F R E E D O M

Heyy guys! Greetings from our Father, the Most High and from our Saviour, Jesus Christ. I hope we all had an amazing weekend and the week so far has simply been God.

Freedom is a feeling or state that anyone who had ever been in captivity would tell you they couldn't afford to lose. It is an integral part of the mix that makes us who we are. You can only know your true self when you are free.

There are different aspects of freedom: physical, spiritual, financial, social etc.  It is instructive to note that these aspects are independent of one another. That is, you could be free physically but not spiritually; physically but not financially; financially but not physically and so on.

As you may have already guessed, my focus lies with spiritual freedom. Why? The spiritual controls the physical(if you didn't know, now you do😁) and the physical is important because it is what allows us function here on earth.

The default condition of every (wo)man born of a woman is slavery. Slavery to the devil, to sin and the flesh. They all have essentially the same implication: eternal damnation. People were doomed to be born and die slaves.

Then something happened: JESUS CAME! And He made a way of escape. His death on the cross paid for your freedom and all you have to do is believe to receive.

You're no longer a slave to sin when you confess Jesus as Lord and Saviour making you a child of God🕺🕺🕺.

Recently, at my church, we had Pastor Keji Hamilton(Google him if you don't known him please) minister at our Let's Talk About It service . This man of God shared with us his life's story. He had gone down roads most of us never even imagined. Where Jesus picked him from, you probably never have been nor will you ever be. When nobody could help him, Jesus did and He will free you too from whatever chains the devil has you in and PERMANENTLY too in Jesus' name.

The question now is why did Jesus come to free us? So that we can wilfully disobey God under the umbrella of grace? Certainly not! He came to set us free so that we can live lives that please God in every sense and He's given us the Holy Spirit to facilitate that.

Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?
Romans 6:16 NIV

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.
Romans 6:22 NIV

Yes you read that right "slaves of God". This sorta "slavery" is by choice which in essence makes it not slavery.

Many people have gone past obtaining this freedom in Jesus. The issue is how to maintain it. Most of us have habits that we used to have and dread before Jesus freed us and we've often slipped back and repented in cycles(not deliberately perhaps but seemingly helplessly).

"Yes! That's me! So how do I maintain my freedom?" 🤔.  In the words of Pastor Hamilton "you break the cycle". You know your triggers(or you should). As much as possible eliminate situations that lead you to even contemplate doing that thing(you know your own👀). That's not enough however. You need to take your Christian walk seriously by engaging in Bible study and having an actual prayer life(not morning and evening devotion totalling 5 minutes👀) and last on this list, be a witness for Christ i.e don't shut up about Jesus! Why? Apart from being the essence of your freedom(telling others about how they can obtain the freedom), it keeps you in check(that I can guarantee😁).

Finally, if you've lost your freedom ask Him to give it to you again and help you keep it this time. Then go on and preach the gospel. It is well with you.

Dear Lord, thank You for freedom in Jesus. Help us to regain our freedom where we've lost it and NEVER  lose it again. Help us love You truly as evidenced by our meditations and actions. Thank You for loving us in Jesus' name(amen)

Shalom Saints! Till next time😊🤗

P.S. if you live on the island or don't mind coming to the island this Sunday, I'd like to invite you to our Inspire Service. It's Bring A Friend Sunday and you are my friend. For more details, dm me on instagram  @nathanbanji