Happy Sunday

FREE – but still living in prison! “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.” Romans 8:1-2, NIV Familiar surroundings make us feel safe and comfortable. We like the security of the world that we know and believe we can trust – even though there may be much more exciting places to live, work and play in. It’s amazing how often people are just content to enjoy living in the same old familiar surroundings that they’ve known all their life – even when they have all the resources at their fingertips to make radical and positive changes to their lives. Equally, I find it surprising sometimes, when trying to help people face the real issues in their lives, to find that often they have known the Lord for many years but have not allowed the supposedly abundant life they now have to change their way of living! They are still in bondage to the same old temptations and the same old behaviours. What they were familiar with in their unredeemed life has continued to be the furniture with which they are still comfortable. Yes, they are looking forward to the joys of Heaven, but they have rarely experienced the blessings from Heaven on earth – in spite of the new law of the Spirit that God has written in the heart of every believer. This new law gives us authority over the law of sin and death which tries to drag us back into the attitudes and activities of Satan’s Kingdom. Satan does his best to blind us to the fact that we can use our free will to walk free of his chains, using the higher authority that we now have in our lives – if only we would use our free will to let the Spirit of God transform us from the inside out many of the problems which beset believers on a day to day basis would simply fall away. Those who are in Christ Jesus are freed from the curse of sin – they don’t need to remain sitting in the jail of Satan’s making oblivious to the fact that the chains that formerly held them there are broken. Jesus – the Lion of Judah – has broken the chains. Now is the time for His people to start living in the reality of their new found freedom. Prayer: Thank You Jesus, that you have broken the chains of bondage for all those who have trusted in You. Help me, Lord, to live in the reality of that freedom, now and for the rest of my life. In Jesus’s Name. Amen. Today's Writer : Peter Horrobin Daily Smile: Fourth Grade Logic A fourth-grade teacher was giving her pupils a lesson in logic. "Here is the situation," she said. "A man is standing up in a boat in the middle of a river, fishing. He loses his balance, falls in, and begins splashing and yelling for help. His wife hears the commotion, knows he can't swim, and runs down to the bank. Why do you think she ran to the bank?" A girl raised her hand and asked, "To draw out all his savings?"