Have you ever Experienced

Freedom or Bravery?

What is interesting in the world today is America is the only country known for its freedom and its bravery. In America, citizens are given the freedom of speech, the freedom of the press, and the freedom of religion. Americans citizens have the ability to make their own decisions and Americans are given the freedom to choose their own destiny.

Considering this, America is often referred to as “The land of the free and the home of the brave.” But do Americans really know what it actually means to be free? Do they know really know what it actually means to be brave?

From a Christian perspective, to be free means, “Not to be mastered by the sins of this world.” It means, “Having the ability to make the right decisions in life,” and to be free means, “Having the ability to overcome and conquer evil.” Freedom makes no allowance for condemnation, judgment, or accusation, and freedom eliminates all doubt in one’s mind concerning God’s precious gift of eternal salvation into Heaven. As Christians, we realize we were all born with sin, which guarantees us we will all grow up living with the negative repercussions of our sinful behavior; such as, anger, bitterness, hatred, and resentment. However, because of Jesus’ death on the cross, we as Christians understand that Christ became sin for us. In other words, we as Christians believe Jesus took all of our negativity, shortcomings, mistakes, and failures from us, and nailed them to the cross when He was crucified. We as Christians believe because God loves, He allowed His only Son, Jesus, to be beaten, mocked, cursed at, spit on, and murdered so we would have the ability to experience freedom and bravery, through Christ!

However, for those of you who are not Christian, you probably experience much tension in your life. I would venture to say you are very stressed out, for whatever reason that might be, and you are very reliant on the temporary satisfactions of this world. If you are not Christian, I would assume your main motivations in life stem from how attractive you are, whether or not your peers accept you, and how much money you have accumulated.

In addition, for those of you who call yourself Christian, but don’t act like Christ, I’m guessing you also experience tension and you are also very stressed out. In fact, for those of you who call yourself Christian, but don’t act like Christ, I would assume that your main motivations in life also stem from how attractive you are, also stem from whether or not you are accepted by your peers, and also stem from how much money you have accumulated.

Although, for those of you who are in fact, Christian, and do in fact, act like Christ, I would say with utmost confidence that you experience very little, if not, no tension or stress because your main motivations in life are to serve God and to serve people, so that in return, you would receive the blessings and inheritance God promises to give to those who love Him. If you are Christian, you are not mastered by the sins of this world and you have the ability to overcome and conquer evil. To put it differently, if you are Christian, you do experience the freedom that is only obtainable through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Furthermore, to be brave means, “To have the courage to stand up for Christ.” As surprising as it may sound, to be brave means, “To flee from the sinful desires of this world.” It means having the courage to stand up for what’s right, and not backing down when you have the opportunity to help someone else in need. Bravery does not consider the risks involved when following Jesus because bravery requires us to give up our very lives as a ransom for many. Bravery means offering our bodies as living sacrifices unto the Lord. Bravery does not associate itself with stress, anxiety, or fear because bravery requires absolute boldness, wisdom, and confidence. To put it differently, to be brave means, “To act like Christ did.”

Examples of Christ’s bravery are found all throughout the Bible. We read about Christ’s bravery in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 4. In this Scripture, we are informed Jesus fasted for 40 days and 40 nights and had become very hungry, but still was able to resist the Devil’s temptations because He was a brave man. Christ attested to the fact MAN DOES NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON THE WORD OF GOD and He boldly commanded Satan to leave Him alone! We also read about Christ’s bravery around the time of His crucifixion. We are informed Jesus had the bravery to restore one of His enemy’s ears after His own disciple, Peter, chopped it off. We learn through this historical account that Jesus allowed the guards to seize Him because He knew Scriptures needed to be fulfilled. We also read about Christ’s bravery when He entered the temple area and drove out all of the merchants who were buying and selling there. He overturned their tables and rebuked them proclaiming, “MY HOUSE WILL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER, BUT YOU ARE MAKING IT A DEN OF ROBBERS!”

As you can see, Jesus did not back down to any obstacles. He knew what was right, and He did not hesitate to make the right decisions. He did not fear anything because He knew what He needed to do.

In fact, because of Christ’s fearless attitude, He is considered to be the bravest man to ever walk the face of this earth. We know He was fearless because He was murdered for His bravery.

Considering this, I want to tell you true freedom and true bravery are only obtainable through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior in a person’s life. I pray you would receive God’s free gift of salvation and allow His Spirit to move in your life.