Free at last!  

Scripture for the day: Galatians 5:1, 13 Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage …. For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
Thought for the day: Very soon we will celebrate Memorial Day here in America, a day we set aside each year to reflect on those who have given their lives for our freedom.  Today, and every day, it’s appropriate I think to reflect on the One who gave his all for true freedom.
 There was once a man who was taken captive outside his home in Africa. He was taken by ship to a foreign land where he was sold to the highest bidder and placed in service to a great landowner. Day after day he toiled in the fields to make the man rich; night after night he dreamed of his home far away, yearning to escape and return to his family and the life he'd known before. But the chains around his ankles and the scars on his back, left by the field boss's whip told him he'd never see those places or speak to those people again.
 One day a man came to the plantation where the slave toiled and, before he knew it, he'd been sold to this new owner. Just like that he was off to a different part of this strange land. Once they arrived at his new owner's home he was ushered into an upstairs bedroom where he waited as the slaveowner discussed his situation with those downstairs. Thoughts of escape came to mind when he realized he'd been left alone in an unlocked room with no shackles on his ankles or chains on his hands, but he didn't know how to go about it or where he would go if he managed to get out of the house. So he waited for what seemed hours until finally the man came back. In his hands he carried a piece of paper.
 Thrusting the paper at the poor frightened slave, the man said, "Here, my friend, this is your certificate of freedom. I bought you so I could set you free. But be careful; don't ever lose this piece of paper for, if you do, you will end up as a slave again. Protect it with your life." And just like that, he was a free man! He could go where he wanted, do what he wanted, be what he wanted. The possibilities seemed limitless to his newly soaring imagination. No more would he feel the sting of the overseer's whip; no longer would he shuffle from place to place, chained like an animal. No longer would he have to suffer the degradation of enslavement to another person. He was free; he'd been delivered by this kindhearted stranger. How could he ever express his love for the man?
 So he looked long and hard at the man who had set him free and finally said, "Sir, might I stay with you? I love you and I want to learn from you. You're a most kind and generous man and I'd like to learn to be like you."
 You've been delivered! Once you were a slave and now you're free. Once you were caught up and put in the shackles of sin but now the Son of God has paid the ransom and set you free! But freedom isn't free. It cost Him everything to provide it for you. So, guard it well. Don't ever lose sight of the fact that the Son has set you free for, if you do, you'll find yourself back in chains once more, enslaved to the old ways of sin. You don't have to earn God's favor; you're now free to enjoy His presence. Keeping the rules isn't the focus anymore; now life is a matter of loving God and loving each other. 
 You're free to soar to new heights with God; to be more than you ever imagined possible, all because of His amazing grace! Use that freedom to draw closer to Him and to become more like the One who set you free.
Now go take on your world. – Bill