COMMUNION MEDITATION: Set Free – Live Free!

COMMUNION MEDITATION….

Set Free – Live Free!

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. – Galatians 5:1

Two hundred thirty-four years ago, the Fathers of this country signed the Declaration of Independence from England. They determined to “live free or die.”

Nearly two millinea ago, Jesus said that if you will continue in His word, you will “know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32).

A Church with History – Whose Best Days Are Ahead

Central Avenue Church of Christ, Valdosta, GA

Last week, I was privileged to work with eleven teen-agers from the Central Avenue Church of Christ, Valdosta, GA along with their youth minister, his wife, and another lady chaperon. They had called several weeks ago to see if they could come to our small congregation to work with us as a “mission.”

They arrived on Tuesday, worked three days, and left Saturday. It was a great experience.

The Central Avenue church in Valdosta is one of the older congregations in our fellowship. Its antecedents:

COMMUNION MEDITATION: Set Free – Live Free!

COMMUNION MEDITATION….

Set Free – Live Free!

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. – Galatians 5:1

Two hundred thirty-four years ago, the Fathers of this country signed the Declaration of Independence from England. They determined to “live free or die.”

Nearly two millinea ago, Jesus said that if you will continue in His word, you will “know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32).

Political freedom is one thing; freedom in Jesus is something else, even though we sometimes get the two confused.

Jesus sets us free from the power, the penalty, and – to the extent we truly follow Him – even the practice of sin.

His life, death, and resurrection give the ultimate Truth. He Himself is the Truth that sets me free. Without Him, I would still be in slavery to my lusts and selfish desires. With Him, when I allow His Spirit to work in me.

He has set me free to be free. Therefore, Paul said, I should not allow myself to be yoked with slavery.

What can enslave me? It could be law, as in the context (see Galatians 4:21-31). It could be inner-heart passions. It could be traditions and opinions. It could be addictive substances or behavior. It, in short, could be anything that makes me committed to something other than Jesus. It can even disguise itself as true devotion to the Lord.

That is one reason I need to examine myself at this Table. I need to renew my pledge of loyalty to Jesus and to Jesus alone. I need to truly listen to His Word so I can walk in it – and be free.

SIMPLIFIED JOURNEY (21): Between the Testaments

The Bible world changed dramatically between the end of the Old Testament about 400 BC and the beginning of the New Testament.

THE JEWISH WORLD

Though the Jews returned to Jerusalem and their home country, beginning about 536 BC, they were just a tiny part of the Persian Empire at the end of the Old Testament. That continued until the Greeks and later the Romans over-ran Palestine.

Most Jews lived outside their homeland. Many chose not to leave Babylon, leaving a large group of Jews there. Under the Greeks and Romans, Jews found homes in other parts of those empires.

BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION (8): Context! Context! Context!

When investing in real estate, the keys are location, location, location.

The three laws of education are repetition, repetition, and repetition.

In interpreting the Bible, the first three rules are context, context, and you guessed the third one!

Why Is Context So Important?

The late Johnny Ramsey, one of my teachers at the Sunset School of Preaching as it was then known, used to say:

A text out of context is a pretext.

I think he was right. It is by ignoring the context that people really do make the Bible mean anything they want it to mean.

SIMPLIFIED JOURNEY (20): Hope in Exile

The prophets ministered to men of a later generation by speaking of the Messiah, his sufferings and the glory that would follow. The people of their own generation needed two things: warning and a promise of hope.

Matthew 15:1-28 – Polar Opposites: Pharisee & Phoeniecian

Matthew 15 begins with an encounter between Jesus and the Pharisees. Jesus then took His disciples into Phoenicia where a woman from there, learning He was in the neighborhood, came to Him with a request. These two encounters are polar opposites in virtually every way. Each of them provided a “learning experience” for Jesus’ disciples, but in dramatically different ways.

The Pharisees came with an accusation, specifically against Jesus’ disciples but implicitly against Jesus as their Rabbi. The Phoenician woman came asking for help for her daughter whom a demon “possessed.” The Pharisees came seeking to uphold the traditions of “the elders.” The woman came seeking grace from God.

BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION (7): Silence of the Scriptures

For it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah, and in regard to that tribe Moses said nothing about priests. – Hebrews 7:14

Does the silence of the Scripture about a thing mean that thing is prohibited by God? Many believe it does, and point to this passage in Hebrews to support the idea. After all, the writer had just said:

COMMUNION MEDITATION: Out of Reverence for God

Out of Reverence for God

The earlier governors – those preceding me – placed a heavy burden on the people…. Their assistants also lorded it over the people. But out of reverence for God I did not act like that. – Nehemiah 5:15

How often have rulers, even those over God’s people, abused their positions to put a heavy burden on the people and extort exorbitant taxes from them.

AT LAST!

AND SO, GENTLEMEN, WE HAVE FINALLY ARRIVED AT THE FORMULA FOR UNDERSTANDING WOMEN!

She is fearfully and wonderfully made!