I have been thinking about freedom lately. Maybe I'm being prompted by the fact that the 4th of July has come and gone. The celebration marks our country's independence (freedom) doesn't it?
Are you feeling free right now? Am I feeling free? I'm not talking about freedom in the patriotic/politcal sense. I'm talking about a "life sense". Are you experiencing freedom? Am I? Or do you feel bound by someone or something, a general feeling of heaviness in your heart?
The apostle Paul talks about freedom in Christ in his letter to the followers in Galatia.
Galatians 5:1 Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you. The Message
He refers to slavery. Most of us when we think about slavery would agree that all men should be free from that oppression. Do many of us, when we think of the slavery, connect it to the bondage that comes from negative memories of life experiences?
Where can we find freedom from our past? How can we gain understanding, seek forgiveness and release our pain so that it doesn't create bitterness and resentment?
I submit to you that we can only do that with a person who will walk this road with us. Someone who knows us intimately and has gone before us, experiencing all of our pain and hurt for himself. That person is Jesus Christ. He lives in people and can minister His love through people. These people are trusted friends, who are living in His grace and forgiveness.
They are all around you. Seek them out. Risk and be vulnerable. Ask; they will be found. Healing is right around the corner, and with healing comes freedom.
Friday, June 30, 2006
Sunday, June 04, 2006
Saturday, June 03, 2006
Blackberry vines and the True Vine
Right now in the Pacific Northwest it is prime time for plant growth. The periodic showers coupled with the warmer longer days make for a "green explosion" all over the place. It is really amazing! The different shades of green are intense. What an amazing niche our great and glorious Creator has given us with the northwest.
My personal obeservations of this green growth is centering on the blackberry vines in my backyard. They are currently encroaching on our house. Whoa! Interspersed amongst the blackberry vines are nettles, nasty tall weeds which make berry picking later in the summer hazardous.
I want to talk about the blackberries for now. As I've watched the new shoots take off; I've noticed that they are attached to a main vine. From that vine they get nourishment to expand their territory and boy that is happening rapidly right now.
The story God is playing out in my life and the life of some of my dear friends reminds me of this new growth blackberry vine. Jesus uses this vine analogy in talking about true growth, John 15:5-12 Jesus talks of himself being our vine.
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.
For me I know that I must remain in the true vine that is Jesus. I suggest you try abiding in Him if you haven't done so up to this point in your life. He will lift you up and carry you.
My personal obeservations of this green growth is centering on the blackberry vines in my backyard. They are currently encroaching on our house. Whoa! Interspersed amongst the blackberry vines are nettles, nasty tall weeds which make berry picking later in the summer hazardous.
I want to talk about the blackberries for now. As I've watched the new shoots take off; I've noticed that they are attached to a main vine. From that vine they get nourishment to expand their territory and boy that is happening rapidly right now.
The story God is playing out in my life and the life of some of my dear friends reminds me of this new growth blackberry vine. Jesus uses this vine analogy in talking about true growth, John 15:5-12 Jesus talks of himself being our vine.
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.
For me I know that I must remain in the true vine that is Jesus. I suggest you try abiding in Him if you haven't done so up to this point in your life. He will lift you up and carry you.
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