As humans, we think controlling our world will make us feel better about ourselves and guard ourselves from hurt. We also believe that living each day by a set of rules that we can accomplish, even Christian ones, will give us the peace, love and security we seek. This, however, is the furthest thing from reality. It’s not how God set up this world.
God started off this human experiment with only four rules – 3 positive (rule, subdue, multiply) and 1 negative (leave the Tree of Knowledge alone!). In other words, Jesus meant for Adam and Eve to live each day in a conscious walk with Him. They were to talk with Him throughout their day, especially about situations they didn’t know how to handle, which with only four rules, would mean everything!
A few years back, I felt Jesus telling me not to drink any soda for a year. I wasn’t drinking it every day, or even every weekend, but I sensed Him telling me not drink it at all. Is there a chapter and verse on soda? Nope. Where, then, would I get this thought from if it’s not in Scripture? Jesus through relationship.
God used this request to “fast” to change my life and encouraged others to do the same. Yet, none of this would have happened if I had stayed in control of my life through living by a Christian code of conduct, which by the way didn’t exclude drinking soda.
It’s time for a reality check. Isn’t being in control what gets us into trouble in the first place? Furthermore, isn’t it what others do to us, which is totally out of our control, one of the sources for our bad decisions?
The reality is that control is an illusion. I’m not nor can I ever be in control of my life. The reality is that there is only One who really is in control and who can turn my bad choices and those of others out for His glory – Jesus (Rom. 8:28).
If you want to experience peace that will blow your ability to understanding it (Phil. 4:7), you must give up your sense of control. If you want to see your life changed, you must get beyond the illusion to the reality and choose to listen to and follow Jesus throughout your day. That choice is truly the only thing you can control! Will you use it to choose Jesus?
S“E”t Free Nowww

There’s a joke that goes like this, “How can you tell when a politician is lying?” “Their lips are moving!” They can say one something today and then turn around and say something completely opposite tomorrow.
This charge has been made about the God of the Bible. He’s a tyrant, hate-filled God in the Old Testament, but a loving, compassionate God in the New. He goes ballistic one day and is calm the next. How can a God like that be trusted? He can’t.
The problem with this charge, however, is that it’s false! The God of the Bible wrote the entire Book and the message is consistent throughout.
For example, God tells the Israelites to love Him, which means they should trust Him. This trust should then be seen in their actions/obedience to His Word (Deut. 10:12). Jesus says the exact same thing in John 14:15, “If you love Me, you will obey Me.” Love means leads to trust, which leads to obedience.
We obey God because we trust that His love for us will only ask us to do something that will make our lives whole, better and satisfying. Your choices throughout your day are not so much about obedience as they are a reflection of how much you love and trust your God. Do you trust Jesus or your way of handling life (aka drug of choice) to bring satisfaction? We’ll see with each choice you make today who you love more. Do know this: you can trust Jesus’ words to make your life better.
S“E”t Free Nowww

I had one of those days yesterday – an awfully bad one. You know the kind of day I’m talking about too. It was one of those days where your attitude crashes and burns, and where the thoughts in your head and the words in your mouth are not very, well, pleasant. Yup, it was not pretty at all.
Yet that was yesterday. Now is today. It’s my choice on what today will look like. Today is the day to rejoice and be glad in it (Psalm 9:2). Why? Because I am a secure child of God. I know Whose I am and who I am in Christ. Why? Because it’s a new day with new choices. I know what it means to be a secure child. It means I have choices because of what my Jesus did in and for me.
I can choose to have another cruddy day, which can lead to my drugs of choice. Or, I can choose to let my attitude soar to the heavens where my God is enthroned. I can choose to wash out those cruddy thoughts from my brain through the truths of God’s Word. I can choose to filter my words through my Savior.
Why have another ugly day? I like the other option better; and hopefully you will too.
“S”et Fre“E” Nowww

Today, your God is asking you to do something very difficult, but absolutely necessary in our fast past, hurry-to-go-here, rush-to-go-there world. Ready. Find a spot in your day and be still. You read that right, do nothing but listen to your God.
Turn off your music. Store your head phones. Put away your phone. No texting or emailing. Quiet your heart, close your mouth, open your ears and just be still. Your God wants to talk with you.
Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God.” The God of the universe, your God, notices you and wants to be known by you. He knows exactly where you are, the amount of times your heart beats, the number of hairs on your head and your very name!
You might find this bit of exercising the truth a little difficult, but it’s possible. Your God wants to speak to you. You might have to pick up your biblical tools to shut down some voices in your head (i.e. that load of laundry in the basket calling out, that phone call screaming to be made), but indeed shut them down and simply listen.
Make the time to let your God make Himself known to you today. He will. Remember, your God doesn’t need you to do anything for Him, but wants you to do everything with Him. Your busyness doesn’t impress Him. Your great accomplishments (yeah, doing laundry counts) don’t make Him go, “Wow, I wish I could have done that.”
He is God and wants to be known by and make Himself known to you. Because He’s egotistical? No, because He knows you need it! He is the source of all you’re looking for in life as He is “the Way, the Truth, and the Life.”
Do the really hard thing today. Be still. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at what happens when you do – your God will show up!
Set Fre“E” Nowww

This is a most revealing prayer not only about humanity in general, but about believers in Christ as well. “I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you maybe be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”
The Spirit prayed this prayer through Paul in Ephesians 3:17b-19. We have all the love we’ll ever need…right now living inside us (rooted and established in love). Yet, the Spirit is praying that we will know this love from personal experience. Wait a second; if we already have this love, why is He praying for us to experience it?
Jesus did the hard thing to give us this love through living a perfect life in order to die and rise again to give us life. The moment we put our faith in Him, God pours out His love into our hearts through the Spirit (Rom. 5:5). But we don’t always believe it and then act upon it.
Why is this true? Either we don’t have someone in our lives who loves us unconditionally; or if we do, we don’t believe we deserve it; thus we never choose to live in that love. As we have a difficult time believing we are loved or loveable, we transfer this doubt to our relationship with Jesus and keep Him at arms length. Yet, He is the only one who can meet our needs; and by not believing we are loved, we turn to our drugs of choice instead.
So, the Spirit is asking for us to experience the power of God to peel away the protective layers we’ve placed around our hearts and minds in order to know from experience the tremendous amount of love that God has already put into our hearts. Once this happens, we’ll be able trust this love; thus enabling us to draw closer to Jesus, which begins the process of becoming more like Him (fullness of God).
Want more of Jesus and less of your drug of choice? Be open to experiencing the love He’s already given you, which apparently is much harder said than done. Therefore, this is something we all can be praying for our BIG partners.
“S”et Free Nowww