We serve a Great Big Wonderful God! He’s our Heavenly Father, and His home is our home. He created us from His love, and we are to love Him, ourselves, and others out of that love. It is important for us to take the time to really think about this, because we’re in an environment where people are being lured and pulled further away from God’s truth. There are many people walking around thinking one way is the right way, when in truth it’s all wrong. Human beings are going to follow something. That’s what we do. We must choose a master; we must choose a father, because even as fully-grown adults, we are still only children. God created us to depend on Him for our sufficiency, but this truth is lost on most folks. They depend on the world and depending on the world means we’re not depending on God. That’s an extremely dangerous place to be.
Jesus Christ declared in John 8:32 that his true disciples will know the truth, and the truth will make them free. This means that you and I have no other choice but to conclude that not all disciples of Jesus Christ are true, and those that are not true will not seek to know the truth, thus they will not be free. Walking in the liberty of Christ is enjoying life and appreciating the freedom that knowing God’s Word gives us. It’s having a life that isn’t burdened on every hand by doubt, wondering if God is truly who He says He is. Walking in the liberty of Christ is an indelible mark of knowing and trusting the truth that God is our Provider and Protector, and He never sleeps on the job.
After Jesus spoke those words in John 8:32, in the next verse, those who thought themselves superior to Christ said to him, “What do you mean, Jesus? Why all this talk about freedom. We’re not slaves. We don’t walk around with chains on our legs and wrists. We are the descendants of Abraham, and we’ve got it going on! We’re the upper echelon, the crème de la crème of religious society.” Jesus replied with an answer so sharp that it literally will blow your socks off. He said, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin.” In other words, whatever you follow, you serve.
These religious folks then said to Jesus Christ, “You’ve got it wrong, Jesus. Abraham walked with God. He’s our father because we’re in his bloodline, and this gives us bragging rights and a reason to legitimately claim to be his kids.” Jesus Christ then told them in John 8:37(NLT), “Yes, I realize that you are descendants of Abraham. And yet some of you are trying to kill me because there’s no room in your hearts for my message.” Jesus forces us to look beyond what our physical eyes can see. It’s not about who our parents or fore parents are. It’s not about their DNA or our bloodlines. It’s about our hearts and what’s in them.
We live according to what is in our hearts. This is why our Master Jesus told us in Matthew 12:33 that a tree is known by the fruit it bears, because our outward reality is a reflection of what we carry inwardly. We need to understand that a child can be born to wonderful parents that are believers in the Lord, but this same child can be a child of satan. Jesus Christ made it clear to the descendants of Abraham that he knew exactly who their father was, and it wasn’t the One True God, but the father of lies whose advice they had followed. Our Lord and Master told them that if they were truly children of Abraham, they would follow Abraham’s example of faith, but instead, they followed the ruler of fear and darkness. They served satan because they chose to believe his lies over the truth of God’s Word.
Children make mistakes, and as God’s kids, He knows we’re works in progress. We’re not always going to get it right, but here’s the thing, God expects us to have a heart to WANT to get it right every time. This is the heart that pleases Him. He tells us in Colossians 3:23 that whatever we do, we must do it with great heart, doing it to bring Him glory and honor.
If we are not led by faith, we’re not led by love, because the two, faith and love, walk together. At the core of our hearts, there must be a yearning to please God, and when we learn that we are not pleasing Him in our actions, attitudes, and deed, we must make a change. Ephesians 4:23 tells us to be renewed in the spirit of our minds. We must renew our minds to what God says, not according to what we think is right.
Anything that isn’t rooted in the faith of Jesus Christ is rooted in fear. Many of us choose sin instead of God’s love and righteousness. We choose to fly off the handle, be quick-tempered and nasty to others. We choose to occupy our time doing all kinds of other things instead of reading and studying God’s Word. We choose not to be diligent in our prayer lives and grow closer to God through Jesus Christ. We choose these things because we fear not choosing them. We choose them because we don’t believe the pleasure and joy that God offers is more fulfilling than what the world offers. Many of us will not allow God to fill our cups because we fear losing the things, relationships, habits, and behaviors we may need to give up.
The pressure in the world is mounting, and ultimately, it’s going to press us to make a firm choice about who we will serve. Jesus Christ taught us in Matthew 6:24 that no human is capable of serving two masters. We will love one and hate the other, because there’s no such thing as being neutral or staying in the middle. A person cannot serve God and satan at the same time. We are going to face a situation where our backs will be against the wall, and the decision we make in that moment will let heaven and everything beneath it know whether we are true disciples of Christ. In that moment, we will either be overwhelmed with fear and sink to its lowest depths, or we will mount up with the strength of the Holy Spirit and declare that we will serve God. Choosing Jesus Christ means that we must declare that he is the Lord of our lives, and no matter the circumstance, if we stand unwavering in faith, God will back us. ■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
“What’s Leading You, Faith or Fear?”, written for VictoryinJesusChrist© 2022. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
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