Let Freedom Ring!

I know that this is a few days late, but I wanted to take just a few minutes to talk about freedom because it's been on my heart a lot recently.  Having just celebrated the 4th of July, I am very appreciative of my American heritage and citizenship.  I come from a military family.  My parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles have all fought for the freedom that I treasure so dearly.  I believe the 4th of July is an opportunity for the nation to acknowledge for a day what I see to be true 365 days a year.  That freedom isn't free and that it's a whole lot more than we assume it to be.  We're always fighting amongst ourselves about what the government should or shouldn't be doing.  Who should be fixing our problems.  Who should be securing our future.  We forget that there are faces.  There are mothers, father, sons, and daughters out there doing the dirty work.  Most of them do so because they believe in something.  They believe that freedom is worth fighting for and, at times, worth dying for.

Wow.

What do YOU believe?

Is it worth dying for?

I believe it is.  True freedom, at least.  But I wouldn't have said that a year ago.  I might have said it, but I wouldn't have believed it.  Maybe your freedom was worth dying for, but my freedom certainly was not.  And I made it a point to live in that belief every day of my life.  What a sad way of thinking.  What a dismal way of living.  I was the definition of the walking dead, for my life was nothing but shadows.

On July 5th, 2012, I was with Mercy Ministries at In His Wakes and experienced true freedom through water baptism.  I publicly accepted the ultimate price that Jesus Christ paid for my eternal freedom.  It still gives me goosebumps.  Jesus died for ME.  He set me free.  He broke the chains of my bondage.  I no longer walk in guilt or shame.  I live every day in victory because Jesus has already won the battle.  This means I can step into the danger zone without fear.  I can be FEARLESS in the face of the unknown.  I once existed in a state of paralyzed fear.  So much so that I couldn't even tell you what I was afraid of exactly.  Now, I walk with confidence.  I stand in bold expectation.  I do not waiver because my God does not waiver.

When Jesus died for me, He called me priceless.  I am highly valued.  To consider myself worthless would be an insult to His name and everything He stands for.  So why can it be so easy to falter?  Why do I sometimes fail to walk in the freedom that he purchased for me in love?  I MUST remember my value.  I MUST remember the price.  I MUST remember my Saving Grace.

I've discovered that it's a choice.  One I must make every day.  It is a conscious decision that I make in my heart and mind to walk in the freedom that cost the ultimate sacrifice.  And if that's not convicting, then I don't know what is.