talking about freedom… totally not planned though. 

“It was for freedom that Christ set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” Galatians 5:1 

One of my favorite illustrations of slavery vs freedom was written by Neil T. Anderson in his book Who I Am In Christ: 

“Slavery in the United States was abolished by the thirteenth amendment on December 18, 1865. How many slaves were there on December 19? In reality, there should have been none. But many still lived like slaves, because they hadn’t learned the truth… Even months later. While others knew and even believed they were free but still chose to live as they always had. 

Now suppose several plantation owners were talking together because they were devastated by the Emancipation Proclamation. 

“We’re ruined! Slavery has been abolished. We’ve lost the battle to keep our slaves.” 

But their chief spokesman slyly responded, “Not necessarily, as long as these people think they’re still slaves, the proclamation will have no practical effect. We don’t have a legal right over them anymore but many of them don’t know it. Keep your slaves from learning the truth and your control over them will not even be challenged….

And even if they do hear about it, just tell them that they are going to be free not that they are free already… most of these people were born as slaves and have been slaves their whole lives. All we have to do is deceive them so that they still think like slaves.

As long as they continue to do what slaves do, it will not be hard to convince them that they must still be slaves. They will maintain their slave identity because of the things they do. The moment they try to profess that they are no longer slaves, just whisper in their ear, ‘How can you even think you are no longer a slave when you are still doing things that slaves do?” 

But let’s say, one day a former slave heard the good news and received it with great joy. He checked out the validity of the proclamation and discovered that the highest of all authorities had originated the decree. Determined to live by what he knew to be true, his experiences began to change dramatically as he realized that his old master had no authority over him and did not need to be obeyed. He gladly served the one who set him free.” 

“Seeing yourself the way God sees you is the beginning of freedom”

Beckah Shae

Freedom isn’t getting to do whatever you want. True freedom is safety in the boundaries of truth. It is knowing the truth of what has been done FOR you. It is knowing the One who did it for you, and knowing the truth about who you are now. 

Freedom starts with a changing of how you think through a transforming and renewing your mind.

Do you view yourself as completely free in Christ? 

Do you know fully what was done for you at the cross?

Are there areas in your life that you have not allowed Jesus to set you free? 

How does the freedom He won for you impact your love and worship to Him? 

How often do you think about the implications that the truths of the Gospel have in your life? 

Can other people tell that you have been set free? 

For me, I discovered freedom when I began to anchor my identity in Christ alone, not in the opinion of others, my job or my past. 

I discovered freedom when I based my beliefs in who God truly is, solely on the Word of God and the Gospel rather than what I had heard, feared, or felt was real.

I discovered freedom when I aligned my perspective of the world with what He has done in the past and what He is doing in the present. 

And these three put together, impacted my freedom to daily step into my God-given purpose. 

Whatever you are facing, let it be Jesus.

Patricia King

 

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