Live as free men

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Kenneth Bae, American Christian missionary, arrested in North Korea.
“Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.” – 1 Peter 2:16.

By Peter Kennedy

In November 2012, Kenneth Bae an American Christian missionary, was arrested in North Korea. His North Korean captors interrogated him up to 15 hours a day for the first four weeks of his incarceration and yelled with impatience until he wrote a confession to their liking. Later they allowed Kenneth to read his Bible and permitted him to pray.

His chief prosecutor told him he was “the most dangerous American criminal apprehended in the 60 years since the Korean War.”

He received a 15-year sentence of hard labor in North Korea’s penal system, where he toiled on a soybean farm and lost more than 30 pounds. He had 30 guards assigned to watch him.

“Along the way, I found my way adjusting to life in the North Korean prison, just depending on God,” Kenneth said.

Then almost two years to the day, in November 2014, he was freed and returned to the United States.

“One thing I want people to take away from reading the book is God’s faithfulness,” he said. “After I was released, I was reminded that God has not forgotten the people of North Korea.”

As freed men and women from sin, we should seek to serve the Lord. Today in prayer, praise the Lord that you are free in Him and serve Him with a glad heart.

“But what is freedom? Rightly understood, A universal license to be good.” – Hartley Coleridge

God’s Word: “You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.” – Galatians 5:13.

Read another devotional: Be prepared

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