Freedom!

Wow… what a week.  It’s been one of those times that I’m sure we all face, when we are forced to look in the mirror.  Where it seems that everything close to you is being investigated under a microscope, pulled to and fro and then clearly presented before you with the understanding that personal decisions and adjustments need to be made. 

I awoke pretty early this morning with a multitude of thoughts, plans and purposes running amuck in my mind.  I finally pulled myself out of bed, grabbed a flashlight and stumbled down to the study to review some of the scriptures that I had been looking at yesterday.  That acted like a cup of warm milk to my system and helped me to return upstairs and to rest for another hour or so.

The second time I got up, I went through the motions of brewing the hot java and then returned to my desk in the study.  With my hands on my head, I reached out to the Holy Spirit and asked for directions through the maze of thoughts that were still zinging through my mind.  He immediately led me back to Romans 8:1-2 and seemed to want to emphasize to me that “In nothing (ie; no-thing!) then, is there now condemnation to the one’s in Christ Jesus.”  (Apostolic Bible Polygot – parentheses mine)

Romans 8:1-2 is written as a conclusion to Paul’s thoughts from the previous chapter.  In chapter seven the Apostle talks about the struggles that we all go through in this life, and the mistakes that we may make.  He then brings it into perspective by stating that as born again believers we NOW have NO condemnation, criticism or judgment because our new position in Christ has set us totally free from the old standards of the law of sin and death.  The Greek word “then” in verse one implies that Paul’s statement is written with “the idea of drawing a conclusion” (Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries G686) that according to our old friend John Gill (see 8/22/11 post “Be Passionate!”), in his commentary on Romans 8:1, is “particularly based on the everlasting and unchangeable love of God in Christ.”

The realization of Our Heavenly Father’s everlasting love that is unchangeable in the face of any mistake (whether true or not) that I might have made in the past or may do in the future, instantly pulled everything from this week into His perspective for me.  It brought my troubled mind into a state of quiet and peaceful calm.  And that’s the thought that I wanted to leave you with on this TGIF post.

Maybe you have been unjustly condemned and sentenced by people, quite possibly by someone near to you.  It could be that you are attempting to condemn yourself for things you’ve done.  But whatever the source of the condemnation, you can know today, that Jesus has already judged you NOT GUILTY, and has sentenced you to live a life of love that is backed by the strength, integrity and unchanging Word of God.  Your job is to walk in His love with those around you and to become a part of the solution instead of adding to the (or their?) problem! 

Have a great weekend.  Walk in your newly found freedom from the standards of the world and continually confess that “I am convinced that nothing can ever separate ME from God’s love which Jesus MY Lord shows Me.”  (Romans 8:38 Gods Word – personalized)

Stay tuned and keep asking yourself… “What Good Things am I expecting today?”