Which river would you rather bathe in? Left or right? Which river would you rather drink from? Dirty or clean? More importantly, what will happen if these two rivers are allowed to merge? All the clean drinkable, bathe able water becomes undrinkable and nasty.
This picture puts our walk with Christ in total perspective. There is a reason your God calls out the dirty water (thoughts that lead to our drugs of choice – our words and actions) that He knows will be both nasty and quite harmful to us. He is the one says, “What partnership is there between righteousness with lawlessness?” They don’t mix. One hurts the other.
You wouldn’t purposefully drink the nasty water. What makes us think your drugs of choice will fare any better? Put your drug of choice into proper perspective. It always ends up nasty.
S“E”t Free Nowww

There is some pretty good theology in the comics at times. In the first frame, Garfield says, “I’m feeling down. Pooky, any words of encouragement?”
In the next frame, Garfield says with a sad look, “No?”
In the final frame, he says with a grin running ear to ear, “Pooky’s just there.” (The Press Enterprise, 10/24/13). Pooky is a stuffed animal by the way. No words were spoken. It was merely the presence of another that brought encouragement.
This is a wonderful example of the importance of walking with other believers. Sometimes all it takes is another person’s presence to encourage us to keep walking with Jesus. At other times, it’s a listening ear that allows us blow off a little steam that keeps us from taking our drugs of choice.
Will you allow someone into your world? If you have, will you pick up your 100 pound phone and make the call when you sense your face turning red? Let someone in. Make that call, today.
Set Free Noww“W”

Remodeling is never easy or clean. In order to accomplish the end result, sometimes large sections of the old house must be taken down. This can be dirty, exhaustive and uncomfortable work. It’s totally necessary, however, if we want to see a beautiful more functional finished product.
It’s the same with our lives. Our God can see the big picture. He knows what must be torn down, specific character flaws, and what it must be replaced with, Christ’s eternal character. This life-change process is neither easy nor comfortable; but totally necessary if we want to be more like the Prince of Peace.
As secure children of God, demolition day is coming or for some it’s already upon you. We can either surrender gracefully to the process or fight it. Do you trust the General Contractor that it’s worth the effort to pick up and use your biblical tools and let Him bring about a more functional finished product in the end? Trust me. It hurts, but it’s worth it.
“S”et Free Nowww

“Ezra devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the LORD.” (Ez. 7:10) There is an important principle hidden within this verse that leads to a healthier faith.
It is often thought in Christianity that getting into the “meat of the Word” is about learning new facts from Scripture. This is a misinterpretation of Hebrews 5:13. Yes, we need truth from the Word, but the “and” is just as important. We must be able to “distinguish between good and evil” and be “trained in righteousness” as well.
Healthy believers are not simply data gatherers but data observers as well. Our brains were not only meant to store data. They were also meant to process that data, which eventually comes out in our behavior. These behaviors can either hurt or help us on our journey to become more like Jesus.
Thus, the reason for reading the Word of God comes into focus. Do you do it to check it off your to-do list or to learn something new? It should be to hear from Jesus to input the truths you need into your biblical processor so you can walk closer to Him everyday everywhere.
S“E”t Free Nowww

I saw a poster once that had a big yellow backhoe digging a hole with a tremendous amount of water spewing out of it that read: The First Law of Digging: If You’re in One Stop Digging.
I deal with so many people who keep taking their drugs of choice because they believe it’s impossible to climb out of the hole they’ve dug for themselves. This is simply not true, though. Some holes may take longer than others, but we can stand on level ground and breathe fresh air again through the Spirit’s power. Jesus is The Redeemer!
Having said that, it’s much easier to stop digging while the hole is smaller than it is to climb out of a much bigger one!
Set Free No“W”ww