Tomorrow we celebrate our independence as a nation!! I always think of how blessed we are to have the freedoms we have and feel so thankful to the ones that fought for them! 

There are countless individuals that continue to protect our freedoms today. It is a never ending battle. In comparison, as Christians, we have been blessed with our freedom in Christ. We also have a daily battle and responsibility to protect our freedoms that Christ died to give us.

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” Galatians 5:1

We are called to stand firm in our faith. Faith is what protects our freedoms in Christ. God has grace on us to live our lives free from sin and guilt, the law, fear of death, and He allows us to go straight to His throne room with our prayers. God has set us free from these things so that we can live our lives with joy and peace that can only come from Him. A life filled with purpose to fulfill His plan and bring glory to our Father!

“You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised.For, “In just a little while He who is coming will come and will not delay.” And “But my righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.” “But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.” Hebrews 10: 36-39

To stand firm in our faith we have to be steadfast and persevere through any spiritual battle that may come our way. The testing of our faith is what develops these characteristics. 

The devil will do everything he can to attack our spiritual life. He knows our weaknesses. He knows if we tend to live in unforgiveness or bitterness, if we are overwhelmed with anxiety or fear, if we live in bondage of past sins, if we have an addiction or anything that distracts us from God. You can bet he will use whatever tactic it takes to cause us to fall into sin and waver in our faith. In these moments we have to remember Christ died not to make our lives easier but to give us freedom from these attacks.

God knows that we are not going to live perfect lives, but he does equip us with the ability to protect the freedom Christ died to give us. We don’t have to earn it. We are not capable of earning it anyway. We do, however, have to fight by staying in the word, praying and seeking God’s will for each day, serving and loving others, and spreading the gospel! When we stay connected to God our lives will be full of the things that are pleasing to Him. We will naturally want to do good works because we are so grateful for what God has done. We can rely on guidance from the Holy Spirit in anything we do. Just remember our true freedom is found in Christ and He died so that our souls can truly have freedom for eternity!

“But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God,the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.” Romans 6:22