After the Chains Are Gone

My chains are goneI've been set freeMy God, my Savior has ransomed me- Chris Tomlin’s “Amazing Grace”

I have been feeling led to write this blog post since summer, but I have not gotten around to it because I am still growing in my understanding of freedom. There are some days that I question if God has truly set me free. For years, spiritual chains and shackles consumed my life. 

There’s this lyric from Christian rapper KB’s song “Doubts”: 
I'm a grown man but I feel like I have the same struggles I dealt with since I was a teen
Sometimes I feel like I'm one sin from you saying that you are done with me
Am I deceived, Am I deceived? 

It makes me realize that we serve a God who takes our struggles, shortcomings, failings, issues, and chains. Everything that we may struggle with, we have to know that Christ already died and rose again for them. It’s not something we have to question or wonder why, it’s something he just does for us because we are his children. 

The thing is that we doubt. We doubt God’s power, we doubt ourselves, we doubt our situations. 

You see that the word explicitly says, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” John 8:36.  “And you shall know the truth, and the truth will set you free” John 8:32.  John 14:6. “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to…set the oppressed free” Luke 4:18.

Jesus came to save the world (John 3:16-17). He came to give us life and life more abundantly (John 10:10). He has already given us our freedom. 

I remember crying at the altar one Sunday at church for God to free me and forgive me. And He said something so simple like, “I already have.” GOD ALREADY HAS FREED US! It’s our doubts that make us question his power and his power that he has given us. 

Jesus didn’t pray for healing of our diseases, minds, and spirits because he has already done it. He prayed for our faith! (Luke 22:32). 

And He said to them, “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you” Matthew 17:20. (Mark 16:18) This is for our spiritual mountains too!  

God wants us to believe in his power and the power that he has given us. If demons flee at the sound of God’s voice, then they should at yours too. That same Spirit that rose Christ from the grave is in you! (Romans 8:11). 

Honestly, if we believe and activate our faith in Christ, those chains that presumably have us locked away should melt away like wax. It is also important to remember that this battle is spiritual. Know your weapons (Ephesians 6:10-18) and use them daily. Christians don’t get a break, we are in a fight for our souls everyday.  Jesus commands us to pick up our crosses daily, (Matthew 16:24) but the awesome thing is that we serve a God who will help us carry them too. 

Too often our chains are already broken, but we stay there because we don’t know we can get up. If you are still locked up, do what Paul and Silias did. They prayed and praised God until they were free (Acts 16:16-40). 

And if you struggle with your faith, ask God to help your unbelief. (Mark 9:24). He is a God who understands. 

 http://youtu.be/V7eZD3TKn_M ~Mary Mary's Shackles :)

Love, 

Courtney 

East to West

Today I cried my eyes out. Today I surrender all. 

I am writing this with an extreme revelation from God. I have struggled with forgiving myself. Forgetting my past. Letting go of my sins and letting God wash me white as snow. (Isaiah 1:18) 

Basically, my guilt  meant that I believed that the blood of Jesus is not strong enough to cover my sins. But what does the blood of Jesus do? It remits sin, gives life, justifies, saves us from wrath, it redeems.  (Matt. 26:28, John 6:53, Romans 5:9) I have been walking around with this belief that God can do everything for anybody but me. Don’t get me wrong, I know that God is all powerful. But somewhere deep down, I guess I’ve always figured that I wasn’t good enough. 

There’s this new word to me: grace. Well, maybe it’s not really new, but it’s meaning is becoming extraordinarily new to me. It can’t be measured, it can’t be earned, it will never stop for those whom love God. Grace is Free and unmerited favor of God. 

 

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--- and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God---not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8-9

God is grace, he is mercy, he is love. Guess what? He loves you with an everlasting love. (Jeremiah 31:3). 

All of this is sort of a hard concept to grasp. Like, I am so unworthy, but I hear God saying “You are worth my love.” You see, even if everyone on earth was righteous and it was only you who were not, God still would have come down and died on the cross for you. He loves you that much. 

I know my natural mind will never fully be able to rationalize this concept, but I know with spiritual eyes I can begin to see this kind of forgiveness rationally. 

So as I was talking to my sister today, my inadequacy of believing I am unworthy of forgiveness came up. It was like the Holy Spirit spoke through  my sister.

"There is no sin too great that the blood of Jesus can’t cover. When Jesus died on the cross he took the weight of every sin upon himself. It was during that time that darkness fell, and God turned his face from him (Matthew 27:45-46). He took murder, fornication, homosexuality, suicidal thoughts, greed, pride, or whatever. HE TOOK EVERYTHING. Period. He has taken our sins and thrown it into the sea of forgetfulness! (Micah 7:19) It is not our call to go pick that weight back up. If God has forgotten, then you should too. "

P.S.- I wrote on sticky notes some promises of God to help me remember all that he has done and all that he has promised to do. I have placed these on the wall beside my bed, and I plan to read them everyday if needed. “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” Romans 10:17. So I will speak it until I see and believe it. I think it’s a great idea, so feel free to do the same!



P.P.S- Watch this video. It is so beautiful and expreses God’s loving forgiveness towards us awesomely. http://youtu.be/RwX_EpNR4CA  

God took your place on the cross. Let him have your guilt, your shame, and your sins. He is not a God of condemnation. 

Repent and keep moving forward. 

Love, 
Courtney