Learning Center - Women's Bible Studies

Let Freedom Ring
by Rev. Tina McGehee

Greetings everyone! As we just celebrated the July 4th holiday, it made me think or of freedom. Freedom is such a precious thing. So many nations desire to have freedom but don't. All you have to is turn on the news to see 3rd world countries exemplifying the results from the lack of freedom.

Let's apply freedom to our personal loves. Do you truly know freedom? What I am getting at is this: Do you have something in your life that is not causing peace? Are y0ou in bondage? What is bondage? Bondage is anything that keeps you slaved and free from peace. It is also another way to describe strongholds. A stronghold is anything that becomes a permanent fixture in your mind. It becomes bigger than God in your life because it causes you to focus on it rather that God all the time.

Many people's problems stem from their thinking. Their thoughts can include anger, frustration, fear, anxiety, and depression to name a few. This type of thinking opens a door in your mind and allows wrong thoughts to manifest themselves and grow until they become a stronghold.

We must understand that this type of thinking does not come from God. Look at 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 "Love is patient, love is kind, It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trust, always hopes, always preserves."

Satan is the culprit for the wrong thinking in your mind. His darts form a battlefield in your mind to work against the things God stands for. He loves to keep you in bandage. So you ask, how do you find freedom from bondage? Paul explained it in 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 "The weapons we fight with are not weapons of the world. On the contrary they have power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."

Friends, what Paul is saying is this: The only way to fight the good fight and to break strongholds and set yourself free is to read,, say and pray the word written in the Scriptures. And, you need to know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. It is through Jesus Christ that you will find freedom. God sacrificed His son Jesus Christ for your sins. Can you imagine the love He must for us to do this very thing? We cannot take this lightly.

A good example is in Romans 3:23-25 "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement through faith in his blood." And, in Galatians 5:1 Paul also writes, "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free."

When you ask Jesus Christ to come into your life as your personal Savior, God forgives your sins. Literally, you become a new creation because the blood of Jesus shed on the cross. When you ask Jesus to enter your life and to forgive you for your sins - He will! You are free!

So why then don't you forgive yourself? Why are you allowing the devil to play in your mind? People, Jesus cane to set the captive free. When you keep yourself wrapped up in bondage, you allow Satan to keep his chains on you. Why do you want to do that? Satan has robbed you of too muck already. Stop him from entering your mind or holding you down by closing those doors. Take those chains off - Jesus already unlocked those locks. It's up to you to throw those chains on the ground.

When you accept Jesus Christ into your life you will begin to experience a peace you've never felt before. Love and joy will begin to consume your spirit because the Holy Spirit will grow inside of you. Jesus tells us that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth. Soon, the Holy Spirit will reveal all sorts of truths to you as you begin to to read your Bible, hear His Word, and pray.

I do want to clarify something. Unless you've accepted Jesus Christ as you Savior, the Holy Spirit will not grow. Today, there is a "New Age" movement about spirituality and people becoming more spiritual. This is not the same thing. New Age thinking is not from God. It is one the devil's best kept secrets. New Age thinking derives from many pagan and occult practices. We'll talk about this in another article later. If you desire to have peace and joy in your life and don't know Jesus Christ as your Savior, now is your time. Ask Him into your life today. Just say this prayer with me:

Dear Jesus, please forgive me of all my sins. I accept you, as my Lord and Savior and desire a personal relationship with you. Please come into my heart and life and show me your love. Send the Holy Spirit into my life so that I can live a life fulfilling to you. Amen.

To those that just said that prayer - be prepared for the most satisfying wonderful feeling that you will ever experience. God is awesome and He will give you the freedom you need.

I can tell you first-hand about this peace. My life was changed when I asked Jesus Christ into my life in July 2000. I always knew Jesus as my Lord and Savior but I never had that personal, intimate relationship I heard so much about. What happened after I surrendered my life to Christ was amazing! A new peace came over me along with a feeling of being washed clean. My world began to change in the way I treated life. I saw God's hand in everything I did. I thank God for everything He gives me.

You will see these very things happen to you. Please keep in contact with us. Now, more than ever, you need to fellowship with other Christians to help keep you lifted up. Praise God for those of you that have made this decision today. Enjoy the freedom that you are soon to experience.

With Christ's Love,
Pastor Tina McGehee