Freedom In Christ

You're listening to the My Morning Devotional podcast, episode 1531. Today's Devo is called Freedom in Christ. Hey there. We're the Alessi's, a ministry family working together in our church in Miami, Florida. And if you're like us, when days get busy and to do lists get longer, it can be hard to find devotional time. That's why we've partnered with our friend Allison to produce a five minute daily dose of heaven. This is the My Morning Devotional podcast. Hello everyone, my name is Lauren Alessi and I am your host for this week. We are talking out of the Book of Acts, which I just absolutely love. I think the book of Acts is such an inspiring, profound book coming out of the Gospels and then which is already just telling us the story of the resurrection of Jesus of the disciples. And then now we're going to talk about what did the disciples lives look like, what did the ministry look like after the Gospel of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and then now we're jumping into Acts. So I know that my sisters and I believe even my mom started us off, which is awesome. Started us off with all, I think, Acts chapter one through 14. I have the privilege of taking us into Acts chapter 15 through 21. Why do I explain all of this? Well, if you're just joining us now, go back, go catch up, go read the rest of the or listen to the rest of the devotionals and catch up. But today we are talking about freedom in Christ and we are reading out of Acts, chapter 15, verses 10 through 11. And it says this, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither weed nor our ancestors have been able to bear? No. We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved. So what's happening here is essentially Peter is preaching to people of all backgrounds, Jews, Gentiles, people that are new to the faith, people that have been in the faith for forever. And he's basically saying you guys are expecting new believers that want to follow Christ to do something that you who have been in the faith forever, but it was hard for even you to do. So Peter was asking them just essentially a major question. Do Gentile believers, do new believers that want to follow Christ need to follow the Jewish law in order to be saved? So Peter stood up and reminded everyone of the foundation of their faith. He reminded everyone of what they really believe, which is what? Salvation comes through the grace of Jesus Christ. Salvation doesn't come through doing. Salvation doesn't come through action, even though those things are very, very important. But salvation, the source of it, comes through what Jesus did on the cross. Salvation comes through Jesus's sacrifice and what he did that day on the cross. It comes through the grace of Jesus Christ. When he died for us that day, that's when salvation was made possible. Because Jesus died and rose again. Salvation is not earned through rules or religious performance, but now it is received through grace. It's because of Jesus's grace. Grace, wonderful grace. It's not because of how often we commit ourselves to the church, how often we're willing to serve in the nursery, serve the church, even though, look, all those things are important. I serve in the nursery. I serve in the as many teams as possible because those things are important. But that's not my way to salvation. That's my way to bless God's kingdom. That's my way to bless the house of God because of how God's blessed me. But salvation comes through recognizing every day. Lord, your sacrifice on the cross is what allows my sins to be forgiven. Your sacrifice on the cross allows me to live a life that I don't deserve. There's an old hymn that says, because he lives, I can face tomorrow. Because he lives, all fear is gone. Because I know I I Now I'm forgetting the words. But anyways, it's beautiful. I'm sorry. I've only sang it a few times in church. I think it's like, Because I know he holds the future and life is worth the living because he lives There it is. It is so beautiful. But that's what it's about. Because Jesus lives, we can face tomorrow. It's not because Jesus lives. Now we can work overtime. Now I can work overtime so then I can get into heaven. Now I can go do good things so then I can receive a good gift and get into heaven. No, it's simply because Jesus lives. It's simply because Jesus sacrificed His life for us. And once we get into alignment with that, we recognize that there's freedom in Christ. There's not chains and bondage and okay, but, but I owe God this. I owe him this because of what he did for me. And now I'm in I I, I'm a slave to him. And I owe him this because of his sacrifice. That's not what Jesus wants from you. Jesus wants you to recognize that there is freedom in him, that it is his grace that has made you saved. And once we come into agreement with that, and we recognize the importance of that, then we can truly walk in freedom in Christ. So I just want to ask you this. Do you ever feel like you have to earn God's approval? Do you ever feel like you have to earn your salvation? Because that is not what the scripture is telling us. Actually it is saying pretty straight up, no. We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved. So let's pray. Dear Lord, we thank you so much for your beautiful grace, Lord, your wonderful grace. Lord, we thank you that because you live, we can face tomorrow. That because you live, all fear is gone. And if there's any part of us that struggles with having to earn our salvation and earn your approval, Lord, help us work through that, God. And let us always recognize that it is through your grace and through your sacrifice that we can live freely. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. So there you have it. Your 5 minute daily dose of heaven. Thank you so much for tuning in today. We pray these devotionals empower you to take on your day. If you found value in this devotional, share it with a friend, leave a comment or review for us on the app you're using right now. Until tomorrow, we pray that your latte is strong, but your love for Jesus is stronger.