Live Free预览

Filter for Freedom

What we’ll talk about today is without a doubt the simplest, most catalytic idea I’ve found in my search for freedom in Christ.

Scripture shows us that when sin entered the world, it brought these three cages along with it: fear, pain, and shame. We are all broken in these areas. We have fears that paralyze us, pains that defeat us, and shameful thoughts that distort who we truly are in Christ.

The good news is Christ gave us keys to get out of these cages! Faith. Hope. Love.

Faith to believe who we truly are in Christ demolishes our shame. Hope to persevere through our pain. Love that casts out all fear.

We may find ourselves coping in a life guided by fear, pain or shame:  We keep secrets. We wear masks. We believe lies. However, a life of faith, hope, and love is characterized by the opposite — trust, transparency, and God’s truth!

Exercise

Write down key statements of faith, hope, and love that will free you from the cages of fear, pain, and shame.

Examples:

Shame: I am useless.

Fear: I’m afraid of being alone.

Love: No matter what, God is always with me.

Faith: I believe God has a unique purpose for my life.

Prayer

Thank you, God, for not giving me a spirit of fear, but one of power, love, and self-discipline. In your name, Jesus, I ask you to remove the power of fear, pain, and shame in my life. Help me not be tangled up in them but to break through to the true freedom found in the faith, hope, and the perfect love you’ve given me. Amen.