Freedom

Freedom represents the potential to be. Freedom is not a guarantee to be. We have to be careful not to think our freedom causes things to fall into our laps from never never land. I have always told my kids that increased freedom increases responsibility. Good choices and habits as well as bad choices and habits are all wrapped up in that powerful word freedom. Obviously, the freedoms that we have in America do not guarantee success. Putting on paper our rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness does not make it a reality in every case. We have on a higher level been granted great freedoms from our Lord and King. One such promise is "He whom the Son sets free is free indeed." God's word is absolutely true and yet we see many people in our churches that still experience bondage. For freedom to come out of the realm of theory and into the world of reality it must be embraced and operated in. Have a great day seizing an opportunity, no matter how small, to walk in your freedom!

People Are Designed To Have Power Over Things

Things were never meant to have power over people. God created everything there is and then created mankind. He instructed people to exercise dominion over everything else. We were made to be in the driver's seat. Our status comes from the fact that we are God's crowning work. We are, according to His own statement, the apple of His eye. What kind of house we live in does not raise or lower our value. What kind of car we drive does not do anything to change our standing. What type of clothing we wear is an irrelevant factor. It's advertising and warped perceptions that drive that kind of thinking. That kind of thinking then puts us in a weakened position were things actually gain more power than they were ever meant to have. We actually have the ability to be content in whatever state we find ourselves in materially. It is part of the authority we have been endowed with by our creator. Do not let the pressure to acquire things twist your mind into believing you are either more or less than who you are. When God looked at us after making us with His own hands He said we were very good. Have a great day enjoying your power over things!

Check On It!

It's not what we expect but what we check that gets done properly. Another lesson I have had the misfortune of learning the hard way. Many people are not concerned about doing things just because they are supposed to. If you are from my generation you may be familiar with a time when doing things the right way for the right reasons was much more common. It was just ingrained in us by our parents. We knew that if our hands were caught in the cookie jar there would be consequences that would not be pleasant in the least. As a result of the clear boundaries we had, we knew doing the things we were supposed to do was the best option for us. That ideal translated to school work, job performance, community conduct and virtually every area of our lives. Well, those days are gone. If something is important to you and is being done by others, you better build into it a regular system of evaluation. In today's climate once folk get the idea that they are not being monitored the quality of their work tends to go way down. Restaurants, schools, retail stores, community groups and churches have all fallen victim to this new mindset. Folk seem to be content with doing as little as they can and getting away with as much as they can. We must do more than expect quality. If we do not inspect for quality we will not likely find it in the final outcome. Have a great day checking on it!

Team Work!

A necessary question to ask is do the others on the team buy into the choice to do a particular thing? When the desire to accomplish something involves others, it needs to be owned by those participants. No matter how wonderful the idea is, if it is not appreciated by team mates it will be ineffectual. Unfortunately, I can speak on this with some experience. Your team must also become excited enough to participate to get things done. An idea will remain in the realm of good intentions until there are enough helpers that buy into what needs to be done. Until the team understands and values the dream it will never come out of dreamland. Ask God to teach you how to develop a winning team. It is not easy, but it is necessary to build anything great. We multiply our impact by the number of people we really have on our team. I'm not talking about the people who say they are on board. It is the folk who are really on board that are extremely valuable. We need to know who those people are and learn how to best work with them. Have a great day looking for, or working with your team mates

Is It Right?

Decision making is the element in life that can cause many people to live in constant misery. There are some simple things that we can do to make better choices in life. The most basic thing that will guide us to higher ground is to consider what's right. Before we think about what we want. Before we think about who will be affected. Before we worry about what is acceptable to others that will evaluate our choice. We need to ask is this thing I'm considering right? Is it right according to God's Word? Is it right according to the values that have been established in my heart by the working of the Holy Spirit? Is it right according to the promptings that are at work in my conscience? Is it consistent with the things that I have been taught by godly individuals that are close to me? If you are at the crossroads of an important decision and you know that one side of the choice violates what you know to be right, chose to go in the other direction. Making a firm determination to do what is right will change lives dramatically over time. Have a great day choosing well!

Practical Victory

God has done a mighty work in us, but that is no reason for us to become lazy or reckless. We are responsible to cooperate with God and it is the only way we will have experiential victory. The war has already been won at Calvary. Jesus is victorious and that victory is ours by our inheritance in Him. However, we must exercise our faith in Him to win our battles. We must discipline our lives according to His Word to see our victories. We need fellowship with like minded brothers and sisters to continue in our winning ways. Then of course, the Fulness of the Holy Spirit is available to empower us for overcoming obstacles. Grace is not for disgrace. We should never take for granted the powerful, costly, wonderful work of Christ. His death, burial and resurrection has made abundant life possible. All we have to do is believe and execute our part. Here is how the Word describes it. (Philippians 2:12,13) "So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure." We win, but we need to work out what God has worked in. Have a great day cooperating with the King of kings!

Wise, Righteous & Free

Why do we keep trying to complete the work that Jesus has already finished? Trying to get wise is so different to walking in wisdom. We do not have to complete a wisdom work because Jesus Christ is our wisdom through the cross. By the power of the Word and the Holy Spirit we already have all the wisdom we need to deal with the complexities of life. All we have to do is use it. Trying to become righteous is so different to knowing we are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. The Heavenly Father sees us as righteous because of the blood that Jesus shed. We have nothing to prove to anyone. The highest court in heaven has already been satisfied. We just let the righteous nature that God has put in us grow until our behavior catches up with our position. Then we keep trying to work for, or pay off our ransom. Jesus Christ is our redemption. He has paid the price in full by His precious blood. We are free. We are not trying to escape. We are not trying to work off a debt to our old slave owner, the devil. We are liberated whether we feel like it, or not. Our enjoyment of freedom is just hindered when we think we still owe something. The Bible says what I have been trying to say like this, "But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:" (1 Corinthians 1:30) Have a great day just living out who you are in Christ!

Sometimes When It Seems You Lose, You Win!

In a negotiation sometimes it looks like a loss when it is really a win. Some of you are familiar with the account of two women fighting over a child in Solomon's kingdom. They brought the matter to Solomon. Solomon to test the true love of these women for the baby suggested that they saw the child in two and each take half. The mother of the baby said oh no, let the other woman have the baby rather than having the child destroyed. She could have fought as the other woman did to get half of a dead child. By refusing to fight, she not only saw the baby spared, she also revealed her loving heart to Solomon. He instantly knew that she was the true mother. Seeing her love for the baby she received permission from the king to take the child home. When we belong to God we do not have to negotiate ourselves to winning positions as the world does. The world is always looking at things in terms of winners and losers. In Christ we are already winners and He fights our battles for us. We do not have to kick doors down. We do not have to pry things out of somebody else's hands. We do not have to hurt others to help ourselves. We just rest in the arms of our loving Lord. As we travel the path of righteousness all of our blessings are on the path. Have a great day victorious one!