Most of those who’ve been martyred for their belief in Jesus have been ordinary people like you and me. Rachel Scott was such a person. You can read her story in her parent’s book called Rachel’s Tears. I’d like to challenge us with a couple of its entries.
Rachel “was aware of how often she failed to be faithful to God, but she did not get frustrated and give up; her flaws helped her remain humble before God and dependent on Him for her sense of balance and satisfaction.”
She also knew that her security came from “understanding what it means to be in Christ, and significance comes from understanding that the Christian walk is not me being somebody. It’s not me being famous. It’s not me being great. It’s Jesus being Himself in me.”
We all make mistakes…throughout our day, let alone our lives. Will it make us more dependent on ourselves to overcome them or on Jesus living in and through us? Because of what Jesus did for and in us, we are a secure children of God. Will we allow our minds to dwell on our inadequacies or Jesus’ sufficiency?
The moment we put our faith in Jesus life, ceased to be about us and about Him. Rachel was just an everyday girl with everyday struggles like the rest of us. Yet this teenage young woman chose to draw closer to her Jesus; and, is in fact today touching millions of lives for Jesus because of it.
Let’s choose to be Jesus centered rather than, well, the opposite isn’t worth mentioning.
“S”et Free Nowww

I don’t know about you, but I’ve often asked myself, “Lord, why can’t I trust You even though You’ve never hurt me?”
The question is easily answered. I trust myself more than I trust Him. Self-preservation is a strong motivator. Self-protection, especially when people have let me down, even Christians, is a tremendous barrier to overcome. Yet if I’m honest with myself, self or “I” really isn’t worth protecting or preserving.
By taking my drug of choice, I end up hurting myself and in some cases others as well. With that in mind, you’d think it would be easy to follow Jesus; yet it’s not. The battle between choosing Jesus or me is huge. In fact, the language of 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 is that I must declare war on the part of my own mind that wants to lift me up (NIV “pretensions” or KJV “every high thing”)!
I must choose to declare war on myself through exercising the truth by faith or making what’s called contrary choices, meaning I must choose to go against my thinking and my feelings and choose to trust Jesus instead. It sounds easy to read, but it’s very hard to practice. Trusting someone other than myself always is.
Set Fre“E” Nowww

You should have seen the beaming ear to ear smile on their face; the wrinkles on their forehead smooth out; and, the muscles in their neck relax as they confessed to what was going on their life. It was an awesome site to behold the Word of God coming true.
James 5:16 states that we are to confess our sins to at least one other believer so healing (aka peace and stress and anxiety release) can take place through the prayer of the one being confessed to.
I hear people say, “I’m only to confess to Jesus.” This is true if it were only about forgiveness for the sin. The context of James is not about forgiveness, though. It’s about the healing from the negative consequences of that sin and a changed life to not sin in that area again.
When this person opened up, let out what was going on inside, and then was prayed for, they were able to experience the life Jesus, the Word of God, promised. This is what Bible Impact Groups are all about – the Spirit of God using the Word of God to change lives through the prayers of the people of God. (You can read more about BIGs under Resources at morethanasundayfaith.com.)
Who is praying very specifically for you because you’ve let them into your world? I can name those in my life. Can you? You will if you want to become more like Jesus and experience the reality of the Word of God come true in your life.
Set Free Noww“W”

“I once had a boss who gave me some great advice, not just for managing people but for judging politicians: You forgive mistakes; you punish patterns. Everybody screws up. But if someone won’t learn from his mistakes and try to correct his behavior, then he either doesn’t think it was a mistake, he just doesn’t care or he thinks you’re a fool,” wrote the author.
“Just because your life’s screwed up doesn’t mean you have to be a or give you the right to screw up.” Scripture tells me that I won’t be like Jesus until I see Him (Phil. 1:6; 1 Jn. 3:1-3). And yet, it also states that I can choose to become more like Him with each choice I make today (Rom. 6:11-14).
Yeah, life my may stink because of my less than stellar choices; but, I am a secure children of God, not a screw up! I can learn to fail forward, meaning I can use the FREEdom process to learn from my screw ups not to screw up next time. And so can you!
“S”et Free Nowww

Fact: something that actually exists; truth; something said to be true or supposed to have happened.
This dictionary definition of “fact” states that a fact can be both true and false! No wonder a certain advertiser can make the following statement about their product: These facts may or may not be true.
A well known columnist once wrote, “If people worship pleasure and material things, they are more likely to get leaders (and advertisers – my note) who give them what they want instead of what they need to hold society together. If we erase the boundaries that have guided humanity for generations, we weaken our society.”
We live in a weakened society where facts don’t have to be true! Our enemy controls all the messages we hear save one – the Word of God! Who will you listen to today? What filter will you use for truth that will set you free from all negative consequences – society’s or Jesus’?
It sounds obvious, but we all have excuses (dare I say, lame ones?) for not being with and in the Word throughout our day. Hopefully, you’re using the FREEdom process to eliminate yours.
S“E”t Free Nowww