Free or Imprisoned?

How do you live your life each day? Big question right? Well, I have been told that I think and reflect too much sometimes, but I know that God designed me this way so I am going to pen my thoughts for others to reflect upon. Back to the question....I am spurred to ask this question because of words I heard in a song this morning as I ran. The lyrics spoke of how we are not imprisoned by the four walls around us because the One who holds the world has already come and set us free! No matter what the world here does to us, we are still unbound and set free from the captivity of sin. These words spoke volumes to me this morning. It was as if Mercy Me wrote the song for me to hear this morning specifically. Actually my heart was ripe this morning to actually "hear" the words from God would be more accurate.

We are all sinners and fall short in our daily lives. The Bible states this clearly in Romans 3. Once we have accepted that fact then we move into an area of our life that cultivates the need for a savior beyond ourselves. We realize that we can"t save ourselves because we are imperfect and flawed. That is the place we decide to choose to allow Christ to take that sin away through repentance and baptism or we choose to go it alone and try to "do good" in our lives.

For many years I tried to "do good things and be good", but my humanness kept the desires of my flesh up front and ready to be fed. I just could not seem to destroy them or keep them from being my guiding forces in my life. I was willing ,but my flesh was too weak. I then decided to try the other route. I gave my life to Christ and magically all my troubles disappeared!

Wrong....actually more troubles came. You see once the light is turned on in your life, there was more stuff in the corners that needed to be cleaned out that you could not see in the dark before. But this time I had something and someone else to help. When you allow Christ to shoulder that burden and give you strength it becomes bearable, not easy but bearable to withstand the weight.

The question that came to me as I heard the song was "Do I live free in Christ or do I run back to my sins and allow me to be imprisoned? I say that I believe in Christ and His forgiveness, but when things get tough do I creep back to the door or sin because it appears comforting and familiar. If I truly examine myself the answer would be "yes". My heart drifts back to what is known and away from the unknown. This frustrates me because in my mind I know that past sins only bring pain and heartache. The deceptive heart though wanders back to what feels and appears pleasing. This is where a trust and faith in the unknown and unseen God can be interjected. A choice has to be made.............

Today I choose not allow the four walls of my sins hold me in and I will walk out the door with Christ holding my hand. What about you? Watch the video and decide will you be free today?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GS-VnDKf4Bk