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Topic: The Chains that Bind
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Author
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Karen Samford
Senior Member
Joined: 12/16/2011
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 989
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Posted: 10/15/2015 at 2:03pm
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The Chains that Bind
Posted on 15 October 2015 by Mitch Salmon
When we think of bondage the first thoughts for many of
us are
of those who are captive to the chains of addiction. We
consider the alcoholic, the drug addict, the porn addict
and the sex addict but do we consider those held captive
in the bonds of religion?
Do we consider the ones who have been raised in a culture
that teaches us that we play a significant role in God’s
love for us? Do we pray for those who have put God, the
AWESOME Creator of the universe, into a little box?
Do we mourn for those who still see life as an odds game
where they are essentially left to fend for themselves?
Do we intercede for those who struggle to do enough and
be enough so that they will be viewed with favor by our
Lord?
Do we reach out to those who are still operating from a
list of do’s and don’ts? There are many types of chains
and the enemy excels in the subtle ones that seem as
though they are good.
The question we must ask ourselves with honest hearts is,
“By what am I justified? TRULY?”
Is it He who began a good work in us only to have us
complete it through willpower and self effort or is the
One who began the work also the One who will complete it?
In God’s equation our efforts to justify self are not a
factor. Those who live by the law will also die by it.
We either find ourselves struggling with not doing enough
or being enough or we become prideful in what we perceive
as our self-made success. Religion is a tomb and when we
dwell in it we rub shoulders with the dead. It inspires
covert competition between God’s children. While many of
us will say we are justified by faith and saved by grace,
how many truly believe it?
The belief that we can be justified through our own
actions causes us to look to the left and the right
examining with a critical eye the progress of our
brothers and sisters. We stop looking to Him as the
Author of our salvation and begin comparing ourselves to
one another trying to discover how we rank.
Stuggles with self worth and doubt pervade our churches.
Rather than loving one another with the knowledge that we
are loved we begin to fear one another as judges. Rather
than accepting one another with flaws and all we hide in
plain sight while searching for the hypocrites as though
we were tasked with what amounts to a witch hunt. Yet
all of these things oppose love. These struggles with
the chains of religion don’t draw us together.
Rather, they pull us apart. How can Christ’s bride be
ready when are unwilling to join together as His body?
Nowhere in all of scripture are we listed as “the
bodies.” Nowhere were we told to divide ourselves in
religious sects over petty disputes. Can we agree in
Christ? Can we agree that He came to save a lost and
dying world? Can we agree that He commanded us to love
one another?
It is time to make a conscious decision to love past
differences in opinions on semantics. It is time that we
open our eyes to the unlimited possibilities of our
awesome God. No box can contain Him. No religion can
define Him. He is not interested in our self efforts . He
is interested in our unconditional surrender. He is not
interested in our boxes that we have effectively put Him
in. He does not belong in a box.
Brothers and sisters, I have no way of knowing what your
personal walk with Jesus looks like. I have no way of
knowing what is in your heart this morning. If, as you
reach this point of the article, you are feeling
conviction, it is not my simple words that have caused
it. The Holy Spirit is speaking to you and moving within
you validating these words as true. He is calling you
forward, beckoning you.
He is inviting you to leave the bondage of a religion
that promotes self effort in favor of a real relationship
with Him. If, as you read, you are nodding your head in
agreement, I ask that you pray. Pray that the bondage of
religion will be loosed from your brothers and sisters
and that their eyes will be opened to the God who loves
them just as they are. Pray that they will know the
meaning of Jesus’ words when He said, “Whom the Son sets
free is free indeed.”
We are not meant for bondage. We were not made for
religious ceremony. We were made to have an authentic
and intimate relationship with our Father. We are meant
for freedom. It is only in this place that we will see
Him move in our hearts and in our lives.
Consider the possibilities and you too will know that
they are limitless.
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Edited by Karen Samford on 10/15/2015 at 2:05pm
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