Freedom

Psalms 51:10 “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”

Ever notice how the word freedom means different things to different people?  Freedom, no matter how you define it comes at a cost.

For your soul to be free it came at a cost.  Jesus paid for your soul to be free.  Why then do we wish to live in bondage?  We carry around our hurts, habits, and hang ups as if they were trophies to be proud of yet, that is a painful choice.  Jesus died so that we can have love, joy, peace, and self-control.  What would our world look like if the Christians of this world truly walked out the promises of God? I am not saying we should not hold people accountable for their actions, but to carry around all the pain, heartache, and disappointment year after year only severs one purpose, to keep you from living the joy filled life God wants for you.

Come to the cross with all your heartache, pain, poor choices, and disappointments. Seek God’s wisdom, healing and soul freedom.  Live a life where your souls is free, pure, filled with love, and seeks God’s wisdom and understanding every moment of every day.  See if instead of spreading “stinking thinking” you can spread “freeing thinking”.

Father in Heaven, You sent your Son to this earth to free Your people from bondage. Help me to daily walk out Your promise of freedom for my soul.  Father, change my heart and reveal to me where I still hold onto heartache and unforgivenss so that I can live a free life with You as my guide.  Give me wisdom and understanding throughout my day so that I can bring You and Your love into ever situation today.  Create in me a clean heart.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen

Tempted and Redeemed

1 Corinthians 10:13 “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man.  And God is faithful; he I will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.  But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” 

I was reminded of the fact that everything that touches our lives, good and challenging, has been sifted through the loving, compasionate hands of our God.  The God who created your inmost being, who loves you enough to leave the ninety-nine to search for you until you are found.  He is relentless in His quest to find you, capture your heart, and bring you to Him.

When you read His word you will find promise after promise that He cannot and will not break.  His only request is that you surrender to His will for your life, everything else is just dust in the wind.  Sure we will go through challenging times and we will face hardships, yet in the midst of those times God sends his “human angels” to walk with you through some of the darkest days, encourage you, breathe life into your soul, and life you up out of the muck.  God’s angels sent to walk beside you in this life, you only need to open your heart and mind to “see” them.

Father, thank you for reminding me of your great love.  You, Father, have a good and perfect plan for my life and today I walk with my head held high, love in my heart, and compassion toward others because of the love you have given me.  Help me Father to conintue to turn my life and my will over to You as You chip away at the old me taking with it all the shame, guilt, and heartache.  Thank you for making a pathway to You and bringing peace in the midst of the storms of life.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen

Perfect Path

Proverbs 23:26 “My child, give me your heart and let your eyes keep to my ways..”

Releasing control of our life is not an easy thing.  It can be scary to give away your heart because this world is cruel.  If oyou don’t give your heart away you will never exc=pertinence love, compassion, friendship, or completeness.  God uses people to bring healing and hope.  When we trust Him and keep our eyes focus on seeking Him there is joy, peace, love, kindness, and many other blessings.  Even as you face challenges, go to hHim and cry out to Him for in that pit God will send an angel.  That angel can also be called, “friend.”

Father thank you for sending people  into my life to be your instrument of grace and love.  Thank you for giving me strength, courage, and wisdom to face the challenges that enter my life.  I know LORD that you are the author and director of my path.  Lord help me to surrender to your will for my life and remove the character defects that are within me.  Your way is prefect, beautiful, and filled with love.  Wash over me today and give me strength, courage, and wisdom to face today.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen

Surrender

Jeremiah 10:23 “I know, O Lord, that man’s life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps.”

Have you ever made the perfect plan only for it to become a epic failure?  It is interesting to me that I can, in my mind, make everything perfect and lovely.  Even the most difficult situation is made perfect in my mind.  Then reality comes in and seems to destroy everything.

I am learning that it is not my plan that is perfect but God’s.  When I come into a situation that is going to be difficult I have begun relying on God and His wisdom not my own.  Life is filled with challenging situations, because we live in a broken world with broken people.  No matter what valley or difficulty you face in your life God is ready and willing to intervene on your behalf to make all things right.  In order for God to make all things right we need to surrender to His will and not our own.  Learn the truth of God’s word, learn His promisses, go to Him in prayer always and in every situation, and trust that He will make all things right in His perfect time.

Father, thank you for always being ready and willing to rescue me from myself and my will.  I know that I can come to you with every situation and You will make things right according to your will.  Help me continue trusting you and learning what you have to say.  I can be hard of hearing sometimes yet, you never give up calling my name.  When I am lost you come looking for me if only, I would stop and hear the sound of your voice.  Thank you for calling me and seeking me when I am lost and thank you for rescuing me form the disasters I create by following my will and not yours.  Continue to work on my heart, mind, body, and soul by changing me from the inside out.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen 

Jesus was Ignored

John 10 31-32 “Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, ‘I have shown you many great miracles from the Father.  For which of these do you stone me?”

Ever feel as if no one hears you or wants to listen to what you have to say, even when it is for their own good?  Your words seem to fall on deaf ears.  You are left walking away wondering why no one wants to hear what you have to say.

Jesus not only experience this, but had to escape for his life.  For Jesus speaking truth caused those around him to want to stone him to death.  No matter what He did people would not see him for the amazing person he is and refused to believe.  Many times he had to escape for his life.  Where did he escape?  Jesus went to places where His words were heard and many were brought to God because of His faithfulness and willingness to speak truth.   Even when doing so would eventually cost him his very life to save those how would not listen to his words or refused to see.

Father, thank you for never giving up on us as we try to make sense of this wicked world.  You persue Me even when I don’t what to hear or follow you.  Father, thank you for never giving up on changing me to be the person you want me to be.  Help me to continually seek Your truth and be able to stand firm on your love for me.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen

He calls You By Name

John 10: 3-4 “The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice.  He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his seeep follow him because they know his voice.”

Growing up I could always tell the sound of my mom and dad’s voice in a crowd.   When I became a parent I could pick out the cry of my child.  It is amazing how  in-tune  we are to the ones we love and care for as well as those who love us.

When we take the time to know Jesus, we can pick out his voice over all the craziness of the world.  “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:27)  We have to be willing to listen and follow the One that laid down his life for us that we may live an abundant life.  That does not mean that we will be without trouble or hardship, but when those times come we have a shield of protection and we are never alone.  We can celebrate, cry, rejoice, or “fall apart” and Christ is there for all of it.  When we are lost He will come find us and draw us closer to him, back into his loving arms.  Listen for His voice; He is calling your name.

Father, thank you for never giving up on me and calling me to you when I get lost.  Your voice is the one that calls my name day and night.  When I feel lost and alone I know that I can call on you to bring comfort and clarity to any situation.  Guide me today in my words, actions, and attitude.  Father, guide me in the way I should go and lead me into your everlasting arms.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen

Beloved

Colossians 3:12-14 (MSG) “So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you; compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline.  Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense.  Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love.  It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.”

Each of us is a beloved child of God.  We are all called to lift up one another in love and kindness.  When things in our life don’t go as we have planned we tend to get our feelings hurt or become angry.  This is not the way God has asked us to respond to offenses.  God calls us to love, forgive, and trust him.  He also knows that we are unable to do these things in our own strength, that is why he has called us to trust and lean into him.

God alone gives us the ability to show compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, and discipline.  Spirits of fear, anxiety, offense, and confusion are not of God.  The longer I live on this earth the more I realize that we have an advisory that is waiting to steal everything and anything that leads us to God or give us strength to do what God requires.  The evil one comes to “kill steal and destroy.”  There is no peace when we allow the evil one into our hearts and minds.  Seek first the kingdom of God for He will bring healing, clarity, and the gifts of The Spirit.

Father, In so many ways I fall short of your glory.  I know that I have hurt people in my life and I cannot change the pain I have caused.  However, You Lord can come and bring peace to the places in me that are broken and filled with pain, heartache, and destructive thoughts that are causing me to respond in negative ways.  Father, I trust you and your plan for my life.  Give me the ability to forgive and seek forgiveness from those I have hurt.  Reveal to me places in my life where I hold anger and unforgiveness and give me a willing heart to release all the pain and heartache so I can live the life You have promised and planned for me.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen

Power of Pain

2 Corinthians 11:14 “And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.”

As if walking this earth is not hard enough we also need to be mindful that Satan and all his minions are continually looking for ways to destroy anything that God loves: marriage, family, faith, hope, and healing.

Studying God’s word and surrounding yourself with Godly people who will speak life into you will begin to remove the words Satan is using to destroy you and everything you hold dear.  When life seems to be falling apart lean into your Savior, Jesus Christ who “..knit me together in my mother’s womb……all the days ordined for me were written in your book before one of them came to be” Pslam 139:13-16.

Don’t lose heart you are not alone.  You are loved by a Heavenly Father that can and will bring healing IF you seek Him, LISTEN, and study HIS word.

Father, thank you for your Word that has the power to breathe life into my hurting soul. Thank you for always being available for me as I cry out in the midst of my pain.  Thank you for organizations like Celebrate Recovery where I can release the pain of my past to find healing and peace. Thank you for the men and women who are walking with you and sharing their struggles and freedom that are found only in relationship with you.  Thank you for breathing hope into my hurting heart.  Be with me today as I face all that you have for me, guide me, comfort me, and lead me.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen 

Blind and Blameless

John 9:41 (MSG) “Jesus said, ‘If you were really blind you would be blameless, but since you claim to see everything so well, you’re accountable for every fault and failure.”

To see fault and failure in others without seeing accepting your role in any difficulty is to be blind.  When tough times come into our lives it seems to be so easy to say how the other person has hurt you yet, to look at yourself and see your part keeps us blind.

We are quick to point fingers and place the blame when we are hurt.  Accept in the case of abuse, we each have a role to play.  An argument takes two people looking inward and being blind to the other person’s perspective.  The truth is you are in control of your word and your actions, we all have a choice.

Father, help me to see my part in my relationships.  Father, I know that you have me right where you want me to grow me into the person you desire me to be.  Give me the ears to hear, eyes to see, and the strength to walk the path you have laid before me.  Open my eyes to the hurt that I have caused others.  Remove from me pride and selfish ways.  Your grace is enough.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen

The Blind Can See

John 9:1-3 “As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth.  His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’  ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned,’ said Jesus, ‘but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.”

There is a time in our Christian walk where we must realize that we are spiritually blind.  We are blind to what God is doing.  We are blind to the hurts in our lives that cause us to act the way we do.  We are blind to how our actions effect others.

This blindness cannot go on forever.  We must seek God and ask him to open our eyes so that we can truly see and be healed from our wounds.   What we do impacts those in our lives.  Our words and our actions have consequences, good and bad.  We have a choice everyday, to rely on our own understanding or to seek God TRUSTING that he will make all things right if we surrender to his will.

Abba Father, I humbly come before your thrown of grace seeking freedom.  Father, open my eyes to the pain I hold inside that is stealing your joy from my life.  Open the eyes of my heart that I might see clearly the hurts that keep me stuck in bondage.  As I seek your truth for my life Lord open the doors that hide hurts of my past that they be brought into the light so I will be healed and freed from any and all pain leaving only the peace that surpasses all understanding.  In Jesus Name, Amen