All Expense Paid

 

It was the summer I turned 19.  I was newly married and finally had my dream job- I worked for the State of Florida!  (OK, so ultimately not so dreamy, but at the time a BIG deal.) I remember being amazed that although I had just been hired full time, I would get a day off for free!  Memorial day weekend- a chance to barbeque, sleep in and shop!

It wasn't until yesterday, quite a few years later, that I realized... that day off was not free.  It was paid for by the blood of men and women who sacrificed to make America free.  It was a day of soberness and reflection, paid for with blood.  Wow.  I had totally missed it.

But just as quickly as thought came, revelation sprang in my Spirit.   I live everyday free.  Free from the penalty of my sin.  Free from spiritual oppression.  Free from bondage.  Free from darkness.  Brought to me by... the blood of my Redeemer, Jesus Christ.

I've heard it said that 'freedom isn't free'.  Nothing in life really is.  Every bit of it was bought and paid for by someone.  Free salad with an entrée?  Nah.  The price is included in the cost of everything else.  Free local park? Nope.  Paid for by tax dollars, or grants, also created with tax dollars.  No matter how free it is someone- somewhere- paid the bill.

Today if I choose to live in bondage, it is my choice.  My way has been purchased.  All expense paid departure is set aside for me.  All I have to do is believe and receive.

"If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."  Rom. 10:9

Do you want to be free today?  If so, join me in prayer.

Dear Lord, I realize that I am in bondage due to my sin.  I believe that you are the Son of God, that you died for my sins and was raised from the dead.  I believe you paid the price to purchase my freedom and now I ask you to come in my heart, wash me and set me free.  In Jesus' Name.  Amen.

 

 

 

If you prayed that with me, I encourage you to tell a Christian and let them pray and rejoice with you!  Find a Bible believing church and become a part of regular worship, Bible study and growth.  There you will receive the tools you need to make the most of your freedom!  Congratulations!  You just made the best decision you will ever make!

© Sherri Evans Ministries 2017. All rights reserved. Used by permission. For booking schedule and information: sherrievans@sherrievansministries.com

A Sure Guide

I will lead the blind by ways they have not known,
    along unfamiliar paths I will guide them;
I will turn the darkness into light before them
    and make the rough places smooth.
These are the things I will do;
    I will not forsake them.  Isaiah 42:16

Where did we get the idea that following the Lord meant we would know exactly where we were headed all of the time?   In this passage, among many others, the indication is that the leading is His prerogative and direction.    Many Christians believe that ministers should follow the Lord's leading and direction for their lives, but that the average, garden-variety Christian does not have that responsibility.  Not so.

When Jesus called the first disciples, He told them to "Come Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men."  Most of us are uncomfortable with letting the Lord lead us.  We want to weigh out our options and formulate a plan that makes sense to us.  But the call is still the same. 

This is a beautiful passage of Scripture.  It reminds us that as the Lord leads us, He is turning on the light before us.  He is clearing a path for us to follow.  We are in a covenant relationship with Him and he is affirming that He will carry out His side.  He will not leave us without help and direction.  He will go before us and protect us.  He will give us provision.  He is a faithful God!

Our modern society is not really conducive to this level of God's leadership.  Most of us are strapped to a ridiculous amount of debt and can see no way to leave behind steady income to follow a leading of the Lord. That was never his intent for his children.  The idea of being overly extended with debt is our invention.  And not a good one!  Think for a moment of what all you could do for the kingdom if you did not have debt hanging over your head?  What difference would it make if you were not overly committed with your schedule to where every night of the week is spoken for already? 

Our time is short.  There is much to do!  Pray and ask the Lord what areas of your life that He would have you free up so that you can follow Him more willingly.  Ask the Lord to show you the places that you still govern, rather than allowing Him to lead you.  Come on!  An adventure awaits you!

Dear Lord, thank you for your loving and steadfast guidance.  Thank you for being a sure protector for me.  Show me the areas of my life where I am not allowing you to lead.  In Jesus' Name. Amen.'

Avoiding Recapture

 

    

Gal 5:1

 

5 Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.

NKJV

 

Freedom is  a funny thing.  It is difficult to receive and just as difficult to keep.  If you have ever lost a significant amount of weight through dieting,  or if you have gotten out of debt, you know this to be true.  To  stay free, we have to keep doing the stuff we did to get free.  But once we are free, we like to go back to the old way and begin to live as we did before.  The way that brought bondage to start with.

 

Jesus paid the price that purchased our freedom.  This act was infinitely expensive for Him.  But it is free for us.  It is a free gift that we receive by simply accepting by faith what He has offered.  So in that regard,  freedom is very simple to receive.  So what is the hard part?

 

We still live in the world  even after we are free.  The enemy of our soul continues to launch campaigns against us to ensnare us once again.  He vehemently opposes our freedom.  We cannot afford to be ignorant to his devices or  schemes.  We must stand firm.

 

In addition, there is an internal war of the flesh.  The carnal side of us has to be renewed once we are born again.   Jesus saves us and makes us a new creation.  But there is still a part of us that leans toward an evil tendency.  That part can only be overcome in the Spirit.  We destroy our fleshly desires and tendencies by starving them to death.  This is only done as we renew our minds by spending time in the Bible.  The Bible has power to change us from the inside out.  In addition, as we pray, our Spirit man is strengthened and becomes stronger than our weaknesses.  Don't get me wrong. The Spirit of God is always stronger than evil.  But if we do not give it place in our life,  we stunt our own spiritual  growth.   Finally, we must have teaching and Christian fellowship.  That is where the church comes in.  We become like the culture that we immerse ourselves in.  If we are only spending time in the world, that is what we mimic.  But if instead, we are in the Church, experiencing the power of God firsthand, hearing other people share about the victory they have in Christ, and having positive support, we are given the resources we need to grow and stand in Christ.

 

It is so important to pray and be made free from your sin.   But after that prayer, we cannot go back to our old way.  We must follow a new path. We must be regenerated God's way.   Standing in your victory takes effort, diligence and intentionality.

 

A final note- sometimes when people are set free, they begin to feel "invincible", like they cannot be conquered by anything.  During those times Christians can fall into a trap and believe that now that they are no longer addicted, they can have an occasional social drink, a cigarette when they are stressed,  or one more peek at pornography.  It is a lie from the pits of hell! When we go around stuff that has mastered us before, we purposely choose to step outside of God's protective umbrella and open the door to sin and bondage once more.  I have often read that we do not have to be stronger than sin, just smarter.  Smart enough to avoid temptation. Smart enough to put ourselves in spiritual intensive care- massive loading doses of Bible study, prayer and church attendance.  We cannot win this fight on  our own.  God has given us the tools to succeed, but we have to avail ourselves to them.

 

Dear Lord, thank you for the freedom I have found in Christ.  I am so  grateful for this indescribable gift. Make me  wise, O God, to the enemy's efforts to once again ensnare me.  Help me to stand firm and be unmoved.  Help me to have fruitful time in prayer, Bible study and church attendance.  I acknowledge my dependence on You.  In Jesus' Name. Amen.

 

 

Free. Indeed.

    

John 8:36

 

"Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed."  (NKJV)

 

 

There have been times in my life, I have been around some "name-droppers."  I have been told to do something on my job, "per ___"  and they would list a superior's name.  Usually, the authority had, indeed, spoken.  Occasionally, however, people use someone else's name amiss.  Using it where they do not have the right or authority to do so.

 

That is one of the things that I love about this verse.  Jesus himself is saying, "If the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed."  The Son is referring to himself.  He does not come with another's authority.  No!  A thousand times no!  He comes in his own authority and says,  "Look, if I set you free, you are definitely free."  (My paraphrase.)  There is no mistake in what is being said.  If Jesus cuts you loose from the chains of bondage, there is no power that can hold you back.  If Jesus overcomes your drug addiction, you are free.  If Jesus opens the prison doors on your child abuse and pronounces you whole, you are whole!  If Jesus washes away your sins, you are as pure and clean as the driven snow.

What Jesus says-  what Jesus does- is irrevocable by anyone else.  He knows the past, present and future.  He is the great I AM.  Who was, who is and who is to come.  He knows all, therefore He can truthfully pronounce the outcome of any situation.

 

Whatever you have struggled with, if you have given it to Jesus, you must believe that you are free just as He says.  Walk free!  He has opened the prison door- get off your cot and start marching out! You are free.  You have been released!  Walk in it, in Jesus' Name.

  Dear Lord, thank you for being my Liberator.  Thank you for freeing me from all of the bondage of sin and the lies of the enemy.   In Jesus' Name.  Amen.

Sherri