What on Earth is God Doing?
By William M. Self, Sr.
It is not barb wire and steel bars that hold people captive
It is the thoughts we process in the circumstances of life
Jesus came to set the captive free and to help us
Bring every thought into captivity
The Lord Sets Prisoners Free
I have never been in prison but I might as well have been.
A cell block of cold steel bars locked with no way of escape
would have been kinder to me than the prisons I have been in.
There is a cell door in my mind that closes
when my quality of life is threatened.
Depression turns off the light of hope.
From spilled milk to life threating circumstances,
almost anything can lock that prison door.
When that cell door closes, I know I have lost control.
The purpose of life has lost its meaning.
Bessie and Corrie Ten Boom were taken
to a Nazi Concentration camp in WWII.
Corrie tells the story in the book and a movie, “The Hiding Place”.
Corrie tells how her hope, peace, and love were being
locked out of her mind as their suffering increased.
Bessie, Corrie’s sister, reminds her of God’s faithfulness.
It was finding propose and meaning in
that death camp then kept them free.
God is always working to set the captives free.
The greatest prisons are not those made of barb wire and
steel bars.
The greatest prisons are made in our minds.
Jesus said… He came to set
the captives free.
He also said… I came that you might
have life and have it to the full.
Your freedom has nothing to do with your circumstances…
But everything to do with your thoughts.
That is why Paul, a man very aware of prison life, said…
God has given us weapons to keep us free and with these
weapons…
“We demolish arguments and every
pretension that sets itself
up against the knowledge of God, and we take
captive every
thought to make it obedient to
Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5-6 NIV
There is no way to measure how many thoughts a
person has in a day even though some claim to know.
But the number of thoughts is large.
God gave us His Word, gave us His Son and His Spirit.
So whether it is raining on your picnic or you
are on your death bed… You will be free.
Image the thoughts you might have had if you were Jesus on
the cross.
Thoughts of anger, revenge, bitterness, despair,
hopelessness, etc.
Yet, He said… Father forgive them.
He was free because He never allowed His captors to hold Him.
That freedom gave Him the ability to fulfill His purpose
freely.
There is no reason you have to be in prison.
Your life has purpose and meaning with every breath you
breathe.
Let Jesus help you find freedom.
Scripture Reading
Psalm
146:5-7 NIV
5 Blessed is
he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope
is in the Lord his God,
6 the Maker
of heaven and earth,
the sea, and
everything in them —
the Lord,
who remains faithful forever.
7 He upholds
the cause of the oppressed
and gives
food to the hungry.
The Lord
sets prisoners free
2 Corinthians
10:3-6 NIV
3 For though
we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we
fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine
power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension
that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every
thought to make it obedient to Christ. 6 And we will be ready to punish every
act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.
John 8:34-37
NIV
34 Jesus
replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.
35 Now a
slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever.
36 So if the
Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
Luke 4:18-19
NIV
"The
Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he
has anointed me
to preach
good news to the poor.
He has sent
me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery
of sight for the blind,
to release
the oppressed,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's
favor."
No comments:
Post a Comment