I am referred back to a scripture that I read around the Fourth of July holiday.

Galatians 5:1
"It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be a subject again to a yoke of slavery."

This letter written by Paul was for the Galatian converts. The Jewish Christian teachers were trying to turn these new believers against Paul by throwing their beliefs on them.

When I read this scripture my heart aches for those people who are living in some type of bondage. Now this scripture is referring to those who are bound by sin. Because when you have sin in your life, you are bound and you are controlled just like a slave. You see, sin will lead you wherever it wants you to go.

But today I am hurting for those who feel caged in. They could very well be Christians who have allowed other people or situations to place them behind bars. Sometimes we allow this world to dictate our lives and we take advice from people that we really love and trust. We feel that since they love us they must have our best interest at heart and they would never leave us astray. The only problem with that observation is that many people are still controlled by their "look out for me" attitudes. We all have them to certain degrees. The attitude of watching out for ourselves and making sure "I get what I want when I want it". Have you met these people?

The problem with this is that during our quest to make ourselves happy, we tend to place others behind bars. We put them in a cage like animals to entertain us and to make us happy by doing what we want them to do. But our scripture says that we were set free by the blood of Christ. We are to be slaves to no one but Him!

Are you in a cage today?
Are you feeling like you are being held back at the expense of someone else?
Are you the one placing others in a cage so you can be happy and feel secure?

Prayer:
"Lord, I pray that the cage doors will be open today. You died for our freedom not just from sin but also freedom from people and circumstances that try to dictate our lives. Help our eyes to be open and focused only on You!