Stand Fast; Christ Hath Made Us Free...

Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

Galatians 5:1

Take the time periodically throughout the day to remind yourself that you are free in Christ… This is not to say that you should abandon your job or that you should speak freely to your co-workers; this is just to remind you that your past restricts will no limit your future progress… Paul was a man who was opposed because of the years of his life when he was known as Saul; there were many who wanted to focus on his past and use that to negate his future… This same thing happens of us daily, there are people who want to hold you back based on yesterday, they want you to be defined by your past instead of learning from it and the word of God says that that we need are to “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert...” God took a man with a speech impediment and made him a leader (Moses), he took a shepherd and made him a king (David) and he took a young man fleeing from his twin brother and made him the father of the twelve tribes of Israel (Jacob)… All these men had a past, all of them encountered obstacles and made mistakes along the way; however, the biggest point about these men is that they didn’t let their past determine their future, they believed in the liberty which is received by all how believe and were able to overcome their detractors… Moses lead the children of God to the cusp of the Promise Land, David was called a man after God’s own heart and Jacob was transformed into Israel after wrestling a man all night long… These men were liberated from their mistakes and errors; this same liberation we also can obtain as Paul speaks to the fact that we have been liberated by Christ which has made us free… The challenge for you today is found in the first two words of this verse, stand fast… You have to be comfortable in Christ; this means that you are not wavered by storms, what people say about you doesn’t affect your mindset and when people bring up your past you have the ability to continue in boldness and confidence… To stand fast, one must know where they were, accept the mistakes of yesterday and continue to fight and press all the more toward their future… When Saul encountered Christ and was blinded, the word says that the Lord spoke to Ananias and said, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” God has chosen you and the path that you will travel in Him will be paved with bumps and bruises… From birth your destiny was bound to the fall of man in the Garden of Eden; sin has been implanted in you; however, the Lord wants you to remind yourself that the enemy had you but you have been set free… The things you face will tempt you, but you don’t have to succumb to them based on the shortcomings of yesterday… Your life will not be easy, you will experience snares where the enemy will try to confine you and this is why Paul goes on to tell the Church of Galatia, be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage…

Don’t allow Satan a foothold; don’t give him that opportunity to take over your life… One of the most important truths that we must recognize is that without Christ we are nothing… The bible declares that by the sin of one man we all were made sinners and that by the obedience of one man we have been made righteous… Jesus is the bridge that connects us back to the father and all who do not recognize Him will surely fall short… Paul’s letter to the church of Galatia calls for the body of Christ to stand fast in the liberty that Christ has made them free… Our faith, our hope, our foundation must be set upon the offering that Christ made on the cross… Paul is speaking to a people that face temptations daily, he is speaking to a body that has been tested and is simply reminding them to not try and fight these battles on their own… We can learn a lot from this passage; often times we find ourselves in situations where things do work the way we planned; it is in these times that we must know waver in our faith nor try to fix things on our own… Knowing that Christ has set us free provides strength to us because we know that He has the power to sustain us… Due to the sin that was committed in the Garden of Eden we all enter this world “entangled with the yoke of bondage…” From the time that we come from our mother’s womb, we are in the grasp of Satan and his devices; it is only through the bloodshed of Christ that we are set free…Not only are we called to acknowledge the sovereign power that Christ has through this passage, but we are also called to recognize the captivity that we are in without Him…To call someone (especially a person of color) a slave is considered offensive and mean. Many people today simply frown upon that word and think that it should not be used in today’s frame of living. The fact of the matter is that we have many people in our society’s right at these moments who are slaves; slaves to their jobs, slaves to their greed and love of money, slaves to living in unfruitful life. Think about how many times we have shifted responsibility because we felt we were obligated to do something. Think about how many times you have said or heard a parent say that they can’t spend time with their children, or this job is killing them. Furthermore, think about how many people have fell into the trap set by the enemy thinking that this is all that they are living for and that their will never be a better today. This passage reminds us that through the bloodshed of Jesus Christ we are no longer slaves; we have been freed from the penalty of our very sin and have been granted an opportunity to inherit eternal life. Stand fast, stay focused because there is a brighter tomorrow and a hope for a wonderful future! I believe the psalmist said it best, “Our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus Blood and righteousness, on Christ the solid rock I stand all other ground is seeking sand…”

BE BLESSED!!!