Even doing the right thing hurts. “How so?” you may be asking. In current Western culture, “right” has become relative to someone’s feelings or opinions, even if neither are based in fact. Right to one person may be perceived as wrong and even distasteful to another. Even if everyone is on the same page, though, some may not like what happens to them when you do the right thing.
Sound like an impossible situation? It all depends on who you’re listening to and who you’re trying to please. At the end of the day, you only have control over your choices and there is only one person you need to please, Jesus.
Your choice to follow Jesus can hurt, as people may not like you or what you do. Your choice to follow Jesus may hurt your head, as it most likely will go against your normal thinking patterns. If you must hurt, though, at least make it for doing something right – like listening to and following Jesus. As you do, you’ll become more like Him and taste the good stuff He offers to those who do.
You don’t get to choose how others will react. But you can choose the outcome of how you’ll feel when you see that smile on Jesus’ face.
Set Fre“E” Nowww

The Hebrew word for stiff necked means to be dense! Some of the definitions for dense mean to be hard to penetrate (like getting what God is asking me to do into my thick skull) and slow to comprehend (once it’s there, it sure takes a while to get it…doesn’t it?).
I guess I’m worse than the biblical Israelites than I thought. I put what God says into my head. I understand what He’s asking me to do. I just have a difficult time getting myself to do it!
Then I came across a military saying, “You don’t have to like it, you just have to do it.” Why? You trust what your superiors are asking you to do is in your and your teammates best interests as you’ll be going into battle together. It’s the same with believers in Jesus.
Jesus said, “If you love Me, you’ll obey Me.” There’s that trust all over again. He’s not saying you’ll understand everything He says to do, or even like it, but you’ll do it because you love Him. You believe what He’s asking you to do will make your life and the lives of those you’re going into battle with better.
Trust. It’s never easy, but it’s always best. Today exercise the truth by faith Spirit empowered even if you don’t like it. You’ll be glad you did.
Set Fre“E” Nowww

“Recent neuroscience research shows the brain works in a protective way, resistant to change. Therefore, any goals that require substantial behavioral change or thinking-pattern change will automatically be resisted. The brain is wired to seek rewards and avoid pain or discomfort, including fear. When fear of failure creeps into the mind of the goal setter it commences to be a de-motivator with a desire to return to known, comfortable behavior and thought patterns.”
Paul describes this battle perfectly in Galatians 5 as a war between the flesh and the Spirit. The Spirit wants to change our lives in a substantial way by separating us from ourselves to make us more like Jesus (aka sanctification). This will hurt as it demands change.
Yet, your brain will attempt to block this change! This isn’t completely bad news! Why? One, you now understand where the real battle lies. Two, you can change your thinking by exchanging your old thoughts with God’s thoughts from the Word of God. And three, you have the Spirit of God to give you the power to overcome the brain/flesh’s powerful resistance..if you choose to use it!
Work through the brain’s blockage by choosing to believe the Word and Spirit of God will make your life better. It’s not going to be easy, but it can be done.
Set Fr”E”e Nowww

I read about a gentleman who actually enjoyed leaving the safe confines of a perfectly good airplane to fall through the air. They call this skydiving. On this particular jump, he left the plane on a very windy and rainy night. Why, oh why, would someone do that, right?
After descending to his desired altitude, he manually pulled his “rip cord” to release his main shoot. That’s when a good night all of a sudden went bad…quick. He had fewer than fifteen seconds to get his situation righted; or, well, let’s just say he would be scraped off the ground with a spatula.
He would later say, “I knew whatever I tried might well be futile, but I was going to stay with this problem and fight it until I opened a parachute or I bounced.” He realized he had two options. One, he could resign himself to the inevitable and bounce; or, he could fight to keep mentally processing the situation through his training to have a shot at living. Needless to say, he lived.
You too can experience the life Jesus came to give you, if you choose to fight and stay focused on Him in every struggle, in every difficult situation, you face. With the Spirit’s help, you must keep processing every situation, even the “hopeless” ones, through Jesus and His Word. As you choose the fighting option, you too can land on your feet and live. Where will your focus be today?
Set “FREE” Nowww

I’m paraphrasing something I read the other day, but here it is. If discipleship was simply about giving people biblical knowledge, then the demons are the best disciples around!
Western Christianity has adopted the lie that knowledge equates to a mature faith. Yet this simply is not true! The author of Hebrews says a mature believer is one who knows how to use biblical truth to discern good and evil and then attempts to live it out (“trained in righteousness”). They know how to actually use biblical truth to make decisions that draw them closer to Jesus. Folks, you haven’t learning anything until what you’ve heard changes your life, until then you’ve just been exposed to information.
This goes right along with the biblical meaning of the word disciple. It means a person who takes the data they’ve heard from the teacher and lets it change their life. In fact, a disciple is not a disciple until their live has been changed! Believe me when I say that demons have not been discipled! Their lives have not and are not being transformed by Christ. Is yours?
If so, biblical information is freeing. If not, it’s dangerous as it leaves you with a head filled with data, but an empty heart and an unchanged life. Is that why you trusted Jesus in the first place? I don’t think so; and if you’re honest, neither do you.
It’s hard to walk what you know because there is nothing more challenging and empowering than to say no to yourself and yes to Jesus. Real eternal living starts with saying yes to Jesus. Please say yes today!
S“E”t Free Nowww