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It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1
We are free because of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Those who are Christ-followers hold this truth as the foundation of our faith and the motivation for all that we say and do. Our faith is based solely on Jesus Christ.
The entire book of Galatians can be summed up in one word. Freedom. Grace gives us the freedom we need to face the sometimes seemingly insurmountable obstacles in our way on this journey we call life.
Along with those obstacles come intentional or unintentional attempts by the enemy to rip the freedom we have in Jesus from our hands. He is a cunning enemy. He uses circumstances, people and even religion to try to enslave us. When it works we can find ourselves in more bondage than we were in before we came to Jesus.
Paul gives us a two word battle plan to protect our freedom. He tells the Galatian Church, and us, to STAND FIRM! That’s it. Stand. And while you are standing, stand firm. Immovable. Resolute. Unwavering.
Normally we think of defending our freedom in terms of warfare. It’s either fight or flight. We fight like a cornered animal if need be and run like a scared rabbit if necessary. As Christ followers all we need to do is stand. Jesus fought the battle on the cross and in the grave. He won! It’s over. Signed, sealed and delivered. Done. Period.
Standing isn’t normally considered a position of warfare. But standing in the face of adversity takes courage, strength and trust. A story is told of a neighborhood bully known to pick on dogs in the area. The ‘bully’ was a big old tomcat. In his wisdom he’d learned that dogs could only go as far as their chain or fence would allow them to come. He would walk just outside the perimeter of the chain or fence and stand. The dogs would come running until they reached the ‘end of their rope’ and come to a sudden, painful stop. The tomcat simply stood because he knew he was in no danger.
As Christ-followers we can stand in the face of adversity because we know we are free. We stand outside the perimeter of the enemy. He can’t hurt us any longer. We can trust our Savior to see us through and protect us.
Ask the Father to help you stand firm in the battle before you. Develop the faith-muscle you need to be unwavering using the PAS method.
P – Pray. The single most formidable weapon we have as Christ-followers is to pray. God is there and wants to hear your heart.
A– Accountability. Surround yourselves with people who are truly interested in encouraging your gifts, building you up and guiding you according to God’s word. Religion enslaves you. Relationship with Jesus frees you.
S – Scripture. God’s word is His letter to you. In it he holds the keys to how you can stand firm in Him. Read it daily. Study it with your accountability group. Take it with you into battle as you would a shield and weapon. It is not outdated. It is relevant for today.
PRAYER: Holy Father, I thank you for the freedom I have in Jesus Christ. I pray that you would remove the guilt and shame of past mistakes. I invite your Holy Spirit to enter into my life and guide, protect and strengthen me to stand in the midst of the obstacles that are before me. Empower me to stand firm in You. Amen.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. 1 Chronicles 16:34
In Old Testament times the Ark of the Covenant symbolized the very presence of God. For years the Ark had sat virtually ignored in a field outside Jerusalem. David made two attempts to bring the Ark home. The first attempt led to disaster, but in 1 Chronicles 16 the Ark is finally brought to the City of David, its rightful place. The entire city joined in the celebration with music and dancing. God was back on His throne and the people were ecstatic!
David wrote a praise that Asaph, the temple worship leader, led the people in. The song was full of praise and worship to God for His faithfulness throughout the years. God had done exactly as He said He would do in spite of Israel’s inability to follow God.
There is a story behind the scenes each of us needs to be aware of as we travel through life. When the Ark was gone it was as though God’s blessing was absent. The people still went about their daily duties. Worship still happened on a limited basis, but there was something missing, the true presence of God.
Because of Jesus we can experience the presence of God at anytime and anyplace, any time of the day. Unlike the days of King David, we don’t need to rely on an ‘ark’ or a church building to worship God. He is always with us, always loving us, always ready to hold us in His everlasting arms of love.
Sometimes we can feel the way David did when the Ark was gone, as though the presence of God were missing in our lives. It’s easy to let things get in the way of our worship of God and the sense of His presence in our lives. It’s as though we have left Him in the field just as Israel left the Ark in the field. We know He is there. We think of Him occasionally through the day, but have no real meaningful communication with Him.
Many things can cause us to ‘leave God in the field’. For some it’s due to a hectic schedule. We have jobs to get to, friends to visit, school to attend and children to raise. The busier we get the more likely we are to neglect the most important thing: our relationship with God.
We leave God in the field when we become disappointed. Our disappointment may be with people when they let us down. This is especially true when people who claim to be ‘christian’ act nothing like Christ. We get burned by their religious bigotry and hypocrisy
Our disappointment may be with God Himself. We pray and get no answers. We read and don’t understand. Religious ritual becomes a meaningless waste of time and energy we would rather use on the golf course or with friends.
God doesn’t move away from us. We move away from Him in subtle, almost undetectable ways. The beauty of the situation is that we can bring God out of the field. He is always there waiting. His love never fails us. His compassion and mercy are there for us. He doesn’t hold grudges.
As Christ-followers it is imperative that we take God out of the field and bring Him into a prominent place in our lives so that we can feel His presence in a real and marvelous way. Make time on a daily basis to have some honest communication with God. Read His word. Talk to Him as you would a loving father or best friend. He’s in the field waiting for you now. He doesn’t care about ‘why you left Him in the field.’ He just wants to be a vital part of your life.
PRAYER: Father God. I’ve known You were in my life somewhere, but I have missed your presence. I realize today that I’ve let all sorts of things get in the way of our relationship. I don’t pray the way I used to. My Bible has dust on it. I miss you. I’m coming to the field. I ask that you will come back with me. I want to restore the passion I once had to follow you. I can’t do it alone. Empower me with your presence to get over the hurt I feel because of disappointment with You and others. Cleanse me from the emptiness of religion and fill me with relationship with you. In Jesus name, Amen.
These are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said as he told his sons good-bye. He blessed each one with an appropriate message. Genesis 49:28 (NLT)
Ever notice how many times people ask you, “So, how are you today?” You know they don’t really want to know. The words slip meaninglessly from their lips and once in a while you think it would be fun to tell them how you REALLY are and make them stand and listen to the whole story! Then maybe they’d think twice about asking flippant questions they have no desire to hear the answer to.
We all say things from time to time that are just empty words. Words that we intend to be kind and thoughtful, in reality become empty clichés. If we aren’t careful they even creep into our prayer life. How often have you said ‘grace’ before a meal, thanking God for the food without really giving it a second thought? For most of us we eat way too much food, much of it that isn’t even good for us, while many in the world, perhaps even in our own communities, are going without food for the third day in a row because they just don’t have the money.
One of my most annoying habits in my own prayer life is using the phrase, “And Lord bless my friend _______ today.” One day I thought about what I’d just said. I imagined God listening in and thinking, “Um, okay. I can do that. How should I bless him? I have plenty of options. What do you want me to do for him?” That thought began a pattern of change in my prayer life. A pattern, I’m sad to say, continues to be a struggle. Now, when I pray I try to be specific, or if nothing else ask God for wisdom in how to pray.
The great patriarch, Jacob, was nearing the end of his life. As he addressed his sons he blessed them, but the Bible says he “Blessed each one with an APPROPRIATE message.” As a loving father who had walked many miles through life, who’d seen struggles and pain and knew each of his sons well enough to know that they needed in life, he blessed them with just the thing they needed for the path ahead.
Jacob’s words are an example of our Heavenly Father’s desire for each of us. He knows just what we will need to make it in this journey we call life. God’s blessings for us are not ‘One Size Fits All’. They are tailored for our specific needs, and customized to help us according to our mindset, our emotional make-up, our past.
Spend time with your Heavenly Father. Learn from Him through prayer, regular Bible reading and healthy Christian fellowship. His desire is to bless each of us richly and those blessings come more frequently when we walk close to Him.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father. I thank You for the fact that you know my every need on an individual basis. I thank you that your desire is to bless me according to my own unique, one-of-a-kind emotional and intellectual make-up. No one knows me better than You! I ask that you would empower me to walk closer to you so that I can experience your blessings in my life to the fullest. I also ask that you would help me to learn to bless others in the same way that you have blessed me. Amen.
But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. Psalm 1:2
Normally we think of the word ‘law’ and our mind conjures up pictures of bondage and restrictions that make living a life of freedom difficult at best and impossible in some situations. No one likes rules. Rules limit our creativity, destroy our freedom and take the fun out of life.
Of course that isn’t true. In reality, if we think about it a life without rules of some sort is a life of chaos and danger. Rules, in and of themselves, are good. They give us guidance, protection and prepare us for what lies ahead.
In reality, it isn’t the rules that bring us down, it’s the rule giver. If we have faith in the one making the rules and know that those rules are given in love and in our best interest it makes following them easier. If we are in love with the rule giver then we hardly notice the rules because relationship trumps rules every time.
God’s law is sometimes looked on with contempt for two reasons. One reason is that the people who see God’s laws as restrictive and out of touch don’t know God. They may know Him on an intellectual basis or as the topic of some religious system, but they don’t know Him in the realm of relationship.
When we are in relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ, we see those rules as guidelines that will enable us to live in a way that allows us to use the natural gifts and abilities he has given us for His glory and our benefit.
If we are not in relationship with God we see His rules as harsh and out of touch with reality. The Bible says that the wisdom of God is foolishness to mankind because we are, in our human nature, unable to understand Him. Only when we are in relationship with Him and His Spirit is indwelling us, can we fully understand His ways.
A second reason we may think God’s laws are restrictive is because we don’t know what His word says. This is even true among those who are Christ-followers. Stagnant relationships die for lack of understanding and companionship. This is true in the spiritual realm as well as in the physical realm.
If we are not in His word daily and are not on a regular basis interacting with fellow believers we will lose sight of the meaning of His Word. The more we are in His word, the more we interact with Him through prayer, Bible Study and fellowship, the more we will grasp the beauty and reality of His ‘rules.’
The more we love God and commune with Jesus, the less God’s laws become burdensome. Take time each day to meditate on some part of the Bible. Talk to Jesus often and realize that no matter how often you fail Him, He will never let you down.
PRAYER: Dear Jesus. I ask that you would help me to grow in my relationship with you. Show me the wisdom of your rules so that I may live a free and profitable life in you. Bring people and words into my life that will empower me to live for you. Amen.
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. 1 John 4:18
When we fall in love with someone there is a tendency to try to be everything that the person we love wants us to be. We may change the way we dress, the foods we eat, the music we listen to or anything else to try to win the ‘undying favor’ of the one loved.
If we are honest with ourselves and think about it, we make all these changes because we may feel afraid that if we don’t change we won’t be loved. While it’s never a bad thing to take a look at ourselves and consider making positive changes in our appearance or actions, they should never be at the expense of losing who we really are.
True love accepts you just the way you are. When God looks at you He is completely satisfied with everything you are. He may see things that He wants to work on with you to make you a better person, but He loves who you are completely. You need never fear losing that love.
Don’t allow the negative thoughts, words and actions of others to change how you feel about yourself. That’s not love. That’s mind manipulation and can lead to abuse either emotionally or even physically. Love should never have to hurt; should never be based on fear; should never require that you change who you are. Love accepts.
The only way to true love is through the one who is love. The Bible says that God is love. It doesn’t say that God has love in His heart or that God can love you if you change. When it says ‘God is love’ it means that love is in His very essence, His very soul. Everything about Him is love.
Because His love is perfect there is no fear with God. He doesn’t get mad at you when you fail. He won’t threaten you when you mess up for the third time in one day. He won’t give you the quiet treatment or throw things at you or remind you constantly that you failed Him last week. He won’t rely on put-downs and sarcasm to win an argument. That’s not love.
Be a believer in who you are because of Christ Jesus. When God looks at you in love He does so because you are His most valuable creation. Don’t allow the words of others and the threats of others change what you know. God loves you and He will never leave you. That’s what true love is about. If someone threatens you or makes you afraid in any way THAT is not love.
PRAYER: Father I thank you today that you are a God of love. I thank you that in my weakest moments, when I rebel selfishly, demand my own way or think evil of others, You still love me. You don’t require me to change to earn your love because there is nothing I can do to earn your perfect love. Please help me to live a life of love without fear. Empower me to break loose from any bondage, any person that includes fear or pain as a part of their love. I want to be free to love without fear from this point forward. Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 