~ Dangerous Freedom

July 4,2009
Saturday

READ:
Galatians 5:1-6,16-21

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Do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
-Galatians 5:13

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Freedom is dangerous in the hands of those who don't know how to use it. That's why criminals are confined in prisons with barbed wire, steel bars, and concrete barriers. Or consider a campfire that is allowed to spread in a dry forest. It quickly becomes a blazing inferno. Unchecked freedom can create chaos.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the Christian life. Believers are from law's curse, its penalty, and its guilt=producing power. Fear, anxiety, and guilt are replaced by peace, forgiveness, and liberty. Who could be more free than one who is free in the depths of his soul? But here is where we often fail. We use freedom's luxury to live selfishly, or we claim ownership of what God has merely entrusted to us. We slip into patterns of self-indulgent living, especially in affluent societies.

The proper use of freedom is "faith working through love" to serve one another (Gal. 5:6,13). When we rely on the Spirit and expend our energies on loving God and helping others, the destructive works of the flesh will be restrained by God (vv.16-21). So let's always use our liberty to build up, not to tear down.

Like a raging fire, freedom without limits is dangerous. But when controlled, it is a blessing to all. -Dennis De Hann

Christ came to give us liberty
By dying in our place;
Now with new freedom we are bound
To share His love and grace. - D. De Haan

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Freedom doesn't give us the right to do what we please, but to do what pleases God.

~ War In Heaven

May 19,2009
Tuesday

READ:
Revelation 12:7-12

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War broke out in heaven....[And Satan] was cast to the earth.
-Revelation 12:7-9

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Philip Pullman is a gifted writer of fantasy books. His Dark Materials trilogy includes The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass and is very popular among young reader. But below the surface of these sympathetic characters and compelling subplots is a sinister purpose. The story culminates in a great war against God.

In these books, Pullman views the fall of Satan as a righteous cause for personal independence from God's "tyrannical" control. He implies that Satan's attempt to usurp the throne of God was the right thing to do!

In the book of Revelation, we read of the endtimes: "War broke out in heaven.... [And Satan] was cast to the earth" (Rev.12:7-9). That future was is being preceded by an eathly conflict on the battlefield of our minds.

We must recognize Satan for what he is - a liar (John 8:44). His strategy is to take God's words out off context and twist them into falsehood (Gen. 3:1-7). Our best defense against him is hold firmly o the truth of God's Word (Eph. 6:10-18).

our loving heavenly Father is "not willing that any should perish" (2 Peter 3:9). But neither will He force our obedience. He leaves the choice to us.

The prince of darkness grim-
We tremble not for him;
his rage we can endure, for lo! his doom is sure-
One little word shall fell him. - Luther

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When Satan strikes, strike back with the Word of God.

~ The Secret Is

May 15,2009
Friday

READ:
1 Corinthians 2:6-16

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We speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages.
-1 Corinthians 2:7

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If you believe Rhonda Bryne, author of the bestselling book The Secret, "The shortcut to anything you want in your life is to be and feel happy now!" According to Byrne, this has to do with something called the law of attraction. If you think only about things that make you happy, she says, happy things will be attracted to you.

Sounds easy enough.

However, the Bible says that "the secret" to is something very different. It has to do with "the law of the Spirit of life" that sets us free from "the law of sin and death" (ROM.8:2), not with the "law of attraction."

According to the apostle Paul, the most important thing to know is " Jesus Christ and Him crucified" (1 Corinthians 2:2). To those who are concerned with happiness now, this indeed foolishness (v1.4). They do not recognize the power of God in what appears to them as weakness.

The Lord created us with a desire to know what is secret. In His wisdom, He kept certain things hidden in mystery for a time (v.7).But now, through His Holy Spirit, He has made them known. And the secret He reveals has nothing to do with having happy thoughts in order to obtain happy things; it has to do with having the mind of Jesus Christ (v.16).- Julie Ackerman Link

There is a law that made us free-
In Romans 8 this truth is heard;
The secret is to walk with God,
And daily lean upon His word. - Hess

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To know lasting happiness, we must get to know Jesus.