Each day I take a prayer walk of about 3.5 to 4.5 miles to talk with and listen to my Jesus. I’m usually at home when I take these walks; but today, I’m in a city where I’m not too familiar with the streets. So I pulled out my walking app that uses a GPS to track my walk. Praise God for technology! Using this app allowed me to walk on streets lined with beautifully green landscaped yards instead of heavily traveled roads while getting me safely back to where I was staying in time to prepare for my next appointment.
A funny thing happened on my walk though. The GPS was wrong on one particular street. Instead of being able to keep walking, I was starring at a “grove” of trees in the middle of the street! What in the world? I soon discovered the pavement began again just on the other side of them. Whew, saved from a time wasting detour!
The Word of God is a great GPS for our daily walks. It can save us from time wasting detours (aka our drugs of choice – behaviors that draw us away from Jesus) as well as speak to us as we walk! Jesus said His sheep hear His voice and follow Him.
Hopefully you’re keeping your GPS updated daily through being in the Word and listening for the truths the Spirit wants you to upload into your filter. I have to tell you from recent experience (read yesterday’s entry) I would have been lost in the time wasters of doubt and worry if I hadn’t!
As we continue to learn to trust Jesus and His Word, we’ll stay out of life’s dead end streets to stay living where the good stuff is found – His presence.
S“E”t Free Nowww

I was struggling yesterday with a decision I believed the Lord had me make. Yet, the results I’m encountering at the moment are not what I expected and are making me doubt the wisdom of that decision, which is robbing me of my peace.
I’m still not too sure what the outcome will be, but I’m back in a state of peace. It came back this morning as I was reading Psalm 50 for Bible Impact. God chimed in. “He who sacrifices thank offerings honors Me, and he prepares the way so that I (God) may show him the salvation of God.” (Psalm 50:21) Wow, just what I needed to hear!
The thank offering is a type of peace offering, which is the Old Testament foundation of the FREEdom process. As we process life through the truths we’ve allowed the Spirit to put into our filters, we are to praise and thank God in the midst the situation, not after when the final results are finally tallied. We do this because of the truth of Psalm 50:21. Being thankful in the midst of the situation prepares us to see Him work, which causes our peace to return.
I still have no clue how God is going to come through, but I know He will. It might not work out how I thought it would, but I’m at peace. Isn’t that what we all long for – peace regardless of the outcome? It comes by thanking God before He rescues us.
Set Free No“W”ww

The magazine article read, “Third grade teacher in Atlanta who helped federal prosecutors indict 35 educators for secretly changing children’s scores on standardized tests said, “The cheating had been going on so long, we considered it part of our jobs.”
We get so used to our way living; we think there is no other way to live. This is why we need someone outside ourselves to show us that how we’re processing life is not going to give us what we want: peace, love, significance or security.
If we are going to stay living in the freedom Christ gave us, we have to let others into our lives. This is where the Word, the Spirit and the people of God come into play. We should be asking the Spirit as we read the Word to show us what we need to see and hear in order to expose and exchange the lies with specific truths.  We should be giving a trusted brother or sister the right to speak into our lives to help us hear from the Spirit and the Word. If not, you’ll just consider what you’re doing part of the job and someday your bubble will burst with disappoint and disillusionment instead of being pumped up with fulfillment and hope.
S“E”t Free Now“WW”

I recently found out that a very small nervous habit of mine has turned into a major pain. When I need to release nervous energy I move my hands up and down in a very rapid fashion. I’ve been doing it for quite a few years according to my wife. It’s been no problem until I recently discovered I have bursitis in my shoulder! What was an innocent release of energy has turned into quite a bit of pain and a loss of enjoyment of certain activities that I can no longer do.
Ever heard someone say, “Oh that’s no so bad!”? I know I have, repeatedly! Yet, how do we know whether that “not so bad” isn’t going to bite us in the end? If I’d have known years ago that my nervous habit would make it hard to raise my arm above my shoulder, I would have found another way to release that energy.
We are not to judge ourselves by the world’s standards, but by Scripture (Rom. 12:2). No person and especially not society, can see into the future, only Jesus can. This is why we not only need to be in the Word of God, but we need to trust it enough to practice it as well. Being in it will reveal the small stuff while it’s still small and obeying it by faith will keep the small thing from becoming a big pain later.
So, how’s your time in the Word been this week? What are you hearing the Spirit tell you, like any small thing?
S“E”t Free Nowww

It seems that my neighbor’s weeds find their way into my yard. It would be easier to do nothing. If left alone, however, they would eventually take over the entire yard chocking out my grass. Even with all the watering I do, no matter how nice their flowers look in spring, come summer they turn into stickers. And when they do, you don’t want to walk on the grass, especially barefoot! Bare feet get pricked and shoes and socks become full of stickers that scratch your legs.
Just like those weeds, all sin (aka our drugs of choice) looks and feels good in the short term (Heb. 11:25). Don’t buy what your enemy’s selling! Yes it’s easier to give into the weedy lies now, but they only stick you in the end. It’s worth the fight to weed out the lies in your brain today, so you can enjoy walking on cushy grass tomorrow.
Don’t let the feel good flowers fool you! When the Spirit shows you a lie, nail it with the specific truth He gives you…now!
Set Fr“E”e Nowww