“Yet their political slavery could not diminish the freedom they found in Jesus Christ.”

A thought by Erwin Raphael McManus, (2003-09-04) from his book, Uprising: A Revolution of the Soul (Kindle Location 240). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.

I understand the desire that we have to live in a free country. The USA came in existence because of a desire to have religious freedom and we will do all we can to keep it. It seems that some of those freedoms are slowly being taken away from us. But if you read the book in the New Testament called the Acts of the Apostles you will see that the church was born under the rule of the dominion of a pagan empire. That is what this thought by Erwin was talking about.

Now I said that to say that we need to be careful to live with an expectation of God to provide us with this freedom. We are no better than those Christians who live in the Peking Jerusalem Corridor who are under persecution every day. God loves them just as much as He loves us. We need to be thankful every day that we have this privilege but we also need to see that along with the privilege goes responsibility.

The church is growing in those areas but it isn’t in the USA. I would hate to say that we maybe need more persecution than we have so that we would have a greater dependency on God. We gripe about the government in power and but let any excuse keep us from going to church. " It’s raining, I have a headache, I’m tired, I need a break."

Somehow we need to see that our freedom is found in Jesus Christ and not Washington D C. People in China cannot worship God in public but it isn’t stopping them. They worship Him in their homes, in businesses, where ever they can and the church is alive and growing. People are dying for their faith all over the world but it isn’t stopping the church from growing. What really is stopping the church is not persecution, nor the government but misplaced priorities and apathy by Christians.

What matters to you more, your religious freedom or your freedom in Christ? Jesus came to set up His kingdom in our hearts not in Jerusalem. Let’s get back to basics, to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto us. Let’s go seek the lost and give them the good news. That is where real freedom is found.

So are you really free?

Comments

“There’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.”

A thought by Bob Goff from his book, Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People ( p. 41). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Have you ever built a sand castle or maybe a Lego castle? Have you? Bob says, “We actually build castles all the time, out of our jobs and our families and the things we’ve purchased. Sometimes we even make them out of each other. Some of these castles are impressive too. Lots of people come to admire what we’ve built over the course of our lives and tell us what great castles we have. But Jesus told His friends we weren’t supposed to spend our lives building castles. He said He wanted us to build a kingdom, and there’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.” Bob goes on, “You see, castles have moats to keep creepy people out, but kingdoms have bridges to let everyone in. Castles have dungeons for people who ha...

“When you understand that life is a test, you realize that nothing is insignificant in your life.”

A thought by Rick Warren, (2012-10-23) from his book, The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? (Purpose Driven Life, The) (p. 57). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. To realize that from God’s perspective life is a test goes a long way in determining how you handle your life. It is important to see that in testing your character is both developed and revealed. Rick goes on to say that “even the smallest incident has significance for your character development. Every day is an important day, and every second is a growth opportunity to deepen your character, to demonstrate love, or to depend on God.” So there is a God purpose behind each situation in your life. Even the bad ones are there to strengthen you and develop you. You see those bad situations are really good ones because they are there for your good. I start each day with a reminder that God is good. Not every situation that is going to come in my day is good but because G...

“What areas of my personality, background, and physical appearance am I struggling to accept?”

A thought by Rick Warren, (2012-10-23) from his book, The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? (Purpose Driven Life, The) (p. 35). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. Rick posed this question at the end of his chapter, You Are Not an Accident. In this chapter he deals with the fact that God created you the way you are with a purpose. In other words you are not an accident. I am also reading the Apostle John’s view of Jesus and what He said and did while He was here on earth. In the beginning of Chapter 9 there is a story about a blind man. And the disciples who were with Him asked Him a good question, “Who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind? ” Have you ever asked the same thing about something in you that you don’t like? Like that characteristic is a curse or something. Society has set a standard that is not a standard of God. Remember, He created you and you are not an accident. Je...

Just Continue That Thought...

Search This Blog