Eyes on JesusSample

Have you ever been imprisoned? I used to play cowboys growing up and had an amazing old western town literally in my backyard complete with a Sheriff’s office and jail. I remember when I would put shackles on my Dad because he was the “outlaw” and put him in jail.  One time in particular, I went into the house and my Mom asked where Dad was.  I had left him in jail (either knowingly or unknowingly I can’t remember), and I had to go back out and released him from his temporary shackles.  

Jesus has come to break chains, but if we purposely sign up for sin, we are putting the shackles on our spirit.  The Bible even says we are worse off than before we knew the saving power of Christ! Why? I believe because we should know better. As Christians we know the saving power of Christ but then reject a relationship with Him. This passage is not about salvation; it is about relationship! 

Sin clouds our judgment and our discernment. If we are enslaved to something, it means we do not have the freedom to move away from it. Godly discernment requires that we cultivate a relationship with Jesus through prayer and getting to know His Word and The Spirit.  

As you move forward in discernment, ask what you are enslaved or imprisoned by.  Often, we do not even realize what has a hold on us before it escalates. Are you slaves to sin and the flesh or slaves to Jesus Christ? What’s amazing that when we are slaves to Jesus, we find our greatest freedom!

Reflect: What are you bound to that you need freedom from?  What sin in your life do you need to give an eviction notice to?  

Thanks for reading this devotional—if you are interested in the full 30-day version, go to eyesonjesusdevotional.com