No Longer Slaves?

No Longer Slaves

I was working recently to prepare for another outreach through music, and we landed on the concept of freedom. This is a familiar concept for the American, since we pride ourselves on freedom - on a couple of levels. Freedom from the tyranny of English rule, which included slavery. Freedom from our own version of English rule, which abolished slavery here. Yet we are still enslaved - Paul describes it so well - "For we know that our old self was crucified with Him in order that sin’s dominion over the body may be abolished, so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin, since a person who has died is freed from sin’s claims." (Romans 6:6-7 HCSB). 

I love the picture of the children of Israel leaving Egypt's slavery. Though they left Egypt, they carried the mentality of their slavery with them. It had not been abolished in their minds. This song reminds us of that, and takes us through the antidote:

You split the sea so I could walk right through it
You drowned my fears in perfect love,
You rescued me so I can stand and say
I am a child of God

I'm no longer a slave to fear,
I am a child of God. (say it again - with emphasis!)
I'm no longer a slave to fear;
I am a child of God.

Are you living like a slave, or like one who is free in Christ?   Remember - you're free! Don't let yourself live like a slave, but rejoice in the freedom you have in Christ. He's worth it all!

Click here for a version of the song: written by High Point's own Jonathan David Helser

Where it all began . . .

This year I turn 38 year old - spiritually that is.  That journey began on this platform - just by the dark curtain there in the corner.  I had been reevaluating my faith journey up to that point, and had been struggling against religion and the hype that went with hypocrisy in my dad's church in Kingston.  

Right about that time a policeman who taught Middle School boys put his mark on my journey by sharing his week by week, and it touched me deeply.  That next summer I came to a crisis of faith during a Sunday night message by my dad in the pulpit of this church . . . and "walked the aisle" of faith to settle the issue.  I knelt on the back step against the back wall (no curtain there at the time . . .) with my older brother Tim, who would not be convinced that I was not a believer.  He knew I had been struggling but could not bring himself to believe I did not really know the Lord.  

So he called in the "big guns" - my dad came over and asked me one simple question.  "Son," he asked.  "Do you remember a time when you gave your heart to Jesus?"  I remembered the "legend" of my childhood decision remotely but did not recall a change, and really had no intellectual tie to that decision.  So I told him that, and said beyond that I was not sure.  He gently began at the start of the Gospel and shared it again with me.  I prayed a simple prayer of faith, but with full recognition of what I was getting into . . . and that began the journey of faith that has transformed my life.  

38 years, 41 states, 14 countries, two ministry degrees & 8 church ministries later, I'm still walking with the God who changed me in that corner.  I revisited that spot just two weeks ago - and thanked the Lord for beginnings.  

Where did your journey start?  Has it started, or are you still seeking?  Trust me, this is one trip you don't want to miss.  Following Jesus has been the adventure of a lifetime!  Want a ticket?  Reach out to me and I'll tell you how you can start your journey as well - email me at davidwloftis@gmail.com.

Our flag is still there . . .

Many images are brought to bear as we think of the 4th of July in our country.  One of them is the image of celebration: hot dogs, apple pie, homemade ice cream (my personal favorite) and fireworks, somewhere in the evening under a hopefully clear enough sky. 

     Others think more deeply on this day - what of our freedoms lost, which were won at a cost?  What of the future of our land?  Is this the America we had forefathers fight and die for?  The issues that rage state by state and at the federal level make us all wonder what is to become of a nation who so blatantly turns away from the ways of God.

My perspective today is backward to the time of our independence.  Of course you'd expect me to view this through the  eyes of a song.  When the words of our national anthem were penned, the author looked across longingly at a fort where the battle for our country's freedom was being fought.  He had no idea the state of affairs which awaited him as he looked on until he saw the flag.  It waved proudly, making a statement - "we're still in this fight, and won't quit until someone has the audacity to take it away."  Thus the powerful lyrics were written - "O say does that star spangled banner yet wave o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave."

I don't care to join the pundits in endless worrisome commentary about our country and its state of affairs, though I do pray for this land, blessed as it has been for so many years with the privilege of proclamation of the truth.  My thoughts today are simple.  Francis Scott Key reminds us that as long as the flag waves, we're still in the fight, so let us not lose focus.  The day we take our eye off the flag and shift our attention to the "fat of the land," we may lose focus, and in losing it, lose the freedoms so dearly fought for.

As believers, the parallel is perfectly laid out for us.  Christ calls us to keep our eyes on the cross - the symbol of our freedom.  Freedom from sin, enslavement to the law, entrapment by religion and an enduring doom because of the fate of those who meet God without redemption.  We are free - the price paid in blood - so let us seek to remember the point of that price - world reclamation by God through His chosen people, who are called by His name.

It is so easy for us as believers to fall prey to the same fate of so many countries - like America - who have allowed their focus to shift and end up  losing touch with what really matters. Let us instead embrace a daily confrontation with the cross, and in preaching the gospel to ourselves, allow it to not only refresh grateful hearts, but remind us of our purpose here.

Why did Christ leave us on earth, rather than taking us home?  Much better there than here.  Simply because we are the proclaimers.  We are His servant warriors - called by the Light to bear light to a dark world.  Taught by Love's Source to love so that His love may abound in a world hungry for real love.

     The banner of the cross still waves for us as believers.  Let's stay focused on the redemption granted by its glory, and run hard to share love as soldiers of His Commission.