Living in the Freedom of Christ

Living in the Freedom of Christ

Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

Galatians 5:1 For freedom did Christ set us free: stand fast therefore, and be not entangled again in a yoke of bondage.

            In this month when we celebrate our national freedom, It is appropriate that we reflect on the  source of that freedom and acknowledge that without spiritual freedom, we can have neither moral nor political freedom. 

Freedom is autonomy, independence and the power and authority to make wise choices that will lead us into an abundant life in Jesus Christ.  To loosen the shackles and stand in His freedom, we must have an ever increasing knowledge of who God is and who we are in Him.  To run the race that is set before us, we must release ourselves from the hindrances of our past and move forward into our destiny.

            God is unchanging, but He continually increases His revelation of Himself. In Exodus 3, when Moses asked God “Who shall I say sent me?”, he was asking, “Lord, who are you?” Moses had been on the backside of the desert for 40 years.  He was so distant from his godly heritage that he had forgotten the attributes, the nature, the essence of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 

            Exodus 3:14 “And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM (Yahweh).” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” Yahweh is the source of all being and has being inherent in Himself. Everything else derives existence from Him.

            His Name also suggests that God is beyond the ordinary understanding of man. In Himself, God is beyond all definite descriptions. Because the language and speech of God is beyond the language and speech of His creation, our language is inadequate to describe Him. Because God is limitless and unlimitable, we will spent eternity delving His depths.  Though we cannot fully understand or express the magnitude of our Creator, we can move in the freedom of trusting Him because of His revelation of Himself in His Son and the indwelling presence of His Spriit in our being.  Freedom in Christ flows out of our trust in Him.  As we grow in our trust, we will no longer feel compelled to make decisions based on fear and/or perceived need.

            God is everywhere all of the time.  He is boundless in His goodness, love and compassion.  When we are obedient to His love and His grace, we have freedom: freedom from fear because we are shielded in His power and authority; freedom from want because He is our Shepherd and our provision; freedom from despair because He is our hope; freedom from doubt because He is our surety; freedom from depression and anxiety because He is our joy and our peace; freedom from death because He is life eternal. 

            When we walk in His freedom, we will be free indeed.  We will have moral freedom and political freedom because our choices will be centered in His wisdom. As individuals and as a nation, we will make decisions that insure our protection, provision, hope, assurance and joy.  We will be free to be who we were created to be. 

Ending the Vitriol

Ending the Vitriol

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

In this world of incivility, anger and curses, we, as children of God Most High, must learn to speak in the opposite spirit.  We must choose to speak life and blessing and hope and joy and peace and love even in the current political climate.

Proverbs 18:21 declares that both death and life are in the power of the tongue.

We are cautioned many times in scripture to guard our tongues. Throughout the ages, we seem to have forgotten the power of our words. We have forgotten the power of our words because we have not regarded the source of that power.

In the beginning, the power of the spoken word was evident when the Lord spoke

into the formless void and created. We are created in His image and in that image is the power to create through the words we choose to speak.

We live in a world where incivility abounds. As children we often chanted, “Sticks

and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” We chanted to hide the fact that words spoken to us had crushed us emotionally. In truth, broken bones heal more quickly than damaged emotions.

The Spirit of God is grieved when our words create pain and anguish for others

and, therefore, for ourselves. Ephesians 4:30-32 directs, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” (NKJV)

Proverbs 10:11 reminds us that the “mouth of the righteous is a well of life.” Our

words can heal. (Proverbs 12:18) Our words can bring joy and gladness. (Proverbs

12:25) Our words can impart grace to others. (Ephesians 4:29) Our words allow us to stand in the presence of God. (Psalm 15:3) By our words, we will either be justified or condemned. (Matthew 12:36-37.) Simply put, God is pleased when we choose to create life with our words.

We are encouraged to speak the word of God over ourselves and others so that

we can more fully walk in His image. We can choose to begin each day with the words of the psalmist, “This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.” (In spite of what is happening in the world around us.)

We can follow the course Jesus himself prescribed for us in Matthew 5:44-45, “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.” (NKJV)

Graham Cooke, in his Game Changers study described a time when his desire was to retaliate for evil that a man had written to him. The Lord spoke to Graham, “I want you to sit down, and I want you to ask Me how I see him.  And I want you to write that down and send it to him.”

Graham obeyed. “Hey, I was praying about you today, and the Lord showed me this.”

“And I wrote something absolutely amazing.  I signed it and I sent it.  I never heard anything back, but the effect on me was huge.”

Matthew 12:37: “37.  "For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.''

It is time to end the vitriol.

If you are seeking the “good life”, speak blessings over yourself and others.

“For He who would love life

And see good days,

Let him refrain his tongue from evil,

And his lips from speaking deceit.” (1 Peter 3:10 NKJV)

A Time to Weep; A Time to Dance

A Time to Weep; A Time to Dance

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

Last evening, much of our area was assaulted by thunderstorms, destructive hail and tornadoes. The turbulence struck to the south, north, east and west of us, but we were spared.  Even in our safety, we are prone to question God.  Why? Why were we spared when so many others are devastated?   We tend to feel guilty about that for which we should be thankful.

Solomon wisely wrote, “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance” (Ecclesiastes 3:1,4).

Sometimes, those seasons come together.  When I looked around my property this morning and saw everything intact, my heart rejoiced.  I praised God.  The greater joy I felt in my deliverance, the greater grief I sensed when I learned more details of the destruction around me. 

I wept for the family who, after suffering nearly overwhelming loss is last year’s prairie fires, watched as the storm obliterated buildings and personal property.  My heart ached for residents of a nursing home in Nebraska whose roof was torn away.  I cringed at pictures of hailstones that could barely be held in an adult palm. 

In this, I have come to understand more clearly the nature of our God.  In a single moment of time, He rejoices with those who rejoice and weeps with those who weep. I cry out, “Oh, to be like Thee, blessed Redeemer.”

Those of us who were spared the effects of the super cell that hovered over our area, must praise God, without guilt, for our deliverance and at the same time reach out in compassion to those who were not spared.  We must be comforters, encouragers and helpers. We must allow those who are hurting to grieve so that they can be healed in their hearts. 

The question should not be, “Why, God?”, but, “Lord, how can I help?”

Prayer is always helpful and so are encouraging words and helping hands.

Considering the Kingdom of God in This Age

Considering the Kingdom of God in This Age

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

Biblical prophecies usually have at least three occurrences of fulfillment:  the first for the time in which it was given, the second in the Church age and the third in the end times.  Such is true when considering the prophecies about the Kingdom of God.  The Kingdom does not always refer to the Millennial Reign of Jesus, King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Jesus preached about the Kingdom in His time which includes the Church Age.   Mark 1:14-15: “Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel." 

Our Lord taught His disciples to pray for the Kingdom.  Matthew 6:10: “Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Our prayer is to be for the Kingdom of God to come so that His desires will be accomplished on earth as they are in heaven.  

The prayer continues as we agree that blessings will come when we walk in His will:  our daily needs will be provided; we will be forgiving and forgiven; we will be led away from temptation and evil.  In the Kingdom today, that is the reign of Christ in our individual hearts and lives, we acknowledge that He is King, that He is omnipotent and glorious.

The Kingdom of God during the Church Age is all about our relationship with our King.

In Romans 14:17, Paul wrote: “for the Kingdom of God is not food and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”

Therefore, the Kingdom of God is not about material, finite things.  The Kingdom of God is about spiritual, eternal truths that we are blessed to walk in every day and throughout all of eternity.

The Kingdom of God allows us to be more than overcomers in this life.  Righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit transcend the trials and tribulations of this world and lift us above the commonplace and into His glory. 

However, when we choose to continue in sin, when we refuse to follow Jesus as our King, we cannot experience the righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit while we are in  this world nor will we be allowed to enter the Kingdom of God in the End Times when the Lamb opens the Book of Life.

Choose, today, to walk out of sin with its despair and fear and into His Kingdom.

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

Helen H. Lemmel

O soul are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There's light for a look at the Savior,
And life more abundant and free:

Turn you eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face;
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace.