The reason we live each day using the tools of a biblical worldview is to allow the Spirit to exchange our character with Jesus’, which enables us to stay close to Jesus, the one One who can meet our needs.
Keep that in mind when you answer the following question I was recently asked. “In Bible Impact the Spirit is only working on one area of my life at a time. Does that mean I can intentionally mess around with the other areas of my life?” How would you answer this person?
After picking your jaw up off the ground hopefully you’d answer, “No!” Right answer. But here is the bigger question, “Why is it the right answer?” This is where the purpose for living with a biblical worldview comes into play. I don’t do something for or to get something from Jesus, but to be with Him. I get all I need to be satisfied and to lead a fulfilled life by being in His presence. Why would I ever want to purposely leave?
We think about sin, our drugs of choice, wrongly. We think by doing them we are actually having fun, are having our needs met, and/or are being satisfied. This is the furthest from the truth. And we know it’s true from experience! So why would I purposely choose to leave His presence simply because at this moment He’s only asking for one particular area of my life?
The goal is to become like Him so we can hold onto the One who can truly satisfy. Each moment use your tools to stay close to Jesus no matter what decision you have to make.
“Set Free Nowww”

This video is an excellent way to end your week no matter how it went. It’s 3:48 long so wait until you have time to sit, watch and reflect. Don’t let the style throw you off. Hang in there to the end. It will make you thank, praise and worship your Jesus.
The answer to the question should be obvious by now. Go to the About section to find the answer in case you need a reminder.
“S”et Free Nowww

I woke up this morning with the song “Good to Me” playing in my head.
“I cry out, / For Your hand of mercy to heal me. / I am weak, / I need Your love to free me. / Oh, Lord, my Rock, / My strength in weakness, / Come rescue me, oh Lord.
You are my hope, / Your promise never fails me. / And my desire is to follow You forever.
For You are good, / For You are good, / For You are good to me
For You are good, / For You are good, / For You are good to me”
Retraining our brains takes faith. Faith takes knowing that our God is good (Heb. 11:6). If we thought He was bad and would hurt us, we’d never exercise the truths that can change our lives. Our God is indeed good and worthy of our trust to live by faith in His truths each day. Sometimes it takes a good song to help us to remember this fact.
S“E”t Free Nowww

What you’re looking at are two ancient presses – one for grapes and one for olives. They both crush the fruit to retrieve their valuable substance. One is grape juice and the other is olive oil. How they are pressed is entirely different though. Grapes were crushed by human feet so as to not crush the grape seed. If this happened it could make the juice bitter. Olives were crushed – seeds and all – using a large stone. Afterwards the paste was put into fiber bags and pressed to remove the oil. Two different methods were used to produce the same result – a useful product.
Jesus didn’t come to add new behaviors or Himself to us. He came to exchange us with Him. One of His methods to accomplish this goal is to allow challenges into our lives in order to press out our worn and useless character (Heb. 12:1-11). He uses these challenges, these life situations, to separate the unusable part of our lives and leave only the valuable substance behind – Himself. The beauty is that He knows just how hard to press and with what instrument to get the job done.
This is why living with a biblical worldview is so important. We must learn to listen to and then do what He says in every situation we face. He uses those daily life situations to do the pressing. Rather than focus on and complain about our challenges He is asking us to trust in and focus on Him during those tough situations. They are simply the instrument He uses to make us more like Him.
Jesus loves us. He went through a horrible pressing in order to make us valuable children of God. We can trust His process to bring sweetness, not bitterness, into our lives.
“S”et Free Nowww

On our last day in Israel we stopped at Gat Shemanim or Gethsemane – the place of the olive press – where Jesus spent His final night before the cross. One in our group was tossed and then asked to eat an olive straight from a tree (we later discovered this was a no-no). He didn’t need any words to describe how it tasted. His face said it all, “Bitter!”
What makes olives bitter is “oleuropein,” which must be drawn out either through soaking them in water or lye, which is the quicker process of the two. After this process is completed, the olives are seasoned with special ingredients to get the taste the producer desires.
Jesus has come to shake your tree just as an olive tree is shaken to remove its olives. He first has to get your attention – bitterness only hurts you. Once He’s done that He’ll remove the bitterness from your life, a major reason we take our drugs of choice. He does this by asking you to trust Him enough to forgive those who’ve hurt you. After that is done, He’ll add His special seasonings, Himself, to your life to make you tasty to those around you.
Bitterness drives people away, forgiveness and Jesus draws them closer – another special ingredient to a satisfying life. Holding onto your bitterness is easy to do, but certainly is not the way to live a better life. Freedom comes through doing the hard thing – trusting Jesus to listen to and then do what He says.
Set Free N“O”ww“W”