The Exchanged Life concept
may have originated with Hudson Taylor, a missionary living in China. He wrote
a letter to his sister dated October 17, 1869.
“ My own dear Sister…As to work, mine was
never so plentiful, so responsible, or so difficult; but the weight and strain
are all gone. The last month or more has been, perhaps, the happiest of my
life; and I long to tell you a little of what the Lord has done for my soul…..
But personal need stood first and was the
greatest. I felt the ingratitude, the danger, the sin of not living nearer to
God. I prayed, agonized, fasted, strove, made resolutions, read the Word more
diligently…but all was with out avail….I knew that if I could only abide in
Christ all would be well, but I could not…but pressure of duties, sometimes
very trying, constant interruptions apt to be so wearing, often caused me to
forget Him. Them one’s nerves get so fretted in this climate that temptations
to irritability, hard thoughts and sometimes unkind words are all the more difficult
to control…Instead of growing stronger, I seemed to be getting weaker and to
have less power against sin…I felt I was a child of God; His Spirit in my heart
would cry, in spite of all, ‘Abba, Father’; but to rise to my privileges as a
child, I was utterly powerless…
When my agony of soul was at its height, a
sentence in a letter from dear McCarthy was used to remove the scales from my
eyes, and the Spirit of God revealed the truth of our oneness with Jesus….’But
how to get faith strengthened? Not by striving after faith, but by resting on
the Faithful One.’…’I will never leave you.” I’ll strive no more. For has He
not promised to abide with me-never to leave me, never to fail me?’ And,
dearie, He never will!…
No fear that His resources will be unequal
to the emergency! And His resources are mine, for He is mine, and is
with me and dwells in me. All this springs from the believer’s oneness with
Christ….
“He tells us in His own words. ‘The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he
has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim
freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the
oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’ Luke 4:18,19
It is our belief that freedom is
the birthright of every believer. We believe that freedom in Christ is God’s
answer for every bondage. Many struggling with addictive behaviors and bondage
are taught to cope. The emphasis is on the problem and what we must do. That is
not why Jesus came.
Shift the focus from man and the
problem to God and the answer. We must focus on what Jesus came for:
- Preach the Gospel-The Good News of what God has
done-not what we should do.
- Proclaim freedom-our rightful inheritance as children
of God.
- Recovery of sight to the blind-To see and believe the
Truth that sets you free.
- Release the oppressed-Don’t put burdens of behavior
and condemnation on people.
- Proclaim the year of God’s favor (grace)-Proclaim
God’s grace.
If we focus on what we do-our
program, our group, our freedom will be limited to our ability to carry
through. If we focus on God and what He has accomplished on the cross, we will
be able to experience freedom in Christ. Freedom is your birthright. Don’t
settle for Less!”
Mike & Julia Quarles Freedom
in Christ Recovery Ministry 770-998-6487 FreedomFromAddiction.org
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