Challenges. We all face them. They make us want to quit walking and wallow in our drugs of choice. Let me share one more story from the Holocaust that teaches us a valuable lesson about putting one foot in front of the other, this time through song.
“There was a Chassidic Jew named Meilich Rubenson who would make a meal after Shabbat every Saturday night. This meal didn’t include any food – there was no food to be had! It consisted of singing. Rubenson would gather a group of Jews together and we would sing this song: ‘God said to Jacob, don’t fear my servant. Have no fear my servant, Jacob. I fear no one but you Hashem…’ It was laughable, a joke! Everyone knew that the Germans were winning the war and there was very little hope for us, if any. But this Jew, with his singing and faith, gave strength and hope to all the Jews in the camp. It gave us the strength to go on.”
At times in our fighting the good fight, the situations we face seem hopeless. Hang onto Jesus, the Light of the World. He will keep shinning light on the next step you need to take. At that moment, it’s time to show your love for and trust in Him by taking that step. It’s that step that takes you closer to freedom. And sometimes, it sure helps to have a tune playing in your head as you do.
Set “Free” Nowww

Margaret Thatcher, Britain’s first and only female Prime Minister, who died yesterday once said, “If you just set out to be liked, you would be prepared to compromise on anything at any time and you would achieve nothing.”
The verb “to be” is one of the most dangerous verbs in the English language. It’s one of our greatest enemies. How we define ourselves is crucial to our freedom. “I’m a firefighter.” “I’m unworthy to be loved.” “I’m a businessperson.” “I’m a loser.” If you think I am off (there’s that verb again). Keep a notepad with you. Make a note very time you use that verb and what comes after it. Take it through the FREEdom process. If it doesn’t line up with the truth that you are a child of God, you are heading for compromise.
You will act consistent with how you view yourself. If you have to be liked by others, you are giving them control of your joy, your peace and your freedom over your drugs of choice. Freedom over repeated sin starts in your mind with this truth: You are secure because you are a child of God.
I want to end this entry with one last Thatcher quote: “You might have to fight a battle more than once to win it.” This is true. It will take time to retrain your brain by filtering out the lie based “I am” statements. Don’t stop fighting. Victory is around the corner.
“S”et Free Nowww

Monday April 8 was Holocaust Remembrance Day in Israel. We can learn a very valuable lesson about challenges from one remembrance story concerning observing Passover in a slave labor camp.
“When the camp commandant walked in and saw us eating the matzah, he yelled at us, ‘Eat bread! Don’t eat these crackers – they won’t give you any nourishment at all. What are these crackers?’
“After explaining to him that it was Passover and Jews are forbidden to eat bread, the Commandant became furious. ‘Your God has forsaken you and you still believe in Him?! You still eat these crackers just because He told you? Your God has completely abandoned you, don’t you see that?’
“The Commandant seemed to have stumped the entire group; they recognized the dire situation that they were in. While the group struggled to find an answer, a Jew named Akiva Goldschtof piped up. ‘No,’ he said. ‘God has not totally forsaken us. It is true that God has temporarily put us in this situation, but not totally and not forever.’”
I’m not making equivalents between our challenges and those who experienced horrors far beyond human comprehension; yet what a perspective on life’s challenges! Yes, we live in a fallen world where evil bombards us on all sides. Yes, we are going to face tough times that make us want our drugs of choice. Yet, we are not alone even in our darkest times! The temptation does not last forever, victory over it does. Our challenges will not last forever, our God will.
Each day, no matter what challenge you face, you choose who’s going to win – your enemy or Jesus. I speak from experience. Jesus tastes better.
Set “Free” Nowww

I came across the following quote today while reading my local paper. “My yesterdays walk with me. They keep step; they are gray faces that peer over my shoulder.”
At first I saw a lie in this statement. Letting my past hang around is not a good thing. It’s the gray face, my mistakes and other people’s in my life, hanging over my shoulder that drags me to repeat my sinful behaviors. We don’t hang onto those situations. Instead we work through them with forgiveness to come out the other side to see the sunshine filled smiley faces.
Then I realized that quote could be stating a truth as well. The gray face can be a good thing if it’s used to remember what God has done in our lives. The Spirit wants us to think about where our drugs of choice took us last time. He wants us to remember how it feels to stay in His presence now. Which one do we want – the guilty gray or the warm sunshine feeling?
Looking back is not necessarily bad. It simply depends on what you see when you do – Jesus or you/others? Look back at what Jesus did yesterday so you can then walk forward with Jesus today.
Set “Free” Nowww