there is freedom
What is the prison in which you find yourself today? Jeff’s teaching covered so much ground that I need to circle back and reflect. Where are the places in my life that I am not experiencing freedom? Are we shackled by anxiety? Despair? Is there a situation that seems impossible, in which we feel alone?
I am a problem-solver, but sometimes I get stuck. Sometimes we don’t see a way out. We sing songs that encourage us to be in conversation with Jesus about our needs, our wants. Sometimes I forget to ask, thinking I can do it by myself, as toddlers insist.
Call him up, call him up, tell him what you want.
If you want some healing….
If you want his Holy Spirit….
Tell him what you want.
Give your all to Jesus, there is freedom….
Jeff reminded us that whatever prison we find ourselves in, God is there with us. Individually and collectively. And that Jesus wanted Peter to participate in the details of the miracle of being released from prison.
“Quick! Get up!” The chains fell from his wrists. The angel continued, “Get dressed. Put on your sandals.” Peter did as he was told. The angel said, “Put on your coat and follow me.” Following the angel, Peter left the prison. Acts 12:7b-9a (CEB)
The angel didn’t just whisk Peter out and drop him into the prayer meeting of the other disciples. Peter needed to act, to follow. What are the actions I need to take to participate in my own release? To walk out of my prison? Wake up. Clothe ourselves with the garments of faith. Prepare our feet for the journey ahead. Follow the Spirit, to leave our prison behind.
We aren’t fighting against human enemies but against rulers, authorities, forces of cosmic darkness, and spiritual powers of evil in the heavens. Therefore, pick up the full armor of God so that you can stand your ground on the evil day and after you have done everything possible to still stand. So stand with the belt of truth around your waist, justice as your breastplate, and put shoes on your feet so that you are ready to spread the good news of peace. Ephesians 6:12-15 (CEB)
I appreciated hearing about what sustained Nelson Mandela during his 27 years in prison, not knowing how long or whether he would ever be freed. How can his insights empower us?
-Clear sense of Purpose
-Mental discipline and Inner freedom
-Hope and Optimism
-Solidarity and Fellowship
-Vision for Reconciliation
There is inner freedom and outer freedom, inner prisons and physical prisons. In all of them, even in the darkest of times, God is present. Jesus is with us, desiring relationship, wanting us to include him in the conversation. Our hopes and fears, desires and despair, our vision and our inability to see a way out.
In today’s passage from Luke 19, Jesus invited himself into the home of a chief tax collector, a man who needed to be freed from his prison of ill-gotten wealth, isolation from his community, and spiritual bondage. Jesus offered freedom and restoration.
Today, Jesus wants to stay in our home, with us. Whether or not we feel worthy, whether or not we feel prepared, whether or not others think we deserve it. Jesus wants to come in and dine with us. He seeks us when we are lost, to bring us back home.
May we welcome Jesus into whatever situation we find ourselves. May we have the courage to participate in our own liberation. May we experience the salvation of giving away that which possesses us, knowing that we too are a child of God. That where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. –RenéeClick here to Comment/Reply
PS. If you would like to help the daycare center where Spring Initiative staff send their kids during this crisis of funding, click here.