Enslaved

I've been reading recently the Old Testament and specifically about the bondage of the Israelites in Egypt. It truly is a fascinating story of how God delivered them out of slavery but that tends to be all that we focus on. The deliverance is only sweet when you recognize the bondage they were in. For a moment, compare their bondage to the bondage we're often in here in the present time. Quoted by Andrew Peterson in his song "Deliver Us".....

Our enemy our captor is no Pharaoh on the Nile,

Our toil is neither mud, nor brick, nor sand.

Our ankles bear no callouses from chains yet, Lord, we're bound,

Imprisoned here we dwell in our own land.

Our sins they are more numerous than all the lambs we slay,

Our shackles they were made with our own hands.

Our toil is our atonement and our freedom Yours to give

So, Yahweh break this silence if you can.

When he sings about our shackles being made with our own hands, WOW! Consider....what shackles have you made? What is keeping you in bondage or enslaved to sin? For some, it is image. For others, it is pride. For me it is ______________(fill in the blank for yourself).

May you recognize your shackles and your Deliverer. And may the Truth set you free!!

What are you using God for?

While studying God's Word today and reading a little from John Piper, I realized that Christians often times use God for their own gain. John 17:3 says, "This is eternal life, that they know the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." This is the Gospel, plain and simple. We may think eternal life is freedom from pain or being with loved ones or freedom from sin. Then we allow that kind of thinking to permeate our actions and responses here on earth. We may want forgiveness in order to feel relief from guilt. Or, we may want direction and guidance so we can make it further in the corporate world. Maybe we want healing so we can stay longer with our loved ones. Whatever it is that you desire, are you using God in order to achieve it? We are guilty of savoring the creation and not the Creator. John Piper says it best, "God will not be used as a currency for the purchase of idols." Remember, all things were created by Him, through Him, and for Him. It's all for Christ and the glory of God................what are you using it for?