Taken Captive & Sold into Slavery

What if you were taken captive as a very small child, and sold into slavery?  Not only were you stolen from your family, but also you were the only child, and you were heir to vast riches and resources.  The problem is, you did not recall the life before slavery, so you lived your entire life as a slave, though you had the wealth and resources to buy your freedom.  What if someone told you that because they loved you, they wanted to give you a new life and they had the ability and the resources to do so, a life of abundance, but   did not believe it was true, so you never ask for the gift they promised?  That is what Jesus told us in John 10:10, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.  I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”  If you watched the news or read a paper of late, it is clear that people are still being taken captive by “the thief,” sin is everywhere, in Government, in Education, in the home, in the work place, and in the church; yes the enemy of our souls is busy stealing, killing, and destroying!

Many have been taken captive, and many who name the name of Christ do not believe or even know what was promised to Abraham, and even more, cannot believe that Jesus came that they may have life and have it abundantly.   What about you?   In 2 Peter 1:3-4, “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.”

We are living in the end times, if you read today’s news you will see that the thief has been very busy, fear is everywhere and many Christians are forgetting that this is not home, we are just passing through.  But in this I trust, Jesus Christ came to give me life, and in Him I can have life abundantly.  I have become a partaker of His divine nature; I have escaped the corruption that is in the world.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice