Jul 13 2024
Afternoon Bible Verse
For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.
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The first time new teenage drivers are given a set of car keys, they feel like they have been handed the world. They can go where they want, when they want, and do whatever they wish to do—as long as they have permission from their parents.
Although these teens have been given a new kind of freedom, it comes with limitations. If they should misuse their freedom, they can suffer consequences or have their freedom taken away. Why? Because their parents love them and know that they could suffer more painful consequences down the road if they don't learn to operate within the boundaries they have been given.
As followers of Jesus, we have been called unto liberty. God paid the price of our freedom with the life of Jesus. His sacrifice on the cross enabled us to break free from a life of sin. This liberty is given to set us free from the effects of sin in our lives. We can live in that freedom, or we can fool ourselves into believing that our liberty gives us permission to sin.
We have been freed from sin, so we can have a relationship with God—not so we can misuse our freedom to keep sinning. Instead, we can live in God's love and goodness so that we can serve others. The depth of our love for God can be seen in how willing we are to meet other people's needs.
Because Christ has set us free, we don't serve each other out of obligation, but as a reflection of the life of service that Jesus lived on Earth. Our life was never meant to be about us and what we want because that isn't the example Jesus set for us. Everything we have been given, including salvation, has been given to us so we can give it away. When God sets us free, we are completely free. Let us choose to remain that way so that we can serve others.
God, I am so grateful for the freedom you have given to me. It wasn't your plan that I would ever be separated from you by the sin in my life. Help me to understand the liberty that comes from living for you, so that I can serve others. Always let my motivation be to live my life in the same way Jesus lived His—thinking of others first. It's not easy for me to set aside my pride and humble myself. I need you to show me how to live this way because it isn't natural to me. But through you, I can do all things. In Jesus' name, amen.
If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.
-C.S. Lewis
God will not look you over for medals, degrees or diplomas but for scars.
-Elbert Hubbard
The Christian does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us.
-C.S. Lewis
"If you want to know what God thinks of money, just look at the people he gave it to.
-Dorothy Parker
