Looking for True Strength and Real Freedom?

Zoos have always held a lot of enjoyment for us.  One time we were watching small monkeys and one of them had their hand caught in the cage. It seems the little animal had wanted something that was outside the cage. After grasping the item, their paw was then a fist. That fist wouldn’t fit back through the cage. Try as he might, the arm was not budging. No amount of squealing, jumping or pulling was going to achieve a thing. Only when he let go of the object he had so wanted was he able to pull his arm back inside the cage was he able to free himself from entanglement.

Traveling through the airports now, it’s a big deal to go through the checkpoint to get on the plane. You empty your pockets and get every little thing checked. There are simply some things you cannot take on board with you. If you insist on taking things that they don’t allow, you will be barred from your flight. Fight them, argue with them, demand your rights – it all turns out the same. You will not be carrying anything on the plane they consider unfit. The only way to be free to travel is to learn how to pack.

There is a freedom God desires for you to walk in that will require you to let go of what is entangling you. It may be something you desperately want to keep or have desired for some time. It could be a person, place or thing.  You want to be free, but you keep hanging on. If you will let go you will find the freedom that is best for a child of God. He doesn’t want your stuff, but He does want your heart. And it’s amazing how much stuff and hearts are intertwined.

There are places  God wants to take you that will require you to unpack some things that you’ve carried around with you as well.  You simply cannot travel the heights with the Lord while hanging onto baggage. You’ll need to drop that unforgiveness. Lose the fear. Toss out the worry. Empty the guilt. While you’re at it, get rid of the lies: you know - the things you’ve believed about yourself that are so untrue for a child of the Most High God. 

Just as we are embarking on a New Year, you are embarking on a new day with the Lord. You may have heard His call but you’ve been living with a knotted fist and insisting on your rights to carry the junk with you everywhere you go. You think a new day would be great, but what about your stuff?

God speaks to our hearts doesn’t He?  Where you are today is not where I want to take you. I have wonderful plans for your life and for your new year. If you are willing you will walk in My freedom and your load will be light. But you’ll have to trust Me to prepare you for the trip.  Don’t look at what you are losing, look instead at what you are gaining. It’s no accident that you find yourself in a quandary between your desires and My plans.  A new year will come whether you want it or not. 2013 is quickly becoming a vapor. My plans are for now. My plans are for your good. My desires for you are better than your desires for yourself. Don’t walk away from the terminal of decision and count it too much to lose. Remember that I desire freedom for my children and that freedom is found only in relinquishing your life into My loving care. You don’t have the strength to break the bars of your own entanglements. You don’t have enough weaponry of flesh to insist to carry junk you don’t need with you. It’s not about fleshly or secular strength. It’s about becoming obedient to Me that you find true strength and real freedom.

Oh beloved, what wondrous love is this, that God won’t leave us as we are. He never quits planning our lives for His glory. Our best travel and our greatest freedom is when God is in charge of everything.  Let Him take you to the next level as you lay aside the things that want to keep you earthbound. Relinquish every entanglement and watch as you learn to enjoy freedom in Christ. Oh how He loves us! So much that He refuses to leave us as we are! A better life is ahead for you as you live in the light of His Word!

John 14:1 Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in Me.

Ephesians 4:21-23 Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from Him,  throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception.  Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.

Matthew 6:21 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”

2 Corinthians 3:17 For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

Philippians 4:19 And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from His glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.

Living on a Hamster Wheel? Meet With Jesus First.

Yesterday I found myself thinking I was meeting myself coming and going. It’s just so important to me to have time to sit and ponder without feeling that I must be doing something. Yet often doing things takes over. I have plenty to do, don’t you? There’s rarely an end to laundry, dishes, cleanup, work, driving, shopping, talking, etc. Every single one of these things is important to a successful productive life. But if they take over, or if we find ourselves getting our worth from activity, we may find that we’re in the hamster’s wheel and about to lose our footing! Then you and I dear heart, may find ourselves flopping at the bottom or getting stick beneath the wheel!

The hamster wheel for a believer can be comprised of many things. “If I do more, I’m more valuable”. “If more people see me being busy, more people will think I’m worth more”. “Taking time to rest is wasteful, so my worth is lowered”. So we huff and puff and wear ourselves out. Many times we allow others to control our wheel and as long as they push, urge, cajole and banter, we try to do more, more, more.

Lord, help us! Help us to remember to take time to meet with You at the start of every day so that we don’t continually meet ourselves coming and going! Not only that, when we meet with You Lord, we find that our energy is renewed for all the things we must accomplish! And Lord, you give us the urgings of Your Holy Spirit so that we don’t try to fulfill others’ wishes for us at our own hurt. Help us to remember to go to you when we find ourselves flagging in strength and becoming agitated with ourselves.

Oh beloved, God loves your faithfulness and hard work. He knows your needs and your hopes and desires. He also knows that you and He need time together. Won’t you take a moment this morning and just rest in His arms? You’ll never hear Him snapping orders at you or telling you to hurry up! He just wants to speak His Truth into your heart and the only way to do that is to spend time with Him. The Creator of the Universe desires time with His creation and you are one of His favorites! Hear that still small voice above the clatter of the wheel? It’s the Prince of your Peace and He’s calling you to rest in His never ending love and His unimaginable care!

Luke 10:40-42 But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.” But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Isaiah 33:2 O Lord, be gracious to us; we have waited [expectantly] for You. Be the arm [of Your servants—their strength and defense] every morning, our salvation in the time of trouble. (AMP)

Psalm 91:1 Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

The Word of God is Your Source of Fulfillment

Attending one of the largest motorcycle events in the United States, Bikes Blues and BBQ has something for everyone. You can walk the streets and buy whatever your heart’s desire is. Everything is for sale and it’s for sale everywhere - from the downtown area to the track center to the alleyways and the mall. People flock in to the relatively small town with the hopes of finding something that will bring them more happiness. It’s all about the ride. If you’re looking for something you will surely find it. If your pockets are deep enough you can have it all.




The problem with having it all is that when you’re done it’s all just stuff. For some, they’ll go home not only with empty pockets, but a load of stuff they never meant to pick up. What promised freedom the first day on arrival will prove to be more burdens as they head home. To have it all always costs more than the person ever bargains for.



Oh beloved, what are you searching for? Significance? Importance? Influence? Popularity? Have you been hoping that you’ll feel better about yourself? If you’re looking to things to fill your life you’ll always come up short. But if you’re looking for fulfillment, there is a way… The One Who set the stars in orbit and covered the earth with all good things has a word for you. He says come to Me and let Me give you true fulfillment. I can take your life and release you from all the burdens that you thought would bring you more freedom. Your life is so precious to Me. Everything I Am is your key to significance. Let me give you, freely, everything you’ve been trying to buy. Your burdens, your bondage, your hopes, your fears - all of them are released and reformed in Me. Not only will I change your life I will change your perspective so that your heart’s desires are regenerated as you delight in Me. I AM the fount of living water that never runs dry. I AM the source of all that will let you lay your burdens down and allow your life to become influential beyond your wildest dreams.



The true value of your life is found when you run to His Word, the greatest gift catalog ever written, and see…all that is in the pages of the life giving Word is yours today! Trust Him and let Him love you! God loves you and He’s for you and that’s all that really matters.



Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart. NAS



John 7:38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.” NAS



2 Peter 1:3 By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know Him, the One who called us to Himself by means of His marvelous glory and excellence.



Isaiah 55:1 Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink--even if you have no money! Come, take your choice of wine or milk--it's all free!



John 11:25 Jesus said unto her, I AM the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. KJV