Expectations. Desires. Dreams. If not filtered can spell disaster! Here’s why. How do you feel when your expectations are not met? Lousy. What happens when you don’t get what you desire? Upset. How do you react when your dreams don’t come true? Frustrated.
Lousy, upset, and frustrated can lead to your drugs of choice. They can also lead you to take a step back to filter them through the truths of Scripture. One leads to disaster. One leads to better decisions to get what you’re really expecting and dreaming of – being happy and fulfilled.
My BIG reading this morning showed me something about expectations. The moment our first parents sinned, a huge curse entered the world – painfully hard work with little hope of a good return and strained relationships. This is what we should expect, nothing more or less…without Jesus.
Ask yourself this, if you find yourself at the doorstep of your drug of choice, “Am I standing here because my dreams, expectations and desires don’t line up with Scripture?” If so, it’s time to exchange them with the truths the Spirit gives you while you listen to Him in the Word. Let the Lord put His desires in your heart and you’ll never be disappointed again. He will meet those expectations (Ps. 37:4), which drives you closer to Jesus and further away from doorstep of your drugs of choice.
S“E”t Free Nowww

A friend and I ran our one and only marathon quite a few years back. So far back, in fact, I had a full head of hair then! You can see my buddy poking his head out over the right shoulder of the guy in front.
We ran with 3 goals in mind. We wanted to finish (1) without walking (2) under 4 hours (3). We had to train separately due to our busy schedules. Yet, every time we saw each other we’d ask, “How’d you do?” We trained the best we could when the big day arrived. You can see the smiles on our faces…but we were just starting!
Over the course of this “race,” he wanted to quit and the Lord used me to keep him going. Then he returned the favor. Our bodies hurt from the pounding of 26 miles 385 yards. Yet, we hung together until we crossed the finish line – 3 hours 58 minutes 39 and 43 respectively. We couldn’t have done it without each other.
Life is a marathon. Just as we had to choose to train, each person has to choose for themselves to “practice” the truths of God’s word to become like Jesus. Just as we set our goals, each person has to run the entire course, which means taking one step, making one decision, at a time. Just as marathon is completed in thousands of steps, we make thousands of decisions to become like Jesus, not just one. And I hate to admit it; life has its painful moments just like a marathon.
We can’t run the race for each other, but we can run it together. Life is tough, who is encouraging you to fight through the pain to keep running? Life has its challenges, who is challenging your “quit” thinking? If you want to cross the finish line with hands held high in victory you must choose to run the race with another believer. It’s your (plural) race to run together.
Set Fre“E” Noww“W”

I was reading one of those feel good stories today that piqued my interest. It was about a pitcher who struggled to make it in the major leagues. One of those struggles was a bone spur that severed his tendon and ruptured ligaments in his knee.
One day while feeling sorry for himself during rehab, “a beautiful young girl walks in.” She was limping badly. She was a star soccer player on her way to play the game on a college scholarship when she lost her left leg to amputation at the knee and much of her right calf to a terrible accident.
The major leaguer said, “That’s when I lost it. The good Lord was like, ‘Wake up, dude.’ Perspective. Is baseball, your livelihood, the worst that can be taken from you? No, this girl almost lost her life. Losing her leg was a blessing.”
She lived that same perspective. She stated, “I was born normal, and I’m having to adapt to a different situation, a different way of life. This is my normal now. I’m used to it this way. This has been a blessing in disguise. I’ve learned a lot, and I’ve become a really good person, and I’ve been able to do a lot for others.”
Indeed she has. She not only touched the life of this major league pitcher, but her college teammates as well. Her coach honored her scholarship where she went on to make national headlines by playing goalie in a game with her prosthetic leg. Her coach had this to say, “She was someone who more than lived up to her end of the bargain when it came to changing the program.”
We don’t choose our gifts and talents. They’re given to us. We don’t choose our physical attributes. We’re born with them. We don’t even choose life’s accidents. They simply happen. We do choose, however, whether we will walk with and become more like Jesus no matter how we were born or what happens along the way. Here’s a truth for your filter: when you’re weak, He can be strong for you. It’s your choice to let Him.
Set Free No“W”ww

There’s been quite a bit of hubbub over how Robin Williams died. Among other things, some have called it cowardly. Here’s something to ponder.
In Jewish tradition, suicide is such a “severe sin” that Rabbi’s are not supposed to give a eulogy at the person’s funeral. Yet, “even as Jewish law expresses its categorical contempt for suicide as a viable option (my note: truth is still truth); it makes clear its empathy for those acting under the kinds of compulsion brought on by depression and other forms of mental illness (my note: all brains are damaged due to sin; thus, not all brains and bodies are wired and work equally the same). It is extremely unlikely that a person would commit such an act of folly unless his mind was disturbed. Jewish law found a beautiful balance between abhorrence of an act before it is committed and compassion for the victims of self-destruction in the aftermath of its tragedy.”
The New Testament shows the same balance. Jesus is the Redeemer, one who is righting a great wrong done by the consequences of sin – both others and our own. The Scripture is clear: truth is truth and there are consequences to not following it.
Jesus is also God, who can see into all the nooks and crannies of our soul and mind – all the junk and pain put there by anyone’s choices – and still say with open arms, “I don’t like what I see, but I love you!”
Yes, we stand for truth. It’s the only mechanism by which we can be set free from the consequences of sin. Yet, Scripture shows that everyone has a drug of choice (1 Jn. 1:8); and, it’s a battle to overcome that drug, even in the best of circumstances.
We don’t have to like what someone does, but we can certainly examine our own struggles to overcome our bad choices before we react to it (Gal. 6:1). Afterwards, we can stand for truth while showing compassion to and love for them as they travel forward on their journey. The is the proper balance for believers: stand for truth while lovingly holding each other accountable to the process of life change.
“S”et Free Nowww

Jesus talked with His Father during the day (Matt. 14:23) and at night (Lk. 6:12). He spoke with His Father when times were tough (Mk. 14:32) and when tough decisions had to be made (Lk. 6:12).
He prayed by Himself (Lk. 9:18) and with His men (Lk. 9:28). He had such awesome conversations with His Dad that His men wanted Him to teach them how to talk that way (Lk. 11:1). In fact, Jesus was in constant contact with His Father (Lk.18:1; Jn. 8:28).
What in the world could they have been talking about all that time? Think about it. He never stopped talking with His Father. This would even be challenging for my female readers! Guys usually run out of words at about 15K per day where women can make it up to 25K. Yet there had to be a lot more words being exchanged between Father and Son.
The only answer is that they shared life, everyday life, with each other. No experience was too trivial or out of bounds for them to converse about. They loved each other that much!
Your God loves you that much as well. Walk and talk with H. Him. He not only loves it, but it helps you as well. As you focus on the One with the solutions, your challenges seem to go out of focus.
“S”et Free Nowww