A while back, we watched a movie called “Firelight” It was a really good movie about a program that helped young women believe in themselves by helping them become firefighters while in prison. This helps them give back before they get put back into society. The goal of this program was to reform their minds into believing that what they did was their old self but now they are no longer that person.
Do you realize that you don’t have to be in prison to actually be a prisoner? Think about this, are you controlled by your fears and doubts or your past? Then you too are a prisoner. We all have situations where we are trapped in our own prison right between our eyes. Our minds is a very powerful thing. We can create some great ideas in our minds or we can use our past against ourselves and create a prison in our own mind.
Many people grow older but few actually own their own mind. When we come to Christ, we are supposed to be a new creation and all the old is washed clean. Are you washed clean? What from your past are you holding on to?
Don’t allow who you used to be to stop you from being who you are today but also don’t allow who you are today to stop you from being who God called you to be tomorrow.
Life is all about growing. We are either growing or we are dying. There is no such thing as stagnation in our journey of life. As soon as you think you are coasting, you are already going downhill because you can only coast downhill.
If you are a prisoner of your mind, then you are no better off than someone who is in prison. You may think but I have my freedom but in reality you don’t have your freedom. Freedom only comes to those who ask and answer questions. If you are following the crowd then you are in their prison.
There are people in prison who may have no freedom but in their minds, they are free. Those are the people that when they get out will live the life God called them to live. We can’t allow our fears and doubts to take our freedom away.
Freedom doesn’t come cheap. You should be willing to pay any price to keep your freedom in your own mind. The only thing that man can’t take away from you is your freedom to think for yourself.
Does this mean if we think for ourselves that with this freedom comes a perfect life? NO WAY! Even Jesus said none of us will have a perfect life. Christ was here to live that perfect life so that we didn’t have to. If we had to none of us would make it into Heaven.
There are some who believe that if we follow Christ then we aren’t thinking for ourselves and that is a cop-out but that is so far from the truth. When you start reading the bible, it starts coming alive. There is so much freedom in living God’s way. God knew this. This is why he tries to guide us if we just listen.
All those things that the bible talks about will create bondage. That is why God tells us how we should live. It is up to us to either live the way God says or not. When we don’t then every desire becomes a prison from money to drugs to drinking to even eating. Everything can become a prison in our mind.
From this point decide that you are going to live in freedom and not be in prison anymore. Allow your mind to be free so that you can live out God’s purpose for your life. When your mind is clear of the clutter, it is easier for you to make quality decisions for your life.
Ask Christ back into your life and to cleanse you right now. Ask him to not only wipe your past clean but to show you how to live with this new attitude. Ask him to show you how to keep your past in the past so that you can live right now.
Be Inspired or Be Left Behind!
Chris Benton