Disclaimer: Taking a bath and brushing of teeth are non-negotiable routines that we are allowed to be caged by daily. This is to allow for healthy and less contaminated air for the dwellers of the earth.

Hello! Hope you had a great weekend? I know we were supposed to start a new series today, but as usual, it is okay for the Holy Spirit to change the plan. Besides, we (Christians) are to yield to the Spirit, be flexible and our plans are to be subject to change from God, yeah?

As children of God, we are to believe that once we come into Christ, a new life begins- a spiritual life that transcends to the physical..

Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! 1 Corinthians 5:17 MSG

And with this new life brings about freedom. Freedom in Christ.

It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Just make sure that you don’t use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom. Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love; that’s how freedom grows. Galatians 5:13 MSG

For ye, brethren, were called for freedom; only use not your freedom for an occasion to the flesh, but through love be servants one to another. Galatians 5:13 ASV

Both versions of Galatians 5 are very enlightening, in portraying the ‘Freedom’, the bible talks about and that we, believers are supposed to experience.

You may ask, ‘How can a Christian be able to experience and express this freedom rightly?’

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are contrary the one to the other; that ye may not do the things that ye would. But if you are led by the Spirit, ye are not under the law. Galatians 5:16-18 ASV

This freedom in Christ can only be expressed rightly, if we walk by the Spirit. So if this is the answer, why are some Christians still not experiencing this freedom in Christ?

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. For ye received the spirit of Adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are children of God. Romans 8:14-16 ASV

I also love how the Message version puts verse 16: God’s Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children.

From the above bible passages, I can pinpoint the main reason why some Christians are not walking in this freedom: Lack of trust in the spirit of God in us.

When you do not trust someone, you cannot give him/her permission to act on your behalf; because you are not sure of how the person will carry out the task. That is the same issue some of us have, we do not trust the spirit of God in us, and so we do not allow him to reign freely for us to enjoy the freedom in Christ. Let me just say that, not every Christian, I mean born again Christian is experiencing or expressing this freedom. That a brother or sister has given his/her life to Christ does not automatically mean that they are expressing this freedom. It takes a daily walk of understanding in God to enter into the freedom He has called us to.

The devil cannot be happy and will never be happy when a person comes to Christ. So if he cannot stop someone from coming to Christ, he works at preventing a child of God from having the understanding of freedom in Christ. So a child of God has a new life, but is still caged due to lack of knowledge.

I titled this post: ‘Still caged by routine?’ because routines are schemes by which some Christians are being prevented from harnessing the freedom in Christ.

So on a good day, you wake up and you pray for an hour, read two bible passages before you set off for the day. That’s your routine. But on this day, you are not able to wake up at your usual time to pray or read the two bible passages, due to tiredness or just sheer laziness. Then you pray as you get on with preparing to set out. But you feel that’s not enough. Fear sets in– ‘What if my day goes wrong?’ after all, I did not spend time with God, my usual way. So an opportunity to share the word with another comes up but you feel that a lack of the ‘usual’ devotion, prevents you from being qualified to share the word….. Do you see the cycle?

Many of us think that what we do or don’t do sets the pace of occurrences. Do not get me wrong, I know that for every action there are reactions/consequences. But let’s go deeper…

Can’t you see the central issue in all this? It is not what you and I do. It is what God is doing, and he is creating something totally new, a free life. Galatians 6:15 MSG

Your walk in freedom in Christ is not about what you are doing, it’s more of what God is doing.

Is it not clear to you that to go back to that old rule-keeping, peer pleasing religion would be an abandonment of everything personal and free in my relationship with God? I refuse to do that, to repudiate God’s grace. If a living relationship with God could come by rule –keeping, then Christ died unnecessarily. Galatians 2:21 MSG

Am I saying every time you feel tired and cannot do your ‘usual’ devotion, it is fine? NO! You cannot be subject to the flesh, every time is just abusing God’s grace. What I am saying is: Be open to the Spirit of God. Be open to the diversity that comes with being in Christ. Feed your spirit man in order not to fulfill the desires of the flesh.

If you look deep down into the life of a Christian who does not trust the Spirit of God in him/her, it boils down to the fact that this Christian has not been feeding the spirit but the flesh. There is a confidence that comes with feeding your spirit with the word of God, spirit-filled songs, sermons and the likes. You are bold enough to trust that you are led by the Spirit of God and not your flesh. What you put in, you exude!

You see, some of us are caged by routines because, where there is no understanding of your stand in Christ and the freedom He gives in Him, FEAR abounds!

But remember…

There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life- fear of death, fear of judgment- is one not yet fully formed in love. 1 John 4:18 MSG

This post is a reminder of the intricate factors that comes with accepting Christ into our lives. I do not desire to live a life where in my spiritual walk, I am a Nursery student, when I have been called to be a University student. And I do not wish the same for you.

I hope that after you have read this post, you understand the ‘freedom’ we have been called into, and that you will not hang onto the superficial of this post. Like, so you are saying routines are bad? No! I am saying, if you feel that without carrying out an action sometimes, then Christ is not for you, then that’s a bondage. It is a cage, and it is definitely not the life God has planned for you.

Lord, help us to come into the understanding of the fullness of the life you have called us to live. Open our eyes to see whatever bondages that have crippled us from expressing the freedom you have given us, in Jesus Christ’s name we pray. Amen.

P.S please take note that when the bible instructs us to serve one another, there is an expectation of serving (feeding) yourself first. Remember: love your neighbor as yourself.

Have a power-filled week!

PT QUOTE OF THE DAY

Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you. Galatians 5:1 MSG

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Princess Okechukwu!