Sunday, July 1, 2012

An Independence Day Devotional

We are off our normal series this week and will return next week.

Read: Hebrews 4:12

                                        The Word That Liberates

                                         "Everyone...is a slave to sin..." (John 8:34)

              "Then you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free." (John 8:32)

We are all slaves to sin until we become Christians. As slaves we have no part in the kingdom of God. But when the Son sets us free from our sins, we are no longer slaves. As we begin to know the Truth through worship, prayer and Bible study, we are set free from our chains.

When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we are born again (John 3:3‑21) and our spirit is given life, yet our spirit may still be restricted by our soul or intellectual mind. Our mind has been filled with lies and worldly philosophies which serve to chain and perhaps even strangle our newborn spirit, as thorns would a good plant. How then can we liberate our spirit from the control of our soul so that we might cast down all philosophies and thoughts that are contrary to the knowledge of God (2 Corinthians 10:5)? We read in Hebrews 4:12 that the Word (the Bible) is sharper than any two‑edged sword, it can even divide soul and spirit. As we apply the Word of God to our life, it will separate our spirit from the restrictive control of the mind—the truth will set us free.

Once the Spirit has been liberated (released) from the control of the mind it is free to flow out into every area of our life. Because our spirit is no longer confined, we, by the Holy Spirit, can open up to the release that comes through the manifestations of our spiritual gifts and prayer language. As our spirit is in control of our thoughts and actions, we are released to bring life to our body and mind in a whole new way, by the blood of Christ. The Word of God is mighty indeed. As we study to know more of the truth, as revealed in God's Word, we will be set free, as we allow Him to liberate our spirit from all the fallen ideas and habits that entangle it (Heb. 12:1-2).

Action Points:
  • What aspect of your mind has the most binding effect upon your spirit and your faith (e.g., fear, intellectualism, greed, pride/arrogance)?
  • Ask God to set you free. If necessary, agree together in prayer with another Christian for your deliverance.
  • Remember, being set free does not necessarily mean the removal of temptation, but the removal of the compulsion to sin. Now we can say “No!” in order to say “Yes!” to something better (Romans 6:12-13).

2 comments:

  1. Thank you for speaking the truth so clearly.
    I especially like the Action Point. So often we are in bondage,and we don't realize it.

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  2. Thanks for the comment and you're welcome! It is important for us to constantly allow the Holy Spirit to do his work in our lives...since we are usually have blind spots and areas of self-deception in addition to the stuff we know about. Thankfully the Lord will complete the work as long as we don't bail on the process.

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