FREEDOM

ALOHA FAMILY & FRIENDS,  Beloved of God and me,   John 3:16-18

FREEDOM:    “WORTH CONSIDERING”    3/3/20   by Ken Smith<><
     
Today’s Scripture
“…The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me…to proclaim liberty to the captives and…to set at liberty those who are oppressed…”  (Luke 4:18, NKJV)

Liberty to the Captives
If we’re not careful to develop a freedom mindset, having a bondage mindset will become normal to us. We’ll accept that it’s normal to be hot-tempered, it’s normal to live depressed and negative, it’s normal to struggle and not get any good breaks, it’s normal to have bad relationships. That’s not normal. That’s a chain that restricts your movement, that limits your ability. You are made in the image of Almighty God. You have seeds of greatness. You were created to be free, to be happy, to accomplish dreams—not to get by in life, but to excel. Don’t let a chain that binds you become normal.

Jesus came announcing freedom, announcing that the chains that are restricting you are being broken. Now it’s up to you to receive it. The chain breaker, the Most High God is working in your life right now. Your day of freedom has come. Get ready for favor in new ways. Start living from a freedom mindset.

A Prayer for Today
“Father, thank You that You are the Most High God, the chain breaker, who is releasing me into increase, into favor, and into new levels. Thank You that what has hindered me in the past is not going to hinder me anymore. I believe my chains have been broken. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

Ken’s Thoughts:
Great subject today, and we need the whole idea and vision.   Jesus after 30 years of being a home boy and oldest of at least 4 boys and 2 girls.  After His empowering of the Holy Spirit and His time of testing He proclaimed His vision in the Synagogue as also prophesied by Isaiah and recorded by Luke.

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me (the Messiah),  Because He has anointed Me to preach the good news to the poor.  He has sent Me to announce release (pardon, forgiveness) to the captives,
And recovery of sight to the blind,  To set free those who are oppressed (downtrodden, bruised, crushed by tragedy), 19 to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord [the day when salvation and the favor of God abound greatly].”  Luke 4:18-19

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,  Because the Lord has anointed and commissioned me  To bring good news to the humble and afflicted;  He has sent me to bind up [the wounds of] the brokenhearted,  To proclaim release [from confinement and condemnation] to the [physical and spiritual] captives.  And freedom to prisoners,  2  To proclaim [a]the favorable year of the Lord, [b] And the day of vengeance and retribution of our God,  To comfort all who mourn,  3 To grant to those who mourn in Zion the following:  To give them a [c]turban instead of dust [on their heads, a sign of mourning],  The oil of joy instead of mourning,  The garment [expressive] of praise instead of a disheartened spirit.  So they will be called the trees of righteousness [strong and magnificent, distinguished for integrity, justice, and right standing with God],  The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.  Isaiah 61:1-3

And so the thoughts come to my mind that we as Christian have been assigned, in Christ Jesus to learn how to do the same thing in bringing Glory to Christ Jesus as LORD as His disciples.  We find that in the Great Commission in Matt.28:19 and all through the New Testament.  That the disciple is under discipline (obedience) to become like the Master and has the God given grace to help in bringing himself and others into the same discipline or discipleship.  1 John 5:17 teaches us that in maturity we will be like our Master in perfection and be able to boldly stand before our Holy Creator in righteousness in the end time of Judgment. And that in our love of God we will love our brethren to the same degree of selfless love while yet in this world.  This is also spelled out in Eph.4:11-16 & John 17:20-26.

Doesn’t seem like many of the Christian Churches of today are really actively fulfilling this initial vision of our LORD.  Seems like most church members are there, hopeful, for fire insurance without really agreeing to make Jesus,  LORD.  True Discipleship means for us to give Christ Jesus all that we have to HIM as LORD and then HE give us His citizenship and a seat at HIS table in this world and also in His coming New Creation of Righteousness.  The details of the agreement of exchange are clearly spelled out in the New Testament as HIS final and validated WILL.   We are to learn to submit our will (totally) under HIS authority in all things 24/7. The Early Church was secure in this His vision of: Truth, Love, Unity and Holiness and God’s Grace and Power confirmed their“born from above” relationship.  Apostle Paul prophesied about our Later Days Church in 2 Tim.3.   Perhaps we need to go back to the basics and find and restore what obviously has been lost?  Acts 5:16                           

Yours in HIS great Love & Mercy,   Ken<><   www.Trinity-Aloha.org

There is but one Church of Christ Jesus and all
who Truly Love & Obey HIM are members.

( You may find back issues of “WORTH CONSIDERING”
 as a link on our homepage. )

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