“For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” – Galatians 5:13

If you are in Christ, if He is your Lord, then you have been set free! For what purpose? How should you use your blood-bought freedom in Jesus Christ??? By going wild and doing whatever you feel like? No! By sitting around in leisure, entertaining yourself to death? No! By making it clear to everyone that nobody is the boss of you except yourself? No!

The precious freedom we enjoy in Jesus Christ – freedom from death, freedom from sin’s power, freedom from the burden of the law – is meant for far better purposes than all that. Our freedom isn’t about us at all. Our freedom is given to us so that we can live like Jesus, including the really hard and painful parts. We’re set free to practice love toward all in the church (including the unlovable folks) and to voluntarily serve one another, regardless of whether anyone “deserves” to be served.

Every Christian is a citizen of God’s Kingdom. In God’s Kingdom our calling is to freely love and serve each other. Not ourselves and not merely those we prefer to serve or enjoy serving. We must love and serve each other throughout the church. Freedom is a wondrous gift that unlocks not the joy of selfishness, but the joy of selflessness. Submit to one another freely. Serve one another voluntarily. Love one another unconditionally. Use your freedom as Christ intended!

“The Lord preserves the simple;
when I was brought low, he saved me.
Return, O my soul, to your rest;
for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.”
– Psalm 116:6-7

Earthly life in Christ isn’t going to look like an unending series of successes and happy days. There will be hard times, seasons of pain, and long days of doubt and despair. But God is with you in those times! He hears your cries and knows when to strengthen you for the battle and when to rescue or restore your hope and your heart.

Whatever the backstory is to Psalm 116, the psalmist clearly went through a terrible trial. Nonetheless, God was faithful and never abandoned him. At the right time, God provided rescue and the psalmist could clearly see Him at work. This psalm provides a great example of how to suffer through and reflect on difficulties in a spirit of faith. Looking back, the psalmist can see God’s presence and sustaining power. He can see God’s hand at work in his rescue and know that God never abandoned or ignored his suffering. He is able to rest peacefully in the assurance of God’s steadfast love.

Likewise, you can be confident in God’s wisdom, presence, and power, even when you feel all alone. Don’t let your feelings fool you! If you are in Christ, God is with you. He hears you. He loves you. He is for you. Pray for your soul to find rest in Him during times of turmoil.

“And they were striking his head with a reed and spitting on him and kneeling down in homage to him.” – Mark 15:19

Picture this being done to Jesus… The Roman soldiers gathered to have their fun with Him. The Son of God repeatedly hit on the head. Spit on over and over. Shown false respect to emphasize their complete lack of respect. Picture it. It’s completely outrageous. It’s horrible. How does it make you feel? Angry? Sad? Do you want to scream? Do you want to cry?

Now realize that this is what each of us does to God every time we sin. No, it isn’t visible like this, but every sin (whether we think it’s a big deal or not) rejects and mocks God’s authority to rule over our lives as our Creator. Every sin is our way of saying, “I’m in charge, not you.” Every sin spits in the face of God. Every sin claims we are smarter, better, wiser. Every sin claims we’re exempt from God’s will and plan for human flourishing. Every sin we choose to commit is like smacking God with our own self-importance.

When did you last mock God? Have you gone to Him to ask forgiveness for your sin? The good news is that despite our vile treatment of God, He remains ever-ready to forgive us through Jesus Christ. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

“Light dawns in the darkness for the upright;
he is gracious, merciful, and righteous.
It is well with the man who deals generously and lends;
who conducts his affairs with justice.”
– Psalm 112:4-5

We’re invited, commanded, and blessed to live lives modeled after the character of God. Regardless of your earthly situation, God will honor and bless an upright life. God is gracious, merciful, and righteous and He wants you to be the same. Unlike God, you’ll never be perfect in these matters, but in Christ, God gives His Spirit to empower you to become like Him in character. Regardless of what you may be “by nature” (whatever that means), the Holy Spirit can transform you to be gracious (giving good things people don’t deserve), merciful (refusing to give bad things people actually deserve), and righteous (not practicing sin).

In Christ, God deals with us generously. He redeemed us though we didn’t earn it. He blesses us with new life though we don’t deserve that. He welcomes us into His family and loves us even though we’re often unlovable. He walks with us even when we try to flee from Him. God invites us, calls us, and expects us to likewise be abundantly generous toward others, especially when they don’t deserve that generosity. We are to care about justice and practice it in our daily lives because God is ultimately and perfectly just.

Walking in the attributes of God is never easy. It goes against human nature. The world certainly views it as naive and foolish. Oh well! May God bless you in abundance for your grace, mercy, righteousness, generosity, and justice!

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
all those who practice it have a good understanding.
His praise endures forever!”
– Psalm 111:10

There’s great value in education and learning. We’re made in God’s image and gifted with wonderful minds equipped to learn from academic study, reading, observation, experimentation, and electronic content. We should always seek to learn and develop our God-given minds.

However, true wisdom – living life skillfully and well for the purpose for which it’s been given – is always grounded in “the fear of the Lord.” It’s only when we have a proper awe toward God, His nature and His work, a humility before His majesty, a reverence for His holiness, and deep love for Him that we’re truly on the path to wisdom. All our other knowledge becomes dramatically more valuable and relevant when directed by wisdom and aligned toward God and His purpose. Our understanding deepens without limit when our knowledge and wisdom converge on the awesome reality of the Living God. Build your knowledge, but pursue wisdom — fear the Lord!