This site uses cookies to provide you with more responsive and personalized service and to collect certain information about your use of the site. You can change your cookie settings through your browser. If you continue without changing your settings, you agree to our use of cookies. See our Privacy Policy for more information.
When circus elephants are young, trainers would often chain one of their legs to a post. The elephant would pull and struggle, but when it couldn’t break free, it eventually learned that resistance was useless. Even after it grew into a powerful adult strong enough to rip the post from the ground, it wouldn’t even try, still believing it was a prisoner.
Some of us live with that same mindset. Though we’ve been set free by Christ from the bondage of sin and its consequences, we still act like sin owns us. We keep returning to familiar patterns like going back to a muddy puddle when we have access to clean water. We’re like that elephant grown in strength but forgetting that the chains no longer hold us.
Paul reminds us in Romans 6:18, “You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.” We’re no longer owned by sin but now belong to a better Master, Jesus Christ. When we truly grasp the grace He’s shown us, it stirs a desire not to return to sin but to live free as dearly loved children of God. This is the heart of the gospel: We’re no longer slaves but heirs of the kingdom.
So, might it be time to offer every part of your body to God—your eyes, your mind, your time, your heart? He didn’t just wipe your slate clean. He placed His Spirit within you to empower you to live a new life. Don’t waste your freedom. Live today as someone who’s been set free!
Bold Step Challenge:
Identify one area where you’ve been acting like you’re still chained. Surrender it to Jesus today and step forward in the freedom He’s already won for you.
Prayer:
Lord, thank You for setting me free from the power of sin. Help me to stop living like a prisoner when You’ve called me to freedom. Fill me with Your Spirit so I can walk in righteousness and live for You today. In Jesus’ name, amen.
This is a time sensitive update
I want to personally invite you to join us this fall for one of the most powerful events we host all year, Founder’s Week, October 22–24, 2025, on the campus of Moody Bible Institute in downtown Chicago.
This year’s theme is Indescribable: Rediscovering God in All His Glory, drawn from Exodus 15:11. In a world full of noise and distraction, this is a sacred opportunity to encounter the awe and wonder of our matchless God.
Whether you join us in person right here in Chicago or listen live on Moody Radio, I believe God will use this time to strengthen your faith, stir your heart, and speak to you in a personal way.
by Charlie Dyer
Leave a comment or question on our recorded listener line: (312) 329-2011
Contact our team via email: BoldSteps@moody.edu