Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Do Not Be Entangled Again... Galatians 5:1

Galatians 5:1 says,
“Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.”

 Before I rededicated my life to Christ, I thought that I was too far gone to be saved. I thought that there was no way that God wanted to hear from me. I longed to speak to Him. I wanted to read the Bible. Even though I had always been told of His grace and forgiveness, I was so convinced that I was too dirty to be washed clean and that God would never want me back. I thought that I was worse than others because I knew about Jesus and had experienced His love and I deliberately walked away from Him and His plans for me. 

It's a habit of mine to forget what Jesus has done for me. Satan throws thoughts of guilt, condemnation, bad memories of what I've done and inadequacy my way and I get so wrapped up in them that I forget the truth. I dwell on the sin and forget that “there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). During our 3 months of training, I remember one of the teachers saying that when you reject God's grace, you are putting Jesus back on the cross all over again. Jesus took all of my sin upon himself when He died and bridged the gap between me and God when he raised from the dead. The moment that I repented and asked God to save me, He forgot my sins. He has no records of them. But Satan doesn't want us to experience “the liberty by which Christ has made us free.” He wants me to stay entangled in the bondage of sin. When I dwell on thoughts of my past, I pick up my chains again. I need to remember the freedom that Christ has given me. Instead of dwelling on the past, I need to press ahead toward the plans that God has for me. 

Philippians 3:13-14 says,
“Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

My application this week is to post these verses on my wall as a reminder of my freedom and future in Christ.

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