Galatians 5:1

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.
Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

I love this verse, because it was a light bulb moment for me on what this whole Jesus thing was...not rules, regimens, rituals...not practices and dogmas, just freedom. For the first time in a very long time I was freed. I was freed to follow Christ, not because I had to, but because there was no where else I wanted to be then. I understood that the rules didn't, couldn't, bring me closer to Jesus, but that when I came closer to Jesus, some of those old behaviors (like smoking, profanity, bickering with my husband) started to fall away and I desired to be obedient, not defiantly obeyed what I "had" to. And, as if all that wasn't enough, I had the option to never go back to that old way of life...I could remain free.

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