Many times we think that freedom is something that all Americans possess.  But spiritually, most people are bound by this world and what it has to offer.  I was brought up in a Christian home, and I knew the Bible backwards and forwards.  I prayed to receive Jesus and was baptized when I was six.  But somehow, Satan still got a hold on my heart.  When I was twelve years old, I started losing the simple faith that I had as a child, and began turning to other places to find “freedom.”  I wondered if God really cared about me or what I did.             There was a good friend of mine who seemed to have peace and joy.  She was almost two years older than I was, and I really looked up to her.  I knew that she had a relationship with God, but I didn’t really know how to get it.  I went through almost two years of this, and I was miserable and depressed the whole time.             Then one day it seemed to hit me that I wasn’t saved and that I was headed for hell.  I started crying really hard, and I asked Jesus to forgive me for everything I had done.  I talked to God for a long time, and when I was done, I knew that Jesus had answered my prayer.  About a year after that, God filled me with His Holy Spirit.  I know that I have true freedom in Christ.             Now as Christians we know that we are free from sin and slaves to Christ.  There was a story about a young slave girl who was sold at an auction in the 1800s.  An abolitionist decided to buy and release her.  But when he told her that she was free, she clung to him and wouldn’t let go.  “No!” she cried, “I want to serve you.”  The girl felt so indebted to him that she remained his slave.             Jesus did the same thing when he died for us.  He released us from Satan’s grip and gave us the power to overcome sin.  I know that without Him I am nothing and that without Him my life wouldn’t be worth living. So, in essence, I have enslaved myself to Jesus, so that I can be truly free.             “But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted.  You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.” (Romans 6:17-18 NIV)