Chain Gang

Satan, the enemy of our souls, has a lot of people working on the chain gang.  Question: How do you cope with life, are you overtaken by jealousy or anger, rage and unforgiveness?  Are you bitter against anyone, totally unrepentant in heart and mind?  Do you need to pop pills each day to get by, or are you a pretender, living and acting one way but underneath it all you are a completely different person?  Are you hooked on drugs and alcohol or are you into bullying or harming others?  Maybe porn is your thing or lying or cheating or sexual immorality or other things that have you in bondage.  Maybe you are a loner because you have been burnt by someone you thought really cared about you, so you won’t let anyone get too close to you.

There are so many things that put people in bondage and the enemy is behind many of them, if not all of them, edging people on wanting to destroy their lives.  Whether you stand for him or against him makes no difference to him, his purpose is to kill, steal and destroy.  Maybe you are a thief and a conniver or maybe a combination of many of these things I have put down here.  Maybe you feel like you are in total bondage, chained up with no way out.  Kind of in limbo land struggling to make it through each day wishing there was a way to break out of the mess you are in but don’t think it is possible.  

I have got great news for you, there is a way to be set free of one of these things or many doesn’t make any difference.  I can only speak for myself being in bondage to many of these things.  Praise the Lord around forty years ago I was set free and if I was not such a freak, I would have been set free years before!!  The Lord is not a respecter of men, if and when we come to Him in true repentance, which consists of a change in heart and mind and attitude towards sin, a remorseful state of mind, He will receive us regardless of who we are.  His purpose is to save that which is lost and to set the captive free.

Please read Jeremiah 29:11, “‘For I know the plans that I have in mind for you,’ declares Adonai, ‘plans for shalom and not calamity—to give you a future and a hope.’”       

I know this was talking about when the Jewish people were in bondage for seventy years and when that time was up God would do as He said He would do.  I believe He plans to do this for all of His people, Jews and Gentiles alike. 

Now please read Acts 10:34-35, “Then Peter opened his mouth and said, ‘I truly understand that God is not one to show favoritism, but in every nation the one who fears Him and does what is right is acceptable to Him.’” That means all who put their hope and faith and trust in Him.

    

God is not willing that any be lost but all will come to repentance.  That was the reason that God sent His only begotten son into to the world. Please read John 3:16-17, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.”

Once we are born-again, we become children of God, the chains have been broken and we have been set free of the bondage of sin and forgiven.  In other words, we are not enslaved to sin anymore, but we can still choose to sin because we still have the sin nature, but we have the power to resist sin.  If we do sin, we still need to repent and ask the good Lord to forgive us.  Please read 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”  

Then we will be forgiven, praise the Lord for His precious love and grace and forgiveness.  There are many promises that God has graciously given us.

Please read  2 Peter 1:4, “Through these things He has given us His precious and magnificent promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, since you have escaped the corruption that evil desires have brought into the world.”

Enough said, may all of you have a super day and may the good Lord bless each of you.  We all have choices to make, ask the good Lord to help you make the right ones.  Don’t forget to thank and praise the Lord for He is worthy!!