Breaking Bondage: Finding Freedom

July 5, 2006

Dear Friend of Mary Craig Ministries,

You just can’t stop. It’s dysfunctional. It’s compulsive. It’s a hurt, habit, or hang-up that’s killing you. Some days you call it a demon. Other days you get angry that you can’t free yourself from its grip, the gravity pulling you to the grave. You put on a good front, you think; yet you know your life is a lie. You tell everyone you’re okay, in control, but deep down you know the truth. You’re out of control. It’s in control, and you want it more than anything or anyone else…right now, today. It’s your comfort, your reliable friend, your god. You are addicted, and it affects you and everyone around you.

And yes. I know. "You" might be reading this and thinking, "Not me. I’m no addict." But, folks, whether our hurt, habit, or hang-up is socially acceptable or not, we all have them. We have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God. We each have a life-dominating sin, a life-threatening iniquity, a heart at enmity with God, a will rebelling against God’s will, a mind perverted, corrupted, poisoned with sin. Sin works death in us, all of us, and without help, we are all sold under sin, doing what we often hate, not doing what we know is good. We feel the captivity. We feel the prison. We feel our weakness, our powerlessness. And some, some of us cry out.

O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the
Body of this death? (Romans 7.24)

The first step is to acknowledge the mess we’re in. That thing we think is so reliable to provide us with comfort is really a no-god, and we’re not God. We swallowed a lie that said that only this material world exists, that man is the measure of all things, and that there is no Creator, no Redeemer, no supernatural being, nothing beyond what we can physically sense. How depressing!

The truth is God exists. He revealed His Name: I, I AM the One who is the Being One (YHWH). (Exodus 3.14) So, do we matter to Him? Does He have enough power to deliver us? Does He even know our names? Absolutely.

The Creator loved the cosmos so much that He sent His Son, admittedly unique and one-of-a-kind, to live the life we cannot live, die the death we deserve to die, and resurrect from the dead to ascend into glory with dominion over devils, disease, and death. I’m talking about Jesus Christ. He’s the provision. He’s the path we must follow if we are to recover. Some "oppose themselves." And it is God who grants repentance to the acknowledging of the truth that these might recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, these who are taken captive by him at his will, or to do his will. 2 Timothy 2.25, 26

Recovery. It’s something that some folks celebrate. Some folks celebrate the act of and process of getting back what was lost, stolen, left behind, abandoned, misplaced, uncovered, and exposed to evil.

Those who acknowledge their enslavement to sin, who are willing to repent, and who desire to place their trust in Jesus Christ alone for their salvation (wholeness) can find true comfort in the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, as a child of God. Adoption overcomes addiction.

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but you have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.
Romans 8.14-16

Family, a Father and God who never leaves us nor forsakes us; doesn’t that sound more comforting than being abandoned, homeless, and worse? This is spiritual reality, spiritual truth, supernatural fact. With Christ, in Christ, we find freedom from those things that bog us down, tie us up, shut us out/in/up/down, and imprison us in our own slavish selfishness.

Jesus Christ came as prophet, priest, and king. Jesus said, "I have overcome the world." "I am meek and humble of heart." "Who convicts Me of sin?" "I always do those things that please the Father." "The prince of this world comes, and has nothing in Me."

As prophet Jesus did a "show and tell." He revealed to us the Father in Himself and through His words and actions. As priest, He offered up His own life as a sacrifice for sin. As king, He ascended to the Father with all dominion to rule over His enemies. Likewise, we are to speak/set forth the Word of God, offer up to God sacrifices of praise, ourselves, the things that comprise our lives, and above all, the sacrifice of Jesus, His Body and Blood, as the only acceptable offering to God to atone for our sin and satisfy divine justice. Like Jesus, we are to come into that place of dominion/rule over God’s enemies: the world, sin/flesh, pride, and Satan.

The spirit of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus. The Holy Spirit is the Comforter. The kingdom of God is peace, joy, and righteousness in the Holy Spirit. The kingly anointing is a dominion anointing. It means dominion over devils, disease, and death. It is an anointing of joy, an entering into the joy of the Lord, who came to demonstrate and declare dominion over the enemies of God as the true Son of David, the true Son of God. Bondages block this anointing.

For example, in Proverbs 31.4ff King Lemuel’s mother gives him some advice. She tells him that it is not for kings to drink wine or for princes strong drink, lest they drink and forget the law and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted. Strong drink is for the perishing and those of heavy hearts so that they can forget their poverty and misery. Proverbs 20.1 tells us that wine is a mocker and strong drink is raging. Whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise. Proverbs 23.29ff tells us that it only brings woe, sorrow, contention, babbling, wounds without cause, and redness of eyes. It bites like a serpent and leads to perverseness.

Ephesians 5.18 says "And do not be drunk with wine, wherein is excess, but be filled with the Spirit." The Holy Spirit is our Comforter, our source of joy, life, and pleasures. The law of the Spirit of life sets us free from the law of sin and death. As the Spirit of Adoption, He sets us free by filling the void of abandonment, loneliness, emptiness, despair, etc. with Himself. Earthly wine mocks the truth and may satisfy the desires of the flesh for a moment but cannot bring the things we truly need. It is a counterfeit, a lie, and so no drunkard inherits the kingdom of God. (1 Cor. 6.10) Drunkards and gluttons come to poverty. (Proverbs 23.21) Christ calls us to Himself, to true riches, to be filled with the Spirit. Adoption overcomes addiction. As we come to understand that all of our healing, all of our needs, all deliverance from bondage comes through Jesus Christ and relationship with the Father, we don’t need the no-god anymore. We don’t want it. In fact, we will live by not having it in our lives. We, too, will rule over the enemies of God: the world, selfish pride, the flesh, and Satan.

We could not pursue the calling of the Lord without continual support, both spiritual and financial, from people like you. Be encouraged as you consider your gift to MCM this month and share in bringing others to help and hope in Jesus, whether through the ministry of Craighouse, the Barnabas Project, or world missions. You will be blessed! Thank you.

Standing fast through grace,

Mary Craig

P.S. Go to www.marycraig.org for more on breaking strongholds. Order from our Catalog section using PayPal. Worship with us 4:30 p.m. Sundays, grow and flourish in small group ministry at Craighouse®, located in the Pompano Plaza at 114 E. McNab Road, Pompano Beach, FL 33060. Log on to www.craighouse.org for a map and more events and Bible studies. Reach MCM at 954-491-7270. Send in your prayer requests. Mary Craig Ministries, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation. Federal ID 65-0429517. Be blessed! We love you.

 

If the Son shall make you free,
You shall be free indeed. (John 8.36)

Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ
Has made us free, and be not entangled again
With the yoke of bondage. (Galatians 5.1)

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