Freedom

Life.  One simple word holds such meaning to us.  Do any of us really understand it?  I think not...

Life is naught but the dream of one who does not sleep
                                                                       -Anon

Philosophy.  Gotta love it. Either that, or you hate it.  Or, you think it's okay.

We all have different ideas on life.  We all know exactly how we're going to live, how others should live.  Everyone has the answer.  We all desperately seek to find some path that offers some semblance of the peace and love we so want.  Isn't that true?  Ever notice how we all want peace?  Even the anarchist, angry at society, and desiring ultimate chaos, with only the rules of his or her own heart and mind ruling his or her life desires some semblance of peace.  Of freedom.

Because isn't that what life is all about?  Life is, at it's core, a search for peace, isn't it?  And peace, ultimately, can only be given by absolute freedom.  Not only freedom of speech, not only physical freedom, but freedom of the soul.  Life, therefore, is a search for freedom.

But then, we again go into semantics, don't we?  We all have different views of freedom, do we not?  Of course, from the outside looking in, we all seem to agree, but do we really?

America is 'The Land of the Free.' In the United States of America, we have freedom to do whatever we wish in the name of the pursuit of happiness, so long as we do not attempt to encroach on the rights of any of the other individuals residing in the populace of the country.  But really, is that freedom?  I say that I am not free if I cannot do whatever I wish, be it for good or evil.

Freedom:  exemption from external control, interference, or regulation.

Now, considering this, how many would say they are truly free?  The answer is groundbreakingly simple: no one.  Or, should I say, no one can be granted freedom by a government.  Because, after all, are governments even truly free?  Free from human oppresion and control, perhaps, but free?  Can a government, who so righteously proclaims to spread freedom, have all cabinet members walk on water?

No, of course not.  That goes against the very laws of nature.

law: a principal based on the predictable consequences of an act, nature, or state of being.

But of course, this is irrelevent, because if we're judging freedom by the laws of nature, the laws that govern, command, rule this world, then it is impossible to be free!  No man can walk on water!  No man can rebuke sickness!  No man can....oh.  Actually, I seem to recall One that could.

His name was Jesus.

John 14:12-13  Jesus said "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing.  He will even do greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.  And I will do whatever you ask in My name..."

Hmmmm...

Well...

So, we can do greter things than what Jesus did...

Phillipians 4:13  I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.

Note that it doesn't say some things.  The apostle Paul does not state that he can do almost anything through Christ.  No, he says, quite clearly, that he can do all things.

Freedom.

That which is more important to us than gold.

Because freedom is power.

Freedom is security.

Freedom is hope.

Every good and pure thing we can think of can be associated with freedom.  And freedom, ultimately, comes only from God.  So what does that tell you?

I am free.  I am free from the laws that govern this world, because I am not of this world.

John 17:6  Jesus said, "They are not of the world, even as I am not of it."

People try to argue with me.  "You aren't free.  You can't do drugs.  You can't go out with the guys and get drunk.  You can't even cuss."

My reply, inevitably, is, "Says who?"  I'll tell you all right now, I do as many drugs as I want.  I get drunk every single time I really want to.  And I cuss whenever I feel like it.

I just don't feel like it.

I don't have to do what God asks of me.  Why?  Because he gave me free will.

Say, there's that word again.

I choose to do what God asks of me.  Out of love.  Love of my God, and love of my freedom, which would undeniably be stripped from me were I to go down a path of sin.  Not from God, mind you, but from Satan.  God did not take the alcoholics freedom from him.  Nor the lecherous man.  Nor the devout hypocrite.  No, their own choices did.

I choose freedom.  You are free...to make your own choice.

Tithing

Imagine your elation if a man approached you with this proposal; “I want to start a business with you, and I’ve got a deal I think you’ll like.  I’m going to do 90% of the work; but I only want 10% of the profits.”

Nice, eh?

Leviticus 27:30  A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD.

Of course, time has changed.  We no longer work the land for our living (for the most part).  Does this mean that God no longer requires a portion of what we work for?

No!  We are to obey him, even in this.  It is our duty to carry out this task; it is, after all, the word of God.

Leviticus 27:32  The entire tithe of the herd and flock—every tenth animal that passes under the shepherd's rod—will be holy to the LORD.

Every tenth animal…but we no longer work to have more oxen, or more fruit trees.  What God wants now is what we strive to earn.  What many of us consider the most precious thing on Earth; our money.

We work, and earn a paycheck.  It is our duty to take a tenth of this and give it back to God; it is, after all, by his grace that we have it.  There are those, of course, who cannot afford to give—or so they say.  I have only this to reply with:  If God was able to give you that much, and you were to give Him back what He asks, do you think He would forsake you?

Maybe it all boils down to a matter of faith.  See, we’re supposed to be happy doing the will of God, because we have faith that He is good.  We believe that if we pour out what we have, our love, our spirits, and, yes, our money, then He will meet us where we are.

Maybe that’s where offerings come in.  See, we were told to give a tenth.  That’s our duty.  But an offering is something more.  It is an addition, out of love.  It is showing that we think He is worth more that what we have to give.  Are you a bad person if you don’t give an offering?  No.  No more than you are a good person if you do.  But when you give an offering, it shows a tenderness.  It shows God that your willing to go farther than necessary.  It shows, to some degree, your love for Him.

I’m not saying that everyone has to agree with me.  I tithe gross, because I believe that is what I truly earn.  Not everyone does.  But there is a real connection when you tithe.  Your denying something that your body wants, because God commanded it.  Surely you can think of something else to do with that forty or fifty extra dollars every paycheck.  You might have kids.  You might have unexpected doctor visits.  You might not have as much food in your house as you would like.  But He’ll meet you where you are.

Do we mean it

It's a common thing for us christians, asking for forgiveness for our sins.  Some of us have to ask for it every day of our lives.  It's a wonderful feeling, knowing that when we mess up, we have a Heavenly Father that will forgive our transgressions.  But, how often is it really a matter of repentance?

Repent means to turn and go in another direction--something all too few of us actually do.  We sin.  We know we shouldn't have.  So, we ask God to forgive us, and make us pure again...but how often do we actually turn and go the other way.

"God, I'm sorry.  I know I shoudn't have done this, and I promise I won't do it again.  Until Friday, because thats when that party at Allen's house is, and I probably will mess up there, too.  In Jesus name, Amen."

Sound familiar?

We have to repent.  Go another direction.  Start building guardrails instead of relying on ambulances.  See, a guardrail is there to keep us safe.  An ambulance is there to save us when the threat of death or crippling injury is present.  We need to start asking God to help us resist temptation more than we ask him to forgive us for giving into temptation.

Make a 180 degree turn.  Repent.  Mean it.

Back from the dead, eh?  Sorry, but with everything that's been going on, I haven't had time to post.  So, I'm just gonna jump right into it.

By His stripes, we are healed.

That line is known to probably 80% of christians,but how many of us really stop to think about it.  We think of the obvious...He was punished, and now we get the chance to go to heaved.  But look at it just a bit deeper.

You see, to actually heal something, you have to kill the sickness within.  What did Christ heal us from?  Simple; sin.  Without him, we could not hope to lead a sinless life, because it is human nature to do wrong.  Additionally, we are born with the sin of Original Sin.

It took a man who was not born of a man to relieve us or this.  He had to come, lead a sinless life, and die for an untrue cause, for us to be healed.  The people that accept this healing are called 'Christians.'

I have two points to make; 'Christians, Healing, and What Now?'

Christians

As most of you know, the word 'Christian' did not come from Christ.  Rather, the name had it's origin in Antioch, and it means 'Little Christ', or 'like Christ.'

So, to be a christian, you have to have two things; you have to be born again, to accept the healing of Christ, and you have to act like it...Thus, little Christ.

Do we?

Healing

Heal: To restore to health or soundness; cure.

To restore health, as I said, you have to destroy the sickness.  To become a Christian, you have to accept Christ into your heart, and let him wipe away your sins, and make you whole.

What Now?

Here is my point:  It is possible to lead a sinless life...and I, for one, am tired of not doing it.  To be a Christian is to act like Christ.  How many of us actually do?

We toy around with God.  We accept his healing, and then say, "Ok, thanks for that.  Church last night was awesome.  Now, I'm going to dive into the wonderful world of Playboy."

Now, I know some of you are thinking, "Come on, man.  It's a struggle.  Yeah, I know I need to stop, and I will soon, but I can't just quit all of a sudden."

I used to smoke cigarettes, and when I was tired of playing around with God, I quit.  I didn't say, "I'll cut back."  There was no "Tomorrow is my last day."  No.  I threw away my pack, amd quit.  Was it easy?  No.  Have I messed up a few times since then?  Yeah.  I have.  But I went from smoking 20 cigarettes a day to smoking 10 cigarettes in a year.  I messed up, I admit it...but, I also admit, this message is for me, too.

Jesus said that we, His followers, would do greater things than He has done.  But you can't have power in public unless you have purity in private.  I repeat:  You cannot have power in public...without purity in private.  The sad thing is, almost every one of us could, technically, be called a hypocrite, at least on some level.  Because, while I have accepted the healing for my sins, I still, on occasion, sin.  So have most, and probably all, of you.

I was listening to a song the other day, and a lyric really touched me...it said "How may times, have I broken Your heart?  Still You forgive, if only I ask."

My friends...we are breaking His heart.  Think about that for a moment.  He came, and He died, so that we may live, and now, He watches us, toying with the very things He had rescued us from.  We have to stop.  We shouldn't have to ask for forgiveness every day.  We should be able to stay clean.  It's hard, I know.  But with His help...every one of us can do it.

God Bless.

God is not a cosmic cop.

It's true.  A lot of us have this way of thinking that God is just sitting there, waiting for us to do something wrong so that He can throw the Book at us.  He's not. If He was, He wouldn't have sent His only begotten son to DIE for us.

It's not like we're worthy.

God is a being of purity.  He is pure light.  Love and Righteousness Incarnate.  There is no part of Him that is dark, or unholy.  He is ALL that is Holy.

Thus, He cannot stand to be with sin.  We, you might say, are sin incarnate...we make the choice, consistently, to sin.  He cannot be with us because He cannot be with darkness--light and darkness cannot be mixed.

But He loves us so much that He gave us a way out.  He gave us an escape, a way to avoid our sinly nature and become white as snow.

Because He loves us.

The Bible says that when you devote your heart to Jesus, ALL OF HEAVEN rejoices.  The Heavenly Father rejoices when you become saved from yourself.  Does that sound like a cosmic cop to you?