The Advent season is a time for anticipating and eager waiting.

       During the time of the prophets, Israel was eagerly waiting for a Messiah, a chosen one who would set them free and give them rest.

      What is freedom for you? What does it mean to be truly free? Some of us think of freedom as financial freedom. Others might think of freedom from suffering or sickness. Still others might think of freedom as the right to choose how we want to live.

      Whatever your idea of freedom is, Scripture tells us that Israel was longing for someone to come and give them true freedom. It is no different for us today. We are still looking for it.

      We need to discover that true freedom comes only when we are set free from our sins and our fears. Only Jesus can do that. What do you fear most? What are your deepest fears? Could it be possible that your greatest fears are intertwined with the areas in which you trust God the least? Sin and fear go hand in hand.

      The problem with all of our own ideas of freedom is that they are fleeting. They will never last. But the freedom Jesus came to give - a freedom from fear and sin - that is what is going to last. John 8:36 says “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” Then it says in Romans 8:2, “for in Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life has set you free for the law of sin and death."

      So not only are we set free from sin and fear, we are set free to live a more abundant and more fully human life.

      Do you want to find true freedom? What are your fears? Where in your life do you fail to trust? The Advent season reminds us that Jesus comes to free us from that, so we eagerly wait for the day when we can live fully in his freedom.

        將臨節是一個充滿期盼和熱切等待的時間。  

        在先知時代，以色列人熱切地等待彌賽亞，一位被揀選的救主，能讓他們得自由，並且得着安息。  

        什麼是讓你得自由？真正的自由是什麼意思？我們中的一些人認為自由就是財務自由；其他人可能會想到擺脫痛苦或疾病纏擾的自由；還有一些人可能認為自由是選擇我們想要的生活方式的權利。  

        不管你對自由的看法是什麼，聖經告訴我們以色列人渴望有一位彌賽亞能帶給他們真正的自由。今天我們也不例外，我們仍在尋找這自由。

        我們需要明白唯有當我們從罪惡和恐懼中解脫出來時才會得到真正的自由，而只有主耶穌能做到這一點。你最害怕什麼？你最深深處的恐懼是什麼？有沒有可能你最大的恐懼和令你最不能相信上帝的思想領域相互交織纏結在一起？罪惡和恐懼是相輔相成的。

        然而，問題是我們所有關於自由的看法都是短暫而不能恆久。但是主耶穌來到世上所給予的自由 - 是從恐懼和罪惡中釋放出來的自由，卻是存到永遠。約翰福音八章卅六節說：「所以天父的兒子若叫你們自由，你們就真自由了。」羅馬書八章二節再說：「因為賜生命聖靈的律在基督耶穌裡釋放了你，使你脫離罪和死的律了。」

        因此，我們不僅可以擺脫罪惡和恐懼，還可以自由地過一個更豐盛、更完備的人生。

        你想找到真正的自由嗎？你有什麼恐懼？在你的生命中，有那些令你不可信靠的地方？將臨節提醒我們：主耶穌來是要把我們從不信的境況中釋放出來，所以讓我們熱切地等待那一天我們在祂的自由中享受豐盛和完備的人生。