The movie, The Matrix, was very insightful into the human condition. It portrays a very important truth: what is seen is not real and what is not seen is real. What is real lasts forever and what is not real doesn’t.
C.S. Lewis spoke about this when he said, “You don’t have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body.” What is not seen should be our focus, not what is seen. The Word of God reiterates this thought in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, “We do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day…So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
What will your focus be on this week, the inner or the outer person? Believers waste so much time worrying about how they look physically and how they appear to others. It’s a waste of time to focus on such things that don’t last forever! Every day, you can choose to use your biblically-based truth filter to stay focused on Jesus in each situation you face. With each decision you can allow the Spirit to build Christ-like eternal character within you. As you begin a new week make the decision to hear from Jesus and do what He says to do. If you do, you will build up your soul – the inner real you that will last forever, a healthy use of time.

Se“T” Free Nowww

As we head into the weekend, how was your personal time in the Word? Have a hard time making time to listen to Jesus? The following is a quote from Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s current Prime Minister, who holds weekly Bible studies in his home.
“The Bible is the foundation of our existence. It unites the Jewish people, as it has throughout the generations. It also serves not only as a foundation but also as a map and compass. The Bible is always relevant vis-à-vis today’s problems and challenges. It inspires, it is a source of life for our people and it is important to expand Bible study and love of the Bible among all parts of the nation.”
What an awesome understanding of the importance of the Word of God! He isn’t the first Israeli Prime Minister to do this either. Menachem Begin also held such studies when he was Israel’s Prime Minister.
There is even a wonderful story about Begin as it relates to the Bible. History records that President Jimmy Carter once called when Begin was holding a study. Begin wouldn’t leave it to take Carter’s call. This was the President of the United States on the line! Begin was doing something more important that couldn’t wait. Now, how is that for setting proper priorities?
If your time in the Word this week was sporadic at best or very little to none at worst, what kept you from listening to Jesus? Satan feeds us all kinds of excuses (some good, some better) as to why we can’t spend time with Jesus. Were your excuses, I mean reasons, as important as ignoring the US President? If you didn’t spend much quality time with the Word, have you processed the “why not” through the FREEdom principles? If you don’t, you’ll fall for the same excuses next week.
If your hectic life is keeping you from the Word, you can’t live a holy life: a life of experiencing the goodness of the Lord. It’s your choice – hectic or holy?

S“E”t Free Nowww

This past winter my wife and I put in a patio made of paver stones. I looked up how to lay them on YouTube. It looked easy enough; at least it did until I started the project.
First I had to prepare the ground. Instead of taking a few hours, it took a few days! I won’t go in to all the details; but suffice it to say, I felt the anger starting to come back. I thought I’d beaten my anger challenge, hadn’t I? As the frustration rose, I wanted to start yelling – an old drug of choice of mine. Yet, I caught myself. I knew where this was going so I started filtering the patio situation through the FREEdom process. I calmly told my wife, “I’m gonna lose it, so let’s just stop right now before I do or say something stupid.” I calmly put my tools and materials away, closed the garage door, and went inside the house.
After getting something cool to drink, I asked the Spirit to show me why I was getting so uptight about a stupid patio. He showed me that it was because I really didn’t know how to do it. Though I like to work with my hands I’m not a construction guy. I’m a child of God who is not defined by some patio job. Jesus loves me no matter what, so why was I letting those pavers cause me to lose it? I later called a construction friend who came over and helped us figure it out. We then were able to get the patio project done! Friends are nice, aren’t they?
I thought I had beaten the anger drug. Apparently, my enemy was checking. You see, this patio is in our front yard where my neighbors could watch how I handled things. Some know I’m a pastor. Would my life shine on Jesus or would I be just another “Christian” disappointment?
A well-known pastor once said, “You’re a product of your past but you’re not a prisoner of it. You can choose to change.” I daily practice using my biblically-based truth filter, so Jesus could give me the victory when the test came. I didn’t have to be the same person I was years before. I could experience the victory of a changed life today. Yes, some old defeated behaviors want to come back. In the power of the Spirit, I don’t have to let them.

Set “FREE” Nowww

I recently had someone tell me, “Chris, you’re a pastor. It’s supposed to work for you. You can’t expect everyone to experience God like you.”
My standard answer these days is this, “Is your way of living working for you?” If it is, there’s nothing I can say to change your mind. Keep living each day the way you think best. I can teach you about living with a BWV until I’m blue in the face, but if you are not ready to hear it, you’ll simply keep on living the way you do.
But if it isn’t working, I’m ready to share about how Jesus’ way of living does. Jesus knows how we were created to live on this planet and for ever. Who better to listen to than the Creator Himself? Proverbs 10:29 states, “The way of the LORD is a refuge for the righteous.” The more I hear His voice and do what He says (i.e. a BWV), the better I feel about life today and tomorrow. Living His way keeps me safe, secure and loved.
Because my way of living wasn’t working, I was ready to listen to Jesus: the need to daily filter every aspect of my life through Jesus and His Word. Sure, it’s taken time to retrain my brain in “how” to use the Word, not just “know” the Word, in everyday decisions. Yet because I do, I’m experiencing more of Jesus’ love than I have ever felt before.
Sure, you can choose to live any way you so desire. No one is going to stop you, surely not me the pastor. Do remember this, though. There is freedom in choices, but not in their consequences. If you decide to live any way other than how Jesus created you to live, you won’t be satisfied.
Jesus didn’t come to only set pastors free from their drugs of choice. He came to set everyone free. He came to not only give pastors significance, but to every believer in Him as well. It’s your choice. Are you filtering your daily life through your biblically-based truth filter? If not, how’s it working for you?

Se“T” Free Nowww

You’ve got your coffee cup in its holder. Your cell phone is in its cradle. And your hands are on the wheel. It’s a beautiful day as you drive to work. The sun is shinning. The skies are clear. You’re enjoying your drive. Yet you seem to be going in circles. No matter how hard you try, you always end up in the exact same spot – home.
Guess where you are? The Autopia ride at Disneyland! The reason you end up at the same place is because there’s a guide rail that runs between your tires. Though you can turn the wheel, it will only let you turn so far before your tires hit the rail keeping you on the “road.” Yes, you’re “driving” the car, but only where Disneyland wants you to go. Though you’re driving the car, they’re in control of your life while you’re on their ride. The only way to drive some where different is to remove the guide rail.
If you want to see your life changed, you must remove the old guide rails within your thinking. Someone once said, “The systems you currently have are perfectly designed to give you the results you’re now getting.” It’s the same with your brain. If you don’t input new data from another source, your brain will think the same thoughts over and over again, always bringing you to the same destination.
Where do you get that new data? From the only source guaranteed to set you free from your drugs of choice – the Word of God. Running your old thoughts through your BWV – listening to Jesus, the Word of God, and doing what He says – is the only way to experience something different – freedom. “Blessed are they who keep His statues and seek Him with all their hearts.” (Psalm 119:2) If you want more peace and joy, you must listen to and follow what’s in the Word of God. What other source can make such a guarantee?
If you want to experience freedom from your drugs of choice, you must change the way you think. Your current system is designed to take you to them, rather to freedom in Christ. If you want to freedom, a changed life, you must blow up your old thinking through daily contact with the Word. Sure it’s not easy. Yes it will take time. But wouldn’t seeing new territory be more rewarding and satisfying?

S“E”t Free Nowww