Thought for Today for March 23, 2018: Topic - The Final Steps on the Path to Freedom are Yours
The Final Steps on the Path to Freedom are Yours
Acts 12:12
When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying.
Thoughts for Today:
Previously, Peter had been in prison when an angel of the Lord appeared, freed him from his chains and guided him to freedom. The angel then disappeared and Peter found himself all alone on the city's streets. Peter realized that God had intervened and freed him. The only thing Peter did was what the angel told him to do (get up, get dressed and follow me). Now Peter was without a leader or direction (the angel didn't tell him where to go next). What would you do? Go back to prison to check it out? Maybe verify whether the chains had been broken or unlocked by the angel? How about go back and talk with the guards? I know this sounds ridiculous, but that is exactly what many of us do after the Lord frees us from something that has bound us. We flirt with the old addiction rather than run from anything remotely associated with it.
I hate to admit this, but I used to smoke cigarettes. When someone would ask me why I hadn't stopped smoking, I would respond, "I don't have a problem with stopping. I've stopped a hundred times, my problem is I've started a hundred and one." The problem for me was not stopping, it was starting again. I would not smoke for months, then I would be faced with a long drive home in traffic and would start thinking about passing the time by smoking. Whatever my justification might have been, it would always start with buying that first pack. Tommy Lasorda, the venerable former manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers once said about cigarettes, "One is too many, and a thousand is not enough." In other words, the first one is the one I needed to avoid.
Questions to Ponder:
We all have choices: Do we return to sin or do we accept the Lord's freedom from bondage and turn away from it? The more often I said, "Not today, maybe tomorrow," to that cigarette, the easier it became to not smoke. When the next day came I never thought about smoking. To the point I am now where (until I began writing this devotion) I had forgotten I ever smoked. The Lord says he will take away our sin as far as the east is from the west.
The question is, what decision will you make when you are left alone? Peter decided to go to Mary's house (a faithful woman), "where many people had gathered and were praying." It was his final step toward ultimate freedom -- that last step was his alone to take (no one could do it for him) -- it was the right direction and the right decision. What step do you need to take? Will you take the steps to freedom or back to bondage? Ask God to provide today the strength and direction to step towards freedom in whatever area you need it.
The Final Steps on the Path to Freedom are Yours
Acts 12:12
When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying.
Thoughts for Today:
Previously, Peter had been in prison when an angel of the Lord appeared, freed him from his chains and guided him to freedom. The angel then disappeared and Peter found himself all alone on the city's streets. Peter realized that God had intervened and freed him. The only thing Peter did was what the angel told him to do (get up, get dressed and follow me). Now Peter was without a leader or direction (the angel didn't tell him where to go next). What would you do? Go back to prison to check it out? Maybe verify whether the chains had been broken or unlocked by the angel? How about go back and talk with the guards? I know this sounds ridiculous, but that is exactly what many of us do after the Lord frees us from something that has bound us. We flirt with the old addiction rather than run from anything remotely associated with it.
I hate to admit this, but I used to smoke cigarettes. When someone would ask me why I hadn't stopped smoking, I would respond, "I don't have a problem with stopping. I've stopped a hundred times, my problem is I've started a hundred and one." The problem for me was not stopping, it was starting again. I would not smoke for months, then I would be faced with a long drive home in traffic and would start thinking about passing the time by smoking. Whatever my justification might have been, it would always start with buying that first pack. Tommy Lasorda, the venerable former manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers once said about cigarettes, "One is too many, and a thousand is not enough." In other words, the first one is the one I needed to avoid.
Questions to Ponder:
We all have choices: Do we return to sin or do we accept the Lord's freedom from bondage and turn away from it? The more often I said, "Not today, maybe tomorrow," to that cigarette, the easier it became to not smoke. When the next day came I never thought about smoking. To the point I am now where (until I began writing this devotion) I had forgotten I ever smoked. The Lord says he will take away our sin as far as the east is from the west.
The question is, what decision will you make when you are left alone? Peter decided to go to Mary's house (a faithful woman), "where many people had gathered and were praying." It was his final step toward ultimate freedom -- that last step was his alone to take (no one could do it for him) -- it was the right direction and the right decision. What step do you need to take? Will you take the steps to freedom or back to bondage? Ask God to provide today the strength and direction to step towards freedom in whatever area you need it.
Thought for Today for March 23, 2018: Topic - The Final Steps on the Path to Freedom are Yours
Reviewed by Muyiwa Abodunrin (Muyilight)
on
March 23, 2018
Rating:
Reviewed by Muyiwa Abodunrin (Muyilight)
on
March 23, 2018
Rating:
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