Today marks the first day of a new year. Living with a biblical worldview as I do, I know this year will contain challenges. Where and when, I don’t know. I do know they are coming though.
The reason I know this to be true is that Hebrews 12 tells me that God allows challenges to come our way in order to bring us closer to Him. In this way we experience more of the “good stuff” Jesus came to bring to us. So when those challenges come this year, instead of asking God, “Why is this happening?” why not ask, “Lord, how do you want me to respond?”
We have no control over the challenges. As secure children of God we do have total control over how we’ll respond to those challenges. Choose to allow Jesus to exchange more of you with Him this year. You’ll be extremely glad you did.

“S”et Free Nowww

I want you to think about something as we head into a new year. Will you look more like Jesus after 2013 than you did after 2012? You’ll look more like someone or something in a year. The question is who or what? Like you or Jesus? Like the world and it’s system or Jesus? You will be transformed/molded by a biblical worldview or Satan’s worldview. The only question will be is, which one? It’s your choice, no one else’s.
People are watching our lives. It’s my prayer that they’ll be seeing more of Jesus in us in the coming days. This will take learning to hear His voice, which is primarily done through reading His Word. Take the 2013 challenge to read through the Bible in a year. Learn to just read and listen to Him, not understand everything you read. As you do this you will definitely learn how to listen to Him throughout your day in order to do what He shows you, which means you’ll be more like Jesus. You know, this is how He lived live (Jn. 5:19).
S“E”t Free Nowww

There’s nothing nice about warfare; but we must be trained for it nonetheless. David writes in Psalm 144:1, “Praise be to the LORD my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle.”
The Bible reveals that part of the battle we face takes place in our minds (2 Cor. 10:3-5) and that we’ve been given some pretty hefty weapons with which to fight this battle. We’ve been given a new mind, Christ’s (1 Cor. 2:16), so we can think correctly. We’ve also been given a new nature, Christ’s (2 Pet. 1:4), so we can act correctly. The battle now for the believer is will we choose to do the right thing/righteousness in our every day life?
Peace in real life doesn’t come without a price and neither does life change for the believer. The price the believer must pay is surrendering their will. Jesus said that we’re to deny ourselves by not doing things our way and to follow Him by doing life His way.
Our will is the frontlines of the battle. A soldier can’t quit in the midst of the battle or he and/or his fellow soldiers will die. The believer can’t quit this battle or they’ll head back into bondage, their drug of choice (Gal. 5:1).
I encourage you to keep fighting. This war has been won; but you’re going to continually need new ammunition, new truths, to fight the lie-based messages that make you want to quit. Get this much needed ammo by keep listening to Jesus in His Word. I challenge you to make a commitment to read through the Bible in a year for the first time or once again in 2013.
Set Free “N”owww

I was on my prayer walk last week when I saw a truck parked along my path up the road. The closer I got to the truck I could see movement in the front seat. When I was about five feet away I saw it was a couple making out. As I tried to nonchalantly walk by the truck’s open window, the gentleman said hello while the gal had her head buried in his chest. She didn’t want to be “seen” by this stranger. When I saw this I was reminded of the Peek-a-Boo game I played with my small children. Just because they put their hands over their eyes, didn’t mean I wasn’t there or couldn’t “see” them.
We’re just like my kids or this gal when we don’t get into the Word of God to listen to Jesus. We think that by ignoring Jesus He can’t see us. We believe that by not reading His Word He can’t talk with us. Jesus is God. He can see everything, including what’s in your heart! Ready or not, He is ready to talk to you. He loves you. He wants to draw you closer to Him by removing what’s between you and Him – your drug of choice.
Take the challenge to daily read through the Word of God in 2013. Download the Read the Bible in a Year chart in Resources and get started listening to Jesus. He knows exactly what you need to hear and how to say it.
S“E”t Free Nowww

I recently came across this quote in our local newspaper. “Three-fourths of the mistakes a man makes are made because he does not really know what he thinks he knows.” I couldn’t agree more. I like to say it a little different. We only know what we know when we know it. Are you sure what you know is right? We will act consistently with how we think. Thus, if we want to see our behavior changed, our drugs of choice removed, we must change the way we think (Rom. 12:2).
In changing how we think, we must have a source outside ourselves to match our current thinking with in order to see if it’s right or not. This is where reading the Bible to hear Jesus is crucial. We don’t read it because it’s what “good Christians” do. We read and listen to it because it’s the Source of truth to measure our thinking against.
Again, let me challenge you to make a commitment to listening to Jesus by reading through the Word of God in 2013. Download the Read the Bible in a Year chart in Resources and get started. As you do, you’ll begin to your see your mistakes become fewer and fewer and your joy become greater and greater. Are you sure what you know is right? Check it out with the Word.
S“E”t Free Nowww