Have You Exchanged the Truth?

 "They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, & they worshipped & served created things rather than the Creator - who is forever praised. Amen." (Romans 1:25)

When I read this verse the other day, my first thought was that it describes our society well. It's easy to apply there.

But, it doesn't stop there. It's not just for the world out there.

If we take a couple of minutes to think about it, we can see where we've done this in our churches & in our own lives.

We've exchanged the truth of God's Word for a lie. The lie often just subtle enough that we don't even realize right away. Or, in a desire to make the gospel most comfortable, we downplay what it actually says about something. Or we take something out of the context it was written in to make it say what we want that it doesn't actually say.

We've worshipped created things rather than the Creator. We have celebrity pastors & worship leaders - & then we're shocked when they fail. We let preferences divide & we see ours as the right ones.

But, let's make this even a little bit more personal for a few minutes.

We do this in our own lives. We believe lies rather than the truth. Sometimes we've intentionally chosen to. And sometimes we got a little off course at the start & now we're really far off course.

We've worshipped created things. We worship money, material possessions, power, a specific body type, health, etc.

So, we're left with some challenging questions:

Are there places in your life where you've exchanged the truth of God for a lie - either knowingly or unknowingly?

Are you willing to turn from those lies & turn back to God's truth - even if the truth is hard?

Are there places in your life where you're worshipping created things rather than the Creator?

How can you turn back to worshipping the Creator?

The Assumptions we Don't Realize we're Believing

 Going back to places often brings up a lot of memories. And it can make you think a lot about life.

I was recently back at the college I graduated from. I spent two years at Briercrest. I learned and grew a lot in my time there. We arrived a day early for the reason we were there, so I had time to explore the community . . . 17 years after I finished school there.

I wandered the once very familiar streets of the small town - noticing what what had changed and how much was still exactly the same. As I did, memories of friends, the crazy things we did as college students, classes, profs, and dorm life came flooding back.

After a bit of walking, the flood of memories slowed and I started thinking about other things. I started reflecting on how things have gone in my life both when I was a student there and the time since. Specifically about some of the things to do with circumstances in life.

If you've read what I've written about the last few years, you'll know I've written a lot about singleness in the church. And this is where my thoughts were again.

When I was growing up, going to a Christian school for any amount of time for post-secondary was seen as basically a guarantee that you would find the person you were going to marry. So spending two years at Briercrest and not having gone on a date with someone was seen as strange in the circles I was part of. In fact, it was a bit of a joke in my family that I had "failed" Bible college because I came home single.

It was this experience that made me realize how easily we believe things without thinking them through and make them a part of our assumptions. If you had asked me why I was going to Briercrest, I would have given you a lot of reasons, none of which included finding someone to marry. And all of them were absolutely reasons why I chose to go.

What I didn't realize was that I'd bought in the assumptions that gave Bible colleges the nickname "Bridal College" and made the quip "ring by spring or your money back" so popular in places I was. All these things were said in jest, but there was a degree to which everyone also assumed they were true and believed them.

I never would have said these things out loud or acknowledged I believed them, but they had become a part of what I thought, believed, assumed. So to graduate after two years still very much single and hear jokes about failing because I was still single was harder than I was prepared for. It revealed the things in the church culture I had grown up in that I had just taken in without thinking about it.

And I think it's just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the assumptions we believe without even realizing it. Especially when it comes to singleness in the church.

So, what do we do with those assumptions?

How do we become more aware of the assumptions we're believing and how they impact our lives?

And what do we do when we become aware of them?

I think we have to start with asking ourselves why we believe the things we do. That's how we might begin to see where these assumptions are in our lives. 

And when we become aware of them, we can choose to see them differently.

In my case, I realized as I wandered the streets and buildings at Briercrest, I was finally in a place where I didn't feel like I had failed or that something was wrong with my because I graduated Bible college single. But, I also know it took me a long time to get to that place, because of the assumptions I had believed.

When Words Hold You Back

"How can you pray for me when my prayer need is about my marriage and you've never been married?"

It's a question I was asked about 15 years ago, as I was part of a prayer team. And a question I've never forgotten.

I don't remember how I answered that night. But I did pray for this person.

And then it took another 10 years before I allowed myself to be in a position like that again.

I walked away from that conversation doubting whether I could or should step into what I felt like God was calling me to. I questioned if I should wait until I was married to step into ministry outside of with children and youth. I questioned if I was even allowed to be involved in adult ministry before I was married, or at least had many, many more decades of life experience.

I never told anyone about this experience. I never voiced my doubts or questions to anyone. I just held onto them. I was held back for years by this one question I was asked. I don't remember who said those words, but they had a profound impact on my life for years.

I wonder what stories you could tell about the impact of someone's words on your life. The impact could be good or it could hold us back. The challenge is that we're more likely to remember the words that us to question and doubt, the words that hold us back.

That's what happened to me. I know at the same time as I heard the words above, there were words spoken to me that encouraged and affirmed me in stepping out. But, I don't remember those words clearly. In the presence of doubt, they quickly lost their power.

If you've made it this far into the post, I wonder is you relate?

As you've read my experience maybe your own experience has come to mind.

What are the words that have been spoken over you or to you that have held you back?

What are the experiences in your past that have made you decide to stay back in the shadows rather than stepping into what you know God is prompting you to do?

There is good news. We don't have to live by these words and experiences. We can live free of them.

I know it's possible, because it's been my experience. It takes a choice to do the work of changing your thinking and learn what the truth is, what God says about you. But it is possible.

It starts with exactly where my questions have brought you. We have to start with acknowledging the words and experiences. We're often not aware of them, so we ask God to show us.

Once we're aware and acknowledge them, healing begins. We ask God to speak His truth the those lies we've been believing. Then we regularly remind ourselves of the truth until we actually believe it. And we step out and do what we've been hiding from. 

I still remember the first night I put myself back in a similar role - praying for people who requested it. I made a commitment to do it and stepped back in. Choosing to believe the truth that God wanted me there and He would equip me for it.

So, what do you do next?

Ask God for His truth to believe, instead of the lies that's been holding you back.

Remind yourself of the truth regularly. Keep doing it until you start believing it.

Step in. Do it with shaky hands and a quivering voice. But do it.

If you're overwhelmed or not sure how to move on, talk to someone. Tell them your story about what happened, what was said that is holding you back. Ask them to pray for you. Ask them to help you take the first step.

What do we do When Life Feels like it's Spinning Out of Control

Until just a few minutes ago, I had decided that I was just going to skip posting this week. I didn't feel like I had anything to say. And I wasn't even sure I could put anything into coherent thought.

(Actaully, I'm still not sure that will happen well with this post.)

I've been thinking a lot about how we get through it when the whole world seems to be spinning out of control. What do we do? How do we get through it?

If I'm honest, the events of the few weeks have sent my anxiety higher than it's been in a long time. Most days I feel like I'm just barely hanging on and all I want to do is hide from all of it. But, I still have to deal with the reality of what's going on and hiding is impossible.

So, what do we do when we find ourselves in these situations? 

I'm not talking about caring about practical physical needs. I think what's out there has covered that pretty well. I'm talking about how we get through it emotionally, mentally, spiritually.

It's easy to quote Scripture about trusting God, or about God being in control, or any number of things. And they're absolutely true. But, these days, they can ring a bit hollow when you're feeling like you're barely hanging on and anxiety is high. We have to choose to hold onto those truths, but we can't stop there.

This is where I'm glad that we can be completely honest with God about how we're feeling. He can handle. He wants us to bring it to Him. Sometimes just acknowledging it is helpful to being able to handle it.

But, the truth is that we also need each other. This may be a more difficult in times like this, but it doesn't change the fact that we need each other. While the how of this may look different, we can't neglect this.

And, if I'm honest, this is the part I haven't done well. I've turned to Scripture and to prayer in these last few weeks, but when I've been with people I've fought hard to keep it together and not let them see I'm struggling. And I know that hasn't helped things.

So, something I'm learning (again) and maybe can encourage you with: Keep taking it to God and turning to Scripture for truth. And find ways to keep connecting with others - it might not be the same face-to-face ways we usually use, but keep connecting somehow. We can't try to do it on our own. We need each other.

Changing Our Thinking

What do you do when your mind is going in a direction you don't want it to go?

What do you do when your caught up in patterns of anxiety in your mind and you're not sure how to stop them?

Is there any way we can change our thinking?

The answer is that, yes, we can change our thinking.

But, if we're looking for an easy fix, then we're going to have a problem. There's no promise of an easy fix.

Scripture does make it clear that our minds can be renewed - that we can change the way we think.

Romans 12:2 tells us that we can "be transformed by the renewing of our mind." 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 talks about our ability to take thoughts captive to make them obedient to Christ. In Philippians 4:8, Paul tells us to think on things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy.

These Scriptures would indicate that we do have the ability to change the way we think. We can choose to think on something different. We have that ability.

But, how do we do that? What does it look like?

What about when it seems like we can't change our thought patterns, not matter how hard we try?

I think the key to this is returning to Scripture. We need to take the time to find the truth of what Scripture says, and then we need to fill our minds with it.

This isn't an instant process. We may have to continually remind ourselves of the truth of Scripture. It's something we have to be intentional about, until it becomes our habit.

As I've learned this process in my own life, I've seen how it can and has changed my thinking over time. I've had to be intentional about it - especially in the moments when it's easiest for my thinking to go back to those old ways.

One of the things, I've learned is of the importance of having the truths from God's Word ready when I'm in the midst of a struggle. Those are the times when I need to be able to remind myself of God's truth clearly. Sometimes, this means going back to Scripture I've memorized.

Other times, it's actually having those Scriptures in a list that I can easily pull up an read - often out loud. This is especially true when it's a bigger challenge in my thinking. For me, one of those times is when my anxiety starts to take over my thinking. Then, the only way I might be able to stop it is to start declaring the truth of God's Word out loud and I need to have it where I can easily read it and access it. For me, that means it's actually in a note on my phone. Since my phone is pretty much always within reach of me, this is a helpful place for me to have this list of Scriptures.

Just because we find the Scripture and the truth doesn't mean it's going to instantly change. We have to commit to the process and be willing to dig in with it every time the issue arises again. Some days, it seems to have more impact on changing my thought life, than others. But, over time, it is slowly changing things.

The important thing is that we continue to go back to the truth of Scripture to change the way we think. No matter how many times we have to go back.

The Only Way to Avoid Being Deceived

How do we avoid being deceived?

In my last post, I wrote about the importance of not being deceived, especially when it comes to where temptation comes from. That post led to the question I opened this post with: How do we avoid being deceived?

How do we come to realize when our enemy is trying to deceive us?

How do we become more aware of his schemes before we fall for them?

These questions led me to a familiar and important passage. Luke 4:1-13 is the account of Jesus being tempted in the wilderness. Jesus models in these verses what is important in defeating the deceptions of our enemy.

The devil came to Jesus at a time of weakness, when Jesus would have been more susceptible to deceptions or, at least, when the devil thought He would be. The devil tempted Jesus in two ways: 1) he tried to use Scripture in a way that wasn't quite right, and 2) he offered Jesus what would seem to be good things, but in the end would give the devil license in His life. These are two tactics the devil uses in us too.

Jesus countered all of this with the truth of Scripture. He knew what Scripture actually said, so He wasn't caught by the almost right, but slightly off quotes from the devil. Jesus defeated to the devil in this situation with the truth of Scripture.

This is so important for us too. Our enemy isn't going to use something that's really out there to try to get us. He's going to look for ways he can use something that seems really close to the truth, but is just wrong enough to get us off course if we fall for it. And, it we don't know Scripture, if we don't know the truth intimately, we'll be far more likely to fall for the devil's deceptions.

The only way we can avoid falling for the deceptions is to know the truth well. Just as Jesus know what Scripture actually said well enough to spot the places where the devil was twisting it, we need to as well. We need to know the truth so well, we can see when something is eve just a little bit off.

This the only way we can avoid being deceived.

Have you Been Deceived?

Have you been deceived?
Have you been pulled off course by what you believed about temptation and the work of the enemy in our lives?

I've been reading in James the last few weeks and I was struck by something I think I've often missed because of how our English Bibles separate verses and paragraphs.

In James 1:13-18, James goes from talking about temptation to talking about God being the One who gives good gifts and is never changing. In the middle of this passage, there is a key verse that somehow links these two seemingly different things.

James 1:16 says, "Don't be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters."

Because these words are the start of a paragraph about God' good gifts and His being not changing, I have always put verse 16 solely with these words in my thoughts. The visual of being in the same paragraph meant that's how I read it.

But, when I was reading recently, I found that I read the verses before and paused after reading verse 16. When I read it this way, I saw a link of verse 16 with the verses beforehand; a link I think we can easily miss. At least, I often do.

James 1:13-16 says:

"When tempted, no one should say, 'God is tempting me.' For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desires and enticed. Them, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full grown gives birth to death.
Do not be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters."

I asked you the questions I began this post with, not to make you feel bad, but to help you see my point. I'm going to guess that everyone reading this could answer yes. All the varying degrees and at various times. But, I think I'm pretty safe to say we've all be deceived at some point - especially about temptation and sin. After all, our enemy is a master of deception and wants nothing more than for us to be deceived, because it gives him control in our lives.

These verses in James highlight an area where being deceived is especially dangerous. If Satan can get us to believe that God is tempting us, he has a lot of influence in our lives. When it comes to temptation, it is vital that we know and understand the truth, so we don't fall to the enemy's schemes.

God may allow the temptation, but He is never the one tempting us. And He always provides a way out when it does come, so we can stand (1 Corinthians 10:13). If we don;t know this truth, we won't be able to stand on it, and we'll fall for the enemy's schemes every time.

The reality is, we often imply or outright say that our temptation is from God and this is not true. These words in James 1:13-16 make it pretty clear that God does not tempt us. When Scripture speaks of someone facing temptation, it always says the temptation was by Satan (Matthew 4:1).

Temptation always comes from our evil desires, the fallen humanity in us, and Satan will use that to grab hold of us and deceive us. Satan will use whatever he can frond to play on those desires and get us to give in to sin.

We cannot be deceived in this area. Temptation is not from God.

Refusing to Listen to Truth

I've been studying the prophet Isaiah recently and I've been struck by some thing in Isaiah 30. The words in this chapter relate quite well to our lives as Christians today.

Isaiah 30 is titled "Woe to the Obstinate Nation" in my Bible. And it's a chapter detailing some hard lessons Israel would learn for their turning away from God.

As I've read and studied this chapter, I've realized there are some important lessons we can learn through it.

 Isaiah 30:10-11 says,

"They say to the seers,
          'See no more visions!'
and to the prophets,
          'Give us no more visions of what is right!
Tell us pleasant things
          prophesy illusions.
Leave this way,
          get off this path,
and stop confronting us
          with the Holy One of Israel'."

                                   
How often do we say these things?

How often do we refuse to really hear the truth because it's not what we want to hear?

I think we do this more often that we would admit. If not with our words, than with our actions. If it's hard or unpleasant, we want nothing to do with it. We push it away - often at great personal cost, because it's what we really do need to hear.

It is the truth that comes from God that is the only thing that can set us free. Sometimes the truth will be hard to hear or it won't be what we wish it was. But, even then, maybe especially then, we need to listen to the truth being spoken and work through it to see how it needs to change us.

We don't want to get to the point Israel had in this chapter of Isaiah. They were trying to silence those who spoke the truth because they didn't like the message. We don't want to become so opposed to the truth that we try to silence those who are speaking the truth.

Is there some truth God has been trying to tell you that you don't want to hear?

Are you willing to listen - even if it's hard?

When you hear a hard truth, take the time to ask God about it. Ask Him to help you understand it. Talk to another mature believer about it. Don't assume just because it's hard, it must be from God.

But, let's not be people who run from the truth when it is hard.

Desperate for the Truth

Most of the time I can go through life content with knowing just enough of the truth to keep going. I just need to have enough of God's truth in my life to be able to live a comfortable life. I may even know I'm deceived in a specific area, but it doesn't really bother me.

At least, that used to be how I lived. I can't live that way anymore. Not once I discovered the freedom that comes with knowing the truth.

Hearing the truth can be painful sometimes. And it can be difficult to learn how to live the truth - especially is we've been living deceived for a while.

But once we learn of the freedom the truth brings in our lives, we see no other way to really live. We become desperate for the truth.

I'm not talking about what we decide the truth is. Or what our culture tells us the truth is. Those will keep us living lives that are bound up in deception.

The truth we are really desperate for is God's truth - contained in His Word. God's truth is what sets us free. God's truth is what really allows us to live.

But we live in a world where truth isn't sought. A world where truth changes from person to person. We get caught in a trap of deception and we're now convinced it's the truth.

We're all caught in it to some degree. It's more obvious for some of us than for others. Sometimes we can hide the ways we're caught in the web of deception and sometimes we can't.

The good news is that we don't have to stay stuck. With God's help, we can begin to discover His truth - the real truth. The truth that frees us.

As we seek Him, we hear His truth spoken to the lies we've been believing. As we take the truth we hear and ask God to help us learn to live it, we find one more part of us is freed from the web of deception we've been tangled in.

As we begin to experience this freedom, we want more of it. We start to search for the truth because it is what sets us free.

We'll spend our entire lives on this seeking of God's truth. And we'll quickly discover it's a worthwhile way to live. Growing deeper in our relationship with God as we continue our desperate search for the truth.

When Pride Gets in the Way

A bit of story-type writing to start this one off...

She'd held it all together for so long. She was proud that she could do so. Looking from the outside no one knew that storm that was brewing deep inside. She wasn't even completely aware of it either; she'd pushed it so deep inside.

Life just kept going. Work. Family time. Responsibilities at home. Church commitments. Time with friends. It didn't stop with the challenges of life. The outside looked the same no matter what.

But life inside was not the same. Change and uncertainty. Unexpected loss. She had no control over most of it. But she kept on going, doing all the same things.

She shared snippets of the inside with a few people. But no one knew the full story. She kept it to herself.

Until one day she couldn't. It just became too much. She could no longer keep the storm deep inside. It came to the surface and interrupted her carefully planned life. Things just couldn't keep going the same anymore.

The strong one wasn't anymore. The one everyone else depended on wasn't there to be depended on anymore.

Life came tumbling down. Or, at least, the false one that had been presented to others did.

The truth is, she was kind of glad it did. The pressure of the pretending and pushing through had been exhausting. There was a freedom she didn't realize she could find in admitting she didn't have it all perfectly together all the time - in admitting she needed help right now.

-----------------------


That story is one that has been true of me at different times in life. And maybe has been true of you as well.

So often we go through life pretending we have it all together. Pretending we're all fine. When the truth is anything but that. And eventually we find ourselves at the end of all we can do and our perfectly constructed world comes crashing down around us.

I've been thinking lately about why we're so often reluctant to admit we don't have it all together all the time. The truth I've come to is a hard one to swallow. But sometimes the truth is - even when it's also helpful and something we need.

We don't admit it's not all perfect because of pride. Our pride gets in the way of our being honest.

We may even have people around us who would care and help if we asked, but our pride still keeps us from asking. Our pride keeps distance between us and those God has placed in our lives.

Scripture warns us of the dangers of pride. The way it sets us up to fall. The way it isolates us from others and from God.

We have to deal with our pride before it deals with us. When we do, we learn to ask for help from others and from God before we find our carefully constructed world crumbling around us.

Journey to Freedom

I stumbled across this poem I wrote a couple years ago. I was reminded of the truth of it. I've shared it here before, but felt that this was the time to share it again.

Satan's lies long believed
Child of God stuck in captivity
Lies that go so deep
They seem to be a part of me

Tired of the lies
My heart desires freedom
Seeking freedom to be found
In God`s Truth alone

Tearing down the lies
Felling walls with God's truth
Only in the Word of God
Can true freedom be found

Wishing this could just be done
But knowing it take times
Freedom is a work in progress
Seeking God and seeking truth

Are New Year's Resolutions the Way to Go?

New Year's Resolutions . . .

Do you make them?

Should you make them?

I've been thinking about the whole idea of new year's resolutions the last couple of weeks. It's that time of year when we look forward to another year and often feel a need to set some goals - to make some resolutions for the new year.

They seem like a good idea at the start of the year. And then we get to February and we haven't kept most of them. We've broken them and it's easy to feel discouraged.

A couple years ago, I wrote a post about how to keep your new year's resolutions. I don't disagree with anything I wrote in that post, but now I wonder if setting new year's resolutions is really the way we should be going.

In the two years since I wrote that post, I've seen things in my life take a very different turn from what I had planned in January. Things have gone in a direction I couldn't have imagined at the start of the year - a better direction that was definitely from God. Seeing that makes me wonder if new year's resolutions are really the best way to go. 

What if, in making them, we put ourselves in a box and take a chance of missing out on what God has for us because we're focused on what we think should happen?

What if, instead of making new year's resolutions, we began the year with seeking God? With asking Him what He has in store for us and surrendering our will and ideas to His plans?

What if we decided we would follow God's leading wherever it takes us - even if it's not what we would have planned?

Instead of setting a plan in place that we may or may not keep to a small or large degree of success, what if we were intentional about surrendering the year to God as it begins?

A Heart's Cry

"Teach me Your way, O Lord,
          that I may walk in Your truth;
          unite my heart to fear Your name."
                         (Psalm 86:11, ESV)

The first time I read this verse out of the ESV it struck me in a way it never had before. The words were just different enough from what was familiar that I listened again.

David is the writer of this psalm. He is calling out to God for God to hear and answer him. David praises God's love, forgiveness, compassion, and faithfulness.

David is often referred to as a man after God's own heart and I think this verse from Psalm 86 is a glimpse into why. David want to know God's ways and he wants to walk in them. He wants a heart that worships God alone.

There's a few things in this verse that stood out to me as I have reflected on it.


"Teach me Your way, O Lord . . ."

This is a request to know God's ways. Our requests often become more of a "God, please bless my plans," rather than asking God what His plans are for us. But, it is when we are seeking God's ways that life is what God created it to be.


". . . that I may walk in Your truth . . ."

Walking in God's ways is the way to live the life He desires for us to live. The way we know God's truth is to seek Him and ask Him. God wants us to walk according to the truth, not according to the lies we so easily believe. We have to regularly ask God what His truth is so we can replace the lies we've been living by with God's truth.


". . . unite my heart to fear Your name."

I love the use of the word "unite" here. It's a picture of many things that have been going in different directions being brought together as one to all go in the same direction. That direction being to worship God.

These words are often my heart's cry. That God would bring together all the parts of me that are running in different directions. It's easy to let everything go, but there is great value in bringing it all together with God.


I don't know about you, but the more I reflect on this verse, the more it becomes my prayer.


"Teach me Your ways, O Lord,
          that I may walk in Your truth;
          unite my heart that I may fear Your name."
                         (Psalm 86:11, ESV)

Broken-hearted Captives Freed

This post is a continuation of a previous one on Isaiah 61:1-4. There is just so much in these verses, that it takes time to dig into them.


"to bind up the broken-hearted" (vs. 1)

It seems like the pain from having our hearts broken is a given in life. Not just the pain of a romantic relationship breaking up.

• The pain of any relationship ending.
• The pain of life not working out how we wanted.
• The pain of disappointment.
• The pain of life throwing some sort of challenge at you that isn't pleasant.
• The pain of someone doing or saying something to hurt you.

Life on earth breaks our hearts . . . often. We all get that.

When our hearts are broken, we have two choices about what we can do. The first choice we can make is to build a wall of protection around our broken hearts. We keep people out so they can't hurt us. We work hard at not getting emotionally involved with people or events to protect our hearts . . . or, at least, we think we're protecting ourselves. That becomes a lonely and isolated way to live.

Or, we can choose to allow Jesus to do exactly what this verse says He came to do . . . bind up our broken-hearts. We can take the pieces of our hearts to Jesus and allow Him to put the broken pieces back together. It is what He came to do and He will, if we let Him.

Have you taken Jesus the pieces of your broken heart so He can bind it back together?

What is keeping you from allowing Jesus to bind up your broken heart?

Will you let Him today?


"to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners" (vs. 1)

God wants His people to live in freedom and in the light. However, we have an enemy who desires to keep us in captivity and in the dark. Jesus came to bring us freedom and the light of the truth in our lives.

This is where we have to do something. Jesus declares it and He removes that which was holding us captives. But then we have to get up and walk. Jesus opens the prison doors that have kept us in captivity and breaks the chains, but we have to get up and walk out of the prison cell into the light.

Are there areas of your life where you need to allow Jesus to bring the freedom that comes from the light of the truth?

Will you let Him today?

Are there areas of your life where Jesus has freed you and not you need to get up and walk out of that prison cell?

Will you do that today?


To read the first post on this passage, click here.

Five Minute Friday: True

It's Five Minute Friday again. This week's word is "true."


Do you ever share the true story of your life? You know the one . . .

. . . the one where you share your failures and mistakes, alongside the successes and the things you did right.

. . . the one where you're not defined by any one thing, but by the total of what makes you who you are.

. . . the one where you're honest and authentic.

It's probably not the story we want to share all the time. It's not necessarily the story that makes us look good to other people.

But the true story our lives is the one that people can most relate to. It's the one that lets people know we're human and that we struggle with the same things they do.

True . . . that's what it should be when we share the story of our lives with others.

We can tell the true story without sharing things that disrespect others or sharing details people don't need to hear. It might require us to be careful, but the true story of our lives can still be told that way.

Do you ever share the true story of your life?

Five Minute Friday: She

It's Five Minute Friday again and I'm joining in with the group over at Lisa-Jo Baker's blog. The instructions are simple: five minutes of writing on the given word - no editing or over-thinking what you write about; then you share what you wrote. This week the word is "she."


When she walked in the room, everyone turned to look at her.

She was the center of attention and she knew it. She was used to it. She often was the center of attention in a crowd.

The problem was, she didn't want to be the center of attention. At least, not for the reasons she was.

Most of those people looking at her were judging her.

You see, she looked different than the rest of them. She didn't feel like she belonged.

It had taken her a long time to get comfortable with who she was and how she looked. It hadn't been easy. But it was something she had to do if she was going to live a life that didn't revolve around hiding.

And the more she learned to be comfortable with who she was, the less she noticed people staring when she walked in a room. She became comfortable in who she was. And no one else's opinion mattered any longer.

The best part was that she had learned there was Someone who wasn't concerned with what she looked like. To Him what mattered was on the inside. That was shy she mattered.