Friday, March 12, 2010

Jesus Broke Me Out Of Jail

S: "But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe." - Gal. 3: 22

O: Apart from the saving grace of Jesus, we are prisoners. God's freedom comes to us through a promise - the gift of His son, Jesus Christ - not by our own efforts to break out of our own bondage, not by dissecting the law and then futilely trying to uphold it. The law was given so that we might become conscious of our sin, but Jesus took our cursed state upon himself so that we could be set free from our sin.

A: Today, and every day, I want to remember that God keeps His promises. He kept the biggest one of all, and will keep the rest too. He is the road to true freedom. Jesus saved me, and I am free. I walk around outside the world's prison with gratefulness today. I would still be inside without Him.

P: God, being with You and knowing You is like being broken out of jail. I'm thankful You were willing to pay the price. I am thankful to feel freedom, the way You meant me to feel it. I am thankful to know there is so much more than the dank, dark interior of my life. I praise You for Your mercy and grace - I stand before You - saved, free, and amazed. You are beyond any description or words I can write. You are my Savior, my life.




7 comments:

  1. I so loved your prayer and the feeling of busting out of jail. It made me think of the get out of jail free card in Monopoly. But Salvation was only free to us He paid the price! I need to remember that daily- no-moment by moment. Thank you.

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  2. Thanks Christina for sharing your heart...I've continued to experience both highs and lows this week, our first week of the love dare challenge...seeing God's work & promises one day as he allows me to love others I hadn't thought about, while bringing me to tears the next day as I missed an opportunity and/or failed to be loving when needed. Your prayer brought me to again, stop, and praise God for his mercy and grace towards me a sinner...and setting me free!

    I haven't SOAPed yet today, but I had to take a peak at our blog, as this has been consistently picking me up each day at work! Thanks everyone!

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  3. Like you I'm so grateful for the reality that Jesus became cursed because of our sins so we can be free from them. Also I was touched with this reality that in Christ I'm free, even from myself and from my fear to interact with others. And although my devotion today has to do with freedom, I picked a different verse: "There is neither Jew, nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ" (Gal 3:13).
    I chose this verse because sometimes I feel like an outcast. I felt that I don't share with anyone the same hobbies, interests, family status, blah, blah... Anyway, it was wonderful to see that in Christ what we share is more bigger than hobbies or interests. In Christ we are brothers and sisters and what unite us is God himself and his Holy Spirit. In Christ there is not separation! We should be able to share with our sisters and brothers in church not because we are similar in taste, family or situation in life, but because we were saved by Jesus. Therefore, we should be able to build relationships of friendship with our brothers and sisters even though we don't have similar tastes, status, hobbies, age, children, etc. These differences that tend to limit our relationships are destroyed with the light and love of our savior. With Christ we can be free from the fear to not fit in. In Christ we can have unity. We were adopted! We are not orphans anymore.
    So my prayer today is: God, thank you for freeing me from sin and loneliness. Thank you because I now have brothers and sisters to whom I can relate to in spite of our big differences. Help me to love them and to accept them. Please help me to be more open and to not be afraid to start deeper relationships. In Jesus name, amen.

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  4. The freedom we have in Christ is unlike any other freedom this world offers. Bursting out of jail, being born again, a slave set free, a bird released from its cage, running a race without hindrance. These are all just pictures of an internal, indescribable freedom. It really is an amazing, saving grace.

    My devotion had a similar idea.

    Christ the Curse

    S: "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree." Galatians 3:13

    O: Nobody is perfect. Most people understand this. We all live under the curse of sin. The purpose of God's Law in the Old Testament was to reveal sin, for no one could obey the Law completely. It also pointed to the future coming of the Christ. When the Law (or Word) became flesh in the person of Jesus Christ (John 1:14), Christ became the curse. When he was crucified, the curse died with him. Furthermore, his resurrection is a promise of new life without the curse of sin holding us as prisoners. We deserve the curse, but Christ crucified it for us and set us free.

    O: Christ paid the cost, giving us the "get out of jail free card" (thanks for the visual, Anon!) Our new-found freedom enables us to give God the thanks and praise he deserves, and to serve one another in love. Galatians 5:13 says, "You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.

    A: I am free in Christ. This is awesome! It's like being a kid again, or racing a triathlon without anything holding me back. May I remember the cost that Christ paid for this freedom, and give him the praise and glory. May I also keep my eyes and heart open to how God might want me to serve someone else today and everyday.

    P: Thank you Lord for sending Christ to become the curse, to die for our sins so that we might be free. Help me to use my freedom to serve others in love.

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  5. I chose the same verse as Nad today and am thankful that race, social status, ethnic background, etc. are non-issues in the realm of Christ's love. And, if they are non-issues in our relationships to Christ, then they are also non-issues in terms of who we reach out to with His love. One of the things I appreciate about MRCC is that we are so multi-ethnic that these distinctions have faded from our cognition. I pray that God will keep my eyes blind to these differences, including the ones Nad shared, so that I am available to share Christ's love with any. I thank God for giving me the opportunity of sharing the gospel with a neighbor who is fluent in Chinese but not to much in English. I pray for his salvation.

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  6. Oh, I forgot. Thanks Nad for the new picture above.

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  7. Thanks Wayne, Hope that everyone like it. Specially Dan, since is one of his photos :)

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