Tag Archives: freedom

December 21, 2016 · 5:46 AM

Your Emancipation 


On January 1, 1863, President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. It legally changed the status of slaves in ten southern states from slaves to free. Even though it was a legal document, many southern states refused to accept it. There was also the fact that news moved slowly. In fact, it was June 19, 1865 before slaves in Texas received word of the Emancipation Proclamation. To this day, June Teenth is a holiday in Texas that celebrates the day of freedom of slaves even though they had technically been free for over two years.

I tell you that story because it applies to many Christians today. We are no longer slaves to sin when we accept Christ into our lives. Yet many of us go on living as though we are still in bondage. As the scripture tells us, it was for freedom that Christ set jus free. Jesus broke the chains of sin in our lives and made us free from the law of sin and death. We are to leave the life we were living and to become new creations.

II Corinthians 3:17 says, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (emancipation from bondage, freedom)” (AMPC). The emancipation that Jesus brings is not just from the bondage of sin. It’s to set you free from any bondage you may be in. He came that you could be set free from the bondage of fear, self destruction, pornography, drugs, sickness, and any other bondage you may find yourself in. As a Christian, you are free and it’s time to quit living as a slave.

Romans 6 has a lot to say about leaving a life of bondage to a life of freedom. Verse 11 says, “Even so consider yourselves also dead to sin and your relation to it broken, but alive to God [living in unbroken fellowship with Him] in Christ Jesus.” In the next verse, in a different version, it tells us not to give sin a vote in how we live. Our mindset has to change along with our salvation. We have to accept the freedom Jesus brought us, then change our mindset from slaves to free people in order to begin walking in that freedom.

If you find yourself having accepted the freedom Jesus brings, but still living with a slave mentality, pray that God would renew your mind and to give you the mind of Christ. Ask that God would help you to accept your freedom and to begin living in it. God has issued His own Emancipation Proclamation for your life. He has set you free because His Spirit now resides in you. Don’t spend years living in bondage after you’ve been set free. Begin walking in your freedom today.

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November 7, 2016 · 5:00 AM

The Raccoon Trap


I’ve always heard that the best way to catch a raccoon is to create a trap with a shiny coin dangling, and then put a small hole in her side. A raccoon will reach in, grab the coin, and not be able to get his hand out because it’s in a fist. The simple way to get out is to let go, but the raccoon won’t because he wants the coin to badly. I’ve laughed at how stupid a raccoon must be, but then had to stop when the mirror was turned to me. 

Each time I hear the story of the raccoon, I wonder what things I’m holding on to that I need to let go of. There was a young man who approached Jesus in Mark 10, and he asked Him what he needed to do to get eternal life. Jesus rattled off several commandments, “Don’t murder, don’t commit adultery, don’t steal, don’t lie, don’t cheat, honor your father and mother” (MSG). This got the young man excited because he had kept all of those. Just then, Jesus added one more to the list.

Jesus said, “There’s just one thing left: Go sell whatever you own and give it to the poor.” The young man’s face dropped, and he went away with a heavy heart. Verse 22 says, “He was holding on tight to a lot of things, and not about to let go.” He got caught in the raccoon trap. He was holding on to things God was asking Him to let go of. In the end, he lost it all because he couldn’t let go. Corrie Ten Boom once said, “Hold everything in your hands lightly, otherwise it hurts when God pries your fingers open.”

What are you holding on to that God has asked you to let go of? It could be hurt, regret, pain, bitterness, or something physical that you own. Whatever it is, it’s best to let go of it before God pries it out. Don’t let those things trap you and keep you where you are. Release them, no matter how important they may seem. You’ll find that God’s freedom is greater than whatever you’re holding on to. I’ve also learned that I have to let go of things before God can give me new and better things. The choice is ours. What’s it going to be?

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July 8, 2016 · 6:06 AM

The Hope Of Grace


One of the greatest struggles I have as a Christian is being a new creation with the old creation’s mind. The new life wants to live for God, but the old mind controls my thoughts which ends up controlling my actions and words. There’s a war that goes on that fights between needing to love others and wanting to condemn them for their actions. I don’t think I’m alone in this struggle by seeing and hearing what others say about those they disagree with.

I read a quote by Dietrich Bonhoeffer from “The Cost of Discipleship” that’s helped me understand what’s going on in this struggle. He wrote, “Judging others makes us blind, whereas love is illuminating. By judging others we blind ourselves to our own evil and to the grace which others are just as entitled to as we are.” Our old mind wants to withhold the grace which we have been afforded. When we withhold grace, judgement fills the vacuum and condemnation comes out.

We are called to speak the truth in love. We like to say, “The truth hurts,” but we shouldn’t be trying to hurt them. The love portion of that phrase we live by is what Illuminates their sin and points to the cross where they can obtain grace. Our old man wants to bring judgement and condemnation, but our new man wants them to find grace so they can be free of their sin. We can’t just speak a condemning truth to others without coupling it with love. We can’t leave them in that place without the hope of grace.

Here are some verses from the Bible about this struggle.

1. It’s easy to see a smudge on your neighbor’s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, “Let me wash your face for you,” when your own face is distorted by contempt? It’s this I-know-better-than-you mentality again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your own part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor.
Luke 6:41-42 MSG

2. And remember, our Lord’s patience gives people time to be saved. This is what our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you with the wisdom God gave him.
2 Peter 3:15 NLT

3. Live creatively, friends. If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself. You might be needing forgiveness before the day’s out. Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. Share their burdens, and so complete Christ’s law. If you think you are too good for that, you are badly deceived.
Galatians 6:1-3 MSG

4. For just as you judge and criticize and condemn others, you will be judged and criticized and condemned, and in accordance with the measure you [use to] deal out to others, it will be dealt out again to you.
Matthew 7:2 AMP

5. For while the Law was given through Moses, grace (unearned, undeserved favor and spiritual blessing) and truth came through Jesus Christ.
John 1:17 AMP

6. His choice is based on his grace, not on what they have done. For if God’s choice were based on what people do, then his grace would not be real grace.
Romans 11:6 GNT

7. God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant.
Romans 5:20 NLT

8. For God will not show mercy when he judges the person who has not been merciful; but mercy triumphs over judgment.
James 2:13 GNT

9. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
Philippians 2:5 NLT

10. Here is a simple, rule-of-thumb guide for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you, then grab the initiative and do it for them.
Matthew 7:12 MSG

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July 4, 2016 · 5:00 AM

Declaration Of Independence 


On July 4th, 1776, the Continental Congress ratified a document known as the Declaration of Independence. It was a formal declaration that the 13 colonies would no longer live under British rule or be subject to the decrees of the monarchy. They had enough of the tyranny and taxation without representation and decided to fight back. They knew there would be a difficult road ahead and it was filled with uncertainty. They knew that the odds were against them, but they also knew that freedom was worth it.

The birth of the United States of America is an inspiration to me in life and in my spiritual walk with God. You see there comes a time in our lives when you and I have to decide if we want to continue living under the old law. We have to choose whether we want to be bound to the dictates of the flesh or be set free. The moment we choose Jesus to be our Lord, we choose to throw off the chains of the flesh. Just like the colonies, that Declaration of Independence will be a declaration of war.

Galatians 5:17 says, “For what our human nature wants is opposed to what the Spirit wants, and what the Spirit wants is opposed to what our human nature wants. These two are enemies, and this means that you cannot do what you want to do” (GNT). How God wants us to live and how our flesh wants us to live are two completely different ways. If we choose to declare our independence from our human nature, then we will need to live how the Spirit wants if we want true freedom. Verse 18 says, “If the Spirit leads you, then you are not subject to the Law.”

If you’ve decided to accept Jesus as your Lord, but haven’t ratified your Declaration of Independence, let me encourage you to do that today. After you’ve done it, read Romans 7 and 8. These two chapters will help you understand the war you’ve just started and give you the keys to victory. You are not alone in this war for your spiritual independence. You have an Advocate in the Holy Spirit and you have Jesus interceding on your behalf. You also have a whole body of believers in the same trenches as you are fighting the same battles. It was for freedom that Christ set us free (Galatians 5:1), so let’s declare it today! 

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September 29, 2015 · 5:30 AM

Choices And Obligations

  
Have you ever felt you were obligated to do something you didn’t want to do? For me, when those situations occur, it always happens when something better is going on and I have to pass on it in order to do something I felt obligated to do. That causes frustration, disappointment, and a bad attitude. I spend the whole time thinking of what I could have done instead of being stuck doing what I felt obligated to do. It’s very disappointing to say the least.

Have you ever felt that way spiritually? Have you felt obligated to do something you knew wasn’t right or that God didn’t approve of? We all have at one time or another because we’ve all failed God. In every situation or temptation, we have a choice. We can do what God wants or what our sinful nature wants. Many times we choose what our sinful nature wants while knowing what God wants. After a while, we can begin to think we can’t beat the sin, so we give in to it every time.

James 4:17 says, “Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it” (NLT). When we do what’s wrong when we know what’s right, we have the same emotions we do when we do something out of obligation over desire. In Romans 7, Paul talks about the struggle of wanting to do what’s right, but not being able to. When that happens, we realize we are a slave to sin and feel obligated to do what it wants instead of what God wants. In those moments, we can feel frustrated and disappointed in ourselves.

Coming out of that chapter of failure to do what God wants, I like what Paul reminds us of in Romans 8. He said, “Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do.” You and I don’t have to have those feelings of disappointment. We don’t have to feel like we let God and ourselves down. We are not obligated to sin just because that’s what our mind and body wants. We can choose to do what God wants and forego the guilt and disappointment that comes from doing what’s wrong.

We don’t have to be slaves to our sinful nature. Christ has set us free from the law that binds us to go against God. He has placed His Spirit within us to bring the freedom to choose what God wants us to do. Once you accept Jesus as your savior, you are no longer obligated to do what you used to. You are no longer a slave to sin. You have been set free to live a Spirit-led life free from your obligation to sin. If you’re struggling still with slavery to sin, pray that God would give you a Spirit-led mind so you’ll be set free from slavery to sin and do what God wants.

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July 4, 2014 · 7:30 AM

10 Verses On Freedom

1 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (emancipation from bondage, freedom). [Isa. 61:1, 2.] (2 Corinthians 3:17 AMP)

2. The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is upon me, for the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the LORD’s favor has come, and with it, the day of God’s anger against their enemies. (Isaiah 61:1-2 NLT)

3. So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free. (John 8:36 NLT)

4. It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Just make sure that you don’t use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom. Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love; that’s how freedom grows. For everything we know about God’s Word is summed up in a single sentence: Love others as you love yourself. That’s an act of true freedom. If you bite and ravage each other, watch out—in no time at all you will be annihilating each other, and where will your precious freedom be then? (Galatians 5:13-15 MSG)

5. In my distress I prayed to the LORD, and the LORD answered me and set me free. (Psalms 118:5 NLT)

6. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. (1 Peter 2:16 ESV)

7. So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32 ESV)

8. This is in accordance with the terms of the eternal and timeless purpose which He has realized and carried into effect in [the person of] Christ Jesus our Lord, In Whom, because of our faith in Him, we dare to have the boldness (courage and confidence) of free access (an unreserved approach to God with freedom and without fear). (Ephesians 3:11-12 AMP)

9. I will walk in freedom, for I have devoted myself to your commandments. (Psalms 119:45 NLT)

10. With the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah, that fateful dilemma is resolved. Those who enter into Christ’s being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud. A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death. (Romans 8:1-2 MSG)

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July 3, 2014 · 8:00 AM

Freedom Is A Choice

Freedom is not something that is uniquely American. It was instituted by a God Himself. His desire is that all of us live free lives. We are the ones who constantly put ourselves in bondage through our actions. We are the ones who put ourselves in position to let others bind us up. God has called us to live free lives according to Galatians 5:1. So why do we do the things that take us away from freedom? Why do we lament the past when we were slaves instead of celebrating the freedoms we currently enjoy?

It’s a problem that goes back as far as time. When the children of Israel were set free from the bondage of Egypt, they cried out, “There we sat around pots filled with meat and ate all the bread we wanted.” In their freedom, they looked back on their time of slavery as a positive thing. They didn’t grasp what it meant to be free so they would rather have gone back into slavery than to have lived in the freedom that God had granted them. It sounds absurd, but are we so different?

We let what other people have said or done to us keep us imprisoned in our minds and actions. We let the past dictate our present. God has set us free, but we allow unforgiveness to hold us down and rob us of freedom. We allow grudges and pain to keep us from trusting anyone. When that happens, we hold ourselves back from the future God has for us. We let what man has done to us rob us of the blessings of freedom. We hold ourselves back in that prison not wanting to get out because it’s safer to stay there. Freedom requires action on our part.

Galatians 5:13-15 says, “Use your freedom to serve one another in love; that’s how freedom grows… Love others as you love yourself. That’s an act of true freedom.” Selfishness is the doorway to imprisonment. Serving others is the way to stay free. When we help others despite how many times we’ve been taken advantage of, we walk in freedom. When we hold back because of things that have happened, we allow that freedom to slip away. Edmund Burke said, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” As Christians, we can’t sit around and do nothing.

We are called to be salt and light. We lose our shine and our flavor when we let what’s been done to us keep us in the dark. Don’t be held captive by what someone has done to you. Be set free because of what Christ did for you! If He has brought you out of it, then don’t complain like the Israelites did in the desert. Complaining will only keep you wandering in the desert. Living in the freedom that Christ has called you to will lead you into the Promised Land. The choice is yours. What will you do with your freedom?

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February 10, 2014 · 7:52 AM

Philemon’s Predicament

I’ve read Paul’s letter to Philemon many times. It’s usually one of the books in the Bible that I skim through and move on. Partly because it’s only one chapter and another because it’s a personal letter asking Philemon for a favor that doesn’t concern me. This last time I read it though, I began to question why this letter was so important that it had to be included in the Bible. Why did God want us to see this personal letter? When I questioned it like that, I began to see why it was so important.

Onesimus was a slave who ran away from Philemon. Through God’s providence, he crossed paths with Paul and accepted Christ. Paul then became his father in the faith and discipled him. Through time, they discovered the connection and Paul encouraged him to return to Philemon. He encouraged Philemon not to look at Onesimus as a slave anymore, but as a brother. He wanted him to forgive Onesimus’ past and to accept him back debt free. I’m sure Philemon must have struggled with this, but ultimately responded positively to the request.

It reminded me of someone I knew in high school. A guy that I didn’t like much. We ran in the same circles, but I didn’t think very highly of him so I didn’t hang out with him. To me, he was a Christian in name only because his actions proved otherwise. After high school, I didn’t hear from him for nearly 20 years until Facebook came along. I accepted the friend request from him and began to Facebook stalk him. I saw that he was in ministry and I scoffed. How could this guy be in ministry? He didn’t deserve it.

As I watched over the next couple of years, every time I saw a post from him that had to do with ministry, I looked for something wrong. I tried to find his angle in messing with people. The more I looked, the more I began to see it was real ministry. I still held out on accepting it because of his past. I knew what was underneath. I knew who he was. I wasn’t going to buy in even if everyone else did. We had a history much like Philemon and Onesimus. It was hard to accept that someone who had done so much wrong in the past could be doing so much right in the present.

One day as I was reading a post and scoffing, God spoke to me. He asked, “Do I hold your past against you?” My heart sunk. I wanted to say, “But I didn’t do the stuff this guy did.” I wanted to make my past better than his because I would somehow be justified in my feelings. But I knew the answer. “No,” I replied. “Then how can you hold his past against him? I have forgiven him and it is gone. He has become a new creation and is being used for my purposes,” God told me. What can you say to that besides, “yes, sir”?

I, like Philemon, had to let go of someone else’s past and accept them as a brother. I had to release my 20 years of contempt and see them as a fellow servant doing God’s work. We all have someone who comes to mind here. Someone who has wronged us. Someone who we’ve held contempt for. Someone who we’ve disliked for a long time. Today, release those feelings and be free. You are not God and don’t have the right to decide who God can and cannot use. If they have wronged you, hand it over to Him and let Him handle it. He’s a better judge than we are and has the ability to change people completely. If you need proof, look in the mirror.

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October 25, 2013 · 7:51 AM

Free Yourself From Fear

Today I’m starting something new on this site. I’m celebrating by giving away an autographed copy of Ted Dekker’s book “Outlaw” that released this week. I’ll tell, you more in a minute on how to win it. First, I want to share with you my idea. I’m going to be doing a series called “Free Friday’s” each week. Each of us have things in our life that hold us down. There are things that keep us from being all that God wants us to be. Hebrews 12:1 tells us to cast off those things that hold us so easily beset us. We need to free ourselves of them.

20131025-074851.jpg

Today, to start the series, I want to talk about fear. Each of us have fear in our lives. It rears its ugly head in different ways. There is the fear that presents it’s self in the form of panic. That fear paralyzes us in so many ways. I’ve had this kind of fear in my life and it kept me from getting a good night’s rest for many years. This fear is usually caused by an event in our past and it keeps us from a bright future. It took a lot of prayer and God speaking to me to relieve it. He assured me that He was with me and wouldn’t allow the harm that I feared to come against me.

Another fear that some of us face is the fear of failure. We are so afraid that we’ll fail at something that God asked us to do that we never start it. That fear works in conjunction with our pride. We’re more afraid that our reputation will be ruined than we are that God will be disappointed that we didn’t act on His request. We stay in a constant state of planning instead of acting. I did that with my writing for years. I was so afraid of failing that I never tried. I read something by Mark Batterson that said instead of “ready, set, go”, as Christians we are called to “go, set, ready.” Free yourself of that fear, do what God said to do and let Him work out the success of it.

A fear I’m currently dealing with, and many people I met last weekend, is the fear of success. What if I succeed? Am I ready for the changes? Am I ready to chop wood and draw water (Ted Dekker’s message to us) for the rest of my life? I get so afraid of success that I don’t even try. I allow that fear to determine my actions, my planning and my writing. I would love to be a success, but on the other hand, the fear of “what if…” creeps in and sabotages me. Today, I’m freeing myself of that fear and I’m going to let God do what He wants to do. I’m going to accept His idea of success and not what fear has painted in my mind.

What fear do you need to be free of today? It’s time to give it over to God. It’s time to be free. II Timothy 1:7 says, “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind.” My prayer for you today is that you will release yourself from the prison that fear has held you captive in for so long. Whatever that fear is, God is greater. Put your pride aside. Put your doubts aside. Put your trust in the one who is greater in you. It’s Friday. What fear will you be free from today?

In order to win the autographed copy of Ted Dekker’s new book “Outlaw”, click here to go to my new Facebook page, like it and then share it with your friends. Anyone who does this by midnight Central Standard Time, today, October 25, 2013, will be entered to win. I will draw a name at random tomorrow and will announce the winner. I will ship you the book via US Postal Service. Thanks for your support and I look forward to finding something to be free from each Friday.

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July 24, 2013 · 7:38 AM

Praise in Prison

Our associate pastor was talking this past Sunday and brought up Paul and Silas. He was referencing the time when they were in prison and were shackled down. At midnight they began to praise God and to sing. During that time of praise that all the other prisoners could hear, an earthquake hit under the prison and freed all the prisoners from their shackles. Instead of leaving, every prisoner stayed put. The pastor then said, “Sometimes God will free you from your chains, but leave you in the prison in order to minister.”

That has stuck with me this week. We’ve all heard sermon after sermon about praising God in your midnight, but I never heard anyone talk about what he mentioned. We’re so eager to get the chains off that when they do fall off, we run out of the place God had us. We never stop to think that just because we’re free of the chains it doesn’t mean we’re necessarily free from the prison. There may still be work to do there.

The prison guard heard the chains fall off. He knew the prisoners were free and that he was no match for them. He assumed they had gotten away or were going to. If that was to occur, he would be killed. As his mind raced through every negative scenario, he decided to take his own life. As he drew his sword and held it up to kill himself, the very men that were set free called out to him, “Stop! Don’t kill yourself! We’re all here!”

The guard called for lights and went down into the dungeon where Paul and Silas were, fell on his face before them and asked, “What must I do to be saved?” The quake that night wasn’t about freeing the prisoners, it was about saving a soul. Paul and Silas were in tune with God enough that they knew not to run in their freedom. Instead, they used their freedom in that dungeon to minister to someone who wouldn’t have listened to the Gospel any other way.

The guard got his family so they could hear the message. They too were saved. Then he took Paul and Silas into his home, cleaned their wounds and fed them. The next morning they were freed from the jail by the city. Even though the chains that bound them had been released, they were still prisoners until the night was over. Had they fled when the shackles fell off, they would not have been legally free and would have been considered fugitives. The story would have had a different ending.

How is your story going to end? We’re all prisoners to something. When we’ve learned to praise in our prison and we’ve been set free, we shouldn’t be so quick to run out of the prison. There may be others who need to be set free as well while you’re there. God can set us free from the things that bind us in order to minister in the place He has us. Where does God have you now? Are you so concerned with getting your chains off that you haven’t noticed others who need your help? Ask God to teach you to open your eyes in the prison you’re in and then start to praise.

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