FROM BONDAGE TO ELEUTHERA, BAHAMAS

Our parents were unfaithful; they did evil in the eyes of the Lord our God and forsook him. —II Chronicles 29:6

My sons, do not be negligent now, for the Lord has chosen you to stand before him and serve him… — Chronicles 29:11

My parents were both raise in religious systems by did not trust the Lord until late in life. My dad was going through a cancer situation around the time he trusted the Lord just a couple years before he died. My mom trusted the Lord at the same time. Before that time they lived worldly lives, unfaithful and negligent in the things of the Lord and we children of theirs did the same thing. I am so glad they both came to know Him before it was too late.

Thankfully the Lord God Almighty can reach into a family and break the chains of bondage that have existed for generations. A pastor friend who knew my family once asked me, “Ted, how did you escape this family situation that was so unhealthy?” Of course the answer is that it was the Lord that did it. Only He could!

I was reflecting on how I came to the Lord Jesus the other day. I had spent four years in the Seabees MCB-133, a construction battalion of the Navy. It is so interesting that I spent my last eight months in the Bahamas on an island name Eleuthera. Do you know that island’s name comes from the Greek? It is a transliteration of ἐλεύθερος (eleutheros) which means “free” and is used in the New Testament 3 times: Galatians 4:26; I Corinthians 7:39; Romans 7:3. I was set free from the bondage of Satan to serve the Lord Jesus Christ and this happened on the island of “free.”
Fortunately, as mentioned in the verses above, the Lord can break the chains of bondage in any family. Then when those members who have been set free to serve Jesus now can teach their children to do the same. It is exciting to see my grand-daughter, Abigail, being brought up by loving parents who love the Lord Jesus. May she grow to be wise like the Abigail of old (I Samuel 25) and be a faithful follower of Jesus!

Did we come from families that did not know the Lord Jesus— families in bondage? They may even have been “religious” system, but not one that encourages a personal relationship with Jesus. Let us be thankful that He allowed us to see Who He is and what He has done for us at the cross and through the resurrection. May He affect other family members, our children and their children and the children yet to come as we shine for Jesus. May it be so!

Dear Father, thank You for breaking the satanic bonds that held me and for setting me free in Jesus on that beautiful island of Eleuthera. May I encourage others to be ἐλεύθερος (eleutheros)— free in Jesus!