Author: Lori Casto

There is Freedom When:

We Release the Past–

“Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, (reaching forward) I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 3:13-14

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter (Author & Finisher) of our faith.” – Hebrews 12:1-2

“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” – Colossians 3:13

• Release– to relieve from something that confines, burdens, or oppresses; dismiss; Relinquish; let go of;

The act or an instance of liberating or freeing (as from restraint)

*** The Holy Spirit showed me this, then I listened to a sermon that talked about this same thing.

There is Freedom When:

-We Crucify Flesh

-We Walk by the Spirit

-We Serve Others in Love

You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh rather, SERVE one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “LOVE your neighbor as yourself.” If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want….

The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions  and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

Galatians 5:13-26

Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

 They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?” Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever.

 Therefore, if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. Matthew 8:31-36

I woke up at around 2am and these words came to my mind- “There is freedom when…” That’s all I was given. The Holy Spirit is prompting me to dig deeper. Honestly, I have no idea where this will lead. Stay with me. We’ll find out together.

So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him.  If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. John 13:12-17

Authority is such a glamorous word, right? The boss, in charge, and head honcho. When I was a kid, I used to think of all the good things I believed came with authority. For example, If I was mad at my parents for disciplining me, I’d be like, I can’t wait until I’m the parent and no one can tell me what to do.  I mean, wouldn’t it great to boss others around and not have to be told what to do? 😊 Isn’t it great to have no accountability to anyone? Afterall you’re the person in charge.  Just imagine the power that comes with authority. Everyone must answer to you. You get to make all the decisions, and everything gets to be your way. I’m laughing as I write this. Understand, I really don’t believe this.

Another word that comes to mind when thinking of authority is prestige. Prestige- respect and admiration given to someone or something, usually because of a reputation for high quality, success, or social influence; reputation or influence arising from success, achievement, rank, or other favorable attributes

I know I gave a 5-year-old view of what authority might look like, but even as adults, I often think the world views authority or position as glamorous.  Many people go after the 3 “Ps” –

Position-Power-Prestige

If you look at the life of Jesus, you soon find out having position, power, and prestige isn’t very glamorous. He’s not living in mansions or wearing fancy clothes. In fact. He’s looking down the barrel of gun. We find in John 13, Jesus (Teacher, Master, Lord) is realizing His earthly ministry is winding down and He faces the cross ahead. The heaviness He must have felt may have been overwhelming. What does He decide to do? He starts washing His disciples’ feet. All the authority He’s been given on heaven and earth and He’s taken His garments and proceeds to wash feet.

From the outside- power, position and prestige- look very glamorous. However, the higher the position, the more weight, stress, and hardships one carries. Being a leader causes weight gain- because burdens are heavy. I think the more one has, the more the temptation and fear of losing it. The more one has, the more time they devote to preserving it. We can have such a tight grip on our authority and everything that comes with it, that our knuckles turn white.

Jesus exercised His own authority given to Him from His father by washing feet. He instructed His disciples to do the same. It seems so simple. Feeling weighted down? Wash feet. Feeling concern for the future? Wash feet. Feeling grieved in your spirit? Wash feet. Going through a loss or financial hardship? Wash feet.

Does someone seem like a burden to you? Wash their feet. Maybe a little foot-washing could turn them in to your biggest blessing.

Is your grip too tight? You have to put down whatever it is you’re carrying in order to wash feet. Maybe the answer was in front of us all along. Whatever the situation or the burden we carry, maybe the heaviness could be alleviated simply by doing exactly what Jesus did… wash feet.

How will you devote2day?

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. Matthew 28:18-20

1. Do I have full confidence in The One who has full authority over me?
2. Am I willing to submit fully to the Holy Spirit for God’s power to be working through my life?
3. Will I be open and obedient to His leading and guiding?

Now that we’ve taken the opportunity to ponder those 2 very important words of Jesus, (Go therefore) and we’ve read and re-read the above 3 questions, it’s time to examine what ‘Go therefore’ really means. To understand these 2 words, we need to understand what God’s will means. What I’m about to say is up for interpretation. (That’s kind of funny for me to say. I guess everything I’ve written up to this point is always up for interpretation, as it should be. Don’t take my word for anything. It’s good we can have varying opinions and still get along. We are all just trying to “Rightly divide” God’s word)

The bible is full of God’s general will for all of us. For example, It’s God’s will we all demonstrate love to one another. It’s God’s will we all be saved. It’s God’s will for us to be thankful and show mercy. Those are just a very few examples of God’s general will for all of us that we find throughout scripture.

God’s will is also very specific. He Know the plans He has for each of our lives individually speaking. He has plans for you and He has plans for me. God’s will is also permissive. His permissive will is for another discussion altogether and causes for great debates among Christians a whole.

The great commission in Matthew 28 was given to all of us. Generally speaking, we are all called to “go therefore.” We are all called to be soul winners. We are all called to be His hands and feet on a daily basis. Maybe today my “go therefore” is praying with someone in the Kroger parking lot or at work. Maybe tomorrow my “go therefore” is taking food to a shut in or praying with someone in a hospital. We are all called to “go therefore.”

The great commission also holds very specific callings in ministry for many people. Some people are called to be missionaries and truly go to all nations. Some people are called to evangelism, teaching, preaching, etc…

Because God’s word is alive and active, and His Holy Spirit is speaking to us through His word, we all can experience very amazing moments at the foot of the cross. Many can remember that moment when God called them to a very specific ministry. I think the more we  have full confidence in The One who has full authority over us and the more willing we are to submit fully to the Holy Spirit to allow God’s power to be working through our lives and the more willing we are to be open and obedient to His leading and guiding, the more we are able to live according to God’s general and specific will for our lives.

One of my greatest desires is to be living and walking in God’s will generally and specifically for my life as Paul talks about in Romans 12:1-2: I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

May you and I be willing to generally and specifically “Go therefore.”

How will you Devote2Day?