Unshackled Moments ~ April 13, 2018 ~ Free To Choose

We like to talk about the free gift of grace, grace that saves, grace that sets us free from bondage, grace that makes us able to love God and love others as we should and obey Daddy. And that grace is indeed free in the sense that Jesus did all that is required and there is nothing we can add to it or take away from His finished work. But I have to laugh a little when I see people trying to follow some Christ-inspired spirituality/philosophy without following Jesus Himself.

It's just not possible, because Jesus is not a spiritual teacher or even a prophet. Either He is exactly who and what He claimed to be or He was a liar or a madman. Jesus doesn't require us to be moral or to do our best. He demands everything, all of us. And sometimes that is hard for us to accept. We decide to surrender our will and lives to God's care, but does it really mean giving up the right to have rights, to control our own lives, to have our way? Yes, yes it does. And for those of us with addiction issues this is especially difficult. Selfishness and self-centeredness is the root of our problems. That same root has no desire to deny itself, take up the death of our will and lay all our life on the altar of sacrifice.

We like to think  that freedom means getting to do what we want, to have our will rule our lives. But that is not freedom. In that sense, none of us are free. We all serve something, either by choice or by force. We are born slaves to sin, and while  we might resist, sooner or later we all obey that master's demands. The freedom we have in Christ is the freedom to choose for once who we will serve. But the good news is that when we choose Christ, we are not made merely servants. We become brothers and sisters of the Lord, co-heirs with Him, the adopted children of Daddy, sealed by His Spirit, with all the rights and privileges that go with that. We may still be called to serve, and we have to submit our will to His, but what He wants for us is better than anything we could come up with on our own, His will and way lead to more satisfaction and contentment than we can have outside His will, even if we manage to get all we think we want. We may have to give up our life, but we gain a life worth living in exchange. Let us remember this truth when anything else calls to us with the idea that there could be anything better and more fulfilling than following Jesus.

This site is free. If this blessed, helped and or informed you, the best thing you can do is pass it on via the social buttons below. And please subscribe or follow Unshackled Life Ministries on Facebook.

Unshackled Life Ministries is grateful for every person that reads the daily Unshackled Moments, the weekly Unshackled Echo and or listens to the Audio Messages. I want to thank those who have clicked "like" on something that blessed or ministered to them on social media, commented on the blog or replied to an email subscription. It is encouraging to know that God is using this ministry to help and bless others. Please remember that if God used something from this ministry to help, encourage or bless you, it could also bless someone else. Would you help get the devotions and sermons to more people by sharing this? Hitting the share button or forwarding this to a friend will help us reach more people with the good news of freedom and the encouragement to live an Unshackled Life. Thank you and God bless.