Work Monday. Work Tuesday. Work Wednesday. Work Thursday. Work Friday. Work Saturday. Work Sunday. Work Monday. Work Tuesday. Work, nothing but work. If you live this way, what have you wired your brain to do? Work. What is the meaning of this life? Work.
Then Christ invades your work world. Now, what does your work programmed brain want to add to your life? A work based religion. Yet, Jesus came to bring us relief from that work based thinking (Hebrews 4:1-3). Jesus was asked in John 6:28, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” His answer was, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one He has sent.” Belief in what Jesus did and will do in and through you brings rest!
It’s quite interesting that the 4th Commandment is to have a weekly Sabbath or rest. Six days you would work. And one you would rest. Work then rest. Belief then rest.
I love how one author explained the Sabbath. The Sabbath “uniquely elevated the human being. For nearly all of human history, life consisted overwhelmingly of work. In effect, humans were beasts of burden. This commandment changed all that by insisting that people cease working one day out of seven. It also reminds people that they were meant to be free. Remember that slaves cannot have a Sabbath; only free men and women can. Unless necessary for survival, people who choose to work seven days a week were and are essentially slaves — slaves to work or perhaps to money, but slaves nonetheless.”
God used the Sabbath as a picture of Jesus (Col. 2:16-19), the One who came to set us free from the slavery of work (Gal. 5:1) and to elevate us to sonship (John 1:12). Learn to rest in Jesus throughout your day as you go about your daily work. Learn to take a day off to rest (relax from your to-do lists) as a reminder of what Jesus did and is doing for you – giving you the ability to rest in His love, rest in His provision, and rest in being a secure child of God who knows where they’re heading because of whose hands they are in.
“S”et Free Nowww

I recently walked past two individuals with quite somber faces holding signs about sinners and hell. It made me think about what those around me must be thinking.
Sinner. It’s often used of one who does bad things. Yet what if a person believes themselves to be morally good? They follow the 10 Commandments; therefore, don’t even stop to think about their need for Jesus and blow right past those signs.
Yet, sin has just as much to do with separation from God as it does with the specific actions of sin. Each person has a God created space in their lives that only He can fill. Yet, He is absent or separated from those who have not put their faith in Jesus. Because of this, the person will experience all the negative side-effects of not having God present in their life, such as loneliness. They are indeed lonely as they’re the only one in that God space. They feel this regardless of how moral they might think themselves to be. They will feel insignificant as they are the highest ranking person in that space, which isn’t saying much. They will feel insecure as it’s up to only them to be powerful enough to ward off all invaders of their peace; and yet, they know they can’t.
Everyone experiences these emotions and thoughts, from those who know they are morally bankrupt to the person who thinks they’re morally ok as both are separated from the source of peace, love/belong and security – Jesus. He’s the only one who can fill that void and bring true satisfaction, no matter how moral anyone thinks themselves to be.
Do I dare say, even some Christians fit into this camp as well? “I’m doing stuff that will please God. I’m going to church. I tithe. I share my faith. I pray and read my bible. God’s cool with me, right?” Hmm, maybe not. Now that you’re a believer, Jesus lives inside that God-shaped vacuum, but is He on the throne telling you what to do or are you on the throne telling Him what to do, even morally good things?
Our sin leads to death which means separation from God. Jesus’ righteousness leads to being a holy one/saint, one who is separated to God. In one, He is outside the life. In the other, He is inside the life. One is controlled by the person. The other should be controlled by Jesus. The one with Christ inside has a real choice – draw closer (holiness) to Jesus by listening to and following Him, the source of all their needs or standing next to Jesus with their back toward Him, suffering all the side-effects that come with that choice.
You are a saint, a holy one, who can choose to draw closer to Jesus with each and every decision. Make it your goal in 2015 to get better at keeping in step with where Jesus is going, not you.
S“E”t Free Nowww

“You’re life is a book filled with blank pages.” The question is, “Who’s going to write on them – you or Jesus?”
Are you ready to go to the next chapter of your life? Some are not because they keep reading what was written in the last chapter – good or bad. If the last chapter was a good one, praise God for it. Then make the decision to see what the next chapter holds. Choose to let Jesus write what comes next. He did a good job with the last chapter and will do just as well on the next one.
If it wasn’t so good, it’s time to stop reading it over and over again! Hear me when I say, the outcome doesn’t change no matter how many times you read it. This is where biblical repentance comes into play. The word simply means to change direction – stop going backward to the old chapter towards the fresh new pages ahead and change your thinking – replace the thinking that wrote the stinky chapter with the truths the Spirit desires to write with on the fresh clean blank pages.
Either way, it’s time to turn the page of life and move forward in your relationship with Jesus. If you do, God’s word guarantees it will be an even better read!
S“E”t Free Nowww

“For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:26-31)
Be reminded this coming year of who you were before Christ: powerless, not very smart, nobodies, and ignorant of God and His ways. You couldn’t defeat your drugs of choice or fill the gaping hole in your life on your own. If you could, you wouldn’t have needed a relationship with Jesus in the first place. The fact remains is that you couldn’t and needed a Savior to either clean up the mess you made or shorten the distance between you and your God.
Today you stand tall in God’s presence because of one Person – Jesus. He is your righteousness – the ability to do anything right and pleasing to God. He is your sanctification – the ability to leave the old life behind and draw closer to God. And He is your redeemer – the One who can turn your messes into victories.
All that we’re looking for life is dependent upon Jesus and what He did and does for us. The question that remains in the days ahead is this: will you choose to follow Him? Victory comes in life to those who do.
S“E”t Free Nowww

“For God so loved (put your name in here) that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
“To all who received Him, to those who believe in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.”

It’s already an awesome day regardless of how this day turns or turned out. Your God loved and loves you; thus, you are loved. Once you put your faith in the One who came today – Jesus – you not only were given life, but also became a secure child of God. Praise God. It’s already been an awesome Christmas!
“S”et Free Nowww