Hello people,

Wow! I can’t believe January is almost over. It feels like it was just yesterday we were greeting each other a happy new year. May the mercy of God that has kept us this month continually be with us for the rest of the year. Amen! God is worthy of our praise.

To start off today’s writeup, I want to ask you a question, would you consider yourself a slave? I know that sounds absurd but it will all make sense in a minute. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a slave as “A person who or thing which is completely under the control or domination of, or subject to, a specified influence.” So, I ask again, are you a slave? What or who are you submitting to in fear? Who or what are you relegating the control of your life, either out of fear or ignorance? Do you have a mind of Christ or are you living a life influenced by others/culture/circumstances? In all honesty, I think the state of slavery is an unconscious one and it takes the Spirit of God to become aware of the fact.

Romans 8:15 NIV says “the Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” I believe slaves in the context of this scripture perfectly fits the definition above. If the Spirit that God has given to us is for the adoption to sonship, to be sons and daughters of the Most High, why then should we be afraid of ANYBODY or ANYTHING. God does not consider us His slaves. God wants a relationship with us. He wants to guide us, not to control us, there is a big difference.

So why do we yield to slavery to people, society, and things? Because Romans 6:16 makes us to understand that we are slaves to whatever we succumb to, give our time to, and allow to control our lives. Why would you allow anyone or anything dominate you so much that you are overcome or live in fear or even live in denial. God wants us to come to Him in boldness. He welcomes our questions, comments, and even complaints and He has given us a choice. That doesn’t sound like control to me.

So, think again if what/who you follow leaves you with these incredible options to be at liberty, to be bold, and to choose. Because going by the definition above, we are all influenced by something. The question now is, who or what are you allowing to influence you? Who or what are you yielding to? And I pray that your answer is God.

God bless,

Dasola