FREEDOM REIGNS

I love super heroes. I mean it is so bad that I am sure I will be at the theatre the day The Avengers: Age of Ultron opens. I have always been fascinated by the epic war of good verse evil. Throw in some super powers and web slinging, bow shooting, hammer throwing, flying, shield throwing, and great combat skills and I am like on adrenaline overloaded after the movie. I honestly want to fight for something good. Fight for the underdog, lonely, forgotten, abused and used. I admire our real life freedom fighters, our soldiers and police men and women who fight for our protection and freedom daily.

My love for this freedom fighting comes from feeling like the oppressed, the forgotten. I want and long to fight for them to be the one that runs in and saves the day at the last minute. Although, I will never be a soldier I do belong to the original freedom fighter. The one who came and saved the day for us all, Jesus. He came into this world to buy our freedom with His life. He bled, died, and rose again to free us from our sin and give us eternal life. Freedom reigns with Jesus.

Our freedom does not stop at salvation. Sure we are forgiven of past sin and now belong to the One and Only God of all creation but guess what? We still mess up and we still sin. We are human and we still fight against our flesh. Jesus is faithful and just and He forgives us when we confess and repent from our sins. However we do NOT have to be slaves to this life of sin.
             For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin - because anyone who has died has been freed form sin. Romans 6:6-7 (NIV)
Jesus came and died to set the captives free! You and I are captives to our sin but we can be free. Freedom reigns with Jesus.

A slave or a captive is someone who is one dominated by some influence. (Webster's New World Dictionary) We can all be free from these chains of influence. We do not have to be dominated by them. We have everything we need to be freed from them. We just have to use it. Freedom can and will reign in our lives when we surrender to the power of the WORD. Jesus teaches us in John 8:31-32 that the truth will set us free but first we must hold to his teachings.
         For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged  sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of our heart. Hebrews 4:12
        so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:11
God's word is alive and active and it accomplishes what it sets out to do. It can and will set us free if we hold to it with all that we have! Freedom reigns in our life when God's word reigns in our hearts. Scripture has the power to break every stronghold of
bitterness
envy
strife
grief
hatred
anger
unforgiveness
discontent
pride.
Whatever you struggle with God's word has the power to break the chains!

There is freedom in Jesus. We do not have to live in defeat. We do not have to live life in chains caused by sin and circumstance. We have power through scripture, prayer, and the Holy Spirit to demolish every stronghold. ( 2 Corinthians 10:3-5) We have power to walk in freedom and we must hold tight to the freedom we have in the truth. Jesus says "When the SON has set you free you are free indeed." John 8:36  Let us walk and live in that freedom. Freedom reigns in Jesus.

For me it is a daily struggle. Sometimes it is much easier to get up and put the chains back on because it is comfortable. Sure, I long to be free from them but the fear of not knowing what to do with them keeps me putting them back on. If I actually let go of them then what? If I let go of the unforgiveness that I have carried what will I do? If I let go of the anger then what? It is a daily, I will repeat myself, a daily fight. After all the struggling and fighting and finally surrender the victory is so sweet. The grace, mercy, peace and love that comes from Jesus is so sweet. It is always better than we can imagine. Jesus is worth every ounce of the fighting to rid myself of the chains. Freedom reigns in Jesus.
I fight for the truth daily. As a soldier who puts on his uniform and gets ready for war, I daily get up and put on my armor because I know that our struggle is against the powers of this dark world and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (Ephesians 6:10-18) I also pray for you daily, though I may not know you I truly long for you to be free in Jesus. I fight for you to know the sweet truth of Jesus that sets us all free. As a former slave myself who knows what it is like to wear chains of sin I tell you the truth that I have tasted of the Lord and he is so good! He is loving, faithful and true. He is kind and gentle and trustworthy. He is forgiving and just. He is so good. So I fight in the Spirit for your freedom daily. Fight today, wield your sword, choose to believe, call on the power of his name, surrender to the Holy Spirit and let freedom reign!
Freedom reigns in Jesus.