Work in Progress
You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your free­dom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. Galatians 5:13

I don’t know whether this is true in your part of the country, but here in Southern California almost any business will hire guys to stand on the sidewalk and hold a sign advertising their store. Most signs are painted brightly and are shaped like an arrow, pointing the way toward the supposedly “best deal” in town.

Now when it comes to the sidewalks of life, we should probably each be wearing a sandwich board that reads in bold letters, “Work in Progress Here.” I know that’s been the case for me. Whatever season of life you find yourself in, being in Christ means you are a constant work in progress.

And, just like someone wearing a sandwich board would attest, being in Christ and therefore a work in progress can be tiring, frustrating, and even embarrassing. In short: it requires both en­durance and humility. But as a follower of Christ, this is the job you signed on for.

Though the work may not be easy, the benefits are outstanding. For there are very few things in this world comparable to the daily thrill of learning to love and serve Christ by loving and serving others.

Faith is a process of leaping into the abyss not on the basis of any certainty about where we shall land, but rather on the belief that we shall land. - Carter Heyward

TODAY’S PRAYER
Dear God, please give me patience with myself as I grow in you. When the growing pains get hard and painful, help me to endure. Help me to stay focused on you as you work in and through me. And Lord, please help me to see that my brother is also just a work in progress and requires my patience too. Amen.

Good news you can use

Good news you can use

In Christ there is Freedom

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. ~ 2 Corinthians 3:17  

Imagine this scene: A broken man awakens one morning with no options. Hopeless, owning nothing but an empty stomach, he stands starkly upon the auctioneer’s block as a slave. Shoulders slumped, pride stripped away, gaunt eyes staring aimlessly into the distance, his ashen face conveys only shame.  

Suddenly, a man with gentle eyes appears, and this man sees value and potential in this broken man. “Did I see a spark of something in that man’s eyes?” the slave wonders. It couldn’t be, but his hope rises as the gentle man pays the price, brings him home, clothes him, and feeds him richly. His master does love him!  

Do you recognize this picture? I hope so. It’s a picture of your life in Christ. You and I were once slaves on the auction block of sin. We stood broken by sin. Yet our loving and gentle Master—for reasons we may never know, and for reasons not found in us—saw value in us. And He paid for our freedom with His own blood, on a cross.  

Through Jesus Christ, we’ve been freed from bondage. But that’s not the end, only the beginning. We must move on and ask the question, “What have we been freed for?” The answer: for Jesus Christ!  

We’ve been freed by Christ, for Christ. That is, so we might serve Him, praise Him, and give Him glory.  

God's purpose in redeeming men from sin is not to give them freedom to do as they please but freedom to do as He pleases, which is to live righteously.
TODAY’S PRAYER
Father God, I thank you that in you I am free, no longer bound by the chains of my sin. I surrender my life to you, Lord and pray your will be done in and through my life. Amen.