{"id":361,"date":"2020-11-10T11:17:21","date_gmt":"2020-11-10T16:17:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pamelarussell.org\/teach\/?p=361"},"modified":"2021-03-07T07:39:07","modified_gmt":"2021-03-07T12:39:07","slug":"march-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pamelarussell.org\/teach\/march-7\/","title":{"rendered":"March 7"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

1 Corinthians 10:23 <\/span><\/strong>
All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are you letting your freedom create a snare?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is a wonderful thing, to experience the freedom God has given you, isn\u2019t it? You can choose to love Him, choose to serve Him, chose to allow Him to lead you in the choices you make, choose to honor Him with your life, etc. You can also choose not to. Yet, regardless of the choices you make, you continue to breathe every day, because He allows it. Now, here is the test. If you have been a part of the Kingdom of believers for a while, you probably have had many opportunities to decide whether you were going to do what you wanted to do or what you knew God desired and required you to do. What have you chosen in the past? What do you continue to choose? When you read the Bible, it reminds you; you have free will. It also gives you the heart and desires of the Father. However, you decide what you will or will not do, where you will or will not go, what you will or will not say and so on. Every time you chose God, you give Him your gift of submission to the authority of the word. You say to Him, Your will be done, not mine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because we have free will, we mistakenly think that we can do what we \u00a0want. Because we are saved, we can take advantage of the fact that we are no longer under the condemnation of the law. \u00a0If we are not careful our freedom can cause a snare.\u00a0 Look at this table (comparisons edited from Neil Anderson Daily in Christ Devotional):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

2 Corinthians 9:7-10 Giving grows out of the heart\u2014otherwise, you\u2019ve reluctantly grumbled \u201cyes\u201d because you felt you had to or because you couldn\u2019t say \u201cno,\u201d but this isn\u2019t the way God wants it. For we know that \u201cGod loves a cheerful giver.\u201d 8 God is ready to overwhelm you with more blessings than you could ever imagine so that you\u2019ll always be taken care of in every way and you\u2019ll have more than enough to share. 9 Remember what is written about the One who trusts in the Lord: He scattered abroad; He gave freely to the poor; His righteousness endures throughout the ages. 10 The same One who has put seed into the hands of the sower and brought bread to fill our stomachs will provide and multiply the resources you invest and produce an abundant harvest from your righteous actions. (The Voice)<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Know this. Whenever you submit to God, whether it is your time, your talent, your money, your treasures, your choices, etc., do it cheerfully. Live a free life in the liberty Jesus died for. Whom the Lord has made free is free indeed. However, don\u2019t allow your freedom to take you places that do not represent God\u2019s best or cause you to hinder someone else\u2019s growth. With freedom comes responsibility. If you know your conduct is not pleasing to God (and the Holy Spirit will let you know,) stop doing it. If you know your actions will cause a brother or sister to stumble, refrain from them. You change your behavior, not because God forbids you, but because you want to walk in the knowledge of the Lord. It\u2019s the only way one who loves God should walk, love, and live!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please agree with me as I pray:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Father, I thank You for my freedom. I thank You for allowing me to choose to serve You with a cheerful heart. I don\u2019t feel like there are things I cannot do or places I cannot go. I choose not to do what grieves You. Because Your Spirit lives in me, I choose not to take You any place You would not be at peace. I will allow Your Spirit to govern me. I thank You for keeping me, so I don\u2019t use my freedom as an excuse or permission to sin. Thank You Father God for touching my heart so I am concerned about my brothers and sisters. I will not knowingly cause anyone to stumble. I thank You for continuing to grow me up. I especially thank You for showing me that being a cheerful giver is not just about money. I love what You\u2019re doing in my life. I thank You for Your concern for my life. I thank You Father God for the longsuffering You show me when I slip or when I selfishly make the wrong choice. You don\u2019t forsake me; You are yet right there. Thank You for giving me an opportunity to get it right every day. My desire is for my life to bless You\u2026<\/em><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

1 Corinthians 10:23 All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not. Are you letting your freedom create a snare? It is a wonderful thing, to experience the freedom God has given you, isn\u2019t it? You can choose to love Him, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[376],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pamelarussell.org\/teach\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pamelarussell.org\/teach\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pamelarussell.org\/teach\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pamelarussell.org\/teach\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pamelarussell.org\/teach\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=361"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/pamelarussell.org\/teach\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1710,"href":"https:\/\/pamelarussell.org\/teach\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361\/revisions\/1710"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pamelarussell.org\/teach\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=361"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pamelarussell.org\/teach\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=361"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pamelarussell.org\/teach\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=361"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}