“Smoke and mirrors is a metaphor for a deceptive, fraudulent or insubstantial explanation or description. The source of the name is based on magicians’ illusions, where magicians make objects appear or disappear by extending or retracting mirrors amid a distracting burst of smoke.”
8 out of 10 people between the ages of 18-30 think today’s Christians are an illusion at best or deceptive at worst. They’re watching the lives of those who call themselves Christians and have learned that Christians live the same way as they do. Why would they want our Jesus?
For far too long Western Christianity has been a religion of smoke and mirrors, but no substance. We say that Christianity is a relationship, not a religion. Yet the statistics don’t support this claim. Only 1 in 10 born-again believers live with a biblical worldview (listening to and doing what Jesus says). Only 10% of Christians experience the Jesus of the Bible in their daily lives. It’s no wonder that an overwhelming majority of pre-believers in Jesus have a false sense of who He is and what He can do.
When will they want Him? When they see there is real substance to our lives. They want to know that He can help them by watching Him change our lives first. How does this happen? We must live with a biblical worldview (the Set Free Nowww principles), which enables us to filter our everyday life, not just our time at “church”, through the Word of God.
If want to see our world change, it must start with us. If want society or other people’s lives to change, we must begin with our own. Be on your journey to be with and to know Jesus. He will change your life.
“Set Free Nowww”

Losing control of your emotions is a sign of weakness, not strength. “Did losing your emotions make your logic become clear? Did your points carry more weight? Did you somehow persuade your opposition to see things your way by shrieking at them like some wild banshee? When you scream at others you become like a child trying to bully their way to victory.”
If you know who you are, why scream? As children of God we are to filter our emotions through the Word of God. Anyone can express their emotions as seen in a comic I read today. The first panel shows a cat saying, “Bad mood, coming through.” The next panel shows the cat stepping in a bowl that splatters its contents all over the cat’s owner. The last panel shows the owner visibly upset, “You stepped in my guacamole!” To which the cat responds, “You’re too close to the tracks.”
Only those who are secure in Christ will surrender their emotions to be used by the Spirit to bring peace to their own heart and help to those around them. We can either control our emotions or they can control us. If it’s the former, we’ll show God’s great strength and save the mess.
“S”et Free Nowww

I often get asked by those who are trying to understand how to live with a Biblical worldview, “How far should I take it?” I refer them back to Colossians 3:17 and ask, “What isn’t included in the ‘whatever you do’?” Every decision needs to be filtered through the Word of God.
After saying that, I usually can go deeper with them as to why this is necessary. I ask them another question, “How often do you want to be in His presence where the good stuff, life, is found?”
Christians often spend lots of time focusing on what they should or shouldn’t do, rather than the heart of the issue, which is walking with Jesus. Since Jesus is my friend, how much time do I really want to enjoy being with Him? Being a believer in Jesus is about being with Him while I do what He asks me to do. I don’t do anything for Jesus. I do what I do with Jesus. Being and walking with Jesus is done by using our Biblical worldview to filter out anything that could take me out of His presence. Why would I exclude some areas of my life (business, work, parenting, friendships, etc.) from this process? Wouldn’t I be allowing those excluded areas to rob me of His presence and the joy that comes from being in it?
My challenge today is this: learn to live in His presence while performing every one of daily tasks.
Set “Free” Nowww

Ever notice that most comics are more often thought provoking than funny? In today’s comic section there’s a panel that shows a marriage counselor sitting before a newlywed couple named Cyndi and Handsome who recently had a storybook wedding. The counselor says, “‘Happily Ever After’ can lead to some pretty unrealistic expectations. Let’s work on that.”
Unrealistic expectations can never be met, which can leave one feeling frustrated and angry; thus, opening the door to your drug of choice. I once heard, “Satan wants us to believe meaningless things for meaningless reasons.” He loves to plant meaningless thoughts (Jn. 8:44) into our heads that lead us to living meaningless lives, which only further fuels our frustration and anger.
Some of these unrealistic expectations and meaningless thoughts can only be discovered when we either get angry or take our drug of choice. Instead of beating ourselves up for getting angry or falling, how about putting that beat-me stick down and asking the Spirit, “What expectations and/or thoughts led to that angry outburst or drug of choice?” Once He does, and He will as this is His job (Jn. 16:13), we need to ask Him to help us filter those thoughts through the truths and biblical expectations found in Scripture. Now we can find freedom and experience peace by exercising the truth.
The FREEdom Process means being vulnerable to either the Spirit and/or another believer (James 5:16). Are you ready? Asked another way, what would you do if you really believed that God wanted to beat your addictions? To make your marriage great? To give your life meaning? Freedom has been paid for, but it doesn’t come without a cost.
Set “Free” Nowww

Baseball is a great game. Where in the world can you get paid millions of dollars to fail 70% of the time? Three hits in ten plate appearance are considered successful! How then do the successful hitters approach each at bat? They put their last at bat, their last failure, out of their mind and focus on their current time at the plate.
Paul states this truth in Philippians 3:13 where he challenges healthy believers to forget yesterday, the last mistake, and press on towards the goal of being like Jesus. On this journey, you may strike out from time to time. If you do, you have two options. You can either focus on your last failure or press on towards the victory. I encourage you to head toward Jesus, ask forgiveness, get up, and start walking again in the Spirit’s power. If not, we will fail again the next time.
Take the bat out of Satan’s hands (the one who’s beating you up over striking out) and focus on your next at bat – seeing God give you victory over that drug of choice. He wants you to experience victory over sinful habits that drag you down. He wants you to know real joy, love and peace.
“Do your work by faith, and leave the results with the Lord. Always strive to do your best; but if you do occasionally strike out, don’t sit on the bench feeling sorry for yourself. Get ready for the next time at bat.”
Set Free “N”owww