Ever had a song stick in your head? This happened to me this morning, but at an inopportune time. I was out walking and talking with Jesus when a song popped into my head. (This is the view I saw. It was even more gorgeous when the sun rose and the colors brightened). The song was okay, but it was a huge distraction to talking with and listening to Jesus.
My walk started at 5:30AM. I hadn’t  even been listening to music! Yet, here I was when, seemingly out of no where, this song popped into my head. I tried to ignore it, but I knew better. The only way to get rid of one song is to replace with another one.
And was this thought really out of no where? Not really. We have an adversary who doesn’t want us to walk and talk with Jesus and will use all kinds of distractions to keep us from doing so.
Only we can stop ourselves, not him! We have control over the grey matter between our ears. We don’t always have control over where the thoughts come from, but we do have control over what we do with them once they pop up on the screen.
Once I realized what was going on, used the FREEdom process to replace the distracting song with a Jesus focusing song, the distraction was gone and Jesus’ presence was restored. Defeat your distractions today by taking ownership of the stuff between you ears. It really does matter.
“S”et Free Nowww

Right at the right time is all I can say. I came across this verse in my BIG reading this week, “Though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again, but the wicked are brought down by calamity.” Proverbs 24:16
Think about this. Where does your security come from that you are a child of God? We become children of God by faith. We also become righteous through faith in Jesus, not through our victories, according to 2 Corinthians 5:21. Victory or defeat doesn’t make us righteous, Jesus alone does. Yet, getting up after we fall to our drug of choice is a sign that we are righteous children of God.
When we exercise the truth, we show ourselves to be what we claim to be, children of God. Proverbs 24:16 gives us another sign that we’re secure children of God – getting up after we fall. If you fail, Jesus is reaching out to pick you up. When you take His hand (i.e. apply His grace and mercy) and start walking with Him again, you’re showing who’s child you are – God’s.
Let God turn your failures into signs of security. Let His truth sink into your brain and heart. This truth brought tremendous peace to my heart this week. I hope it does to yours as well today.
“S”et Free Nowww

Riding a motorcycle is very relaxing to me, especially as there are plenty of back roads to enjoy a good ride without having to get on the Southern California freeways. The roads I take have plenty of twists and turns and ups and downs to make for a wonderful riding experience. I also love arriving home safely!
At my current skill level, though, there is one riding situation I incur that challenges my goal of an enjoyable ride and arriving home safely – going over hills where I can’t see the road ahead. This situation causes my heart rate to speed up a little. In order to make it up the hill I have to roll back on the throttle to increase my speed. Yet if there is an immediate curve at the crest of the hill, I have to back off the throttle to slow down in order to make the curve safely. It’s not a good idea miss the curve and hit an on coming truck! Nope, it’s no fun at all.
I’m speeding up to possibly slow down, what do I do? I trust my coach’s instructions. I took a rider safety course before I ever got my motorcycle license. I was taught how to handle situations just like these. If I trust my given riding skills, I will accomplish both goals – enjoy the ride and arrive safely home. The question is, “Will I trust my teacher?”
Want to feel secure? Take a daily riding course – listen to the Teacher as you read His Word. Want to enjoy the ride while arriving home safely? Use the biblical tools/truths your Coach gives you in His Word. Do this and you’ll be just fine. The question is, “Will you trust your Teacher?”
“S”et Free Nowww

I often hear believers quote John 8:32, “The truth will set you free.” As stated, it’s believed that if they merely quote some verses from the Bible they will be free from sin and its consequences – shame, guilt, fear, embarrassment, etc.
Nope, it’s not the way God works. Before Jesus said the above words, He told those who had just placed their faith in Him, “Put this faith into action by trusting Me enough to put what I tell you (“My teaching”) into life practice (“hold to”). As you do, you will begin to understand that I’m telling you the truth (“know the truth”), which will set you free.”
Faith in Jesus means acting upon His words, not merely saying them. God’s process of life change is to first put into action what He says to do; and then, and only then, will you see freedom from your drugs of choice. In other words, as you listen to and follow Jesus, your life will be changed – not a minute before.
It’s action and then revelation, practice then life change. Want to see God work firsthand? Trust Him enough to do what He says in any given situation.
Set “FREE” Nowww

For those reading from other countries, I beg your indulgence. Today is an American holiday, July 4th Independence Day. It’s the day we celebrate our country’s Declaration of Independence from England, a beginning of freedom.
John Quincy Adams, the 6th US President, once said, “Is it not in the chain of human events, the birthday of the nation is indissolubly linked with the birthday of the Savior? – That it forms a leading event in the progress of the Gospel dispensation? Is it not that the Declaration of Independence first organized the social compact on the foundation of the Redeemer’s mission upon earth? – That it laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity?”
Since this grand start as a nation we’ve seemed to have lost our way. As a people, we’ve forgotten who and what our Founding Fathers stood upon – Jesus and His Word/teachings.
It was Jesus who said, “If you hold to My teachings, you are really My disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” True freedom only comes by listening to and following Jesus for yourself in community – not a Christian culture, not a government and its man-made laws, and certainly not any religion with its rules and regs.
Warren Wiersbe, a noted Jesus theologian, once said, “Freedom is not the absence of restraint, nor is freedom doing what you please. That’s chaos. That could be the greatest kind of selfish bondage. Freedom is the privilege and power to become all that God wants you to become. Freedom is the opportunity to fulfill your potential to the glory of God. And the more you become like the Lord Jesus Christ, the more it releases your potential.”
It is my prayer that you, my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, are using the biblical FREEdom process to show the world humanity’s true potential, which is only found in our Savior and Redeemer. My fellow countrymen and may be yours too are losing their way and could use a freedom path to follow.
Set “FREE” Nowww