Freedom.

Today, I wake up so particularly thankful for the freedom that I have in Jesus Christ, who grants me the spirit of power, love, and self discipline and not a spirit of timidity, a spirit that is able to approach the throne of God with confidence at any point in time. (2 Timothy 1:7). I am so thankful that the body and blood of Jesus Christ my Savior are engrained within my very being, and that I carry Christ where ever my feet go, because I know that where the Spirit of Christ is, there is freedom. (2 Corinthians 3:17). I thank God that when I wake up, He already knows my heart, my desires, my anxieties, and my prayers because He created me and is close to me. The fact that I have the freedom to walk about this campus in prayer to Yahweh for absolutely anything is amazing, and I really can't fathom the fact that I'm not bound by the chains of religion, but rather the chains have been broken and I am able to radically be grateful for the freedom that God has given me with the death of His Son. "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither present nor future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate me from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38-39). I am so thankful for a God that draws me closer to Him, even when the authorities around me with "religious rules" and "religious wisdom" tell me what I can and can't do/ participate in because of the church that I attend, or rather that I'm not a part of…no. God has given me freedom to worship Him despite what the wisdom of the world might throw at me. He is close to each and every one of us, hoping that we might reach out and seek Him, though he is not far from us (Acts 17). There are certain churches that have the mentality that only those who are "spiritually qualified" are able to approach God and be close to Him, and the rest who are not knowledgeable in His ways seem to be crippled and need a stronger authority to usher them into the presence of the living God, but if this were true, then the gospel would be meaningless and lose its power. "…God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things--and the things that are not-- to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him" (1 Corinthians 1: 27). We are not to be a people who pick and chose which people are qualified to enter into a spiritual act of worship to the Lord, because that would be an act of self-righteousness, an act that incorporates the foolish laws made by man and not by the Living God, therefore placing ourselves within God's position. Rather, since we are all leveled the same by our disgusting sin, anyone has the freedom to receive grace and mercy if He desires it and understands that his/her sin has been undeservedly nailed to the cross once and for all. I thank God that He took up every infirmity and evil thing that I have done, they it has all been washed away, so that He is able to wash me clean through and through with each fresh day, because He is a God that desires all of me, even my mishaps, flaws, pain, past, and imperfections. He wants to take me as I am, dirty and wounded by the world, and love me in my brokenness. It's nothing that I'll ever do to deserve my "stuff" to be sanctified by Him, yet He continues to dress me up in white as His bride with each new day, removing the stains and blemishes that come with my naturally sinful nature, and remembers it no more. Undeserving as it is, it continues to change me to where I long to become that spotless bride that the Lord designed me to be, and now I am free to live a life that glorifies Him with my actions. By giving me everything He ever had, there's nothing more that I long for in this life than to give Him everything that I have and use it to display that He is Love, a God that never gives up on our messes. Never let the world deceive you into thinking that God doesn't desire you because of how bad you've messed up in the past, because that's what He longs for you to give Him the most; your humility, your reverence for His undeserved sacrifice, and your love that you were wired to use since the day you were born. Because He gave us all of His love unconditionally and still continue to. He gives us freedom in His Love, and nothing will ever ever ever be able to take that away. Amen.