dear friend...

 Recently, I've (Sherann) been writing to my friend who's currently out of the country.
I had written her an email in the hopes of letting her know that I was thinking of her and praying for her while she was away. And I was thrilled to hear back from her the following day. 

I  responded back with a greater appreciation for the internet; though it can be both a blessing and a curse, in this case it has been a huge blessing. Okay, so it's not rocket science to know this and i'm always on the internet writing emails to other people, but I had a greater appreciation for our technology. My friend and I were able to connect. 

This caused me to take a step back and look at my relationship with God.  You see, my friend and I use the internet to communicate, but when we have a personal relationship with God, we have direct access to communicate with Him.  Too often we neglect to talk to Him, or we presume that there's a list of "to do's" before we can talk to God or even hear from Him. 
If this is the case for you, let me set the record straight.

There is absolutely nothing you can do (so no one should boast) or should do (faith is not works based), but receive His free gift of grace.  There's no cost to you because the payment has been paid, in full by Jesus.

See, our mediator, Jesus Christ, ("Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant." Hebrews 9.15a) died in our place so that what was once broken (relationship with God and man) because of sin, could now be restored by the covering of Jesus' blood. He paid our debt, ("For the wages of sin is death..." Romans 6.23) which could only be covered by death ("He entered once and for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption." Hebrews 9.12) but now, we have life ("... but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6.23). A life that we get to spend in eternity with God--the Creator of the universe, the God who made the land and seas, the God who created us fearfully and wonderfully. We, don't have any barriers, whether technology or waiting lists to go through.  We, by the grace of God, have complete and direct access to communicate with God because Jesus has become our way for us. ("Through him (Jesus) we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God."Romans 5.2)

Now imagine when you write to a friend and your friend responds back to you. I'm sure you'll experience the same excitement I had when I heard from my friend. And sometimes I wonder (this may just be a tiny scratch on the surface) how God must feel when He hears from His children. I'd say… overjoyed.

soli deo gloria

Real Freedom

Today we talk about freedom. We use that freedom to relax, to hang out with friends and family, to eat too much (for some to drink too much), and to generally just have a good time.

 

There’s isn’t anything necessary wrong with having a good time (the drinking too much part would raise some major concern from me, but otherwise). 

 

Our country as we know it began with men and women who came here so that they could worship God the way that they thought He wanted, rather than worrying about making a king happy by worshipping the way that was dictated to them. Every new group that came was seeking religious freedom. Look it up! It’s true. There were Congregationalists, Presbyterians, Quakers … they were all striving to serve God over and above serving an earthly king. They had been persecuted in their home countries, so they came out here.

 

Our country has changed a lot since then. In both good ways and bad. But today, I want to remind you of Paul’s words in his letter to the Romans.

 

When we (or anyone) are living without God, without knowing His Son, without having His Spirit inside of us. Then we’re dead. We may not know it. Others may not recognize it. We’re zombies; animated flesh without a beating heart or a living soul.

 

When we accept Jesus and we’re baptized, Paul says:

“ … don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” (Romans 6:3-5)

 

We gain life through His death:

“For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.” (v.6-7)

 

Without Jesus’ saving blood, we are slaves to sin. There’s no question about this. It’s a fact. The only master we serve when we’re separated from God is sin. And the world is a slave right along with us. A slave has no power to free another slave. Only one who is free has such power (Harriet Tubman had to gain her own freedom before she had any power to help free other slaves).

 

Jesus, being fully God, had the power because—even though He was also fully human—He was never a slave to sin (Hebrews 4:15). He died so that we could live. He died to free us from bondage to sin. And that’s a greater freedom than anything that the world can offer us.

 

Paul says:

“But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (v.22-23)

 

The world tries to tempt us with what we can have right now. Immediate satisfaction. Immediate gratification. Immediate maybe, but very, very temporary. And definitely limiting. Because if we choose the world and what it has to offer us right now, then we give up what Christ has offered us for eternity.

 

Today, celebrate the freedom that you have living in America. Celebrate that we have freedom of religion, and freedom of speech, and many, many other freedoms. Celebrate that you can freely gather with those you love without suspicion. Celebrate that you have (or will have when you’re old enough) a right to vote for your leaders, and that your vote matters. Celebrate all those things that make America great.

 

But don’t forget Who it is that really made America great. Who it is that inspired our founders, emboldened them, guided them, and protected them. And remember where your allegiance ultimately lies as you remember who it is that offers you paradise for eternity, instead of just “paradise” for right now.