Remember that God Paid Your Ransom

"There will be many moments along the journey where you will be tempted to stop and look at all the reasons that you are not worthy of allowing God to bring great blessings. It is one of the wages of war from the enemy of your soul to remind you of your failures and shortcomings. It is essential that each and every time you begin to feel that you are out of place and should be rummaging through the junk yard instead of enjoying God’s “five star service,” that you remember how Jesus came to this earth and paid your debt. You can raise your head high and look people in the eye with confidence. This is not because you have found a way [on your own] to overcome. The freedom and purpose that people will read in your eyes is a direct result of the price that Jesus paid for each and every one of us." (Step by Step 6/19/09)


Imagine that you live back in 50 AD. You were once a free man, but through a few bad decisions and some unexpected life turns, you are now a slave. You wear chains on your wrists, ankles, and one attached to a ring around your neck. Every day of your life is spent remembering the bad decisions and dreaming about what would had happened if you had opened “Door B” instead of “Door A” and made better decisions. Though the chains are heavy and painful, you wear them as if they are a part of who you are, as it is your belief that you have somehow earned them through the mistakes of the past. That is, until today. Today, your life has been interrupted with the chance to be challenged and changed forever. A new master has shown up and has paid for your debt; however, this master is different. This Master wants to take the chains off of your neck, arms, and feet and set you free. This Master has only one job for you. Instead of slave labor, this new Master requires that you show the same love you have been shown to those who surround you and for you to tell others about this new Master.

So, now you have a choice... What will you do? Will you live like a free man? Will you show others the love that was shown you? Or will you take the chains that have been removed from around your neck, arms and feet and put them back on?

I know that it sounds crazy to think that anyone would even entertain the idea of re-chaining themselves to a life of slavery. And yet, this is what happens to Christian men and women on a daily basis. Jesus has set them free and they no longer have to carry their past debts, but like an earned trophy, they take their freedom and set it aside to wear the familiar bonds of slavery.

Listen! Jesus came to this earth and died to set you free. All of the mistakes of your past, from the smallest of missteps to the most gruesome atrocities, have been paid for. QUIT WEARING YOUR CHAINS!

Luke 4:16-21
He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them,
"Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."