I once read that “there is something about the prospect of mortal combat that causes men who must lead other men into danger to be candid and truthful. Up the chain of command, politics might enter into the equation but not at the troop level. This is called “ground truth,” which is “US military slang that describes the reality of a tactical situation as opposed to what intelligence reports and mission plans assert the reality to be.” When it comes to life and death decisions, soldiers on the ground need ground truth, not theory.
As believers who live in enemy territory we need ground truth, not theory. If we want to experience victory over our drugs of choice and see the Spirit replace our ineffective character with Christ’s we need biblical truth, not useless Christian clichés.
I often hear well meaning Christians respond to someone who’s in the midst of a battle with comments like: “Let go and let God.” “Just surrender to Jesus.” And among others, “Lay it at the feet of Jesus.” My heart screams, “Are you kidding me? How do you let go and let God? Does “surrendering to Jesus” (whatever that means) all of a sudden cause the battle to cease? We all know it doesn’t.
So let’s make a commitment to use our biblical worldview with each other. Let’s encourage each other by listening to and watching each other to discover the lie(s) in our thinking. Once there, let’s be ready to offer truths at the point of the lie we’ll need to lay the lie at the feet of Jesus and then surrender to the truth Jesus has for us. Then and only then can we let go and let God change our lives.
Set “Free” Nowww

My country was deep in the midst of a deadly and devastating civil war, a war that would test the meddle of any leader. In 1861, our President, Abraham Lincoln, penned the following words, which ended with the beginning of a new American holiday, Thanksgiving.
“In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict. … No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God.”
Lincoln saw the good in the midst of and focused the nation on the One who would see them through the storm. The Word is asking His followers to do the same. When life gets tough, and it will, we must Exercise the truth to give thanks. If we don’t, we’ll follow our attitudes south toward our drugs of choice.
Thanking God for what He has already done in our lives, especially when it goes against what we feel like doing, gives us the confidence He can do it again in our current storm, despite its severity. As we give thanks, the sides of our lips will inch upward while our attitude begins to soar. So I encourage you to give thanks, not just on Thanksgiving, but every day, as it brings peace in the midst of any storm.
Set Fre“E” Nowww

I often hear Christians say, “Lord fill me up with You.” What they don’t understand is that they first must pray, “Lord, empty me of me.” Imagine a cup filled with gooey slime. Would you hand this cup to a waiter and say, “Fill it up”? No, the cup must first be emptied of the slime and washed out before you fill it up with cool refreshing water. You don’t want to drink any of that nasty slime!
Christianity is not about adding Jesus to you. Biblical Christianity is about getting rid of you and replacing it with Jesus. This is what daily living with a Biblical worldview (Set Free Nowww) does. It’s the process of emptying yourself of you so Jesus can replace it with Himself. Unless God performs a miracle, this process is neither easy nor quick. It is, however, quiet satisfying and the only character qualities that will last forever (1 Cor. 3:8-15).
Drinking from Jesus never leaves a nasty after taste in our mouths. Letting the Spirit replace our nasty tasting choices (i.e. drugs of choice) character with Jesus’ brings us the love, significance and security we so desperately want to taste. So the next time you want more of Jesus, be ready for Him to ask, “Are you ready for Me to remove from something from your life?”
Set Free Nowww

I sat with a friend last night and cried. As I had walked that same path I could totally relate to what they were going through. I shared with them about how the Lord got me through it. He taught me what a Biblical worldview was. Oh, not the ones I read on various websites that concentrated on specific biblical truths. He focused me on how to process life, all the information I received externally and internally, through the Word of God – Jesus and His Word.
I had to share with them that the process was not a quick fix as many Christians who live a pop-a-pill Christianity desire. No, it would take time for the Spirit to reveal the lies in their thinking, replace them with specific truths at the point of the lie, and then if God didn’t perform a miracle, it would take time to eradicate that lie from their brain. This process can hurt, but it’s extremely beneficial; and yes, it takes time and sometimes tears.
I described it like making a smoothie. You put the raw vegetables and fruit into a blender in order to grind them down to the point you can drink it. Tearing and ripping at the ingredients produce a soothing drink to energize one’s body. Yes, it hurts, but oh how good it goes down.
If we want true, lasting change, pain is coming our way. If we want to see the Spirit replace our worn out useless character with eternal Christ-like character, it’s a time intensive process that quite frankly at times will make one cry. But as my mom would say, “Oh it hurts so good!”
Set Free Nowww

Two people were interacting, when one said, “Do you see what they see?” The person was asking the boss to look at the situation from their employee’s viewpoint before they rendered a decision. It was obvious to the outside observer that the boss was about to make a colossal mistake if they didn’t stop and gather the information their employee had to offer.
One of the reasons we get into trouble or make bad decisions is that we look at life through our eyes and not Jesus’. Then, when He doesn’t respond the way we think He should, we use this as a justification to satisfy our needs our way (i.e. taking our drug of choice).
The problem is that we’re looking at the situation from our point of view. This is what living with a Biblical worldview (i.e. listening to and doing what Jesus says) does. The principles help us filter out our false expectations of God to discover what God actually says He’ll do through the Word. As we exchange the lies we believe about God with the truth, we can then remove our unhealthy justifications for taking our drugs of choice and the negative consequences that come with them.
Need a new lenses? I do, daily.
S“E”t Free Nowww