“Live like Jay” is a motto from the surf movie, “Chasing Mavericks”, about the life of Jay Moriaity. He explained his philosophy of life this way, “Don’t take anything for granted, because one minute it can be there and the next minute it can’t, and it happens so quickly. When the negative stuff comes around, just let it go. It all leads to the positive as long as you keep a positive attitude. Enjoy everything you get. That’s one of the most important things in life is really appreciating it because we only get to do this once and it’s not for a long time.”
If only we, as God’s children, would live this way. Negative comes to all of us. The question is, “How will we process it?” You can’t let it go. It must be processed out. We have the choice each day to let our negative thoughts or others negative actions to either drag us away from or draw us closer to the source of real life, Jesus. We do this by filtering out those lies using the truths of God’s word.
As God’s children, we have been given the awesome opportunity to enjoy real living, a kind that will last for eternity, each moment in the presence of love, joy and peace, Jesus. Let’s choose to live like Jesus, who lived each day in the presence of His Father by filtering every situation through Him (Jn. 5:19).
Set “Free” Nowww

Wow, what a powerful 3 minute video worth watching! I am not endorsing the product, but I certainly am the message.

It contains three priceless life lessons for those who wish to “stand firm” in the freedom Christ has given them (Gal. 5:1). One, we must align our thinking with God’s. If we don’t, those lie-based messages will affect our daily decisions. Two, we need a source of truth outside ourselves to help us know what the proper alignment should be. We only know what we know at the moment we know it. Thus, as the Light of the World Jesus can expose the lie-based messages we currently hold so we can exchange them with the truth. And three, who we listen to is crucial to our freedom. We need others to help reinforce how God sees and defines us.
How’s your alignment today?
“SE”t Free Noww“W”

Paul said in Philippians 4:11-13, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.…I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation,…I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.”
Keep in mind Paul had encountered all kinds of tough situations (see 2 Cor. 11:23-33). Yet, he learned to be content no matter where he was or what he faced. How? He learned to be comfortable in the skin God gave him. He knew who he was and could rest in who his God is.
We bring tremendous pressure upon ourselves when we try to be what others want us to be or when we try to copy the lives of those around us. This pressure often finds it’s release in our drugs of choice, which only further takes away our contentment and robs us of our peace.
You are a wonderfully and awesomely made child of God with gifts and talents of your own. Stop looking at or worrying about how God created those around you. Use your biblical tools to listen to and do what Jesus tells you to do each day. As you do, you’ll be like Paul – comfortable in your own skin and content within the situations you encounter.
I once heard, “Why do we often say ‘truth hurts’, ‘the hard truth’, ‘you can’t handle the truth’, etc? Truth in and of itself need not be hard to bear or painful. It is only after becoming accustomed to living in lies that it becomes such. In my humble experience I’ve found the more one accepts the truth it generally becomes enjoyable, soothing, even blissful.”
“S”et Free Nowww

I was recently asked do give someone a verse on a certain struggle they were having. The Lord brought to mind Philippians 4:4, “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice!” I then asked this person what they knew about Jesus so they could rejoice in the fact in what He could do for them in their current struggle.
They sat for a moment, thought, and then responded, “I really don’t know. In fact, I’m not sure I know much about Him at all.” Bingo! How can we trust someone we don’t know, not just with our heads, but from our personal experience? I went on to say that it’s pretty tough to know who Jesus is without reading about Him, who He is and what He can do, in the Word of God. Their response to that spoke volumes, “I haven’t been reading the Bible at all.” See the problem here?
We are to rejoice when challenges come as Jesus is more than up for those challenges. We have a God who is trustworthy, but we’ve got to know Him before we can trust Him. This can only be done by being in the Book and then putting into practice what we read. Jesus said that if we did this (Jn. 8:31-32) our challenges would head to the background and our peace would surface.
What do you have to rejoice about today? If you draw blanks, it’s time to dive into the Bible…go ahead right now get it out…seriously, open your Bible…to know Jesus.
S“E”t Fre“E” Nowww

On Monday here in the US a series of bombs were detonated in Boston, Massachusetts where three people were killed and many were injured. Let’s keep the families who lost loved ones and those recovering from their injuries in our prayers for the Lord to bring them comfort and to draw them closer to Him.
I found it interesting what the “commentators” had to say just minutes after the bombs went off. Some were calling it an act perpetrated by right-wing extremists, meaning someone like those who hold pro-life (anti-abortionists was their phrase) views.
At the same time, others were calling it a jihadist attack as it was done on a day Bostonians observe as Patriots’ Day, which celebrates the first battles fought for America’s independence from Britain.
Same event, two different views based on no factual information at the time these commentators gave their views. How is that possible? It’s the worldviews they hold. It’s the lens that shapes how they view and interpret life’s situations, which then forms the basis of their decisions.
We all have a lens through which we view life. The question is, “What lens are we looking through?” If we want to experience the joy and peace that comes through victory over our drugs of choice, our lens must be Jesus and the Word of God. He said that He is the truth and that His words are true. His way of interpreting life and making decisions, if followed, will set us free from all the negative consequences that come from our bad decisions that lead to taking our drugs of choice, like putting our foot in our mouth.
Let’s wait for the facts before saying who did what in Boston. Let’s pray that the truth does see the light of day and that justice is done. Even more important, let’s all choose to filter each day’s circumstances through the lens of Jesus and His Word. This way we will avoid any diseases that will come from licking our shoes.
Set Free Nowww