Forever His

On this Thankful Thursday I want to thank God for FREEDOM!!

In June of 1977, I celebrated my true "birthday". Yes, for many of you reading this, that was probably around the time you were actually born! However, on that very special day, 31 years ago, I gave my life completely over to Jesus Christ. It is a day I will never forget, and one that I will always be thankful for.

Now I'd love to say, it was the day God set me free from all my many fears, insecurities, anger, selfishness, and the list goes on and on. Actually, it was just the beginning of a new life where those shackles began to come off one at a time, and even to this day are still coming off more and more as I walk closer to Jesus.

In Romans 6:6 it says, "We are freed from sin’s bondage so that no longer are we slaves to sin, but we are slaves to God." I'm so grateful for being set free from the horrible bondage of SIN that I once walked in, and even thought I enjoyed. Whether we know it or not, we are either slaves to sin are servants to God. No one can serve two masters. You must love one and hate the other. There is no real middle ground. This freedom that I found in Christ is the greatest blessings and joy anyone could every experience. And as I walk in this new life, I understand more each day what “true” freedom really means.

There are so many strongholds of darkness and bondage of sin that can strangle the body, mind, emotions, and spirit. But I love the way Isaiah described the ministry of Jesus 1,000 years before he was even born. In Isaiah 42:7 the prophet wrote: "I, the LORD, have called you (Jesus) in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open the eyes that are blind, to free the captives from prison, and to release from the dungeons those who sit in darkness.”
Oh, that was me 31 years ago, but now I am free and so grateful for all that God has revealed to me about this wonderful liberty found only in Jesus.

Atop the hill in Washington, D.C. stands the Capitol Building of the United States of America. The cornerstone was laid in 1793, but the crowning touch is the statue that sits on top of the rotunda known as the “Freedom Lady”, which was placed there in 1863. The Freedom Lady proudly stands nearly 20 feet tall (now that’s some lady) atop the dome of one of the worlds most notable buildings. A crest of stars frames her face, and a shield of Stars and Stripes is in her left hand. She is but a symbol of all the suffering, pain and bloodshed that others freely offered for us to know the great freedom that we have come to love here in America.

How much more a precious gift is the liberty we have in Christ? And the symbol we have come to know and love is that of the cross standing atop a hill called Golgotha. A place where great suffering, pain and bloodshed also took place. How grateful I am for that sacrifice and vigilant I will be to guard it in my life. I love those now famous words of Martin Luther King, Jr. in his “I Have a Dream” speech when he said, “free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty we’re free at last….” And that legendary quote by Patrick Henry in his speech to the Virginia legislature when he said, “Give me liberty or give me death.”

We can see the leaders that have made the greatest difference in the world, are the ones who understood what a precious prize the gift of freedom really is. So today, I will remember the sacrifice that was made for me 2,000 years ago, and like countless thousands of others who have gone before me, will lift up my voice in thanksgiving and praise.

“Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” Colossians 2:6-7

So, what do you want to thank God for today? Please join us over at Lynn's site over at Spiritually Unequal Marriage today to see what others are grateful for! This will be Lynn's last week to host this. Lynn, thanks so much for doing such a great job! You'll be missed.