T.G.I.F.

Who among us has not heard someone say "TGIF" meaning, of course, Thank God It's Friday!?  I have used the expression many times myself, but there is another "TGIF" or two that I'd like to bring to the readers attention that is of far greater significance than the one mentioned above.  The first one we consider is "Thank God I'm Free!"

The great Apostle Paul writes in Romans 8:2, "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death."  The words of Jesus Himself are recorded in John 8:36 where the Saviour proclaimed, "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed."  So, I am here today to say, TGIF - Thank God I'm Free!

I am reminded of the words of a song we sometimes sing in our churches.  Here are the words to the chorus:

    "Thank God I am free, free, free
   From this world of sin
   Washed in the blood of Jesus, and then born again
   Hallelujah I'm saved, saved, saved
   By His wonderful grace
   I'm so glad that I found out He would bring me out
   And show me the way."

Not only am I free in Christ, but TGIF - Thank God I'm Forgiven!  Ephesians 4:32 states, "And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you."  Again in Ephesians chapter 1, verse 7 we read, "In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace."

In my memory I can just now hear an evangelist friend singing the song "Forever Forgiven":

   "Forever forgiven, it reaches even me,
    My sins are forgiven, casts into the deepest sea;
    Forever forgiven, salvation full and free,
    Forever forgiven, new life abundantly."

Yes, it's Friday, the end of the work week for many.  And for those included in that vast number, TGIF - Thank God it's Friday - has undoubtedly been in their minds if not on their lips.  But, for the child of God, TGIF takes on a new and grander meaning when we, from the heart, thank God for our freedom and forgiveness found only in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Yes, TGIF - Thank God I'm Free and Thank God I'm forgiven!  Is the reader able to repeat that with conviction of heart?  I trust you may.  And that is my View From The Porch for Friday, the first day of June, 2012.  God bless.