Free Indeed

Free Indeed
If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. —John 8: 31-32
People like to talk about freedom. But true freedom is not the freedom to do what you wish—it is the freedom not to do what is wrong. When Jesus sets you free, the freedom He gives is true freedom. It is the freedom not to do those things that were destructive to you and to those around you.
Some who are enslaved to sin wrongly believe they are free. But Jesus said, “Whoever commits sin is a slave to sin” (John 8: 34). Whether it is an obvious sin, like drug and alcohol abuse, or a secret sin that no one knows about but you, sin has the power to grab a hold of you and keep you in its grip, helpless to extricate yourself.
**God has given us a free will.
Paul said, “All things are lawful for me” (1 Corinthians 6: 12). That is broad. But then he went on to say, “I will not be brought under the power of any.” Oh yes, I have the freedom to do something, but if in the exercise of that freedom I am brought into bondage, then I am no longer free. I have exercised my freedom in such a way as to bring myself into slavery. Maybe you find yourself bound by something today. You feel you can’t get free. But when you come to know the truth—Jesus Christ—then the truth will make you free.
Father, thank You for that wonderful freedom that we have in Christ Jesus. We are free to live as You would have us to live, free to walk in fellowship with You in the power of the Spirit. Amen.