Released

Jesus Christ is alive! Death has been defeated, the power of sin vanquished, and we have been raised to new life through Christ, if we have believed on Him. Hebrews 2 teaches this:
14 Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,
15 and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

Now, each day we have the power available to us to walk in victory - the victory that Jesus has won for us, so that we can walk in freedom over the power of sin and experience His new life that we now possess. We can admit we have been crucified with Him, according to Galatians 2:20, and enjoy the new life He gives us in the Spirit.  We can experience this freedom by total dependence on the Lord, the One who is risen from the dead, so that we can have His life. 

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Jesus is risen - and if we know Him as our Lord, if we have been born again, we have been raised up to new life. Our lives can reflect His defeat of the power of sin and death, so His life is now ours. In Luke 4, Jesus taught about the freedom that He brings; the chapter states:
18 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord."
20 Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.
21 And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."

On this day following our celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, bringing us freedom from the power of sin, I want to call your attention to a missionary to Africa who is celebrating his freedom from captivity in a physical sense. His name is Jeff Woodke, who served in the country of Niger with the Christian mission organization, Youth with a Mission, or YWAM. The website, God Reports, states that he "was kidnapped from his home in Abalak, northern Niger, on 14 October 2016. His kidnappers, suspected members of a radical Islamic group called Mujao, reportedly took him towards eastern Mali. Since then it appears he has been taken across borders to other nations."

The article relates that Woodke...

...was released outside of Niger, in a border area with Mali and Burkina Faso, , a US official told The New York Times. He was then moved to Niger’s capital Niamey for medical checks.

Niger’s Interior Minister Hamadou Adamou Soule told reporters that Woodke as well as French journalist Olivier Dubois, who was released at the same time, were freed “from the hands of [JNIM]”, an al-Qaeda affiliate in West Africa.

The release appeared to be unconditional.

The article quotes from Woodke's wife, Els, who said, according to a website devoted to Jeff's release, that he was "in good condition." The site also said, “She has expressed her profound thanks to the many people in governments and others around the world who have worked so hard to see this result,” adding, “She praises God for answering the prayers of Christians everywhere who have prayed for this outcome.” Jeff had been working in the area with an arm of YWAM since 1992.

That region has been beset by Islamic violence, God Reports notes:

Woodke’s release comes amidst a surge of violence by militant Islamists and other groups in the Sahel region. Deaths because of violent attacks by Islamist groups increased by almost 50 per cent over the past year with most of the events taking place in Burkina Faso and Mali, according to a report by the Africa Center for Strategic Studies. Neighboring countries such as Benin and Togo saw an increase in attacks a well.

We can certainly celebrate Jeff Woodke's freedom, while still remembering that many Christians are not free - you have those who have been thrown in prison, arrested for their practice of Christianity. You have many who are not freely worshipping - in underground situation; yet, they have a strong and passionate devotion to the Lord. 

We also recognize that many Christians are not free - spiritually speaking.  Even though Jesus is their Savior, they still live in bondage to the flesh.  That is a condition against which we all need to guard against.  Because if we are saved, we now possess freedom from the power of sin.  Yet, if we're not living in it, we cannot experience the peace and joy He desires for us to have.  We don't experience freedom based on our own effort, but on allowing Christ to be our life, to live through us.