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Set Free


Have you ever tried to stop doing something only to repeatedly fail? I used to be hopelessly addicted to smoking. The more I determined to quit, the more I would smoke.  And I wanted to quit more than any smoker I have ever known. I went to ridiculous extremes to break free. I only smoked with my left hand. I threw out unused cigarettes at the end of the day and bought a brand new pack the next day. I only smoked while driving.  And my personal favorite; I gave my beloved heating pad to my roommate and asked her not to give it to me unless I had not smoked that day. Every night I would stand at her bedroom door demanding to have it back even though I had smoked. Needless to say, she quit helping me. Besides being costly, I was a miserable failure at quitting.

 Around this time I confessed my struggle at church and a young man told me to read Romans 6, 7 and 8. I was amazed to discover that Paul understood my struggles."Oh wretched man that I am who will deliver me from this body of death!" He evidently had a flair for the dramatic, but I knew exactly what he meant. With intense curiosity I read these words: “For the law of the Spirit of life has made me free from the law of sin and death.” The law of the Spirit was a new concept for me.  In Romans, Paul speaks at length about our new life in Christ. I discovered that I was not "indebted" to obey the lusts of my flesh. But I was! Something was not right and I was determined to find the answer. I began pouring over these scriptures. I referenced and cross-referenced. I inspected the Greek meaning of words like "flesh", "Spirit" and "newness of life." I was on a mission to get free from a deadly habit.

 Nine months and two note-filled legal pads later, a light bulb went off inside of me.  A new joy and anticipation filled my heart as I came to believe that I could be free by the power of the Spirit. Shortly thereafter,  I was settling into my driving and smoking routine and lit my first cigarette. But this time, I suddenly had the power to choose to say no to that cigarette! Addiction is another word for loss of choice.  But here I was, getting ready to smoke, and I knew that I could say no for the first time in several years. Holding the lit cigarette in my I hand, I struggled intensely for a few minutes. Finally, I chose to throw it away and I have been free ever since. I no longer felt compelled to smoke. Such is the immeasurable power of the law of the Spirit of Life in Jesus Christ. It is the highest law of the land. It trumps every other law. It is victorious over sin patterns, addiction, lust, and every vice known to the human heart.

You too can be free. Freedom from sin is not for some far off heavenly home. It is for now. And do not give in to condemnation when you fail over and over. There is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. What if I had given up in the eight month? I would be smoking today! May you be encouraged today if you are struggling with a sin pattern in your life. You have a mighty, mighty Savior. He who promised is faithful to set you free.

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