Free!!

Galations 5:1
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.
Stand firm, then and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

     In my email today I received an email about a whale. A humped back whale had gotten tangled in a spider web of crab traps and lines. She was weighed down by hundreds of pounds of traps that were pulling her down and she was unable to stay afloat because of them. She also had hundreds of lines wrapped around her body, tail and torso. There was also a line around her mouth. This made it very difficult for this poor whale. With hours of working on this whale the rescue team was finally able to set her free. She eventually came back to each and every diver that had set her free. She would nudge them gently as to say Thank you. The one diver said that her eyes never left him the whole time he worked on releasing those traps. She had faith that these divers were going to remove all that bound her and that they would set her free.

     Throughout our lives we deal with issues, and past hurts. Many things in our lives that are like these traps and lines on the whale. They wrap around us so tightly that we can not swim. They keep building up until we can not stay afloat. We are weighed down so much by the things around us that we sink. Some traps may be hard to let go of. We need to have faith in God to remove the traps that bind us. Just like this whale had faith in the divers. God will show the traps that bind us. He wants us to completely hand them over to God. Once we do he will remove them one by one. Some of these traps and lines may take longer to remove then others. As we hand them over to him daily he will take that trap and replace it with love and victory. God is our refuge and he wants us to hand it all over to him. He wants us to be free.

God does not promise us that it will be a bed of roses without thorns…However he does promise to be our refuge when we prick our fingers and end up crying or being shaken. He wants to remove all the things that bind us.

The Tongue

     Have you ever said something without thinking, and later on thought why did I do that. I hurt that person. Or maybe you were on the receiving line of that insult or thing that came out of someone’s mouth. Either way it can be very hurtful to the person on the receiving end. When I was a young girl in Sunday School we sang a song. One of the verses were, "Oh be careful little tongue what you say… Oh be careful little tongue what you say… For the father up above is looking down in love. Oh be careful little tongue what you say. I never realized exactly what that song was saying until I got older.


    Washington Irving once said, "A sharp tongue is the only edged tool that grows keener with constant use." He was right. The bible emphasizes on the tongue.

James 3:6
The tongue also is fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

    One of the greatest threats to those around us and to ourselves is not any crime or violent act, but it is the tongue. I remember as a child the saying, "Sticks and Stones may break my bones but name will never hurt me. To me this saying is so far from the truth. Words kill. It kills someone’s spirit. It kills any confidence in a person. It will distroy them both mentally and spiritually. People may put on a big front, But in the end it will eat away at them in one way or another.

    Many times we scold children for talking about people behind their backs. Where do they get this from? Children learn by our actions. They do it because we do it. They also do it because the media does it all the time. It kind of makes me think of the saying, "Do as I say, not as I do" This is another saying I really do not like. Children are the carbon copies of ourselves. As they see it in us. They do it. God’s thought in this matter are pretty clear.

Proverbs 11:12
Whoever derides their neighbor has no sense, but the one who has understanding holds their tongue.

    I don’t know about you but this one is a hard pill to swallow. I was raised if you think it say it. So this was a very hard thing for me for a long time. God wants us to give everything over to him. He wants even our tongues. When we turn it all over to him. He will quench that fire with his Holy Spirit, he then is able to use our tongue for good. As we learn to complement and not condemn and we learn to encourage and not discourage. We become better people and it allows God to use us more.

Obedience To God

   I remember as kids my parents would take us camping every year. It was a big thing for my family. It was a very memorable time for all of us. When we grew up we continues on with this trip with our children. I remember the one time my sister had brought her 3 year old daughter along with us. We decided to go and take a walk down to the water after setting up the tents. As I was enjoying the view of the water and idle chit chat with a few friends that we had made over the years. My niece had decided she wanted to play in the water. she yelled to me, "Auntie can I go in the water?" My response was, "Yes, but make sure you don't get your clothes wet." She was wearing shorts, so I thought it would be ok for her to walk through the water... she would  be okay to play. I continued to talk to my friends and at the same time keep an eye on her to make sure she was safe. In a few minutes I turned my head to check on her. There standing before me in the water, was my beautiful little niece, not a stitch of clothing on. Totally naked!  She was definitely making sure she was not going to get her clothes wet.
    I could feel my face getting hotter and I just knew that I was going to die. I am sure my face was quite red. What was she thinking??? I ran quickly to her and scooped her up rather. Could anything be more embarrassing I thought. She had just stripped down to nothing and in front of my teenage friends too. I would be the disgrace of the camp grounds.With what dignity I had left. I got her out of the water and got her dressed.  I rushed her straight up that hill to return her to her mother.
Later on that night I lay in my tent thinking about it. I started to laugh. Maybe it was not as bad as I had thought. My niece loved me enough to actually want to obey me. In the end that is why she took her clothes off. She did not do it to embarrass me. She did not do it in spite or just to be funny. It was the sweet innocent and sincere actions of a child.
    I think of this every time I think of my love for God. As a child of I should be obedient to God. How careful am I about obedience? Do I think carefully about my actions to totally and diligent obey God’s word? Or am I sometimes careless?
    God tells us not to do certain things, but does give permission in other areas. He does this for two positive reasons, to protect us and to provide a good future for us. Obedience in how we live occurs within the bounds of God’s love.

Jesus says, "Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His Love. These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full" John 15:9-11

They have it all.. Why can’t I?

    Have you ever sat and looked at someone and thought. Man they have it all. They can loose weight at the drop of a hat. They have the most amazing children. They seem to have it all. A loving relationship with their spouse. They have the looks, brains, athletic or artistic talents, they have the whole package. What I would not do to have a whole lot going for me like them. Everything that is good in life they have. We have a tendency to look with envy on those who seemingly have so much more going for them than us.

   We sometimes are utterly amazed at how strong, how smart, how sweet, how talented or how much someone has going for them in a particular area in some other way. It is so sad when we sit back and watch someone squander all that they had going on for them through bad decisions and through their human nature.

   When you sit and think about it as children of God, we have a whole lot going for us then sometimes we realize. We are unconditionally loved, forever forgiven, and we are personal friends with Jesus. How great is that. He loved us first so we can love others.

   Next time you are thinking so much about what we do or do not have going for us, we need to think more of Who we have going with us. We have God on our side. If God is for us who could be against us? When we have Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we have "a friend who sticks closer than a brother," an advocate who pleads our case to God. He is our burden bearer, the lover of our souls, and the one and only Son of God. He died on the cross so that we would not have to die. How amazing is that. He is crazy about us. Along with Jesus, we also have the Holy Spirit living in us to provide the power and the strength we need to get through the temptations and trials of life that come our way.

   When we have Jesus walking with us, we know that our future is secured, because of the blood that Jesus paid for us when he died on the cross. We are brothers and sisters in Christ. To God we are all precious. God sees us much like a parent does their children. There are no favorites. He sees each special talent and goal in us. No one else can see us like God does. He knows our heart he knows us better then anyone. He made us all unique in his eyes. We all have a great amount going on for us. He loves us.

   If we don’t have Jesus living within us by the power of the Holy Spirit, all that we have going for us is never going to be enough.

"And the joy of the LORD will fill you to overflowing. You will glory in the Holy One of Israel." Isaiah 41:16b NLT