MONDAY MOTIVATION

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Welcome to Monday Motivation—a devotional blog to keep you encouraged throughout the week! My name is Pastor Guy Deckard and I am incredibly excited for you to join in every Monday.
 
Below, you will find the most recent Monday Motivation post and if you continue scrolling, you will find an archive of blog posts by date. If you’d like to get a better understanding as to how this blog came about, click HERE to read the first Monday Motivation post. 
 
I invite you to follow along with me every Monday! And if you would like to dive even deeper into your study of God’s Word, purchase the same daily study that this blog is based, just click HERE.
#mondaymotivation

Set Free!

Set Free!
From the July 5th reading
 
 
Who do you belong to? What were you set free from?
 
SCRIPTURE:
READ: Hebrews 2:10-13
 
Hebrews 2:11
Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters. (NIV)
 
 
OBSERVATIONS:
  • Jesus makes us holy
  • We are of the same family as Jesus
  • Jesus calls us His brothers
  • One day we (the church) will be His bride (Rev. 21)

APPLICATION:

  • We are His brothers and sisters
  • Therefore we are no longer slaves
  • We are adopted into His family
  • We can choose to be bond servants but we are not slaves
  • We were once slaves to sin and death, but we have been set free.
 
MOTIVATION:
Back in the 1800s, a young Englishman traveled to California in search of gold. After several months of prospecting, he struck it rich. On his way home, he stopped in New Orleans. He came upon a crowd of people all looking in the same direction. Approaching the crowd, he recognized that they had gathered for a slave auction. He heard “Sold!” just as he joined the crowd. A middle-aged black man was taken away. Next a beautiful young black girl was pushed up onto the platform and made to walk around so everyone could see her. The bidding began. The miner stood silent as anger welled up inside of him. Finally, one man bid a price that was beyond the reach of the other. The auctioneer called out, “Going once! Going twice!” Just before the final call, the miner yelled out a price that was exactly twice the previous bid. The crowd laughed, thinking that the miner was only joking. The auctioneer motioned to the miner to come and show his money. The miner opened up the bag of gold he had brought for the trip. The auctioneer shook his head in disbelief as he waved the girl over to him. The girl walked down the steps of the platform until she was eye-to-eye with the miner. She spat straight in his face and said through clenched teeth, “I hate you!” The miner, without a word, wiped his face, paid the auctioneer, took the girl by the hand, and walked away from the still-laughing crowd.
He seemed to be looking for something until he finally stopped in front of some sort of store. She waited outside as the dirty-faced miner went inside and started talking to an elderly man. Peering in, she saw the miner pull out his bag of gold and pour what was left of it on the table. The clerk with a look of disgust picked up the gold and went in a back room. He came out with a piece of paper, and both he and the miner signed it. The young girl looked away as the miner came out the door. Stretching out his hand, he said to the girl, “Here are your manumission papers. You are free.” The girl did not look up. He tried again. “Here. These are papers that say you are free. Take them.” “I hate you!” the girl said, refusing to look up. “Why do you make fun of me!” “No, listen,” he pleaded. “These are your freedom papers. You are a free person.” The girl looked at the papers, and then looked at him. “You just bought me…and now, you’re setting me free?” “That’s why I bought you. I bought you to set you free.” The beautiful young girl fell to her knees in front of the miner, tears streaming down her face. “You bought me to set me free! You bought me to set me free!”. The miner said nothing. Clutching his muddy boots, the girl looked up at the miner and said, “All I want to do is to serve you—because you bought me to set me free!”[i]
 
At one time we were all slaves to sin and death. But Christ came to redeem us—to pay for our freedom. He bought us with his own blood, that we might be free. Galatians 4:4-5 says, “But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.” Jesus not only set us free from the penalty of sin, but He made it possible for us to become the children of God!
 
We were once slaves to the devil himself (V. 14). But we have been given freedom. We were once enslaved to a life of sin, but now we have been given the freedom not to sin. But here is the kicker! God didn’t stop there. He took the next step and adopted us. We are His heirs in Christ Jesus. “Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ” (Rom. 8:17a).
 
The question for today is whom do you belong to? Another way of saying this might be, “Who is your daddy?” We are “of the same family”. We are brothers and sisters in Christ, and God almighty is our Daddy. I don’t know about you, but I want my Daddy to be proud of me. How about you?
 
PRAYER:
Pray that you would fully understand your adoption in Christ. Pray that you would be able to live a life worthy of that adoption starting this week.
 
Each week’s Monday Motivation is taken from the reading schedule found in the Life Journal. If you are ready for the next step in your discipleship, then order yours today or see me for a copy.
www.lifejournal.cc
 
If you would like help in growing in your faith, or if you would like to know how to have faith in Him, then please contact us at (928)636-2949 or email me at pastorguy@cvgrace.com
 
 
[i] Youth Specialties Hot Illustrations; Bought to be Freed



 Devotionals by Date

 January 2018

 
 
 
 

MONDAY MOTIVATION INTRODUCTION

 
 
 
  
 
 

THE GREAT SHEPHERD

 
January 1, 2018
 
 
  
 
 

THE GREAT PLANNER 

 
January 8, 2018
 
 
 
 
 

PROTECTING YOUR ROOTS

January 15, 2018
 
 
 
 
 

FACING YOUR GIANTS

January 22, 2018
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 

February 2018

 
 
 

PLEASE STAND

February 5, 2018
 
 
 
  
 
 
 

BE A GAME CHANGER

February 12, 2018
 
  
 
 
 

FINISH STRONG

February 19, 2018
 
 
 

STRETCHER BEARERS

February 26, 2018
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 

March 2018

 
 
 

DIGGING YOUR WAY OUT

March 5, 2018
 
 
 
 
 
 

REAL PEARLS

March 12, 2018
 
  
 
 
 

HIDDEN IDENTITY

March 19, 2018

 
 
 

MYSTERY GARDEN
March 26, 2018

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
April 2018
 
 

THE TEST!

April 2, 2018
 
 
 
 
 
 

PASS IT ON!

April 9, 2018
 
  
 
 
 

CRACKED POTS!

April 16, 2018

 
 
 

LAY THEM DOWN!

April 23, 2018
 
 
 
 
 
 

LETTING GO 

April 30, 2018
  
May 2018
 
 
 

IDOL WORSHIP OR IDLE WORSHIP?

May 7, 2018
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

WATCH AND PRAY!

May 14, 2018
  
 
 
 

DON’T SAY GOODBYE

May 21, 2018

 

 
 
 

TRAPPED

May 28, 2018
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 

 

June 2018
 
 
 

GOT A MATCH?

June 4, 2018
 
 
 
 
 
 

CHOSEN?

June 11, 2018
 
 
  
 
 

I’M THIRD!

June 18, 2018

 

 
 
 

CHANGED LIVES MATTER

      June 25, 2018
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
July 2018
 
 
 

MADE FOR MORE THAN THIS

      July 2, 2018
 
 
 
 
 
 

SET FREE!

       July 9, 2018
 
 
 
 
 
 

   HEAVENLY PLACES       July 15, 2018

 
 
 

LOOKING IN THE MIRROR

July 2, 2018

 
 
 
 
 

NO SURPRISES HERE

July 2, 2018

 
 
 
August 2018
 
 
 

INSTRUCTIONS INCLUDED

August 6, 2018

 
 
 
 
 

THE PEOPLE PLEASER

August 13, 2018

 
 
 
 
 
 

ONE CHURCH

      August 20, 2018

 
 
 

BROTHERLY LOVE

August 27, 2018

 
 
September 2018
 
 
 

NEWLYWEDS!

September 3, 2018

 
 
 
 
 

WHEN GOD SPANKS US!

September 10, 2018

 
 
 
 

TAKING A STAND

September 17, 2018

 
 
 

NO PLACE LIKE HOME

September 24, 2018

 
 
October 2018
 
 
 

FROM ORDINARY TO EXTRAORDINARY

October 1, 2018

 
 
 
 
 

STAND YOUR GROUND!

October 8, 2018

 
 

 

 

FAITH UNDER FIRE

October 15, 2018

 
 
 
 

HOMELESS FOR A DAY

October 22, 2018

 
 
 
 
November 2018
 
 
 

A HEAVENLY MARRIAGE?

November 5, 2018

 
 
 
 
 

HOLY SMOKE!

November 12, 2018

 
 
 
 

MIRROR, MIRROR…

November 19, 2018

 
 
 
 

SECRET AGENT

November 26, 2018

 
 
 
 
December 2018
 
 
 

INNOCENT

December 3, 2018

 
 
 
 
 

HOPE?

December 10, 2018

 
 
 
 

FREEDOM

December 17, 2018

 
 
 
 

MORE THAN A MANGER

December 24, 2018