So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law. Listen! I, Paul, tell you this: If you are counting on circumcision to make you right with God, then Christ will be of no benefit to you. I’ll say it again. If you are trying to find favor with God by being circumcised, you must obey every regulation in the whole law of Moses. For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace. But we who live by the Spirit eagerly wait to receive by faith the righteousness God has promised to us. For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love. You were running the race so well. Who has held you back from following the truth? It certainly isn’t God, for he is the one who called you to freedom. This false teaching is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough! I am trusting the Lord to keep you from believing false teachings. God will judge that person, whoever he is, who has been confusing you. Dear brothers and sisters, if I were still preaching that you must be circumcised—as some say I do—why am I still being persecuted? If I were no longer preaching salvation through the cross of Christ, no one would be offended. I just wish that those troublemakers who want to mutilate you by circumcision would mutilate themselves. For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another.
—Galatians 5:1-15

“If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
—John 8:31-32

~~~~~

I Am Free
By Jennifer Kane

My Child,
Freedom is best—
I tell thee true—
of all things to be won.
Then never live
within the bond
of slavery.

Man is born free—
and everywhere,
he is in chains.

Everything in me
longs to be free—
not chained down
by my own sin,
my own pain,
my past regrets
that whisper like Pharaoh’s whip.

I ache to walk
out of Egypt’s shadow,
to leave behind
the leeks, the lies,
the illusion of comfort
in captivity.

I want to walk
with feet unshackled,
guided by fire at night,
by cloud in the day—
but most of all,
by truth.

Free,
like a flag in the wind—
not aimless,
but anchored
to the One
who bought my freedom.

Jesus—
the sacrificial Lamb,
whose blood marks
the doorposts of my soul,
whose cross
became my Exodus.

He spared me
from the death
I wholly deserved.

Because He was bound,
I am loosed.
Because He was pierced,
I am healed.
Because He died,
I live.

And now,
because of His blood—
I am free.

~~~~~

Scripture: Galatians 5:1-15, John 8:31-32

As Passover begins tonight, we remember God’s mighty hand that delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. With a mighty arm and ten powerful signs, God proclaimed that His people were no longer captives—they were His. Passover is a celebration of freedom: from oppression, from death, from bondage.

And in the same spirit, Paul’s words in Galatians 5 echo that call—not just freedom from external bondage, but freedom of the soul. “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.” What kind of freedom? Not the kind that seeks only self, nor the kind that indulges in fleshly desires. This is freedom to love.

Paul warns the Galatians not to return to a yoke of slavery—whether it be the legalism of the old law or the flesh’s desires. Instead, he invites them into a freedom defined by the Spirit: a life marked by faith expressing itself through love (verse 6). This is the fruit of deliverance—not just being set free from something, but being set free for something: to serve one another humbly in love (verse 13).

In Exodus, God delivered His people so they might worship Him. In Galatians, Christ delivers us so we might walk in the Spirit. Both acts of deliverance point us to the same truth: freedom is a call to holy living, rooted in love and community.

Break bread with someone and share the story of your spiritual freedom. Let your freedom be more than a feeling—let it be a feast of faith, love, and gratitude.

~~~~~

Father God, thank You for the freedom You have given through Christ—a freedom deeper than any worldly liberty. Tonight, as Passover begins, we remember the mighty deliverance You brought to Israel. And we remember our own redemption through the blood of the Lamb. Let us not use our freedom to serve ourselves, but to serve one another in love. Teach us to walk by the Spirit and to stand firm in the freedom You’ve given us. In Jesus’ name I ask, amen.

April 12 2025