Freedom Reigns

"The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God,to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning,and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor. They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations." Isaiah 61:1-4 I love this verse. I believe if Jesus had a mission statement, this would be it. This is what he came to earth to do. There is a class that my church does a couple of times a year called Free Indeed. I was re-reading my materials from Free Indeed, and God reminded me of something; As a child of God, I am already free. Freedom isn't something I am waiting for, it has already happened. Jesus unlocked my cell, it is up to me to walk out and live free, or to stay in my cell and live like a prisoner. I am free. I am free! Praise Jesus! I don't have to wait for it..it has already come. My favorite part of the above scripture is verse 4 "They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations". I believe that, aside from freedom, Jesus came to bring healing and restoration. There are areas in my life that have been wounded. I am a very visual person, so I look at the hurt as something that has literally been demolished, or devastated. God is working in my life right now to rebuild the ancient ruins. I have lived in bondage for 15 years. Those things that were destroyed long ago, the things that brought me so much pain, God is rebuilding and restoring all of that. Jesus doesn't save us and then leave us to clean up our mess on our own. He wants us to let him work. We have a role and a part that we play in all of this, but I believe that we are to surrender to him and let him work. That is where healing happens. I will end with a quote from the Free Indeed materials that I am reading; "The church, in recent decades, has preached the saving grace of Jesus with passion, but too often, has stopped short of the transforming power of Jesus. Many believers are saved but remain in bondage to sin, addictions, and emotional brokenness. Each of these hinders their ability to receive love or give love in their relationships with God and others. God's word declares that every believer is now a citizen of Heaven. As a believer, the kingdom of God has come to you along with kingdom privileges and responsibilities-including healing and freedom." Amen!