This week I have been thinking a lot about freedom! Over the past twelve months this topic has come up many, many times in our country and it has been tied to the pandemic. We have put all our trust in leaders to guide us through what has been called unprecedented times and laid the future of our freedom in their hands. The freedom we have as Americans was fought for with the lives of young men and women over 200 years ago and many stand and fight for that freedom still today. Over the past week I have heard government agencies and even the highest office in our country offer up the idea of when I might be “allowed” to gather with others in my own home. As an American who believes our founding fathers when they wrote “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” I am offended by these recent words. But as a Christian, I am not moved by the words of man because my freedom comes from the Creator Himself!
Yes, I live in America. Yes, as an American I am bound by the laws of the city, county, state, and country in which I live. I understand that. What I want to remind myself, and hopefully you today, is that, as Christians, our TRUE freedom comes from God and what Jesus did for us on the cross over 2000 years ago. God created the heavens and the earth. God sent His only Son Jesus to lay His life down for our sins. Then Jesus conquered death! Because of these truths and my belief in them, I AM FREE. By accepting Jesus as my Lord and Savior and confessing my sins to Him, I am fully free to live a life full of hope knowing that one day I join Him in Heaven. That, my friends, is true freedom! That, my friends, is the definition of free that we need to carry around in our hearts every single day! When we pass all earthly freedoms through the lens of God, we will know what it means to be free!
I have tried to share my passion with you in just a few words today. But, may I allow the band Newsboys to bring this message home through the lyrics of their song “I am free”. Read these lyrics below then pull of the song on your favorite streaming service (or here on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dCYUEW18UM) and sing at the top of your lungs that YOU ARE FREE!
Through You the blind will see
Through You the mute will sing
Through You the dead will rise
Through You all hearts will praise
Through You the darkness flees
Through You my heart screams
I am free
And I am free to run, (I am free to run)
I am free to dance, (I am free to dance)
I am free to live for You, (I am free to live for You)
I am free, I am free (Yes, I am free, I am free)
Through You the kingdom comes
Through You the battle's won
Through You the price is paid
Through You I'm not afraid
Through You there's victory
Because of You my soul sings
I am free
I am free to live for a God that loves me. No government agency, no elected official, no appointed individual dictates my freedom in my home or in my heart. My worship and relationship with Him are not encumbered by anything besides my own belief that He is the one true God. I want to challenge to you today to look at freedom through the eyes of your Creator. Do you feel free today? If so, shout it from the rooftops for all to hear. If not, take sometime today to stop and seek out the freedom God has for you. I can tell you from personal experience that there is nothing more freeing than to turn your life over the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth.
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