6-4-17 Bound
& Chained
I have been bound and chained but I am no more!!
From the depths of my brokenness and pain, from the darkest parts of my soul
that was buried in the rubble of my sorrow, distrust, hurt and pain… He, and
only He, could free me from the demons of this world!
Gal.
5:1: For freedom Christ has set us
free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
If you think that there is no battle on this dark
earth to steal you from God’s love and
freedom, you are sorely mistaken. There are thousands of choices a day being
made in this world just by you. Some are innocuous; some are surely life
altering, soul binding experiences that will take you one step farther from the
Light. You think it is just simple life choices, but that is what the evil one
wants you to think and THAT is one of his most successful lies.
Eph
6:12: “For we do not wrestle
against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities,
against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual
forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
To believe that your life is simply about your
family, your career, your friends, your house, the obligations that you take on
at your church, the charities you give to, the drug of your choice, the
wife/husband/girlfriend…is the ultimate deception and the temporary success of
satan. This is especially hazardous when your life seems to just fall into
place and you let your guard down.
But I gotta tell ya, if this were true, I would have
wanted my life to end decades ago for me and it would have been an enormous
mistake. The horrific events of my childhood and early years, suffered at
the hands of those that I should have
been able to trust and run to for protection, was enough for me to cry out to
God at only five years old. The abuse I suffered from my first marriage was
brutal and gave me no reason to hope… but for God.
Jer.
29:11: For I know the plans I have
for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare
and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Not everyone has wounds and scars that span over
decades, some self caused from poor choices… but there is always chains of some
sort that the evil one uses to hold you back, push you down and keep you from a
true walk with Christ. The evil one knows your weaknesses by what you say and
do in this world. He has you convinced that you are not worthy because of what?
Perhaps you hold a secret, perhaps you are guilted by an act, an omission, brokenness
and/or unforgiveness. Maybe these things surround you, are drowning you in a cesspool
and you are guarded, feel abandoned, unworthy, your heart is getting colder.
You are lost in your past or current sins. But please remember, they are our
choices to make, not God’s doing.
James
1:13-17: “When tempted, no one should
say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt
anyone; 14 but each
person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after
desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives
birth to death.
16 Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers
and sisters. 17 Every good and
perfect gift is from above, coming
down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting
shadows.
The fact that you believe that you are not worthy of
forgiveness is all lies!!! No matter what your parents say, your brothers or
sisters, your friends, your coworkers… Christ didn’t die for nothing! He died
for your sins, too! All of them, not just the little ones! Not just the little white lies. Not just what you think is
or should be forgivable! He died for all sin… and He knew what you would choose
before you chose it! He sees beyond what we see. He knows- do you understand?
The ONLY thing holding you down is that you believe the dark one’s lies; that
you are unforgiveable.
Rom.
5:8: But God shows his love for us
in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
One of my granddaughters, Trinity, was studying the
bible with me. We were studying Pastor Diane Swanson’s book-Forgiveness.
Trinity gave her life to the Lord that day. She and I cried for hours and she
shared her heart with me. At sixteen years old, she thought that she was
unworthy of God’s love, unforgiveable. Can
you just imagine that!? At sixteen! She had made some pretty stupid decisions
in her life but none that could or would make her un-savable.
That is just a shame. She has had such a powerful love
for God since she was just a little girl. It wasn’t cultivated and she lost her
way like a little lamb. She allowed herself to be separated from God by the
lies and expectations of this dark world.
It is how she felt. Even you can see the sadness in
her story right? In her eyes, her ‘sins’ were unforgivable. It is how I felt
decades ago, to the enth degree. Is it how you feel about your life too? Don’t
you understand that Jesus says the same thing about you! He looks down with his
loving heart and sees how you think and the darkness that holds you down, makes
you give up hope and keeps you in a cycle of bad choices and He says, “Poor
thing.”
Please believe me that you can turn your back on your
pain and past and accept His forgiveness, repent and receive what He has for
you! Take it one step at a time and He will give you the strength to say ‘no’
to the dark choices in this world. Find a church that will come along side you
and help you in your spiritual walk! Pour out the venom that the evil one has
filled you with and fill yourself with the love and light of your eternal
salvation. Break the chains that bind you! Set yourself free from condemnation!
John
8:36: So if the Son sets you free,
you will be free indeed.
Heb. 10:26: For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the
knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,
1 Cor. 10:13: No temptation has overtaken you
that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted
beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of
escape, that you may be able to endure it.
Much love in Christ.
