Thursday, August 18, 2005
2 Corinthians 3:17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
FREEDOM NOW, AND LATER
There may be times when we Christians don't feel very free. When we sin in the same way that we always do. When we find ourselves sliding into the same bad habits that we hate so much.
At times like this the devil takes the opportunity to attack us. He points to our sins and says, "Look at your sins! What kind of Christian does things like this! You're no Christian! You're a damned sinner."
But our Savior does not wish us to focus our attention on our failures, but on His victory. The victory Jesus won, He gives to us. He has wiped out the failures that are our sins.
Jesus' victory is given to us through Faith which the Spirit creates in our hearts. Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom indeed! Freedom from sin, guilt and sadness.
This victory we have been given in Christ means that our sins are dead. Even though our sins may cling to us, the Holy Spirit slowly pushes them out from the inside.
I've noticed that some trees keep their leaves through the winter. The leaves are dead, but they cling to the branches tightly and refuse to fall. They don't fall away until the fresh sap of springtime pushes them out and the green of new life appears.
When you find that you still have some dead leaves that don't want to fall, just remember -- they're dead, and it's only a matter of time before the Spirit that is inside you pushes them out. We won't be free of the dead leaves in this life, but God has promised that some day we will be nothing but life and green through Christ Jesus our Savior.
