Freedom in Christ

I'd be lying if I said this has been an easy week. Each day we are faced with so many different decisions and we are forced to choose which way to turn. Will it be glorifying to God or will it bring Him grief? Will we succeed or will we fail? Right or wrong? Stress is the enemy of so many people and I am proud to say it's not a common thing for me! However last week I have had a lot of physical stress placed upon me. Running 3 times a week, working out 4 days, and then doing my normal physical/office work. It has been an adjustment for sure! Last week in my bible study we started studying 1 Corinthians and this weeks Rumination will come from that. There we so many verses that stuck out to me in that first chapter. 1 Cor. 1:8 "He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns." This is a pretty jam packed verse in my opinion. Paul is speaking to the Corinthian church here telling them that God and Holy Spirit will keep them strong. All we must do is have our faith be solidified in who God is. It all depends upon where we are in our spirits. When we choose to be a Christ Follower we are declaring that we will leave our old ways behind us. We faithfully follow God and allow His strength to carry us each and everyday. Now that's not saying that we don't do anything but when we can no longer do anything in our power we must recognize that and be willing to admit it. So many people with stress problems in this world need to recognize that we aren't meant to live life alone. We were made for relationship. Relationship with God, with other people and we must be able to be humble enough to admit we can't do everything. We will never have complete control because that is God's position. We are able to partner with Him but we never have complete control. When we can come to a point and realize all we have is from Him and faithfully relying on Him to keep us strong we will discover true freedom. Freedom granted to us from God is complete, and everlasting! We are able to find peace, live a life full of joy apart from the stress, strain, and hardships of facing life alone. God sent Jesus so that we may live a life free in Him. All the blame, guilt, shame, anything that comes from sin, Jesus came to free us from that. To hold us close to His side, to guide us, to fill us with His joy. We must keep the faith in Him, continue to pursue Him and His righteousness. Live our lives as an offering of worship to Him. When we find ourselves faced with horrible situations we must remember we aren't alone, God is aware of where we are and He's waiting for us to run to Him.

This week look at the area's in your life that could be stronger, the area's that you need freedom in. Lay it out before God, and ask Him to bring freedom. Lay it down and walk away without picking it up again. He wants us to give Him complete control, when we ask Him to take something away we must willingly give it to Him for good. So Give Him your stress, or your daily worries, life's problems. Allow Him to speak into that and guide you on the path to freedom in Christ!!