Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ... Please take the time to take in images, song and lyrics from Nichole Nordeman singing Finally Free … poignantly and powerfully singing of the freedom we find in our intentional bondage to Christ.
Real Freedom to Follow Christ
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Highlight Verse[s]: John 8:36 [NLT] ... 36 So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.
… Jesus teaches that knowing Him as the Son of God is the only way to find freedom from sin.
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Highlight Passage [context]: John 8:31-36 [NLT] ... USE THIS LINK ...
… Jesus teaching fellow Jews on what it takes to be set free from the bondage of sin.
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Reference Passage : … Psalm 118:5 [NLT] … 5 In my distress I prayed to the Lord, and the Lord answered me and set me free.
… Even in the OT the psalmists sang of what it took to find freedom from our stresses.
Reference Passage : … 2Corinthians 3:17 [NLT] … 17 For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
… God, thru Paul, shows that when His Spirit resides in someone, the Agent of Freedom is in us.
Reference Passage : … Galatians 5:1 [NLT] … 1 So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.
… Paul preaches the truth that, in Christ we only remain free when we surrender to Him as the fulfillment of God’s Law.
Reference Passage : … Ephesians 3:12 [NLT] … 12 Because of Christ and our faith in Him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence.
… Only in total surrender to Christ can we come freely and boldly before God’s throne of grace.
Reference Passage : … 1Peter 2:16 [NLT] … 16 For you are free, yet you are God’s slaves, so don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do evil.
… Peter also taught the truth that we only find REAL FREEDOM when we voluntarily surrender to become slaves of God’s Spirit in Christ.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Arthur Jackson, refers to history and the freeing of African slaves depicted in the movie “Armistad” to illustrate the freedom Christians find in Christ. … The ODB author wrote: The film “Amistad” tells the story of West African slaves in 1839 taking over the boat that was transporting them and killing the captain and some of the crew. Eventually they were recaptured, imprisoned, and taken to trial. An unforgettable courtroom scene features Cinqué, leader of the slaves, passionately pleading for freedom. Three simple words—repeated with increasing force by a shackled man with broken English—eventually silenced the courtroom, “Give us free!” Justice was served and the men were freed.
And nobody could appreciate this illustration of being set free from the shackles of slavery any more that yours truly; because, … I was shackled in the chains of addictive sexual sin for 22 years of my life, all the time rejecting Christ as an atheist. And only when I surrendered my will and life to Christ (see photo) was I set free from my chains of sin and allowed to surrender my will to the Lord’s and to walk free following Him as His disciple.
And that is the impassioned teaching of God’s word, isn’t it? We read it in all of the strong teaching of the scriptures above; … that when we’re willing to repent fo our sin nature and voluntarily surrender our will to follow Christ as our Lord will we find real freedom. And I so pray that all reading me here today have been set free from the shackles of sin and are walking free with Christ.
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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for setting me free to walk with You, King Jesus!
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here are bond slaves of Christ and walking with Him in freedom. Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled “Our Daily Bread,” distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.</ span>
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