Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.

America ’s idea of freedom is to do whatever you want to do. This scripture shows that real freedom is found in doing the right thing, not in whatever you want to do. Too often people are enslaved to the sin of their own addiction or obsession. Too much of a good thing can sometimes get out of balance and destroy. To live as free men and women means to serve the living God who made all things for us to enjoy in the right context.

Pleasure from God’s perspective has boundaries, not so much to limit us as it is to protect us from enslavement. True and ultimate pleasure is first based in knowing that we are obeying God and serving Him and His eternal purposes. From this context there is a promise from the Psalms that states: “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” It is true that as we delight in doing God’s will, some of those desires will rightly change as our heart is aligned with God’s best. But we can also quote another great Psalm that states: “No good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly.” Freedom in serving Him is where you will find the greatest joy and peace.

I am challenged again to walk in the kind of freedom that starts with serving God and serving the people God’s placed in my life. There is a peace and joy that only comes through knowing that I am doing God’s will, pleasing Him and growing in my knowledge of Him.

There are so many things in this world that would seek to enslave me and distract me from my real purpose of serving God and walking in freedom. I have found that as I walk in obedience to His will, my freedom opens the door for me to effectively offer freedom to people who are enslaved by sin, addictions and idolatry. To serve the living God is the only true place of freedom. I understand that as I follow the Lord Jesus, He leads me to be a deliverer for others who desperately need to be freed from their sin and bondage.

Father God, thank you for freeing me to live for You with all my heart. Come Lord Jesus and fill me with your love and your Spirit so that I may have the power to resist sin and selfishness in my own life and embrace the freedom that You have made available to me. Help me to recognize when the enemy of my soul would try to distract me from the eternal purposes that You have ordained for my life. I set my heart to live as a free man today, in service to the King of Kings and Prince of Peace.