God is here. God is amongst us, wanting to converse with us, wanting to show us great and mighty things we can’t conceive. God is God. Great. Powerful. All-Knowing. All-Present. Almighty. All-Good. He has adopted us as children. He has our hearts. He is a good Dad. God is our deliver. He sent His son to die for us so that we would be free. We were ransomed out of...
Freedom!
When Jesus saw the woman who had a crippling disease for 18 years, he was indignant. He could not wait until it was socially acceptable. He didn’t wait until the people were ready. He looked at her and in that moment declared, “Woman, you are free!” We are sons and daughters of Abraham! We have a covenant of healing and liberty. God has promised through Abraham that we will be...
Prison Breaks
I’m reading Exodus this morning and this question popped up in my Spirit. “Why did God need Pharoah’s permission to deliver his people? Why couldn’t God just say, “Listen up. At 6:00 am tomorrow, gather your things cause we are leaving. If Pharaoh and his army tries to attack us, I’ll destroy them. But we are getting up out of Egypt.” After all, God is God. I asked Google but...
It’s Time to Break Loose
I’m reading The story of Esau and Jacob this morning. On the direction of his mother, Jacob stole Esau’s blessing. I glean the following truths from this story: 1. God can redeem our bad parenting. 2. In the Old Testament, apparently the Father’s blessing was limited. But today we live under open heavens and God’s unlimited resources. My brother’s blessing can not diminish my blessing. There is more than...
Who’s Your Master?
One my favorite chapters in the Bible is Romans 6. It was probably the most life altering chapterI have ever read. You see, I use to have an anger problem. Your greatest area of weakness, is most likely your greatest strength that has not been tempered by God. With this same mouth that I now use to preach the gospel, give encouraging words, and bless people, I then used to...
Free!
What is the calling on your life? To be free! Free from fear. Free from addictions. Free from sin. Free from caring what others think about you. Free from guilt and condemnation. Free to forgive. Free to receive forgiveness. Free to love. Free to be loved by God. Free to take risks in the Kingdom. Free to hope. Free to dream. Free to be who God has called you to...
Free Indeed!
Jesus came to set us free! The disciples thought he came to set them free from the oppression of their government but we can live in a free society yet still be in bondage to fear, our emotions, lies of the enemy, addictions, thought patterns, the fear of man…the list is endless. Jesus came to set us free, free indeed. How do we walk in that freedom? 1. Identify any...
Set The Captives Free
Paul and Silas were wrongly imprisoned. They were truly being persecuted for their faith. They had every right to be angry (perhaps they were), indignant, fearful. But in the middle of their unfair treatment, they began to sing hymns and praise God. I don’t believe this act was intentional. I don’t believe they thought, “If I praise God, He will deliver us” or “Let’s praise God to witness to these...
Freedom Is Not Free
Yesterday, my daughter and I walked along the trail of the Underground Railroad. It was sobering, and humbling. We imagined walking late at night, in complete darkness, perhaps with small children. Hungry. Cold, Scared. Tired. What if you were caught? Would they return you to the cruelties of your master? Would you be hung? Would you be raped, humiliated? These were men and women with a strong faith. A strong...
It’s Time
I love new beginnings. I love to stop, reflect on the past but move toward the present. Like so many of you, at the end of last year I recalled my successes and failures and made goals for a new beginning in 2016. This morning, I want to encourage you to do something I rarely ask you to do. Look back over your life and ask this one question: “Am...