12-1-2014

Good Morning All,

        Romans 8:15; “For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”

       It is always fascinating how animals are trained.  How do they train those huge elephants?  They start when they are babies and then tie a rope to their leg and then attach the rope to a stake in the ground.  As the baby elephant pulls on the rope, it cannot break the rope or pull away.  It thinks it cannot get away so it quits fighting.  Anytime a rope is tied to its leg, it “thinks” it is still tied to the post and will just stand there.

      The devil does the same thing to us.  He wants us to think we are still tied to him.  The devil wants to keep us as slaves and for us to live in fear.  He does this by taking the events that occur in a broken creation and making us fear what we do not know and what we do not understand.  We can see that throughout our life.  Remember the near hysteria that occurred when we started dealing with the Ebola sickness.  Our fear led us to think and advocate actions which were not useful or helpful.  We reacted in fear.

     Perhaps you have a story that is closer to home.  Perhaps you have faced a time when fear made you feel tied down as a slave of the devil.  The devil loves to sit on our shoulder and talk to us.  He loves to remind you of your failures and sometimes he convinces others that they can build themselves up by reminding you of those failures.  The devil wants you to think that the string he tries to tie to your leg to keep you tied down as his slave.  When we are his slave, he torments us and makes us to live in fear.  It might be an illness in the family; it might be rumors at work; it might be an uneasy feeling in a relationship; it might be anything but the devil whispers to us and tries to make us slaves to sin by pointing out our weaknesses.  Maybe you didn’t live as healthily as you should have, the devil whispers it is your fault that you are sick.  The devil will tell you that you are the weakest employee and you will soon be out.  The devil will tell you that you do not deserve a healthy relationship.  The whispers are designed to make you live in fear.

    It is this fear that Christ came to free us from.  Jesus freed us from sin so that we are no longer slaves to sin.  We are now co-heirs with Jesus in God’s kingdom; we are part of God’s family.  Now, rather than be afraid of God, we can call out “Abba!” “Father!”  We can approach his holy throne as dear children approach their father.  We know God’s love for us by looking at the vacant cross and the empty tomb.  We are free from the devil; we are no longer tied to him; he no longer rules our life.  We are free to live in God’s kingdom knowing God’s love and grace.  We can leave the past behind us and strain forward for what is ahead; eternal life with Christ.

Father, you free us from the devil’s noose because of Jesus.  Give us strength to resist the devil’s lies and to live in your peaceful grace.  Be with those who are especially troubled by Satan’s treachery.  Bring them to know the certainty of your mercy and the end of their terrors.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret