“If you don’t accept excuses, pretty soon people stop giving them, and they start looking for solutions” – Ben Carson. There are many reasons for the choices we make. Any reason other than, “I made that choice,” keeps other people in charge of our lives.
Victimization has crept into the church with many believers buying this destructive lie. Yes, others may have hurt us. But we are not the way we are today because of someone else’s choices. The moment we choose to put our faith in Jesus, we were given the ability to overcome those choices with each choice we make today through tapping into the most powerful force in the universe, Jesus Christ Himself. He over came death. He defeated sin and Satan at the cross. He is the solution to our challenges…if we choose to let Him.
Until you confess or acknowledge your part in your choices, you’re not ready to see your life changed. Accept no excuses for taking your drugs of choice. Begin the life-change process by owning up to your choices, asking for forgiveness and then diving into the Word for the truths you’ll need to filter your next choice through.
Set Fre”E” Nowww

Faith. The Bible talks much about it. Anything not done in faith is sin. And without faith it’s impossible to please God. You say you have faith, but I’ll show you my faith through my actions.
It takes faith to move away from ourselves toward Jesus. It takes faith to ask for more faith. It will take more faith (i.e. take the risk) than you currently possess to be vulnerable enough to have someone pray for you to have more faith.
So how do you get the faith to even ask for more faith? Remember what Jesus did for you in the past. As you remember what Jesus brought you the last time you stepped out on faith, it will give you the courage to ask for the faith to do it again.
Jesus is faithful to keep His Word. Ask Him for the faith you need to keep exercising the truth by faith each day empowered by the Spirit. You’ll make more wonderful memories to rely on to keep asking for more faith.
Set Fre“E” Nowww

A friend of mine was showing a video of a machine that could crush almost anything, even old useless refrigerators and tires. The entire process wowed me.
It was then the Lord spoke. This machine took something that was no longer usable and crushed it into materials that could be used in other projects .There are times when the Lord brings on enough life to break us down, mainly our egos/pride, to make us useful for His purposes.
2 Corinthians 4:8 describes this process. “We are troubled (hemmed in – placed into the machine) on every side, yet not distressed (enough room to move toward Jesus); we are perplexed (feeling a loss), but not in despair (not total loss, though, as you let something go to hold onto what is real).”
This rock looks nice, but that’s all it’s good for…looking nice. To be useful for something more it must be crushed. We can look good or be made more like Jesus. It’s our choice. One lasts only today while the other lasts well into eternity. It would be nice to not have to go through life’s crusher in order to become more like Jesus; yet, that’s not the world we live in.
You can surrender to or fight the process. Choose surrender. Once it’s over, you’ll experience the usable by-products of the process, which is more life and peace.
S“E”t Free Nowww

I have some friends going through the wringer at the moment. It’s been one illness after another for someone in their family. One gets well only to have another go down. This cycle has been going on for months without seeming end. (Maybe not that long, but it sure feels like it!) You can see in their eyes that hope is quickly fading.
At times like these, worn out cliché’s don’t work and solution seeking inquiries only bring needless guilt. Paraphrasing old King Solomon, “There is a time to zip it and a time to let words fly.”
As brothers and sisters in Christ we are part of the church – a group of disciples moving towards Jesus together. We are to walk with other believers on this journey to become more like Jesus. Sometimes, however, the words not said are the most valuable ones ever spoken. These unsaid words can help someone choose stay close to Jesus.
Do pray for them! But watch your words when you pray with them. Please, be with them. Walk or simply sit with them, as necessary. This takes huge amounts of Spirit led self-discipline, especially when you think you have something to say!
Set Free Noww“W”

Why doesn’t God just change me already, I mean He loves me, right? Why hasn’t God healed me yet, He wants what’s best for me, correct?
Yes, He does love you and will always do what is best for you. Yet, keep this truth in mind: There must be choice in order to have love. We feel loved when someone chooses to love us and then know we are loved as they express that love through their actions. God chose to love us and then proved it through His actions by sending Jesus to die for us (Jn. 3:16).
Now, why doesn’t God instantaneously change our lives or heal us the moment we ask for it? He is giving us the opportunity to show that we love Him. Jesus said we express our love for Him through our obedience (Jn. 14:23), not just our words. At salvation we were given the ability to make this choice when we were given the mind and nature of Christ. We can think correctly and choose correctly for the first time in our lives. The question is, will we?
We shout, “I love you Jesus,” as we choose to listen and follow Him with each choice, throughout our day, with or without physical or emotional pain. It’s through our choices, not just our words, that we express our love to Jesus. If God took those daily choices away, He would rob us of the opportunities to love Him.
This may sound hard, but we all know it’s true. We all want to be loved, which means people choosing to be around us. Who do you think put this in us? The one who wants us to choose to love Him. This is what love has to do with it.
Set “FREE” Nowww