Free from and free to..

{Daily Selah}

For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. - Galatians 5:1 ESV


Have you ever watched a hot air balloon rise? It's a slow, steady progression as it lifts up and away from the earth, then glides, seemingly effortlessly across the expanse of the sky.

A hot air balloon ride just seems to be the most freeing form of air travel.  It's on my bucket list. Some day, I will experience that freedom for myself. At the moment, however, it is snowing at my house. A balloon ride might be rather chilly today. 

I'm very thankful that I don't have to wait to experience the freedom that was purchased for my by the blood of Jesus Christ. 

There are 2 very important outcomes of this freedom He has given us, both outlined for us in Romans 6:17-19.

We have been set free from sin and given freedom to serve the Most High God. The apostle Paul said he was "an ambassador in chains" (Ephesians 6:20). 

Think about that statement for a moment. Paul was set free from sin when he encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus. When he wrote this letter to his friends in Ephesus, he was physically in chains for preaching the gospel, yet he had spiritual freedom in Christ to continue to be an ambassador for Him. Paul knew and lived in the freedom he had been given. 

Do we know and live in the freedom we have been given? We have been freed from sin and given freedom to serve. 

Freedom from and freedom to...

Father, thank You so much for the freedom you have given us through your Son. Help us to know and live in the freedom we have - the freedom from sin and the freedom to serve you, for Your glory. In Jesus' Name, amen. 



{Daily Selah} is a min-devotional, a pause to ponder about the Lord and how He wants us to live. 

The Year of Release

Jonathan Cahn has recently released another book called, "The Mystery of the Shemitah."  I must confess I have not yet read it, so please be aware this is neither an endorsement or critique.

An  advertisement got me to thinking about the year of release God commanded the Israelites to observe, known in Hebrew as the Shemitah.

The Shemitah (year of release), observed every 7 years (Deuteronomy 15) is not the same as the year of jubilee (see Leviticus 25). According to Leviticus 25,they were to mark off 7 Shemitahs, then celebrate the jubilee the following year. 

So, what is this year of release all about?

3 types of release were commanded by God:

1.) Release from creditors

"Every creditor that lendeth ought unto his neighbour shall release it; he shall not exact it of his neighbour, or of his brother; because it is called the Lord's release. Of a foreigner thou mayest exact it again: but that which is thine with thy brother thine hand shall release" (Deut 15:2-3).

2.) Release from farming

"Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof;But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the Lord: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard" (Lev 25:3-4).

3.) Release from distraction

"Then I will command my blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for three years. And ye shall sow the eighth year, and eat yet of old fruit until the ninth year; until her fruits come in ye shall eat of the old store" (Lev 25:21-22).

It is interesting that not only does God tell His people to set aside one day each week to focus on Him, one year in every 7 is also set aside for this purpose. Our daily toil, whatever form that may take, is a distraction at times from our relationship with the LORD.

Can you imagine an entire year where very little work was needed and that extra time could be spent in God's presence and allowing Him to speak directly to your heart through His Word?

In today's society, we often take vacations to "get away from it all."

How about a vacation to "get away from it all" and get with God?

The next Shemitah year is fast approaching. According to the Jewish calendar, it begins at Rosh Hashanah this year. In 2014, Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, begins Wednesday September 24 at sundown.

The New Year celebration takes place over 2 days. The sound of a shofar is heard 100 times on each of those days. If you remember, in the days of Moses and the young nation of Israel, the shofar was used as a declaration of praise to the LORD and as a means of calling the people together.

During the Jewish New Year celebration, Jewish people often greet one another with, "L'shana tovah tikatev v'etahetem," meaning, "May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year."

Not only is the New Year approaching, this year is very special. It is the Shemitah, the year of release. I recently marked my 47th birthday. Next year will be the year of jubilee, probably the only one I will experience in my lifetime, since the next will be 50 years from now.

Let me ask you something. What would you like to be released from? The Shemitah, the year of release, is not just something unique to Judaism. The year has been set aside by God for a purpose. Whether you are Jew or Gentile, God wants to release you from whatever chains are holding you.

You might be thinking, "Well, I'm saved. I've been forgiven. There's no chains holding me."  Are you sure about that? We all have hurts, habits and hang-ups. You know yours. I know mine. Do you carry around unforgiveness, bitterness or pride? Are there some past hurts or past sins you just can't seem to shake?

Let's walk in the freedom Christ purchased for us at the cross.

"Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage" (Gal 5:1). 

I pray that this Shemitah, beginning September 24th at sundown, is truly a year of release for me and for you.



If you don't know Jesus yet, find out about Him and what He has done for you right now. Don't wait. Visit peacewithgod.net to find out more. 

2 Types of Freedom

There are 2 types of freedom I am very thankful for. Both types of freedom were not earned by me, but by others who gave all on my behalf.

The first type of freedom is mine only because I was born in the United States. That freedom is mine because of 2 very important documents in our nation's history: The Declaration of Independence and The Constitution.

The freedoms granted me as a U.S. citizen allow me to choose where I want to live, where I want to work, how I choose to worship and how I raise my family.

How I use that freedom is determined by another type of freedom that I cherish even more than my physical freedoms.

The other type of freedom is mine because I was born into the kingdom of God.

That freedom is mine because of the blood of Christ, who gave all on my behalf. That freedom is recorded, not just in documents, but in 2 very large books: The Word of God and the Lamb's Book of Life.

The freedom we have in Christ is not a license to sin. "God forbid," as the apostle Paul said in Romans 6. The freedom we have in Christ released us from the bondage of sin and darkness and allows us to "walk in newness of life," for His glory.

That freedom He paid for with His blood also gives us access to and relationship with the Father. That freedom enables us to "come boldly to the throne of grace" (Hebrews 4:16).

You might say that God sees us through tinted lenses. He is fully aware of our flaws and imperfections, but when He looks at you and me, He sees us as covered in the blood of Christ and declares us righteous in His sight.

Remember, the freedom we have in Christ is not to be used to serve ourselves but to serve God and to serve one another in love (Galatians 5:13-14).

No matter where you are, who you are or what your past looks like, your freedom in Christ is yours for eternity. Use it wisely.