Christ as Our Reference Point

It is so amazing as we discover through the Holy Spirit's direction that we have been given a brand new life "in Christ". We all come to this discovery through desperation, failure, and a sense there must be more. It is another big step to have Christ be the reference point for how we look at all life, especially ourselves. Jesus says in John 8:32 "and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." Is Jesus really saying that when you get through all your wounds, your inadequacies, your places of lack, and your weaknesses then you will be free or are you free today. The Scripture clearly says that since Jesus said you have been set free by the truth then you are free. Why do we always make truth conditional? I believe in a world filled with ungrace, grace is light in the midst of darkness and totally different than how most people see things according to being "in Adam". It makes sense that the New Covenant approach is that we are free through the truth of the finished work of Christ and that Galatians 5:1 tells us to "It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery." So why can't I continually walk in the Spirit and in freedom. It is because I believe lies about who I am, these are not superficial thoughts but deeply rooted beliefs that are removed by an encounter with the spirit of truth. I was recently feeling stressed and I was having trouble identifying what was going on. I began to see that since I had experienced a lot of loneliness as a child, I was approaching the pressures of life from the perspective "I am all alone and I have to handle it". I felt stressed but wouldn't readily tell you this is what I was believing til I stopped to take time to be with the Lord. It is amazing to me how much time, energy, and life the Enemy sucks from us through our belief in lies. I find it so easy to slip back into myself and my perspective as a reference point (really an orphan heart). Instead of Scripture says in Colossians 3 to set your mind on things above, not on the things on the earth. I am so thankful that the Lord has set me free from only thinking about myself, my problems, my challenges, my tasks, etc... The old man is dead and now our reference point is the unconditional love, acceptance, and grace of our God. It definitely is a spiritual battle to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, allowing Him to be my lens for all of life.

In His Grace,
Bret