Abraham was asked by God to leave his country, his people and his family to go to a place God would later show him. Abraham’s response in English is, “So Abram left, as the LORD had told him” (Gen. 12:4). The literal Hebrew translation of the phrase, “as the LORD had told him,” is, “Go for yourself.”
One Hebrew commentator rephrases it like this, “Go for your pleasure and your good.” In other words, “Go for yourself, Abraham, not for Me.” This almost makes it sound like Abraham went to Canaan for selfish reasons.
Before you jump to that conclusion, keep the context in mind. God told Abraham to leave everything behind: his comfort zone, his culture, and his family. Abraham had to leave his way of living, the sources of his drugs of choice and his old influences behind. In light of that statement, God was telling him, “I’m telling you to go, Abraham, because My way of living is the only way you’ll find true pleasure.”
As one author put it, “Abraham understood that the way to true self-fulfillment is through selfless devotion to God. The opportunity to fulfill God’s will offers the profound pleasure of identification with He Who is the Greatest Good.”
It is not selfish to choose to walk with God in order to gain all the good stuff that comes with living in His presence. Why? Because that’s how He created us to live! In fact, part of the biblical definition of faith is that you must believe He is good and “rewards those who earnestly seek Him” (Heb. 11:6). Faith does has it benefits, long lasting ones.
“S”et Free Nowww

I’ve come to discover that love is a very difficult concept to grasp at times. How is it that I can love my wife with such intensity; and yet, I have a difficult time transferring that same kind of love to Jesus? I’ve come to learn why this is true in my life; and it comes from a lie about love hidden in my brain.
Jesus praises the Ephesian church for being obedient, but scolds them for not being in love with Him (Rev. 2:1-7). Obedience without love means zip. This coincides with what Jesus said in John 14:23, “If anyone loves Me, he will obey My teaching.” We don’t obey Jesus out of obligation, but out of love for Him. We do for Jesus simply because we love being with Him.
Then Jesus seems to contradict Himself a few verses later in John 15:10 when He says, “If you obey My commands, you will remain in My love.” It now seems to be that obedience is primary and love is the by-product. Obey. Grind it out. Just do it. Whatever you want to call it, Jesus now appears to be focusing on doing for Him rather than being in love with Him.
Yet is He? If He is, this is why too many Christians are experiencing bondage, rather than the freedom Christ has given them. They are making the aim of their walk with Jesus about obedience rather than love. Follow the rules and everything will be okay. How satisfying is that kind of life?
It’s not. And I don’t believe that’s the meaning of John 15:10. Both passages start with love and end with obedience. There are times when I have an overwhelming feeling of love for my wife and would do anything for her, including shopping!  And yet there are days when I don’t have that overwhelming feeling of love; yet out of love for her I will still go shopping!
Love is both a feeling and an action based in trust (1 Cor. 13). There are times when I have an overwhelming feeling of love for Jesus, usually when I’m worshiping in music or in meditation on how He’s changed my life, and will do what I do with Him out love for Him. And, there are times when I don’t have that overwhelming sense of love and yet out of love based in trust, I will do what I do with Him out of love for Him.
There is the cycle of addiction: sin-confession-sin; and, there is the cycle of freedom: love-trust-love. I love Jesus; therefore, I trust Him. And there are times it is this love based trust that I will do what I do with Him out of love for Him; regardless of whether or not I feel in love with Him. I trust that living His way is in my best interests to do so. As I trust Him, which is based in love, I will grow closer to Him and further away from my drug of choice, which only makes my love for Him grow and strengthens the cycle of freedom.
John 14:23 and 15:10 are simply Jesus’ way of helping knuckleheads like me to understand how to love Him in a fallen world, which makes it hard to grasp such love.
S“E”t Free Nowww

As humans, we think controlling our world will make us feel better about ourselves and guard ourselves from hurt. We also believe that living each day by a set of rules that we can accomplish, even Christian ones, will give us the peace, love and security we seek. This, however, is the furthest thing from reality. It’s not how God set up this world.
God started off this human experiment with only four rules – 3 positive (rule, subdue, multiply) and 1 negative (leave the Tree of Knowledge alone!). In other words, Jesus meant for Adam and Eve to live each day in a conscious walk with Him. They were to talk with Him throughout their day, especially about situations they didn’t know how to handle, which with only four rules, would mean everything!
A few years back, I felt Jesus telling me not to drink any soda for a year. I wasn’t drinking it every day, or even every weekend, but I sensed Him telling me not drink it at all. Is there a chapter and verse on soda? Nope. Where, then, would I get this thought from if it’s not in Scripture? Jesus through relationship.
God used this request to “fast” to change my life and encouraged others to do the same. Yet, none of this would have happened if I had stayed in control of my life through living by a Christian code of conduct, which by the way didn’t exclude drinking soda.
It’s time for a reality check. Isn’t being in control what gets us into trouble in the first place? Furthermore, isn’t it what others do to us, which is totally out of our control, one of the sources for our bad decisions?
The reality is that control is an illusion. I’m not nor can I ever be in control of my life. The reality is that there is only One who really is in control and who can turn my bad choices and those of others out for His glory – Jesus (Rom. 8:28).
If you want to experience peace that will blow your ability to understanding it (Phil. 4:7), you must give up your sense of control. If you want to see your life changed, you must get beyond the illusion to the reality and choose to listen to and follow Jesus throughout your day. That choice is truly the only thing you can control! Will you use it to choose Jesus?
S“E”t Free Nowww

There’s a joke that goes like this, “How can you tell when a politician is lying?” “Their lips are moving!” They can say one something today and then turn around and say something completely opposite tomorrow.
This charge has been made about the God of the Bible. He’s a tyrant, hate-filled God in the Old Testament, but a loving, compassionate God in the New. He goes ballistic one day and is calm the next. How can a God like that be trusted? He can’t.
The problem with this charge, however, is that it’s false! The God of the Bible wrote the entire Book and the message is consistent throughout.
For example, God tells the Israelites to love Him, which means they should trust Him. This trust should then be seen in their actions/obedience to His Word (Deut. 10:12). Jesus says the exact same thing in John 14:15, “If you love Me, you will obey Me.” Love means leads to trust, which leads to obedience.
We obey God because we trust that His love for us will only ask us to do something that will make our lives whole, better and satisfying. Your choices throughout your day are not so much about obedience as they are a reflection of how much you love and trust your God. Do you trust Jesus or your way of handling life (aka drug of choice) to bring satisfaction? We’ll see with each choice you make today who you love more. Do know this: you can trust Jesus’ words to make your life better.
S“E”t Free Nowww

I had one of those days yesterday – an awfully bad one. You know the kind of day I’m talking about too. It was one of those days where your attitude crashes and burns, and where the thoughts in your head and the words in your mouth are not very, well, pleasant. Yup, it was not pretty at all.
Yet that was yesterday. Now is today. It’s my choice on what today will look like. Today is the day to rejoice and be glad in it (Psalm 9:2). Why? Because I am a secure child of God. I know Whose I am and who I am in Christ. Why? Because it’s a new day with new choices. I know what it means to be a secure child. It means I have choices because of what my Jesus did in and for me.
I can choose to have another cruddy day, which can lead to my drugs of choice. Or, I can choose to let my attitude soar to the heavens where my God is enthroned. I can choose to wash out those cruddy thoughts from my brain through the truths of God’s Word. I can choose to filter my words through my Savior.
Why have another ugly day? I like the other option better; and hopefully you will too.
“S”et Fre“E” Nowww