From a Distance
A Message of Bondage
by
Anibal Lopez
I receive numerous emails from people who
have read my testimony. It fills me with
joy that it has been a blessing to many people.
I like to let them know that the same thing
God has done with me He will also do with
you and anyone else who is willing to accept
Him as Lord of their life.
I am sure there are millions of people that
believe in God and love Jesus, but continue
to struggle with the bondage of sin. I was
one of them until one day I totally surrendered
my life to Him and made Him lord of my life.
Until we make the decision to trust Him with
our life, mind, body and soul, we will continue
just believing in Him and loving Him, but
from a distance. Unless we look to develop
a personal relationship with Him we will
only know Him from a distance. We must give
it all up for Him in order to be free from
bondage, because it’s easier to sin than
to give it all up for Him; it’s our nature.
Everything in life has a price. Just like
Jesus paid the ultimate price by being crucified
for our sins.
I have been asked how I freed myself from
bondage. The truth is that I didn’t free
myself, but allowed Jesus to become the Lord
of my life so I could be free. There is a
difference in just believing in Jesus and
allowing Him to become Lord of our lives.
By being Lord it means He controls every
aspect of our life. He becomes the center
of our life. As you can see it is all about
our life. You decide what’s going to happen. Only you
can decide where you will spend eternity.
For me, bodybuilding stopped being the most
important thing in my life. My trophys, titles,
fame, money, friends, all of it. All thess
things came second or not at all. 1 Timothy
1:7-8 says, Have nothing to do with godless myths and
old wives' tales; rather, train yourself
to be godly. 8 For physical training is of
some value, but godliness has value for all
things, holding promise for both the present
life and the life to come.
I stopped participating in anything that
interfered with my relationship with the
Lord. For the glory of God I would like to
share with you one of my experiences that
helped me be free of bondage, helped me grow
spiritually, and improved my relationship
with the Lord. This does not mean that everyone
has to do the same thing because we all have
our own bondage ties.
When I built my home, the first thing I did
was make sure I had a special room for all
my trophies, medals, and awards.This room
also became my prayer and Bible study room.
I wanted God to use me in His ministry so
I would be able to share my testimony with
others. In my prayers I would say to Him
that I would do anything He asked of me.
Little did I know that we should be careful
what we ask God for, you just my get it.
Of course as I mentioned before everything
has a price; and the price could hurt.
One day while I was praying in my trophy
room, I opened my eyes and found myself kneeling
in front of my trophies. Suddenly I was overwhelmed
by the feeling that if I wanted to be used
by Him I needed to free myself of the things
that I continued to drag around with me from
the past. I responded, "oh God not my
trophies!" I felt as if God was speaking
to me, letting me know I was still worshipping
my trophies and my past and that He did not
share His glory with anything.
I knew this was not going to be an easy decision,
I even discussed it with my wife. Her response
was, "are you sure you want to do that?
Are you really going to do it?" It took
me time to obey His command, but then that’s
all God has is time.
Slowly I did away with all my awards in obedience
to Him.
I must tell you it was the hardest decision
I ever made, but at the same time I had received
what I was looking for, and it has bought
me closer to Him.
This is just part of my testimony, but one
that leaves people in disbelief. You must
understand that I just didn’t have twenty
trophies. There were over one hundred awards
that I collected throughout my bodybuilding
career. But now I have the biggest award
of all! The biggest and most precious trophy
anybody can have, the Spirit of Jesus Christ
in me.
In order to develop a personal relationship
with the Lord, you must stop participating
in the things that distance you from him,
even if it takes moving away or running away
from the environment that surrounds you.
You must get away from whatever it is that
is interfering and causing you to fall. It
does not matter how many times you repeat
the sinner’s prayer, nothing will happen
until you make the decision to follow Him
and never look back.
That’s how serious you must take your salvation,
you must protect it at all cause.
Find a church that teaches the Word as it
is written, not what men think it should
be. Then get involved in the ministry of
the church, and let it occupy most of your
free time. Get involved in studying the Word
with a group who at the same time can help
you in moments of weakness.
Trust me it’s not easy but it can be done,
only if you allow Jesus to become Lord of
your life
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to
share part of my testimony with you, and
I pray that it may be of a blessing to you.
Feel free to contact me
God Bless
Anibal Lopez www.aniballopez.com
A Message
"How sweet are Your words to my taste,
Sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through Your
precepts I get understanding; Therefore I
hate every false way. Your word is a lamp
unto my feet and a light to my path."
Psalm 119:103 -105