I am free in Christ!

Galations 5:1
"Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage." (KJV)
"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." (NIV)

When we find our identity and value in Christ we are set free. When we value the thinking and ways of the world and try to find ourselves in it we are enslaved!

"I give up my freedom when I insist on being in control, demanding my own happiness and building walls of protection. All of these behaviors seem right and feel comfortable, but they ultimately become heavy burdens.
God clearly calls us to give up this cumbersome, defeating "old self." I think more than anything this means grasping the truth that I have the power to lay aside these encumbrances. I don't have to be slave to sin, to myself or to others in order to feel good about who I am. I don't have to have the world tell me what will make me happy. True freedom is realizing that apart from Christ, I am not free. If I really want to experience this "addictive aliveness," then I will throw off everything that hinders me from being truly alive." - Cynthia Heald

Hebrews 12:1b "Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."

Lord, make me aware of any thinking of the world that still entraps me! Thank you that I am free in you alone! Continue to open my eyes that I might see your truth and not blindly follow the thinking of the world. I will not be a slave to this world. I throw off the chains and run with all my might after you!

~Joanna "MommaJo"