Parchment & Liberty

To my readers,

Dream with me-

The men looked around the table at each other, parchment scattered across the table. In each of their eyes was a burning fire, a fire ready to commit treason so that the cold chains of injustice and corruption would be broken. The horrors committed against them were not tolerable. They had endured enough; there was no going back. One by one, each of them scribbled their name on the paper before them. With each scratch their quill made, they each committed treason so that freedom would reign.

235 years ago, these men united against a common enemy. They decided today the oppression would end. It was for freedom that these men signed the Declaration of Independence and left an echo that would resonate throughout history. America fought and these outnumbered, underfed, and untrained men became the victors-the greatest military upset yet! Liberty at last!

Its funny how much this reminds me of the very nature of God. Enter Genesis 1, Adam sins in the garden. It creates this disconnect between God and man and nothing will ever be the same. Now the cry of man from Adam on is for liberation from this captivity to sin, a cry for liberation! “We need rescued from this! Bring us freedom!” We cried. And the only One who could save us, heard our cries and came to free us. Jesus, born over 2000 years ago, lived a life free of sin and dies on a cross to pay the price for our liberation. Not only did he prove his love for us by dying, he shows that his love is greater by rising from the dead, proving that he has abolished the chains of sin forever. Liberation has come! Freedom at last!

In the Scriptures, there is an author named Paul who was freed from a life under the dominion of laws and self-righteousness. He writes about this victory like this, “So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law!” Galatians 5:1, NLT. It is for this freedom that Christ has made us free. We have been given the choice to walk away from bondage and chains of sin and choose to live for Jesus. Christ doesn’t free us so that we would have to follow a set of rules, but to love Him. He promises this and eternal life to all those who believe in Him. But he gives us the choice, love or slavery. Paul continues to write on this by saying, “For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love.” Galatians 5:6, NLT.

Now that we have been freed, don’t go back to our old lifestyles. Jesus has freed us from our sins, given us liberty from our pasts, and broken the chains of our failures. Don’t go back! Imagine if our Forefathers wouldn’t have fought like freed men fighting for their very lives and freedom? America would never be where it is today. The words of William Wallace in Braveheart come to mind:

"You've come to fight as free men, and free men you are. What will you do with that freedom? Will you fight?...And dying in your beds, many years from now, would you be willing to trade all the days, from this day to that, for one chance, just one chance, to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they'll never take OUR FREEDOM!" William Wallace

We must fight like our lives and freedom depends on it! Use your freedom to choose who you will live for, the one who freed you or the things that enslave us. Fight like your life depends on it. Remember to never give up!

Simply,
Tex G.M. Rule
“For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love.” Galatians 5:6, NLT.

Jump-ropes & Airport Security

To my Readers,

This past week an old friend gave me a call, he was in town at a family reunion and wanted to catch up. We ended up spending the evening reminiscing; telling tales of our adventures since our last visit. In the midst of these stories, he shared a discussion he had with his cousin at their reunion. It turns out that she had become a missionary, working specifically in countries that are hostile toward or have outlawed Christianity.

On one of their trips, she and a small group of missionaries are bringing Bibles into this hostile country. With security being tight, the group wasn’t able to move the Bibles into a secure location, therefore the Bibles were piled in a bag covered only by a jump rope. As they approached the security check area, my friend’s cousin distanced herself from the group with the bag, knowing she was about to be caught and possibly arrested. The group prayed hard that God would make a miracle happen, because the current situation was looking grim. As security opened the bag, they asked her, “What is this?” From the bag they removed her jump rope looking intently at it and calling more security over to inspect it. She quickly responds by simply starting to jump-rope in the middle of the airport explaining that it is a form of exercise. After doing this for a few minutes, a large crowd had gathered marveling at what she was doing. Eventually security let the entire group go without checking the rest of their bags.

I was completely amazed by this story. It simply was a one in a million miracle that had happened. How could something so simple completely distract security to such a great extent? There is man named Paul in the Bible that has experienced God move in many powerful and interesting ways. At one point he writes a letter to the church in Corinth telling them about one of these times. He wrote,

“God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considered important. As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:27-29, NLT.

God used a jump-rope to hide the Bibles that were in plain sight. Something as simple and non-important as a jump-rope saved missionaries from being thrown in prison and enabled the Gospel to be spread. No matter how small, insignificant, or powerless we may feel; God is willing to use us. In fact, it is these things that God has used to move mountains. People came to know Christ because He used a jump-rope. How much more can He do with us?

Simply,
Tex G.M. Rule
"As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God." 1 Corinthians 1:29, NLT.