DAD'S DAILY BREAD

13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. Gal 5:13

This verse really does a good job at revealing my motives. All week I have been struggling with the word freedom. Because in my own life sometimes I don’t feel free at all. I feel like a slave to my job and a slave to my paycheck and at times I feel like a slave to my wife and kids… But when you really let this verse sink in you realize that Christ did not give us freedom to serve ourselves. He didn’t say be free so that you can be comfortable and happy. Just look at Jesus. He could have come down here and lived a perfectly comfortable life. He could have had anything He wanted and would have been perfectly justified in doing so. But instead He came to serve a bunch of people and love them when they were His enemy. When they didn’t deserve it, not even for a second. He served and loved to the point of shedding His own blood and dying a horrible death on a cross. Too many times I think being saved and a Christian means that my life will be easy and comfortable and I’ll be happy. But that’s just not what the bible says.

It says DO NOT use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh! Every time I feel like I’m a slave to something that is my flesh telling me you don’t need to do that. Go serve yourself, go do something you like and make yourself happy… How sneaky is that…? It comes out in so many different ways. Thank God for His Word and the truth that scripture brings into my life! Without it I would truly be lost! God loved me and served me before I even knew who He was. It had nothing to do with anything I have done or will ever do. I need to do the same thing with everyone in my life. Serve others and stop serving myself!

To my knowledge no where in scripture is God referred to as the “God of Happiness”. But I do see The God of Hope and Joy and Peace. Those are all things you get when you stop trying to serve yourself and, like Jesus, live your life to serve others! True freedom starts with surrender! True peace comes when you surrender all the things you think you need and start being obedient to God’s Word by serving others! Lord may you help me to be more like Jesus!!

APPLICATION:

Be honest with myself. Recognize when my flesh is controlling my thoughts and actions. Stay in the Word and read it every day. Stay connected to the vine and get involved by serving others. Pray more!

IN HIS NAME