“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...

“God does big things with small deeds.”

A thought by Max Lucado (2011-05-02) from his book, Cure for the Common Life (p. 115). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) I don’t know how you feel about what you are doing and how it can make a difference. You may feel that it is so small and not even worth the effort. Max says, “Begin. Just begin! What seems small to you might be huge to someone else. Just ask Bohn Fawkes. During World War II, he piloted a B-17. On one mission he sustained flak from Nazi antiaircraft guns. Even though his gas tanks were hit, the plane did not explode, and Fawkes was able to land the plane. “On the morning following the raid, Fawkes asked his crew chief for the German shell. He wanted to keep a souvenir of his incredible good fortune. The crew chief explained that not just one but eleven shells had been found in the gas tanks, none of which had exploded. “Technicians opened the missiles and found them void of explosive cha...

“Sometimes we think we’re stuck simply because things are hard.”

A thought by Matt Perman, from his book, How to Get Unstuck (p. 52). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the That is a possible trap for many, isn’t it? Matt says, “But if you’re continuing to make progress and aren’t experiencing huge snags, you’re not stuck. Rather, you’re in a dip. “A dip is a temporary hard slog that you will get through if you keep pushing and don’t give up. And pushing through the hard slog is actually the fastest route to the destination. In these cases, you will be especially tempted to bail. Be discerning and able to identify that you’re in a legitimate dip and you’re not a failure.” Matt says another trap to be careful of, “Some people are stuck and don’t know it.” He goes on, “Everything can be going your way, going smoothly, and going quickly. Everything feels and seems wonderful. Yet... you are still headed toward a dead end, a form of getting stuck, if you are leaving God out of t...

Just Continue That Thought...

Search This Blog