FOR FREEDOM SAKE
Long time, no see sweet things. Apologies!! My life has been so full of crazy & exciting things (to be shared very soon). But I had to shoot these quick thoughts at you all, love HF XX
"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery" Galatians 5:1
Yet how quickly do we make ourselves slaves to the things around us? Unknowingly, unconsciously letting ourselves get bound up by stuff we’re innately, ridiculously free from.
We’re called to a free life. We were gifted freedom. Freedom that we might live free, walk free. And actually experience an increasing measure of freedom in our lives. I believe that true freedom never diminishes, rather it increases. I believe that we can get free, stay free and get freer. (freer is a made up word right? let’s run with it.)
GET FREE
“So, if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” John 8:36.
If you’re a believer then believe it. You’re free. We’re free. Free from the guilt & shame of the past or the present. Free from that little three letter word, sin. Free from the penalty of sin, death. And actually we’re not just free from stuff. I think we’re free INTO STUFF. Freedom doesn’t just allow us to step out of the former things that imprisoned us. Freedom allows us to STEP INTO a new reality, a vast space, a promised land.
Freedom has been devised for us. All for our taking. Should we choose to step into it. And honestly? The possibilities are limitless. When we’re not tied down & wrapped up, when we know we’re free & we live freedom well, well I reckon there’s plenty of space for God to something great. If you’ve got God, you’ve got freedom. If you’re a Christian and haven’t grasped this yet, then get it. No more guilt, no more shame or condemnation. Freedom is free gift to you; literally no more complex than that. Freedom through Christ & in Christ. Period.
STAY FREE
So you’re free. But what do you do with it? I think this is pretty pivotal. Freedom isn’t a trinket, something to add to a shelf in your life to sparkle it up a bit. Yet sometimes I think we live offensively with our freedom. The issue isn’t whether or not we have it. We have it. God’s Word says so. But we don’t behave like we have it. Because we lead the same tangled up life as before. And just incase you didn’t know, your freedom has a cost., my freedom has a cost. A cost which was willingly paid, but a cost nonetheless. An innocent life laid down, was the cost of our freedom. So i’m gonna suggest that if (like I’ve often been) you’re a freedom shelf-er then you take it down, dust it off, and try it out. Freedom is for living free, not for admiring on your mantelpiece of stuff you accumulated through salvation. Freedom isn’t for freedom’s sake. Freedom is for living out & relishing.
We have freedom, but how do we stay free? Funny question really, but stay with it…
God doesn’t take our freedom away. And actually I don’t know if our freedom ever lessens. It’s a gift from God and in my experience they don’t really wither away. I think freedom has a voice and invites us with a narrative. Freedom whispers are expectant, full of faith and Spirit led. We have freedom. That’s a non-negotiable. Yet sometimes we just don’t seem to stay free, we get entangled pretty easy. Tangled up in the fanciful & fleeting things of the world. And tangled up by lies that become our truths. I don’t believe that we can diminish our freedom or rid ourselves of it…But I do think we can make it a lot less prevalent in our lives. We amplify the voices that inhibit our freedom, that limit it. The voices of guilt, of shame and inadequacy (the list goes on…) The consequence is that freedom is a whisper in our lives & every other voice vying for our attention is a SHOUT. Our freedom doesn’t get smaller. But we’ve made everything else a whole heap louder and bigger. I think it’s time to silence the voices, and to let freedom shout louder. It’s time too choose freedom.
But… how? In my opinion, it takes lots of time. Ridiculous amounts of patience. And some serious energies in prayer. When the voices that aren’t freedom start chatting. Amplify freedom. When the voices talk rubbish. Reply. With real talk. Truth talk. Freedom words.
Inadequacy says: You’re not good enough.
Freedom in Christ says: Christ inhabits my weakness & makes me strong. He makes me more than enough.
Easy to write, easy to say once or twice. Truth talk is about persistence, it’s about noticing lies creeping in and choosing to make freedom louder. Sometimes once a day, sometimes one million times a minute (thats the time & patience). Get freedom in your vocab; get the fruit of freedom in your words. That way we get to quash some lies. And increase the volume of freedom in our lives. YAS. Stay free. Banish the lies. and spend some serious prayer energy on it. We need to know that we’re free and I believe the more time we spend in prayer, we get a deeper understanding of the freedom we have in Christ. So then we really just know it, we know in our bones that we’re fully, irrevocably free. And I don’t think that we can do without this revelation of freedom, otherwise; how else are supposed to tell everyone else about the freedom that THEY CAN HAVE? We can’t communicate a Chinese whisper of freedom (garbled and nonsensical) we need to communicate a loud, clear, shout of the freedom we have in Christ.
GET FREER
What is freer? It’s a flipping great word that I am taking every single ounce of appreciation for. Get freer. So, if you’re a believer, then believe you’re free & you live in freedom. Maintain your freedom by amplifying freedom & silencing the lies that so easily entangle us and rob us of the full benefits of freedom in Christ. And then this last little chase and something I think we’ll probably spend forever perfecting, but; get freer. I think I sorta just touched on this. The more we know of Christ; the more we know of freedom. The more we have freedom on our lips, the more we communicate freedom to those who truly need it and the freer we become. Freedom multiplies when we communicate it to those who are held captive (physically & metaphorically). When we speak freedom to those imprisoned by lies & shame, I believe that the freedom in our lives increases. But far more importantly, we help point someone else to their freedom. How do we help point people to freedom?
Let your words set people free & not imprison others. If we exercise our freedom at the expense of someone else’s freedom; then that isn’t freedom at all. Think Paul’s teachings in 1 Corinthians 8:13.
Freedom is faith filled, expectant & Spirit led. Let’s lead our lives with these principles in mind and I reckon we can’t help but point people to freedom!!
Freedom is a free gift from Christ; it only ever glorifies God, aligns with the Bible & serves others. Point people to Christ, direct people to the truth according to the Bible, serve others in love & from a place of freedom.
I believe that when we fully embrace the freedom that Christ set us free for; then freedom will incomprehensibly increase in our lives & others will be set free.
Love & Prayers,
(and a sweet kiss of freedom to you all)
H xo