The power of words to change a life is tremendous. I was in Israel this past March where I visited Tel Chai, a site where eight Israeli men died in one of many battles for Israel’s independence. After our guide told the site’s story, the 9-year-old son of our group’s leader asked if he could speak. He said, “If those men would have seen what they died for, they would have been very proud of themselves and of the sacrifice they made.” These words touched quite a few lives that day, including my own.
Then I read on Facebook where one person was lamenting the fact that they were not a good this, or a good that. In response, a “friend” wrote, “Good for you for reaching out, but stop beating up yourself. Only perfect person was (is) Jesus, so knock it off:) You will NEVER please everyone–it just doesn’t happen that way…What’s the most important change you want to make?…YOU know and if you want to make those changes, YOU will….You ARE special and you’re a child of God. Don’t ever forget it. P.S. I love ya!” Again lives were touched.
Truthful words, like drops of water on a pond causes ripples across a lake, can travel great distances. The Bible tells us that our words can help others become more like Jesus (Eph. 4:29), which besides people, is the only thing we can take into eternity. Let Jesus use you to help someone become more like Him. It’s so easy, even a 9-year-old can do it.
If we’re not touching lives for eternity, then our lives will be like footprints on the sand washed away by the waves of time.
Set Free Noww“W”

The following is an excerpt from a new book my friend is writing. “A deluded mind cannot think its way out of the box it is in. The deluded mind is the problem, so it cannot fix the problem. We must be exposed and shocked out of this delusional state. That explains why Paul used such harsh language when addressing the Galatians.”
Paul called the Galatians “foolish” and “bewitched” (Gal. 3:1). He was basically calling a group of believers, who thought themselves to be very intelligent and spiritual, stupid and dark…to their faces! These believers thought what they were doing was right, when indeed it wasn’t. Through his harsh words, Paul was trying to explode the box that had imprisoned them.
Again, fish don’t know they are wet. You only know what you know when you know it and will act upon what you know. This is sanity. But, what if what you know is wrong, how will you ever know it’s wrong unless a source outside your mind exposes your thinking to be wrong? You can’t!
This is why being in and with the Word of God, Jesus, is so critical to becoming more like Him. This is why being transparent with and allowing other believers to speak into our lives is also very important to the life change process (James 5:16).
We need God’s light to shine into our thinking for us to know whether we’re on the right path or not, no matter how spiritual we might be. Jesus is the only path that will ever bring us what we’re looking for in life. Paul had to resort to shock therapy to get the Galatians to wake up. Hopefully this gentle reminder will do it for you and me.
S“E”t Free Noww“W”

A certain phrase has been running through my mind, which the Lord has used in quite a few situations lately. If you want a better tomorrow, you’ve got to evaluate your past to make better decisions in the present.
The point is that if want to get off the sin-confession-sin cycle, you must use the FREEdom process to filter out the lies that formed the basis for your past decisions and replace them with the truths the Spirit gives you in your daily reading of God’s Word. Then throughout your day in the Spirit’s power, no matter where you are, choose to exercise those truths by faith.
As you make those faith choices in the present, you’ll be fixing your tomorrow today. Why not start now?
Set “FREE” Nowww

There has been a bowl full of miniature chocolate covered candies sitting on our kitchen counter for over a week. Mind you, I could have put them out of sight; but, I didn’t. I think you know where this is going.
I would see this bowl of delectable delights every time I entered the kitchen. My eye saw them and sent that information to my brain. Yet each time I saw them, I didn’t filter it through the truth – eating sweats doesn’t solve anything! Now, put a “bad” day in there and this becomes a dangerous situation.
Here is a truth all believers must drill into their heads: You don’t just fall. You’ve been thinking about it for a while.
I had seen those delicious treats without telling my brain they were not a solution to a bad day. Furthermore, knowing that candy is a drug of mine, I could have asked my wife to re-hide them. (Oh, did I forget to tell you that I “found” them? Oops, my bad.) Suffice it to say, a bad day came, which we all have, and I ate more than one, well, two, oh let’s get serious, it was eight miniatures later before it sunk in what I was doing.
This all took place because I forgot this truth; and therefore, I didn’t pick up my FREEdom tools. Failure came as I didn’t get that candy out of sight so it couldn’t enter my mind. What drug is under your control that needs to be remove from your sights?
Now that I’ve reminded myself of this truth, once I post this I’m going to ask my wife to re-hide those drugs!
Set “FREE” Nowww

My wife and I were hanging out this past weekend doing what we like to do best – being together. We walked along the beach with coffee in hand. We visited a seaside lagoon. We even discovered an orchid farm! We also visited shops with unique items.
In one such shop, we noticed a beautiful wave scene that was on a piece of birch plywood. You could see the wood’s grain through the wonderful curve of the wave. It was quite amazing. We’d been looking for something to put on our living room wall, and this piece would go nicely with our colors. We asked the price. We had the money. Should we buy it? We talked. We got a card from the shop owner.
We then took a walk where I asked, “Lord, should we purchase it?” We are to listen to and follow Jesus every day everywhere, right? I felt Him ask me, “Why do you want to buy it?” After thinking about it, one reason came to mind. I wanted to proove to the shop owner that I could afford their stuff. Wow, that sure smacks of insecurity, doesn’t it? Insecurity leads to poor decisions. Needless to say, we didn’t return to that store.
Want to know something interesting? I asked Jan a couple of days later if she had thought about that picture. Her response? “I hadn’t until you asked.” I guess that picture made that big of an impression on us!
God’s Word works every day; therefore, must we must filter life through it everywhere, even when it’s a simply strolling through a store. It can save you lots of money, as well as buyers remorse!
“S”et Free Nowww