Today’s Reading: Job 31; Job 32; Galatians 5; Galatians 6
Scripture: Galatians 5:1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
Observation: Paul warns the Christians of the tendency toward bondage and even slavery.
Application: Christ won a hard fought battle to free us. But we can create new yokes of slavery with our own hands. It is the tendency of our sin nature to corrupt or spoil the simplicity and purity that God creates. Jesus boiled it down to two basic rules: 1) Love God totally; and 2) Love people as you love yourself. Every Christian, church, and ministry adds complexity and detail with doctrinal lists. We can't help ourselves. Paul says that we must stand firm against anything that creates burdens that bring us into bondage.
Prayer: Lord, help us to operate in the freedom that You gave to us in Christ. We want to avoid self-imposed bondage and stand in the purity and delight of your perfect freedom. Keep us vigilant against anyone or anything that would divert us from the freedom You have for us.
This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.
1 comment:
Amen! We bring ourselves into bondage by our lists of "works of righteousness" and also by holding onto grudges, offenses, attitudes of superiority, stubborness and rebellion and a host of other ills that Jesus wants us to be free from.
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