Facets of Faith

Conversations about life, faith, and friendship.

The Trinity: Intimately Knowing & Growing

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Welcome to FACETS!  As we start to dig into the persons of God this month, we wanted to preface with a bit about what we believe. We believe in one God who exists in three persons – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They are three individual facets of one magnificent God. There are numerous scriptures throughout the New Testament that reference the three persons of God individually, and together, giving us glimpses of the personality and characteristics of God. If you wrestle with the thought of one God in three persons, we encourage you to lean into the confusion, pray, and ask God to further reveal Himself. We pray you find comfort in the greatness, and vastness of our God knowing that we will forever have more to learn about Him.

The Trinity: Intimately knowing and growing? (Tracy)

How do we talk about the trinity, the Godhead three in One? Father, Son, Holy Spirit. Relationship with ALL are of equal importance. One is not more significant than the other. We need all aspects of God.  More of Him. Less of us.  More of Him. Less of us as He leads us. As He grows us. As He grows us to know Him more, and as we do, we grow to know ourselves more. Because we are made in His image.  Mind blowing!  I know.

There have been times when I’ve run into the arms of my loving Father like a little girl in need of comfort (no matter my age).  When I need to feel safe and loved, I turn to Him. He showed me how I am celebrated, that He was there the day of my birth (before actually) and He rejoiced. He celebrated me because I am fearfully and wonderfully made, because I am fearfully and wonderfully made by Him. You too, sweet one, are fearfully and wonderfully made by a Father who sees you and knows you, who fashioned you in your mother’s womb. (See Psalm 139) He delighted in you that day and every day since. Even in your sin, mine too.  He doesn’t delight in our sin; he delights in US, in spite of our sin. That’s EXACTLY why He sent His Son!  He sent Jesus to cover our sin with sacrificial blood. He loves us THAT MUCH.  Can you imagine? Our sin couldn’t go unchecked. He can’t taint holy with our sin. The sacrifice was needed, so we would no longer be separated from God.  (See John 3:16)

He is rich in mercy.  I need it. We need it.  Not sure? Take a look at the world. Hate, division, murder, violence, angry words.  Without God directing our steps that’s what we’re left with.  Heaven knows we need His mercy.

And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,  in which you formerly walked according to the age of this world and according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience,  among them we all also once lived in the lusts of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and we were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,  even when we were dead in sins, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),  and He raised us up and seated us together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.  For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not of yourselves. It is the gift of God,  not of works, so that no one should boast.  For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, so that we should walk in them.─Ephesians 2:1-10 MEV (emphasis added)

Because of His great love, He richly reaches toward us with His mercy.

There was a time when I called on the name of Jesus, because His name brings salvation. That sweet moment when amazing grace sweeps in for the rescue.  I’ve had that moment.  Have you? If not, let me tell you. It’s life changing! My life is beautiful and peaceful now, not perfect, but so good, because Jesus saved me.

I used to have despair; now I have hope. I used to have depression; now I have joy. I used to have promiscuity; now I have purity. I used to have unrest; now I have peace. I used to be lost; now I am found.

If you don’t know Jesus but would like to, it is quite simple. All you need to do is say a prayer something like this from your heart (that’s the most important part – your heart is what He wants the very most).

Jesus, I don’t know you, but I desire to know you.  Thank you for your precious gift of forgiveness for every one of my sins: past, present, & future.  I do need hope, and joy, and peace, and purity of heart which brings that peace. I need those things and somehow my heart tells me having you in my life will lead me to those. Help me to know You more. Help me to know of Your great love, of Your great love for me. And help me to follow Your ways all the days of my life. Make a difference in my life, LORD, so that I can make a difference in the world. Thank You for celebrating the very day I was born. Help me to learn more about Your deep love for me and the world I live in.  In Jesus’ name, amen.

If you prayed that prayer for the first time, please let us know. We’d love to celebrate with you.  For God’s Word says there is much rejoicing in heaven when another precious child of God comes to know Him.  You are His, sweet one, forever. You will never be alone again. God has a name, Immanuel. It means God is with us. God is with you. Forever. Soak in that. Feel God’s smile upon You.

Jesus’ name is the name above all names. I needed His rescue. God’s Word says we can come to the Father, because Jesus has cleansed us of our sin. We are righteous, because Jesus made us righteous. We can enter the holy presence of God, because we are made holy through His sacrifice.   If you have accepted Jesus in your heart, you are righteous. No shame. Freedom from sin. That’s pretty incredible, right?

And for those of us who have a relationship with Jesus, let us not miss this moment afresh. Let us not forget the hour we first believed as the lyric goes. Let us hold tight to that moment and every saving moment since.

These faith moments help us when life gets hard.  Like 2020. When we wonder what on earth is going on?  Yet still, if we sit silent, we see God in our moments.

Be still and know.

Be still and know that I am God;
    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth.

─Psalm 46:10 MEV

 

When the world feels weary, isn’t it good to know God gives us the command to rest in Him. We can be still. We can be still because we know God. That’s where peace that surpasses understanding stems from: a growing knowledge of the goodness and power of God.  It’s how we rest.

God the Father, God the Son, but what about God the Holy Spirit? That’s where some folks can come to a screeching halt of misunderstanding.

For whatever it’s worth, here’s what I know.  The Holy Spirit is not weird.  (Some people are, but not Him.)

Before Jesus’ death and resurrection, Jesus said this:

“If you love Me, keep My commandments.  I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Counselor, that He may be with you forever:  the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, for it does not see Him, neither does it know Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you, and will be in you.”

─John 14:15-17 MEV

The Counselor, the Spirit of truth, He is the Holy Spirit. We were blessed with the gift of the Holy Spirit to help teach and guide us.  God’s Word says we are given the deposit of the Holy Spirit when we are saved.

Jesus also said this:

Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.─John 16:7 ESV

Jesus SENT us the Holy Spirit. He said having the Holy Spirit with us is for our ADVANTAGE.

As I have grown to know the Holy Spirit more, I grow to desire to know Him more.  This is the space God has probably been growing most in terms of my understanding of the trinity. As I try to “be still” He speaks to my heart.  Stillness isn’t easy, but it is when we hear the Holy Spirits’ desires for us and others.

If you didn’t know the Holy Spirit and I had to tell you about Him from my vantage point (as small as my perspective is), I would say He is incredibly sweet.  He lets me in on secrets and He sends me on fun assignments of kindness.  As I see how His adventures play out (sometimes I get to see), I am delighted at God’s loving goodness. That’s His nature: kind, compassionate, tender, and loving.

As I pay attention to how He works in the world, it brings me joy.  Who knew in 2020 we could have joy?  With the Holy Spirit imparting divine wisdom, peace, comfort, and revelation, we can.

He has been growing my heart to align more closely with His.  I certainly haven’t “arrived” in this, but I am more attuned to Him and His desires now.

And He blesses me so much as I see and know His presence guiding me, my life, and the lives mine intersects.  Sometimes, a “chance” meeting with a stranger.  Sometimes, the perfect timing of a call or a connection with a friend.  His melody perfectly orchestrated when we slow down and listen to what the Holy Spirit desires to speak to us and through us.

When I have slowed enough to listen, I am told I am loved. I am shown I am loved. I feel seen and known, because the Holy Spirit brought wisdom from above. And it delights me that now He uses me.  His Spirit ministers through my hands and heart, your hands and heart too if you know Him and slow to listen to Him. He is speaking to us. Even now.

The Holy Spirit is not weird. He is wonderful! He is kind, loving, and true.  Remember, He is the Spirit of Truth. God cannot lie. He will tell us the truth about ourselves, Himself, and others as we need to know it (and some of their stuff is really none of our business).  What we need to know to effectively minister to others, that’s what He will tell us.  Sometimes we are doing His work without even knowing it.  My guess is that is often the case.  Why?  Because God is always doing something beneath the surface we are completely unaware of.

I think of the work He was doing in my heart well before I was saved.  Back then, you would never have imagined who He is making me into.  Maybe you can relate. Perhaps you were in prison, and now He has set you free. Maybe you were once an addict, and now the only thing you are addicted to is Him.  This is the beauty of the Spirit at work in our lives.

I like to think of myself as a secret agent for God sometimes.  When I can slow down enough to engage with Him and His missions, that’s when He uses me most.

Just this past week the Holy Spirit has done these things.  To be clear, I am bragging on Him.  He is a Mystery, but a Mystery I want to know more of, to be more a part of as I get to participate in His plan.

The Holy Spirit grows us up in our faith. Certainly, this is not where I started (listening to God and carrying out missions). I started in the ditch of life. In His love I have grown. In His love I will grow some more. Until the day I die, I will be being taught by the Holy Spirit how to be a better ambassador for Him.  That’s my way of saying I don’t always get it right, but when I do? It brings a smile to my face even now.

Last Saturday, I attended a virtual conference with a friend. Over lunch break we shared our hearts about much, and specifically about our children. We talked about the power of prayer from our mama hearts that we know God hears.  The next session was a spirit-filled prayer for attendees, including us.  As the speaker helped us enter a peaceful space (ushering us into God’s presence), part of her prayer was about the prayer of mothers for their children. She talked about how God hears our prayers for the ones we love so much.

It was as if God used her to encourage my friend and I that He’d been right there at the lunch table with us. He heard our conversation, and He hears our prayers. I walked away encouraged because the Holy Spirit had ministered to me through the voice of one of His saints.  His well-timed voice dispenses hope.

That’s why it is so very important for us to be still and listen.

Who does God want us to encourage?  Who does God want to use to encourage us?

In the weary world of 2020, I can guarantee we all need encouragement. The Holy Spirit knows that, and He will use those of us willing to be that for each other. Isn’t it the most beautiful thing?

On my way home after the conference, I felt the Holy Spirit impress upon my heart.  Don’t turn the radio on. I have something to tell you.

It made sense to sit in silence, to decompress from the day. So much had been said. God had been speaking all day through each woman delivering messages we needed, I needed.

I asked what God wanted to say. And waited.  Sometimes, I can be too fervent in wanting to hear, almost causing distortion. I want to know.  Finally, I settle down enough that He can speak through my mental chatter without having to crash through. It’s almost like He just kind of lets me squiggle a little and then He slips something in when the opportune, settled moment happens in my brain.

Have fun.

God told me to “have fun”.  Sometimes, I do need reminding of that.  Life can be serious.

I had shared with my friend earlier in the day sometimes the more serious life feels, the more fun and joy we need to infuse.  I do think there’s truth in that. We have to counterbalance the weariness of the world in the every day difficulties and in the large, looming pandemic challenges.  The harder those things are, the more fun we need to have.

As a child I was silly and fun. As an adult I can be serious, not that serious is bad. But neither is fun and silly.

The Holy Spirit also said to my heart, You having fun is one of the greatest witnessing tools you have to show Me to the world. 

I believe that to be true and why the enemy tries so hard to weigh us down with worry.

Joy. Fun. They are a weapon. And as God said, a most effective witness tool.

It took effort not to look at my text messages.  Several had come over during the conference. I knew there were “things”, things to attend to. I didn’t know what because I’d turned my phone over, knowing if I saw a text I wouldn’t be able to emotionally engage in the conference and what God had for me.  So those ignored texts became the place God called me to linger.  No radio. No texts. Be with Him.  It became a matter of trust. Did I trust Him that the sky wouldn’t fall if I spent 20 more minutes with Him during the car ride home without glancing at my phone?

Almost home I passed by a man, a woman, and a child. The man held a sign that read something like this, Out of work. Please help my family. However you can help.  It was that sentiment if not those exact words.

I had driven past because I had somewhere to go that evening.  (Not to mention my unknown texts.) But the Holy Spirit didn’t let me get far.  My car made it to the next Home Depot entrance where He placed on my heart,

Turn around and give them (x-dollar amount).

I pulled into the semi loading area of Home Depot, navigated my car past the garden center, through the parking lot, and pulled my car near the family.  I felt prompted to get out of my car, walk over to the dad, and hand him the money.

As I did, I told him this, “Jesus loves you.  He told me to turn my car around and come to give you this money.  He sees you, and He loves you.”

I have no idea what God will do with that, but that’s an awesome point.  We do not know what the Holy Spirit is up to in anyone else’s life.  What if I had disregarded His prompting to sit quiet in my car for a 20 minute ride home?  I can tell you I most certainly would have been mentally engaged in whatever work was calling me. And I would have missed it!  But God’s grace had me be still a little longer with Him. He gave me a sweet message to have fun, and I got to see His goodness play out in the smallest of ways through me.  And it was kind of fun too.  Being sent on assignment is fun.

Maybe you needed to hear that.  God’s assignments shouldn’t feel heavy and burdensome, another thing we have to do.  His assignments are covered by His grace. He’s doing the heavy lifting.

So, if things feel heavy, hand those over to God. Have fun. And let His Spirit do the work.

Now the Lord is the Spirit. And where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, seeing the glory of the Lord with unveiled faces, as in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory by the Spirit of the Lord.─2 Corinthians 3:17-18 MEV

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Looking to engage some more?

I encourage you to read Acts chapter 2 as a start (or referesher) on your journey to learn more about the Holy Spirit.  The early church was greatly impacted by the power of the Holy Spirit.  If you look at how the Spirit came upon the Church and then Peter preached the sermon of his life with power and impact for God’s kingdom, I hope you  are encouraged.  The power of the Holy Spirit is available to you and me today as well.  Let’s “be the Church” through the power of the Holy Spirit who does the heavy lifting.

A Tale of Two Kings

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Welcome to FACETS of Faith where we’ve been exploring what it looks like to walk in awareness of the royal treatment God has for His precious daughters.  We thought it would bless you to have a man’s perspective on how a royal daughter of the King should be treated. If this is not your present reality, we pray you listen to God’s voice, allow Him to treat you as the righteous, regal daughter you are as God leads and guides your steps.  For our male audience, we pray God engages your heart as well, so you enjoy the fruit of your efforts and God brings forth a bountiful harvest in your life.  Without further ado, please join me in welcoming Pastor Ted. I pray the truths God placed on his heart minister to yours.

Do you give her the royal treatment? (Guest)

Once upon a time, in fact the beginning of time, there was a beautiful garden. In the garden were two people, a king and queen. The queen was the most beautiful woman on the planet; actually, the only one. She lived in the perfect environment without any problems. Can you imagine? It was paradise.  No, really, it was bliss created by God’s vision come to life, a home prepared for His precious creation.

Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.” So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.” Then God said, “Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food. And I have given every green plant as food for all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, and the small animals that scurry along the ground—everything that has life.” And that is what happened. Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good! And evening passed and morning came, marking the sixth day. Genesis 1:26-31 NLT

Now the man and his wife were both naked, but they felt no shame. Genesis 2:25 NLT

This is a beautiful fairytale and one we all would like to live in whether we are a man, a woman, single, or married. What would you say if I told you this is not a fairytale? This is real life and how God wants it to be.

God created us and put us in this perfect world without problems. We walked around naked with no shame. But something happened. The bible tells us a serpent came into the perfect place and deceived the king and queen.

The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the LORD God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.'” “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.” The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.  Genesis 3:1-7 NLT

Their kingdom would never be the same again.

When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the LORD God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the LORD God among the trees. Then the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?” He replied, “I heard You walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.” “Who told you that you were naked?” the LORD God asked. “Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?” The man replied, “It was the woman You gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.” Then the LORD God asked the woman, “What have you done?” “The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.” Genesis 3:8-13 NLT

There are three things to take notice of here about how the king (Adam) treated the queen (Eve).

  1. The king did not properly protect his queen from evil.

God gave the king dominion over the kingdom (garden of Eden), and he was supposed to protect his queen. The serpent was able to walk right into the garden and slither his way to the queen. Adam had her hanging out under the forbidden tree when she could have been lounging under any other tree in the garden. God had given a clear edict. “Don’t eat it. Don’t touch it, or you will die.” They were in a tempting situation, and the serpent managed to sneak past the superior king. This king was not prepared in the good times for when an enemy would come in; his guard was down. He failed to protect his queen by allowing her to be in a vulnerable position.

  1. The king hid his queen from God because of his shame.

When God came to walk with them in the garden, the king and queen were hiding from him. The king was ashamed, so he influenced his wife to hide from God with him. While he was trying to deal with his own problems, he caused her walk with God to cease. He had done this horrible thing and his strong leadership led his queen to hide from God. Instead of being the spiritual leader of the household, he contributed to his wife’s spiritual stumbling.

  1. The king taught his queen to blame others.

When God asked, “Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?”,  the king’s response was to blame his queen. And he even blamed God saying, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit and I ate it”.

The king was afraid and full of shame. He did not take responsibility for his own actions. Instead, he shifted blame to his queen. Because of his example and influence, she did the same when she responded to God when He asked, “What have you done?”

Eve replied, “The serpent deceived me that’s why I ate”.

The king pointed his finger at his queen, and she pointed her finger at the serpent. They both admitted to eating the forbidden fruit, but blamed others for the reason why.  Neither took responsibility for their actions.

The treatment from this king (Adam) is not “royal treatment” by any means. This story doesn’t end with this king. There is another King and kingdom we read about in scripture. This King is called the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. His name is King Jesus. Let us look at the “royal treatment” He gives His bride.

  1. Jesus cast out evil from His kingdom, so you can be free from evil.

When the 72 disciples returned, they joyfully reported to Him, “Lord, even the demons obey us when we use Your name!” “Yes,” He told them, “I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning! Luke 10:17-18 NLT

When evil showed up in the kingdom of heaven, it was cast out in a blink of an eye under the reign of King Jesus. When Peter tried to rebuke Jesus in Matthew 16:22-23, Jesus said, “Get behind me Satan”.

Jesus didn’t allow any evil to persuade Him. He gave this same authority to His bride.

Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.” Luke 10:19-20 NKJV

  1. Jesus resisted sin and became sin, so nothing can separate you from His love.

In the book of Hebrews chapter 4:15, it tells us Jesus was tempted in every way but did not sin. In 2 Corinthians 5:21 we read that Jesus never sinned and became the offering for our sin. And in Romans 8:38-39, we learn in Christ nothing can separate us from the love of God. You see King Jesus never let sin influence Him, so you can walk with God─blameless, righteous, His.

  1. Jesus made you blameless, so you can be with Him for eternity.

King Jesus presents you holy and blameless before God.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. Ephesians 5:25-27 NIV

When we look to men to get what only Jesus can give, we find ourselves unprotected, hiding from God, and thrown under the bus in blame. When we look to King Jesus, we get the “royal treatment” and we live happily ever after.

Let Jesus be the King of your heart. His leadership brings love, hope, and freedom.

I will finish with a call to all the men. In Ephesians 5:25-27 it is noticeably clear how we are to lead women. We can lead them in the right direction or lead them in the wrong direction.

I hear men all the time say things like, “If she would have…” or “If she didn’t do…”.

Listen men. We are called to lead. When we do the wrong thing and make excuses because of her behavior, we are leading her astray. If the woman entrusted to our care has a weakness, wash her with the water of the Word. When she makes a mistake, wash her with the water of the Word. If she is having a bad day, wash her with the water of the Word. If she is having a good day, wash her with the water of the Word. Men I challenge you to follow the example of Jesus. Live a selfless life, and continually wash her with the water of the Word. Your life will be better because of it and hers will be too.

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Who do You say I am?

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Welcome to Facets of Faith! We pray you meet God across the pages of this blog, and His message reaches each person as He intends. We pray you experience God, that His message is always what is heard in love and truth that delivers freedom, beauty and boldness, in each of us – whether reader, writer, or both.  Check back each week to see what else God has to share with us on this topic.  He has many vantage points. It’s important we see each as He reveals His heart to us.

Who do You say I am? I suppose there could be several responses to that question. However, one message rises to the surface like a diver who comes up out of the deep, dark water to breathe salty fresh air. Breathe deep into lungs screaming for oxygen before you fill them with the freshness of freedom.  Breath. Air. Life. Vital and above the surface. That’s where freedom lies too. Above the surface and in the truth.

Who Do You Say I Am? (T. Stella)

God says I am freedom. I am freedom for me, and I am freedom for others. Let me explain.

So many of us walk around subconsciously holding our breath, conforming even when we might wish to go our own way. Trying to fit in, wondering if we ever will. Oh, we might not share those thoughts with the world at large, but inner insecurities whisper and taunt.

“Not good enough.”

“They don’t really like you.”

“You don’t fit in.”

“You’re not one of ‘them’ and you never will be.”

“There’s no hope for you. Your future is futile.”

Or whatever other flavor of lie the enemy is serving up that day.  “Not good enough” was probably one of his favorites for me.

Those were the words the enemy used to taunt me, day in and day out.  He knew my vulnerabilities, and he wasn’t above using them against me.  But God has been doing a good work in my life for quite some time now. He doesn’t just bring me freedom. He says freedom DEFINES me. Freedom is who I am. That truth is a game changer my friends!

Recently, my husband Sam had to endure an hour long + car ride with me to Wheaton. We were in route to an intimate gathering among people I mostly didn’t know. These were probably smart theologian types. After all we were going to Wheaton.  Billy Graham attended Wheaton Bible College, don’t ya know?  The plan was to meet the author of a marriage book, listen to a talk, and the nemesis to a person like me who is better one on one than in a non-structured group setting … informal mixing. Ugh!

Give me a girlfriend one on one and I am good. More than good. That’s my sweet spot. But group settings without structure? Torture!  Pure torture!

Or at least those settings used to be. God’s bringing me into the light of His truth:  Freedom.  Unfortunately, my husband had to endure my lesson our entire car ride to Wheaton.

Tap. Tap. Tap on Sam’s arm.

Me – motioning from head to toe and in my most sassy voice – “This is what freedom looks like.”

Tap. Tap. Tap on Sam’s arm.

Me – motioning from head to toe and in my most sassy voice – “This is what freedom looks like.”

Tap. Tap. Tap on Sam’s arm.

Me – motioning from head to toe and in my most sassy voice – “This is what freedom looks like.”

Over and over (I’m not even sure how many times Sam had to listen to that sassy soundtrack).  He signed up for it when he chose me as his wife. He is stuck with me for life!  That there is some freedom to put on your sassy hat, my friends.  Poor guy.  Lucky me,

Why was that a message of freedom?

Well, I think partly I needed to remind myself to just be me. God made me. And He made me good (not perfect, but good).

One of the most telling truths that I am freedom came from what I didn’t do, rather than what I did.

I didn’t feel like getting dressed up. I didn’t feel like trying to dress a certain way to fit in with the rest of the group.  How we dress can be used as armor. I’ve done that before.  I love fashion, so it’s not always about armor —but sometimes how I dressed was absolutely about armor.  I “grew up” in corporate America in the late 80’s and 90’s and beyond. Those early days were all about the power suit.  That mentality can be tough to set aside.

But now that I am freedom, I wore my black jeans and grabbed my zip up sweatshirt (not even a cute cardigan, ladies)!

It wasn’t that I didn’t care about the presenter. It wasn’t that I was trying to be, well, anything other than myself in that moment.  I promise, there will be plenty of moments when I want to get all girly with skirts, jewelry, and sparkly things.  Sunday night just wasn’t one of them.

The freedom came because I wasn’t trying to impress anyone. There was no need to do that. None!

There will be people who “get me”. There will be people who won’t. That’s okay.

There will be people who “get you”. There will be people who won’t. That’s okay. You be you anyhow! You be freedom.

For freedom Christ freed us. Stand fast therefore and do not be entangled again with the yoke of bondage.”─Galatians 5:1 MEV

Freedom doesn’t mean reckless abandon, do what I want, narcissistic behavior. The world has enough of that. The world is entangled in that.  Sinful choices are bondage. They hurt us. They hurt others. That’s captivity – not freedom.

I have a plethora of examples even from my own life. Sin on whichever side of it you are sitting -the person doling out sinful behavior or on the receiving end of someone else’s sinful choices – is bondage. It hurts. We were never designed for sin.  (See Genesis 1-3)

Christ died to free us. He died so I could be freedom. He died so you could be freedom.

What if we were that diver, delving in the ocean of life only to get snarled in seaweed and unable to escape? That entanglement would keep us where we are at and may eventually pull us under.  That’s what sin does.

We do have free will. We get to choose. Just know when we choose sin, we aren’t choosing freedom for us or anyone around us.

Freedom wants us to break out our spiritual sword and cut through those entanglements of sin’s lies.  There are all sorts of lies sin tells us.

When we say we’re not good, we’re saying God’s works aren’t good – that He’s somehow insufficient and unqualified to create beauty in each of us.  That’s sin.

I bet you thought I might talk about addiction, adultery, stealing, lying. Yes, those are sin too. Those choices don’t lead to freedom either.

For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead. use your freedom to serve one another in love.─Galatians 5:13 NLT

We shouldn’t use our freedom to satisfy our sinful nature. When we do, we hurt ourselves. When we do, we hurt others.

Freedom in God’s eyes is to serve one another in love. We need to love ourselves well in order to do that. We need to know who we are as God’s children. We are freedom. He died so we could be freedom. He longs for us to be free. He longs for those in our lives to be free.

When I think of all the unnecessary pain I caused myself and others from my sinful choices, I could lament and pull myself into the inky ocean of regret. But that doesn’t serve a good purpose and it doesn’t embody the freedom Christ died to give me, to define me as.  We all have things we wish would have went differently in life.

Freedom takes those choices and learns from them.

Sam & I sat at the Wheaton gathering listening to the speaker share his thoughts on “Emotional Pain Words”.  The author shared how God uses our marriage union (in part) to help each other heal.  I agree.  But what I noticed as I glanced through the list of emotional pain words is what God has done in my life.  Instead of seeing emotional pain words I was experiencing, I saw what God delivered me from and who God has made me to be.  Freedom.

As I scanned the extensive list of pain words, I wanted to write “BC” next to many of them.  Before Christ these were experiences or false beliefs I’d possessed.

I saw my old self in many of the words. I used to believe these lies as truth about me. Things like, suicidal, not cherished, despair, controlled, dishonored, shamed, unwanted, and terrified. Truth be told, I used to be able to relate to almost all of the emotional pain words on the list.

But as I glanced through the words that used to define me. I allowed Gods new word to define me.  Freedom!

I’m no longer any of those false beliefs.  I’m me. Redeemed and made new, imperfect yet pure and righteous in God’s eyes. That doesn’t mean God and I still don’t need to work on some things, but believe me when I tell you, “Wow! He delivered me from much!”

I’m one if His daughters who knows who He is because He knew me first and He went out of His way to court me.  It’s in His love that we experience His healing which leads to full freedom.

God teaches us how to live lives defined by freedom.  Day in, day out, when we listen to Him, when we immerse ourselves in the truth of His Word, He points us to freedom.

I heard a message on Sunday I’d like to briefly share.

Before entering the Promised Land, twelve men were sent ahead to survey the land. Ten came back and only saw the insurmountable obstacle of an enemy they felt they couldn’t defeat. These ten saw themselves as grasshoppers. Small. Easy to defeat.  Only Joshua and Caleb saw themselves as God had made them, able to conquer and overcome obstacles, able to defeat the enemy and enter into the Promised Land.  The ten didn’t. The two did.

Which do we want to be?

Friend, I encourage you to choose freedom’s choice. Be the two who see all the beauty and potential God has placed within you.  He is SO GOOD! And He creates REALLY GOOD things. You. Me.

God was leading the Israelites out of captivity and into the Promised Land. His mission is the same today. He’s leading us out of captivity and into the vast Promised Land of freedom.

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.─2 Corinthians 3:17 HCSB

I pray you experience God’s presence and the infilling of His spirit in your heart. I pray we each let His Spirit guide us to the Promised Land called Freedom. I pray our identity embodies freedom.

Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.  God says I am freedom.  If you know Him, you are freedom too!

And if you don’t know Him, it’s simple. Day by day give God full access to your heart. He will help you. He will hold you. He will comfort you. He will teach you. You don’t have to do life by yourself. He is your Father. He is your Friend.  If you give him permission to lead and guide your life, you’ll look back one day amazed at the beauty He has brought into your life.  He brings us to a spacious place. A place where we can breathe life’s vitality. A place where we grow more and more free as we surrender to Him. It sounds impossible, but it’s absolutely true. The more we surrender, the more beautiful freedom He brings in our lives. He shows me things about me I never even knew. He brings new joys. He brings new hopes and vision.  I pray you know and experience that too. It’s wonderful, sweet friend!

If you are ready for that measure of freedom and love, you can pray this prayer.

Jesus, thank you for dying on the cross to cover ALL my sin, so I can be COMPLETELY free. Please bring full freedom to me through Your saving grace. Thank You that I don’t have to muster up the will to change myself, but that You will change my heart and mind to align with Your thoughts, Your ways. Thank You for Your love. Thank You for Your peace. Please guide me each day through both: Your love and Your peace. I surrender my heart to You. I am choosing You out of my own free will so You can bring FULL freedom. In Jesus’ name, amen!

Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you remain in My word, then you are truly My disciples. You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.”

They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s seed and have never been in bondage to anyone. Why do You say, ‘You shall be set free’?”

Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave to sin. Now a slave does not remain in the house forever, but a son remains forever. Therefore, if the Son sets you free, you shall be free indeed”.─John 8:31-36 MEV

You shall be free indeed!

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