Day 7 – Don’t Be a Freedom Thief ~ Julie Earl
Galatians 2:1-5
1Then after fourteen years, I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. I took Titus along also. 2 I went in response to a revelation and, meeting privately with those esteemed as leaders, I presented to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. I wanted to be sure I was not running and had not been running my race in vain. 3 Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek.
4 This matter arose because some false believers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. 5 We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you. [Bold lettering mine.]
Julie’s Nugget
What is the truth of the gospel that needs to be preserved? The fact that we are saved by grace through faith – not through good deeds!
Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us we are saved by faith, and the whole message of the New Testament tells us we are saved by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ through faith, not by following certain laws and rules.
What about sin?
Well, that’s the beauty and mystery of faith. Once you believe Jesus is Lord, and make Him the Lord of your life, God’s Spirit comes to live inside you. With His infilling comes the desire to please Him because you love Him.
Rather than focusing on rules and guidelines, all you need to do is focus on falling in love with Him through intimacy (talk with Him, read His Words, say yes when He asks you to do something). The more you hang with Him, the more you fall in love. The more you fall in love, the more you ache to please His heart.
To Ponder
Are there areas in your life where you are robbing yourself or others of freedom in Christ? Do you feel you have to earn salvation or earn favor with God? If so, you are missing out on the most precious gift Jesus gave – freedom in Christ.
Because of a severe head injury, I began reading less and watching Hallmark movies on YouTube more. I got to the point where I was watching one almost every night because TV watching is addictive (and damaging to the brain).
The neat part, though, was that I knew I could watch every night and I would still be incredibly loved by the Lord, so I watched without guilt. But the beauty is that because I knew deep in my spirit how loved I was, I wanted to spend more time with the One who loves me. It was knowing I was free and I was loved that helped me break the addiction and spend that time reading more of the Word or being productive. This is what amazing grace is all about!
I pray we all come to understand the depths of the grace we have been given in Christ,
Julie Earl
[All scripture taken from the New International Version]