Gods Child

A lightning bolt hit me this morning while I was meditating on the freedom in Christ that we have.  OK maybe not literally but almost.  When we first became Christians and I mean truly became Christians life was so simple.  Do you remember?  We truly felt the release that came with knowing Christ.  We could not wait to tell the world what had just happened.  Life was so simple and we were on top of the world relishing in our new found freedom in Christ.  Oh, for the good old days when we lived the simple life of freedom in Christ and things were not complicated.

What happened to those days when we did not have a care in the world and we believed God for everything?  How could it be that we would allow this simple life to become so complicated?  Well, now that you are reminiscing so well. think back to the first time someone told you that you were doing something wrong.  They burst your bubble and you went from cloud nine to earth in a flash.  You hit hard.  You just knew that you had upset God and He was mad at you.  They may have even told you He was mad at you.  Maybe instead of that, you did something wrong and knew it before anyone said anything and you were sure God was mad at you.  Either way there came a point in your relationship with the Lord that you felt you had disappointed God and you would be punished.  Now God did not say He was mad at you.  God loves you so much.  He gave His only Son to die in your place so that you would be reconciled and for given. 

Why did you allow that condemnation you were feeling to fester and become an illness in your soul?  Because there was no one who was well enough to help you.  They were all sick too.  You see once we believe the lie that Satan is spreading about God’s anger with us then we become so afraid of displeasing God that we do not do the one thing He wants us to do.  Enjoy our freedom.

Now these people who told you God would be mad at you if you did this or that did not mean to tell you something wrong.  They were well meaning and only trying to help you.  The problem is that they had been blinded by the enemy of our soul’s as well.  Jesus talks about the “blind leading the blind”.  He also reprimands the scribes and Pharisees for going to the end of the earth to win a convert and then turning the new convert into something worse than the Pharisee.  He also chastens them for tying up heavy burdens and then forcing others to carry these burdens which the Pharisee is not willing to carry himself.

Matthew 15:14 (NKJV)  Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.”

Matthew 23:15 (NIV) 15“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you areMatthew 23:4 (NIV) 4They tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.

Many well meaning Christians do the same thing with the do this and don’t do that.  They are not able to follow all the laws that they have laid down but they want us to.  I have a wonderful friend whom I treasure dearly.  He has been a mentor to me for almost 2 years now.  We are to the point where we now help each other in our walk with the Lord.  His number one thing has been for sometime that I was not to take God’s grace for granted.  He has bound himself as well.  When I started telling him about what we are studying here he immediately wanted to stifle my renewed enthusiasm.  Then he stopped and listened.  He countered my study with several verses and after reading them he realized that I was right and we really are free.   We are truly free to do whatever we want.

Now here is where the simple life comes in.  We are absolutely 100% free to make any choice we want.  that is what Jesus did for us on the cross.  His blood bought our freedom not only from the control of Satan but freedom from the Law as well.  We are totally free.

Steve Brown in his book Scandalous freedom talks about how Abraham Lincoln was walking by the slave auction block one day.  They were selling a young lady and so he bid on her.  I know what you are thinking but please read the whole thing before passing judgment.   He gave the highest bid and was leaving with her.  he turned to her and said, “you are free.”  “What is freedom?” she asked him.  He said, “freedom is being free.”  “Does that mean I can say whatever I want?” she asked.  “Yes, you can say whatever you want to say,” he replied.  “Can I go where ever I want to go?” she asked again.  “Yes, you can go where ever you want to go,” he told her.  “Can I do what ever I want to do?”  “Yes, it means you can do what ever you want to do.”  She said, “then I think I will go with you.”  That my friends is what God had in mind when he purchased our freedom.  He wanted us to be free to make a choice in hopes that we would choose Him.

God’s Word is so simple but we try to complicate it with our list of do’s and don’t’s.  When Jesus was asked what the rules were He stated them as follows:

Matthew 22:36-40 (NASB)

 36″Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”

 37And He said to him, “ ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’

 38″This is the great and foremost commandment.

 39″The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’

 40″On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

Again the Word says:

1 Peter 4:8 (NKJV)  8 And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.

Philippians 4:5 (KJV)  Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.This is so simple.  Love God first and foremost.  Love others like you love yourself.  Whatever things you do, do them in moderation.  How much more simple can it get.  When you come to realize what the simple life is all about that Jesus has given us you truly are free and can live in the freedom of Christ with joy and ease.  God will not strike you down or quit loving you if you mess up.  Pick yourself up and keep going.  He still loves you and cares for you just as He did in the beginning.

Freedom means free.

So simple even a child can understand, why do we complicate God’s Word?

Until tomorrow when we will go through somemore of the podcasts by Steve Brown

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