In any relationship, especially marriage, two people can get close only by sharing with each other their thoughts, their dreams, their life and who they are becoming. Obvious, right?
Yet implied within that statement is that you know who you are and who you are is worth sharing! This kind of vulnerability is tough, which is why most relationships remain shallow as each person becomes stalled in their personal growth.
Now, you probably thought I was talking about you and your spouse or friends. Nope, I was talking about your relationship with Jesus. (Paul used the marriage relationship in Ephesians 5 as an illustration for our walks with Jesus.)
I don’t know how many times I’ve heard, “Christianity is not a religion, but a relationship.” Well, is it true or not? When it comes to talking with Jesus (i.e. prayer), what are your conversations centered around – what you need or who you’re becoming?
Jesus already made us secure children of God. It’s this security – never being separated from the source of love – that provides us with the room to take steps of faith (i.e. risk) in allowing the Spirit to change our lives (aka personal growth). Talk with Jesus about changing your life. You’ll only grow closer to Him as you do. It’s well worth the risk.
“S”et Free Nowww

I want to pass on a piece of sage advice I was given. “If you keep looking back, you’ll keep repeating your past mistakes in the present. Instead, choose to learn from those mistakes as to not repeat them in the present to gain victory in the future.”
Fish don’t know they are wet. You only know what you know when you know it. You based your past choices on the information you had at the time. You can’t do anything about your past decisions, because they’re in the past! The only thing you can do with your past decisions is to put them through the FREEdom process today: get at the lie in your thinking, exchange it with the truth from the Word; and then exercise that truth in the Spirit’s power today.
Instead of beating yourself over your past mistakes or bad decisions, learn from them so you don’t repeat them by making better choices in the present. Power through your past rather than relive it. The choice is yours today.
Set “FREE” Nowww

Let’s not leave Firstfruits/Resurrection Day (aka Easter) so quickly. Yesterday we celebrated the fact that Jesus rose from the grave on the “appointed day” God set out in Scripture. It was on this day that we gain the hope that the second death will never touch us and quite possibly the first death as well.
Yet, we must die to ourselves every day. We must choose to die to the area(s) in which the Spirit is convicting us. As we do and choose to exercise the truth by faith in the Spirit’s power, we will experience the freedom and victory over death that Jesus promises.
I love what one author said, “What an amazingly loving and sovereign God we have! He turns our messy life into a masterpiece work of art as we let Him do the work in and around us.” Turning the messes into masterpieces starts with surrendering that area to the FREEdom process. What will your begin and/or continue to surrender to Jesus today?
Set Free Now“W”w

I receive all kinds of newsfeeds from around the world. Most of them have to do with Israel as she is the center of prophecy. Jesus said on the day He rode down Mt. Olivet on a donkey that if the people had only known of His coming on that donkey, they could have saved themselves tremendous heartache. They didn’t; and 35+ years later, Rome destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple (Lk. 19:41-44).
Scripture also gives us information about His 2nd coming – Ezekiel 38+39. Persia, modern Iran, is in the newspapers quite a bit at the moment. Iran is currently smuggling rockets with advanced guided warheads to Hezbollah in Lebanon. These are much more accurate than the ones they shot at Israel in 2006. Right now, the US leaves a warship off the coast of Israel with the capability of shooting down rockets from Iran, not southern Lebanon. Is Israel currently a “land of unwalled villages,” meaning she is pretty much defenseless like Ezekiel 38:11 states? Despite the nuclear treaty Iran is still working out with the US and Europe, the commander of Iran’s Basij Force states that “wiping Israel off the map is not up for negotiation.” Sound like “devising an evil scheme” against Israel to you (Ezekiel 38:10)?
Reading today’s newspapers is like reading the Bible! The Bible is coming true before our very eyes, quite literally. Jesus might return tomorrow or a hundred years from now. Ready or not, He will come. Choose to be ready by simply being in and hanging out with the Word of God, Jesus Himself, so you can filter all your thoughts through Him and His Word throughout your day to experience freedom now and forever.
S“E”t Free Nowww

God told the Israelites that they would enjoy many wonderful things if they listened to and followed Him, one of which would be rain. He also said He would withhold that rain if they didn’t.
Thus, what should the conclusion be if it didn’t rain for one year? Oh, it’s just a dry year. What if it was dry bones for two years? Hey, something’s up. I’m starting to get real hungry. Now, what’s up if the drought went on for 3 years and half years? Hopefully, you’d come to your senses. I must not be listening to and following God.
Israel was staring at idols, which in this case was Baal, the god of the sky and rain. The one true God was trying to get their attention by withholding the rain. All they needed to do was repent, ask forgiveness, start listening and following and the rains would return.
God did His part to get them to return to Him; and yet out of love, He went a step further. He sent Elijah to get their attention (1 Kings 17-18). This is a wonderful picture of grace. God went over and above the call of duty to bring the Israelites back to Himself. He is the source of the good stuff, which in this case was rain for their dusty land and water for their thirsty animals.
God, out of His tremendous love and grace, is pursuing a deeper relationship with us. He brings challenges our way just like He did with the Israelites (Hebrews 12). And like the Israelites, we determine when those challenges will stop. We must decide to get rid of what is between us and Jesus. God’s grace is no April 1st joke. He is that serious about a relationship with you. And, He has and will continue to go to great lengths to draw you closer to Him. Return at the first sight of pain and discomfort, rather than after three and half years!
“S”et Free Nowww