Man, it sure would be nice if Jesus finished His job early, like yesterday. What am I talking about? I wish He’d make me completely like Him right now. This battle to defeat my enemy and my drugs of choice is a daily battle that sometimes, I should say often times, is quite wearisome.
It’s at times like this that I must keep up my shield of faith that contains the truth that it takes time to retrain the brain. Paul said in Galatians 6:10, “Let us not us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we don’t give up.”
Keep walking forward my brothers and sisters, even if it seems like it’s uphill! God’s Word is true and will come true in your life. You’re in the process of becoming like your Savior. Give the process time, which you have a lot of it as we have eternity to know Jesus.
Set Free “N”owww

In my BIG reading this morning I came upon an interesting passage. In 1 Kings 13, God sends an unnamed Judean prophet with a message to the Israeli King Jeroboam. God told the Judean prophet to return home by a different path without stopping to eat anywhere in Israel after giving the message.
Well on the way home an Israeli prophet stops him, says God told him to tell the Judean prophet to come eat at his home, which the Judean prophet does. At the meal the Israeli prophet told him he was going to die for disobeying God! How fair is that? Or is it?
The Judean prophet needed to keep up his shield of faith, regardless of who was speaking to him. He should have filtered what he heard this man say through this biblical filter. He died because he didn’t.
Was it fair? Fair or not there are dire consequences to letting down your shield of faith – the truths the Spirit gives you from the Word of God to fight off and filter out your enemy’s lies. Life isn’t fair, but just make sure you’re not the cause of your defeats. Keep your shield of up at all times, no matter who you’re talking to or where you’re at.
Set Fre“E” Nowww

This was a great morning. I took my daughter out for her birthday breakfast. I do this every year with each of my children. This year, due to the fact that I’ll be in Israel, my daughter and I went out few days early.
After having a wonderful time, she asked, “Dad, do you have time to cuddle?” What father could resist? This one surely couldn’t. So after arriving home, we got a blanket and snuggled up on the living room sofa. I then asked, “Is there anything you want to talk about or do you just want to cuddle?” Cuddling was enough.
Silence – both outside and inside – can make one uncomfortable driving them to their drug of choice – doing something. Some are afraid of silence as they might have to deal with something inside that doing allows them to avoid. Some are afraid of silence because their significance comes from accomplishments, even if it’s conquering a simple to-do list.
Yet a secure child of God is comfortable in their own skin; and thus can live with silence. Their significance comes from being with Jesus, not doing something for Jesus. They can live with silence because they actually trust their God to only bring up “stuff” He knows they are ready to see.
Can we be still? A secure child of God can. Doing does not equal significance. Being a secure child of God does. Can we be still? A secure child of God can. Doing something to hide our defects or hurts is unnecessary as we know our Father already sees everything and loves us anyway.
You can hang out (masculine term for cuddle) with your Father. Start today by calming your mind by focusing on a single truth about Jesus. Let Him take it from there. And remember, sometimes it doesn’t require talking at all.
This goes to the heart of the Psalmist’s statement, “Be still and know that I am God.” Yes my friend, silence can be golden.
“S”et Free Nowww

So much of what we do is driven by what others thought us, think of us or will think about us. There is one problem with this thinking, however. It’s deadly! We give control of our lives to others if we let what they think about us dictate what we do.
“Will they still like, let alone love me, if I do it?” Maybe, maybe not. “Will they hate me for what I am about to do?” Maybe, maybe not. But who cares! You can’t control what others say about you, let alone what they think about you. A friend once said, “What other people think of you is none of your business.” It’s totally true!
We only have control over one thing – our choices, not others’ thoughts. Because of what Jesus gave us at salvation, we can make the right choices regardless of how others react to them. We can listen to and follow Jesus, which only makes us feel great when we do what He tells us to do.
As a believer in Jesus you are a secure child of God. Let what He thinks about you drive your choices. And remember, He may be disappointed in what you do at times, but He will always love and stand by you no matter what others may think of you.
“S”et Free Nowww

Ever notice the amount of stuff (junk?) you collect or store in your garage or storage unit? In fact, I’ll bet there are items you’ve even forgotten about hidden away on some back shelf behind another item you might not have used in quite a while.
It’s these forgotten items stored away in your brain that can wreck havoc in your life. Ever find yourself doing something that you can’t remember why you did it; and in fact, didn’t even want to do it when you did it, but you did it anyway? It’s because you’ve got forgotten the lies stored away on some back shelf behind another forgotten item.
Don’t focus on your behavior. Remember only the truth, not hard work, will set you free. Allow the Spirit to uncover the lie behind your drug of choice, sinful behavior, so He can help you exchange it with the specific truths He gives you. For this to happen, the Spirit must shine His light on your storage device so you can discover what those hidden lies are so you can get rid of them and store the truth instead.
Want to become like Jesus? Then be willing to ask yourself, “So what am I storing?”
Se“T” Free Nowww