Do you believe there is a God? Do you believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God? How does your belief play out in your daily life? Do you know that simply believing isn’t enough? Belief must be put into action in the form of faith. Our faith in Christ sets us free.
We see people in this world caught up in the slavery of worldly desires. They want all the shiny new things. They chase all the glam and glitz advertised in various media, whether on television or in social media. They allow their lives to be governed by what they are subjecting themselves to on a daily basis. Their willingness to live trapped brings to mind an analogy I want to share.
If you look back to the cold war, there were two world powers that generally controlled what happened around the world. By that I mean, the U.S. and the Soviet Union had the world divided into two factions and each controlled their allies to some degree or another. The U.S. was the land of opportunity, where people could chase their dreams and many would realize them. The Soviet Union was completely controlled by the government. The people were employed by the government in one way or another. They were assigned to government housing. This was not just the military or the government bureaucrats, but the average person who worked in a factory or a store.
The people of the Soviet Union heard about the U.S. They heard about the freedom the Americans had to choose their own jobs, to choose where they lived, to buy their own home, to send their children to college, and many other opportunities. However, they largely believed these were lies, propaganda. Sure, they believed there was a U.S., but they believed the grand statements made about the freedom Americans had weren’t true. Why do I know this? I’ve visited a country that was formerly controlled by the Soviet Union on multiple occasions and spent significant time talking with those people.
How does this relate to God versus Satan? Satan also tells us lies. He wants us to wallow in our self-pity, selfishness, hate, anger, frustration, and indifference toward others. Does he believe in God? Absolutely! James 2:19 tells us that Satan and his demons believe and shudder. They are afraid of God and don’t want us to build our faith.
Jesus came to set us free from the trappings of Satan and our sin. He came to give us a life of abundance (John 10:10). When we decide to stop following Satan’s lies, we begin a new life of freedom. We experience something far better than we can imagine. Our selfishness, hate, anger, anxiety, and fear leave us. We are set free!
I pray we all decide to leave behind Satan’s lies and live the life of freedom that Jesus provides. I pray we all graduate from belief to faith. May each one of you decide today to commit to Jesus and begin that walk of faith, growing in it each day. God is there. He will provide. Jesus will set you free.
John 8:36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
Marty Pressey 