Dear Hope family,

Thought for the Week

“Living in Freedom”

1 Peter 2v16 “Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover for evil; live as God’s slaves.” (NIV)

Last Saturday, some of us joined the Christ Central Shropshire evening of worship and seeking God, listening to him speaking through various prophetic contributions. It was encouraging. One of the key messages coming through was the message of freedom – the phenomenal freedom of God. The key question was, “What we are doing with our freedom?”.

God has set us free in Christ from both the power and the condemnation of sin. It is possible for us to use this freedom for our own pleasure, but Peter is calling us to exercise this freedom by serving the living God. What does it mean for you to be free to serve the Living God?

Paradoxically, our freedom is based on the restriction of a firm rooting in God. That firmness of grounding enables us to branch out and to reach beyond; it provides a consistent source of all that we need, enabling us to flourish and produce much fruit for God’s kingdom.

It’s not a freedom to be my old self, but to be God’s child; not to serve myself, but to serve my God, Creator and Saviour as I serve others.

May God bring much beautiful fruit in your life.

With love and blessing,

Roland