Stripes, lashes upon anyone's back is unthinkable and disgusting and wrong! What is the worth of a lash upon the back of a man, a woman, or child? Black or white? What is it's purpose? None! There is no good purpose except for a man to boast of his control or lack there of! To take advantage of a man's freedom, to be a master! The law gives such a right! To master over another human in any way he sees fit and that human is commanded to submit! Even God's word says to submit to your master. And I say with a loud voice, the voice as of a preacher behind the pulpit having great conviction and disparity, that I would make a terrible slave under the law! A slave that in times passed and of current I'm sure, was/is beaten! A woman slave who was and surely still today is used for a man's own pleasure! Sickening! I have a rebellious spirit and a stubborn countenance! I would rather die! Yes, all these things still happen today! It enrages me! It saddens me! All this stirs such tremendous, confusing, feelings within me!
Honestly, I hate watching movies about slavery because it evokes such contradicting feelings like hatred, love, compassion, rebellion, and murderous emotions. I have just watched 12 Years A Slave! If I were to act upon what I feel, I might go on a murderous rampage, but the sufferings of Jesus bring my wild thoughts and emotions in check. There was and is only one set of stripes, one lashing that has meaning and purpose! If it were not for the stripes on Jesus' back, I would not have the freedom I so often abuse today! So take courage if you are in someway a slave to man's inadequacies be it physical lashings or not. For in this way, if we are humble and obedient as Jesus was, we are like him! Jesus received his stripes under the cursed law and because of this we now have a new law, which I live under today! The difference is He brought with him the law of grace, mercy and freedom which no other law can claim! God didn't give us grace because he had to or so we could continue in sin, but because he loves us and he knew we would need it. Slavery has been around for over 2000 years! God's word instructs us in Ephesians 6:5-9 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving The Lord, not men, because you know that The Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free. And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him. Sounds simple right? Truth is, we live in a fallen world, a cursed land. Man will always be bound to some kind of slavery whether by another man or of his own stronghold. As loudly as I shout "no man will ever enslave me and I will never bow to him", I also have just as quietly and secretly bowed to my own enslavement! Huh? Makes no sense! I have been mastered by sin! It has beaten me down, nearly to death! I have been pressed down under loads forced upon me as well as loads I've chosen to carry! We all either still are or have been a slave in some way! I give a resounding BUT...WE HAVE BEEN OFFERED FREEDOM! THE DEBT HAS ALREADY BEEN PAID! Here's where I get so frustrated, with myself as well as others. Why do I get so feverishly mad about this physical slavery and want to commit acts of justice/revenge, but yet when enslaved by my own shortcomings after a while I just give in? I decide to just do whatever sin tells me to do! I decide it's not worth it to fight! Have any of you ever done this? Let me tell you, that's who I used to be, but thank God because of his everlasting patience and continuously unfailing love I have fought the fight! With Jesus I have overcome and I want nothing more than to help others grab hold of this confidence and strength I have found in Jesus and overcome too! I hate seeing another brother or sister drowning in life's sorrow! I hate to see an unbeliever without hope! Being used as tools of Satan! In case you aren't hearing me right now let me remind you that I am not saying any of this with a soft spoken voice! I am shouting, screaming at you! Pounding my fist upon a table and stomping my feet till I am weary! It's time to get angry at sin in our lives! It's time for justice! It's time to abolish slavery! Let the only chains that bind you be the chains of freedom because of your slavery to God alone and even that is not slavery as we know it nor are the chains really chains! You can only serve one master, sin or the Savior! If you are a wounded slave to sin the key to your freedom lies at the foot of the cross! If you are a slave only to God then remember that the ways of this world, the things you used to be are gone! You are not to pick them back up and become a slave again! This does not mean you won't sin or mess up, it means that you should not again return to that lifestyle and continue in it, turning your back on the gift God gave you!
2 Peter 2:19-22. Friends, do not let the suffering of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ be in vain! Do not waste another day in chains when you have been offered FREEDOM! DO NOT! Dear Christian, be entangled again in your sin and be mastered by it! Do not let your hearts be hardened! Satan would love nothing more than to welcome you back! The banner's already hung, he's just awaiting your arrival! For those who have not yet given your life over to the Master, God, Satan doesn't want to lose you, he still has plans to use you against God and His children! You decide! What will you fight for? Who or what will you be a slave to? Galatians 5:1 It is for FREEDOM that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery! Now I say this in a soft voice, full of love for you and me, that Christ died for us, unselfishly, not because he wanted to bear our painful sins, but out of obedience to his Father and sheer love for us, in order that we might be set free! He has broken the chains of sin and death! He became the curse so that we would not have to live under the curse of the law, but instead, so we can live by faith in Jesus Christ under the law of Grace! Start a rebellion in your life! A rebellion against sin! Get others to join you! If you were being freed physically as a slave wouldn't you want to take the others with you? Be a #lawbreaker not a #slavemaker!
I hate slavery! Period! Been there, done that! Have no intention of doing it again! I am a free woman in Jesus Christ! Thank you God for your Grace, thank you Jesus for your blood that cleanses me!
Ok, church is over! You can resume your daily activities! LOL! #gottapreach
Stephanie G. © 4/26/2014
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