Bondage

Have you ever been stuck in some life circumstance ... an illness, a job, a relationship (or lack of a relationship), a routine that has turned into a rut? It can feel like prison or some kind of bondage.

Circumstances have a way of enslaving us. So does sin. It’s like we can’t get away from it no matter how hard we try. We fall back into the old ways of thinking.

The Jews in Egypt knew about bondage, being "stuck" and oppressed – for a long time. And they also, thankfully, discovered that God had a way out for them (although only God knows why it took 400 years). God sent Moses as their savior who, by God’s grace, would free them, lead them, and give them guidelines as how best to serve God.

Sometimes God sends a person into our lives (though not always in our time frame) to show us the way out and into better circumstances. It’s why Jesus came - to lead us out from bondage and slavery to sin and the dead-end roads of life into a full relationship with God, one with a purpose and a plan. It’s Jesus who can free us from slavery to sin and open the way to freedom by his love and guidelines or, as we like to call them, disciplines.

This Sunday we will begin a series of sermons on the Book of Exodus. It’s a great read. It parallels so well the New Testament story of salvation. The first message is "Into Egypt" - how we got into this mess in the first place. Read Exodus chapter one.

Yours in Christ,
George