I was standing in line to board a plane when I overheard a conversation between a mom and her daughter. They were going to visit family when the daughter said, “I’m going to gain 40 pounds on this trip.” Impossible. I thought. Then she said, “I’m not going to have a good time, either.” Most likely. I smirked.
I remember what a friend of mine who mountain bikes once told me, “Look where you want to go, not where you’re going, and the front tire will always follow.” I didn’t believe him. I crashed a lot. When I followed his advice, much to my surprise, my bike did go where I was looking.
We choose the road we’ll go down by what we’re thinking. Our actions do follow our thoughts. Here’s a quick one line truth to use throughout your day. “Don’t go there!” Satan wants to get you to think negatively about yourself. Don’t go there. Your past wants to drag you back. Don’t go there. Your frustrations want to get you to scream. Don’t go there.
Listen to your Jesus as you go about your day. And when your thoughts to head in the opposite direction, don’t go there!
Se“T” Free Nowww

We’re all recovering addicts. Before you tune me out, let me explain. Romans 12:2 states that we are “transformed by the renewing of our minds.” We don’t replace old behaviors with new ones. We must replace our old thinking with new thinking, which leads to new behaviors.
Where did this old thinking come from? Part of it came from our sin nature, which stained our brains in such a way that we can’t help but make sinful choices. Part of it came from living in a fallen world filled with lie-based messages while not having the biblical tools with which to filter them out.
All of it leads to taking our drugs of choice – where we go to meet our needs other than to Jesus. Thus, we’re all recovering addicts. We all have our drugs. They’re just different. This is one reason Jesus came to die and rise again – to set us free from our drugs, no matter what they are!
Freedom can happen according to Galatians 5:1, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.” The verb “has set” is past tense, which means life-change will happen, if we want it. Freedom starts by realizing that we’re slaves to something, that it was our choices that enslaved us, and that we need to trust someone other than ourselves to become free.
Jesus is that someone. He gave us the ability to change at salvation, but the “want to” is up to us each day. The moment we want to start using our biblical tools (Set Free Nowww), the wow follows. Wow, my life is changed! Wow, I’m feeling better than I’ve ever before! The want to leads to the wow.
“SET FREE NOWWW”

A good friend of mine broke her upper arm, which required surgery to repair. The surgery was a cake walk compared to the physical therapy sessions! It almost seemed like her therapist was getting too much joy out of torturing her.
This wasn’t true of course, but it sure felt like it. The therapist knew the only way to get the arm back to normal was through the discomfort of the exercises. If not, the scar tissue from the surgery would severely limit her patient’s future mobility. My friend had to push through today’s pain to experience the pleasure of using her arm at full range of motion and strength tomorrow.
The Spirit of God can use today’s painful situations to make us stronger tomorrow. We have a choice. We can run from the pain by turning to our drugs of choice or work through it by picking up our biblical tools in the Spirit’s power. Pain is never pleasurable until it’s over, but pain is never gone until it’s worked through.
“No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” (Hebrews 12:11)
Set Free No“W”ww

One lesson we tried to teach our children was to turn off the lights when they were done using a room. At the beginning they would ask, “Why?” Our answer was, “Do you like going to the pool when it was hot outside?” Of course they did. Well, we only had so much money to spend. Did they want to spend it going to the pool or leaving on the lights? You know the answer.
Each day, we only have so much energy to get closer to Jesus. Would you rather use that energy defeating your enemy or wasting it on self-doubt, past/present failures or hurts, worry, or a series of other energy wasters?
Scripture tells us that God loves us…period – no ands, ifs or buts. It tells us who we are – secure children of God. It reveals that we’ve been given everything we need to experience life to the fullest in Christ, right now. It gives us the tools to listen to and follow Jesus, who gives us the ability and strength to work through any issue.
Why waste time on who we’re not in order to get something we already have because of who we already are in Christ? Use your Spirit given energy to move closer to Christ, rather than waste it on going backwards or standing still.
“S”et Free Nowww

You’re an expert now! Mike, a friend of mine, heard this just after finishing a motocross (motor cycle) race. Last year Mike was in the beginner class and had just moved up to the intermediate class. There were jumps and speeds that still unnerved him.
In this particular race, Mike was dueling with another rider. If he tried to pass, the other rider would move in front of him. If he tried to speed up, the rider in front would hit the throttle as well. This went on the entire race. He was never able to pass the other rider, who eventually won.
Mike was exhilarated over the race, but disappointed he hadn’t won. His disappointment soon changed. An expert rider, who was watching the race, came to congratulate him on his times and asked if Mike was racing the following week. Mike said, “I’m not in the expert class.” Come to find out, this duel pushed both riders to cross the finish line in expert class times!
Mike was so focused on the rider ahead of him, he forgot all about his speed concerns. His fears weren’t present because he simply kept his eyes on the front rider.
Hebrews 12:2, “Fix your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of your faith.” You stay focused and keep acting on the truths Jesus gives you and your life will be changed. You become what you focus on and what you focus on gets bigger. Who are you focusing on?
S“E”t Free Nowww