Freedom, Grace and Personal Peace

Scripture
Romans 7:15, 22
"I don't not understand what I do.  For what I want to do, I do not do, but what I hate about myself, I do...
for in my inner being I delight in the God's law...but I find another principle at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind...making me a prisoner of the n principle at work in my members..."  

Colossians 1:1-12
"...so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God...strengthened with all power, according to His glorious
might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience...joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light."

Prayer
Dear Lord, today I'm going to acknowledge you as a great God of grace, a God of undeserved favor.  In a powerful way I can feel your unconditional love for me.  You have been faithful in answering my prayers.  I don't deserve your kindness, your consideration, and your forgiveness.  I don't understand why you are so faithful in dealing with me in view of my lack of faithfulness in return.  I thank you for your grace because I simply need it.  I'm just not that well-put-together.  However, through the confidence I have in the work of the Holy Spirit in my life, I'm really going to put my best foot forward.  Help me to be compassionate, understanding, and productive.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Jokes
A few more funnies like last week...the winner from last week was the Darth Vader line...

• Did you hear about the kidnapping in the park? They woke him up
• I bought a pair of shoes from a drug-dealer...I don't know what they're laced with...but I've been tripping all day.
• What did the left eye say to the right eye? Between you and me ... something smells.
• I'm so good at sleeping...I can do it with my eyes closed...

• If anyone gets a message about canned meat...don't open it...it's Spam.
• When I ate my alarm clock yesterday...I realized that it was very time consuming.
• My girl-friend is like a newspaper...a new issue every day.
• Why do ocean fish live in salt water? Because pepper makes them sneeze.

Quotations
"Never give yourself permission to hide behind grace as a cover for disobedience." Chuck Swindoll
"You belong to the power which you choose to obey." J B Phillips

God grants you and I grace...

Message
There is no way that we can find freedom, no way to enjoy the deep satisfaction of righteousness, that is, standing right before God.  In a sense, we all are enslaved by our fallen nature to do wrong, be lawless, be selfish, choose to be outright wicked at times, and have impure motives.  The Bible teaches us that, when Jesus came to earth, He freed us --- leaving us with a choice to make. ​

We can choose Him to have mastery over us, or we can go back and choose to be lawless and without principle.  J B Phillips was definitely right when he wrote, "You belong to the power which you choose to obey." The idea is simple. With every moment of every day we have the power to choose whom we are pleased to follow. If it is Jesus, the benefits are manifold. If we choose our own way, the consequences are destructive and miserable.

You belong to the power which you choose to obey...

Pray for grace to be freed from the dark side. Photo by Rodolfo Clix from Pexels

So where does "grace" come into the picture. Grace being "God's undeserved favor"-- grace is that which makes real choice possible. Before Jesus there was no choice. In Christ Jesus we have the power to choose His freedom through responsible living.  

I love the words of Saint Paul in Galatians 5:1, "It is for freedom's sake that Christ has set us free." ​

​Ultimately, as human beings apart from God, we will always make one kind of choice. Grace frees us from the natural requirement to serve "the dark side". Choosing to do things God's way really frees us to take advantage of the "fullness" we all seek. Nothing in life will provide more lasting, supreme satisfaction. Yet, a pervasive, mighty element in real life is the work of the "enemy" in our midst, definitely, the dark side.

We call that dark side "sin".  Actually, sin is not a religious or theological term.  It is a term from the ancient sport of archery. 

​In times past, at tournaments involving the use of bow and arrow, when the archer would pull back the bow and let the arrow fly...and the arrow ended up in the center of the target...the scorer would shout out, "Bulls-eye!"  When the next archer would do the same...and the arrow would fall short of the target, the scorer would shout out, "Sin!" ​

Ancient Greek Archer. Source: British Museum/Public Domain

 Literally, sin is falling short of the target, and sin (in terms of our human intention and conduct) is falling short of God's standard for our lives.  Falling short...

Don't fall short!  Aim for the Bulls-eye and hit it!  ...that Bulls-Eye is God's intention for our lives...

I've got some good news for you...and...I've got some bad news for you.  You know something!  I wish I could actually guarantee all of us freedom from sin for three-hundred and sixty-five days out of each and every year.  But, sadly, I cannot do so.  Not for me.  Not for you.  That's the bad news.  The good news is that...we don't have to sin in a constant, day-after-day basis.  Grace gives us the strength to be freed to obey Christ.  With each and every choice we make in life, we either move closer to God or we go further away.

Some fellow Christians would say it's a gradual thing.  I say, No!  It's a decision by decision progression.

​The Lord could intervene in our lives, but rather, He permits us the freedom to make a choice.  When we fail to see the errors of our ways, the promptings of God's Spirit are ignored and disobedience becomes a lifestyle.  God will allow that to happen...because we must "choose" Christ...and the His ways.  The alternative for us is terrible...it involves mental anguish, a guilty conscience, hurting and offending others and finally bringing reproach upon the name of Jesus.  The scars of bad decisions mark us for life.  We are told that the Lord (indeed) will forgive us, but the scars we retain cannot be erased. 

Let me tell you something!  God is a gentleman and He is not going to force religion or good behavior on any of us.  We must choose to accept His undeserved grace and act accordingly.  The Holy Spirit will give us the means and the strength to live our lives in a Godly way, so that life is a blessing for us and we are richly rewarded.  It starts simply with one decision, one act, to obey.  God never means to communicate to us we're free in Him to live any way we want to live, whatever the circumstances.  Life doesn't work that way.

We need a master.  The ideal choice is Jesus Christ.  We don't do well without Someone we trust to stand over us with authority in love.  I have learned...We need to put Jesus in charge. We don't "become" alone.

​"You, however, are controlled not by your sinful nature, but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives within you." Romans 8:9

​In addition, I have become keenly aware of the power of mutual accountability....that is...in love and gentle persuasion...to be there for other sisters and brothers, especially within the family of faith.  

Grace in this regard means I don't force or manipulate or judge or attempt to control others in that accountability, nor should others try to control me.  In a unique and workable way --- personal growth in Christ --- involves breathing room, deliberately "letting go" of attempts to control (so very tempting for the deeply religious) so that each person can grow and learn on his or her own.  Letting go of control can be painful...It's so hard to watch others falter along the way...we want so badly to shape others in our mold.  We need to release our tendency to control, to be in charge, as though the touch of the Master is not sufficient enough...

Therefore, being a Christian who takes God's grace seriously, this anonymous poem is so very helpful:

To let go doesn't means to stop caring, it means I can't do it for someone else.

To let go is not to cut myself off, it's the realization that I can't control another person.

To let go is not to enable, but to allow learning from natural consequences.

To let go is to admit powerlessness, which means the outcome is not in my hands.

To let go is not to try to change or blame another, I can only change myself.

To let go is not to care for, but to care about.

To let go is not to fix, but to be supportive.

To let go is not to judge, but to allow another to be a human being.

To let go is not to be in the middle arranging outcomes, but to allow others to effect their own outcomes.

To let go is not to be protective, it is to permit another to face reality.

To let go is not to deny, but to accept.

To let go is not to nag, scold, or argue, but to search out my own shortcomings and to correct them.

To let go is not to adjust everything to my desires, but to take each day as it comes.

To let go is not to criticize and regulate anyone, but to try to become what dream I can be.

To let go is not to regret the past, but to grow an live for the future.

To let go is to fear less and love more.​

"...there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus, the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin an death..." Romans 8:1-2

The very next time you and I are tempted to yield to the "old master" we will need to remember this.  God's grace always invites us to return and find forgiveness and healing and wholeness.  The scars along the way are the earmarks of our eventual victory in Christ.  They show us the price the journey has cost us.  There is a great and powerful truth released to us through the gospel we have received in the Lord Jesus Christ.  There is no more perfect way to live and find true reconciliation in our lives.  If there were "a religious way" or "a way of wisdom" that dealt with truth the way "life in Christ" does --- I have not found it.  Underneath the lure of other spiritual ways there are always "good works" at its base, not grace.  It's an open-door for all of us to find perfect peace and joy meant for imperfect people, like me, and maybe you, also.  I'd like to ask... receive that great peace and joy in your life today, especially if this has been a special time of struggle for you in these challenging times.  There is hope for you today.  There is reconciliation.  There is abundant life.

Cordially, Tom