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Refreshment in Refuge

    by Gina Burgess

A few questions about freedom
Date Posted: May 12, 2019

Here's the wonderful thing about Freedom. When we accept Jesus as Savior -- That's the last decision we ever make on our own. We have much greater wisdom at work in us than mere human wisdom after the Holy Spirit resides in our hearts. Choosing Jesus means choosing Him as Ruler of the Heart and Mind and Body and Soul. It means being owned by Him and solely Him because He bought and paid for us. There is great freedom in that.

I have heard people scoff at me for being a slave to Christ, but they do not understand the real difference between being Christ's slave and being a slave to sin. The unbeliever has no clue what being a slave to sin actually means or where it will take them.

God created us with a God-sized hole. The hunger and thrist created by that void can only be filled with God; and He designed it that way. This is why man has always sought something to worship. There is nothing in this world big enough or satisfying enough to quench the thirst and hunger forever. It always comes back.

So I have a few questions...

Where is the freedom in having to find a place every 30 minutes to an hour to smoke a cigarette? Where is the freedom in restricting one's choice of restaurants due to their policy of allowing smoking or not?

Where is the freedom in spending money on drugs for an artificial high to the point that it steals from the spouse and children to the point of losing one's job, one's home, one's life just for a temporary, artificial high?

Where is the freedom in waking with a lousy head and vacant memory after a night on the town?

Where is the freedom in stealing a few moments of temporary, perceived pleasure in viewing pornographic material, temporary pleasure in someone's company that is not one's spouse... ducking into dark places and hiding the relationship?

Where is satisfaction from buying new shoes, new clothes, new car, new anything? That yawning hole keeps begging for more things and more stuff and more of yourself until there is nothing left to stuff down the hole and still the hunger pangs pierce the soul.

Where is the freedom in those feelings that well up inside which are caused by sinful thoughts and deeds? Or stealing hours and hours away from the family to watch TV, or talk on the phone, or pursue internet friendships?

Where is the freedom in pursuit of material riches if it steals time away from family? Where is the freedom in busy work at church if the time spent is given grudgingly or with grumbles and gripes?

Nothing fills that God-sized void except the Holy Spirit, yet people keep trying to fill it up with worldly things. Everything listed above are joy and peace killers. There are many more things in this world that are slave-makers because we allow them to make slaves of us and to keep us in bondage... Things like anger, bitterness, hatred... the list goes on and on.

We Christians have freedom of choice in how we handle these emotions. We can either pull them around our hearts like an unfinished homemade quilt with all the pins and needles still in it, or we can rush into our Father's arms, tell Him all our woes and ask Him to take care of it.

It took the willing sacrifice of Jesus to reconcile humans to the Living God again legally. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus sweated drops of blood in His anxiety but He chose to obey God's will so that we could have a Comforter living within us.

This is how a Christian is known to other Christians...True Believer to other True Believers. The True Believer will desire to obey God and will be convicted by the Holy Spirit when he/she sins. Does this mean we won't have periods of rebellion and/or times of seduction into doing ungodly things? No. We most certainly will have those times because we are not perfect and we still reside in our fleshly, physical bodies. What it means is that we will be convicted of our sin when we sin and we won't be able to sleep at night or have peace in our minds or be content. We will worry. We will fret. We will do all manner of running away from God until we recognize the sin for what it is. When we confess that sin and repent from that sin...Then God cleanses us, refreshes us, gives us peace in our hearts and minds. Our witness is restored from the shambles it was in and we are stronger in the Lord than ever before...standing strong in His grace. There is much freedom in being His slave.



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"Refreshment in Refuge" from Gina Burgess

The Servant Leader

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Biography Information:

Gina Burgess has taught Sunday School and Discipleship Training for almost three decades. (Don't tell her that makes her old.) She earned her Master's in Communication in 2013.

She is the author of several books including: When Christians Hurt Christians, The Crowns of the Believers and others available in online bookstores. She authors several columns, using her God-given talent to shine a light in a dark world. You can browse her blog at Refreshment In Refuge.

If you'd like to take a look at some Christian fiction and Christian non-fiction book reviews check out Gina's book reviews at Upon

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