Thursday, May 14, 2009

Where the Spirit of the Lord Is

“Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” (2 Corinthians 3:17 CSB)

One of the unique characteristics of our Christian faith is freedom. Some, of course, go too far in their understanding of this concept and take it toward an extreme liberality, meaning that you can live your life any way you want to without it mattering. But that isn’t the concept at all. In this idea there is freedom “from” and freedom “to.” We are given freedom from the tyranny and domination of sin, and we have freedom to walk with the Lord in the fellowship of His Spirit. Other religious belief systems are more about binding people up. Our faith is about setting people free to fulfill God’s purposes for them.

This freedom comes from the presence of the Holy Spirit. Wherever He is, there is freedom. And that freedom takes us to peace. The indwelling Holy Spirit produces this peace in us, and the more we focus on Him, the greater our peace. As Isaiah wrote, “Thou dost keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee, for he trusteth in Thee.” (Isaiah 26:3)

Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

Thank You, Lord, for this freedom to walk away from sin and whatever else dominates our lives and to walk toward You so we can experience the peace that comes from reconciliation. Amen.

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