2 Timothy 2:22 "Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart."
Close your eyes for a moment. Picture those who you would consider slaves; those enslaved before the Civil War in our own country, and those who are still slaves in third world countries. With your eyes still closed, look at the treatment of these people, consider the differences of how they were treated under a good master and under a cruel master; but still they were slaves; no freedom, held in captivity.
Now open your eyes and look around you. Do you consider yourself free? Do you see how well off you are, nice home, nice car, good job.....are you free? Now close your eyes again and look inside your heart. Look deep into those areas that you consider not important enough to deal with, those areas that no one knows of but yourself, and they don't hurt anyone. Look at each area and consider it. Now open your eyes again. Look around once more, do you still see your things in the same light?
You may not have chains around your leg; you may not be afraid of speaking your mind or going where you want to, but are you any better than those that are held in physical captivity? Let me assure you, my friends, being held captive by sin, fear, and self-judgment is a dreadful way to spend your life. It is a bondage of which there is not hope. No one is going to make a national proclamation and free you from what you hold inside your heart. No one will know that you are dying inside while you hold your head up and walk around in imaginary freedom. You are a slave to a master that only wants to see destruction in your life, chaos in your home, and your family in ruins. There is no hope as long as you will refuse to let go of those things that hold you in slavery. There is no joy as long as you continue to go into places where there is only darkness. There is no peace.
The song, "Come to Jesus" is running through my mind at this point. I can't tell you why this is on my heart to tell you today. I was reading about a group of slaves while I was in the Fitness room today walking the treadmill. These slaves were freed from one bondage only to find out that when they got to their final destination they would be in bondage again. It would be to good masters, but they still would not be free. And the Lord began showing me, the people who refuse to let the Holy Spirit clean out every area of their hearts. They keep putting it off, perhaps ashamed to let the Lord in that part of them....isn't that foolish, He knows what is in there, everything about you is open to His eyes, but He won't push Himself in there, you must invite Him in, to cleanse you from all sin, from all fear, from all bondage.
Open your eyes to the Master, the Master who invites you to become captive to His love, His joy and His peace. The Master who opens His arms to enfold you into them, to give you comfort and encouragement as He cleanses out every fear, entanglement, disillusionment, and sin from your life. Open your eyes to the One who will never condemn you, but will give you a new life in Him. Come to Jesus, come to Jesus today.
09-22-12
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