Driving into our town on a four-lane road, we passed a police car with a prisoner in the back seat cage – like a wild animal in captivity. He was being transported to the state prison, which would be his home for some period of time. How sad.

Many on the “outside” are prisoners, too. They have lost their freedom and are bound to something. I was a 20-year-old in the Air Force stationed in Thailand and made $144 a month. That isn’t much at all even though my room and board were provided. I was a prisoner held hostage by cigarettes. I didn’t even have enough money to support my own habit each month.

Eventually, I came to realize that I was a prisoner. I was not free to be happy and enjoy myself if I didn’t have cigarettes with me. One of the smarter decisions I have made was that I would not be bound by that habit. I determined to break free and was able to do so. Even after I quit smoking, it took five years to be fully free of the desire to smoke. But I am so grateful to be free!

Are you a prisoner bound to something—something in the flesh or in the mind? If so, please seek freedom. Many are slaves to Internet passions that destroy their minds and their families. Others who are not willing to be honest with themselves are bound by some habit, some impure interest, some substance, some ungodly relationship….

The good news is that, if you are saved, the power of the Holy Spirit will enable you to be free. But you must begin the process by choosing it. Will you fly and be free?

“But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway” (1 Corinthians 9:27).

Steve