Unshackled Moments ~ October 31 ~ Staying Free On Halloween

Be serious! Be alert! Your adversary the Devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour. 

- I Peter 5:8 

Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it. 

- Colossians 2:15 

No one among you is to make his son or daughter pass through the fire,[a] practice divination, tell fortunes, interpret omens, practice sorcery, 11 cast spells, consult a medium or a familiar spirit, or inquire of the dead. 12 Everyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord, and the Lord your God is driving out the nations before you because of these detestable things. 13 You must be blameless before the Lord your God. 

- Deuteronomy 18:10-13

It's that time of the year again. Today is my brother's birthday. Seriously it is, but obviously from the scriptures above that is not what this is about. It's that time of year when things go bump in the night and screams fill the air. The bump in the night is usually me running into something on my way to the kitchen for more snacks on a night when the lights are left off to keep the trick-or-treaters away and enhance my wife's and my  movie watching experience. It's also the time of year when Civil War comes close to breaking out in the different sects of Christianity and too many Christians go running scared, enslaved to fear and superstition.

So now you think this is about the evils of Halloween and why those who are Christians shouldn't participate in such spiritual debauchery. You'd be wrong. Oh so this must be a defense with all the reasons why not only can Christians celebrate Halloween, but it's practically our duty. Wrong again. If you're one of those folks whose biggest fear is being wrong, this must be a nightmare of Elm Street proportions. Boo. 

Those two lines of thinking are precisely the Civil War I mentioned. I refuse to participate in the evil that Satan uses to keep us focused on religion and fighting one another rather than relationship with God and the love that's supposed to tell a frightened world that we are His. But what is all the ruckus about anyway?

Well, Halloween brings out three types of religion in some ways that are OK and some that are truly and seriously scary. There are those who point to the pagan aspects of this holiday and the focus on evil and darkness and refuse to participate in any way shape form or fashion. There are those who limit participation and either conform to much or reclaim the holiday for Christ. Then there are those who love this holiday almost as much as Christmas and throw themselves into celebrating with decorations, treats, costumes and perhaps even horror movies. 

There is freedom in every one of these three approaches to this controversial day, and there is bondage in all of them as well. No dear reader, I am not about to argue pro or con celebrating or participating in Halloween as a Christian. There is plenty of that floating around. I am going to argue for freedom. The kind of freedom we are called to in Galatians 5:1. Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. It's not about which camp you are in verses which camp you should be in, but rather it's a matter of why and how you treat the folks in the other camps.  Motives matter, and God looks at the heart. One of the reasons Christ came was to set the captives free, completely free, and that is how we are to live, especially on a day that so candidly points out the enemy of God is real and out there. So let's take a brief look at the options.

The first camp is the no participation view. Believe it  or not this is  not the traditional view of the church. This group sees the pagan and evil spiritual side of the holiday and stays out of it. Some of  these folks are the same who don't celebrate Christmas and Easter for the same reasons. There are plenty of articles online about the origins of this holiday that cover both the Christian aspects and the pagan aspects of the origins of what today is mostly an American secular holiday. If you care enough to look, feel free, but this will be long enough without my expounding on the history. But I will say if refusing to observe Halloween in any form or fashion is a heartfelt act of worship to abstain from evil, to be separate from the world, to think only of whatsoever things are true, lovely and of good report, more power to you. Stand firm in the grace to walk free from those things that would hinder your relationship with God.

If on the other hand, the motivation to abstain comes from fear of evil and it's clutches or from the legalism of rules and restrictions, than run screaming from this camp. If we as Christians fear the devil and his dominion to the point where that fear controls us, we are giving him power over us that he has been denied by Christ. We do not have to fear evil, for God is with us, Satan has been defeated by Christ once and for all. Do not give him power. And do not be a slave to superstition that says if we must observe this or that law or God will let Satan eat us alive.  The refusal to participate can open the door to witness the Gospel to those who question the lack of participation, but let's be careful to be sharing the Good News of Freedom from evil and fear and not the false gospel of being scared that Satan is going to somehow steal us away from Christ if we don't stay pure enough to ward him off.

On to the second camp, the compromise or reclaiming group. If you have found the freedom to enjoy the candy, fun and fellowship while avoiding the indulgences of evil, by all means enjoy. Fall festivals can be celebrations of this beautiful time of year with all the color God paints His creation with in October. Fellowship with others is a good thing we are told not to forsake. And dressing up in costumes  can even be fun and Bible friendly. This camp may have the greatest opportunity to share the truth of Jesus as it provides a safe alternative to the world's debauchery. A quick reminder though, Jesus came to redeem us, not holidays, We redeem each and every day by walking in the freedom He has provided.

If however the motivation here is to get to enjoy the flesh and the world without getting too dirty, be careful. Compromise can be a slippery slope. If out heart is desiring to indulge in sin and selfishness and the middle ground is really flirting with the dark side, then you could be toying with chains that would return you to the bondage you knew before Christ.

One more quick note on this camp. Fall festivals to celebrate Christ and His creation and to share the Gospel are one thing, but be careful about Hell Houses and their like, First, to shock a generation that has become unshockable with the horror of the world and hell takes more and more graphic displays every passing year. Yes, there are real horrors out there like the innocent babies lost to abortion and the bondage to drugs and alcohol, but trying to display them to scare people away is often counterproductive and can be as titillating as the very haunted houses and horror movies that these events are supposedly providing an alternative to. And also remember, we are not called to scare the hell out of people. We are called to love the hell out of people.

Finally, we come to the third camp. Those who participate in observing Halloween and love it. It's just in fun, Satan doesn't own this holiday any more than he owns rock music. The I am free to enjoy it, and I don't think there's anything really evil about the celebration as it is done today group. If you are one of those who like the thrill of the surprising scare some horror movies provide, much like a roller coaster or skydiving, the fun of dressing up as something or someone else and or the freedom to make yourself nearly sick on an overdose of sugar and treats, enjoy your liberty. If participation in these things doesn't mean distancing yourself from Daddy, then no harm no foul. There is one law, love. Love God with everything you are and love yourself and others with the understanding of the great value that God esteems us with. That means that anything that takes you closer to God and brings others closer is a great thing. Anything that doesn't take you further from relationship and doesn't harm someone else's relationship or push them from God is fine to do. But anything that creates distance between you and Daddy (what wouldn't you do if you could see Jesus standing next to you) or hurts someone else's relationship with their Creator is evil and wrong. Only you can, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, examine your own heart and motives in regards to Halloween and anything and everything else to know if you are exercising liberty or walking in sin.

But a quick warning. There are a few easy ones. Costumes that would get you arrested for indecent exposure 50 years ago, not a Godly idea. Using the holiday as an excuse to get stupid and reckless with your health and the law, not a way to value yourself as God values you. Movies and activities that are watched and done in celebration of Halloween but are really a way to indulge in sex and attitudes which you know are out of line  for you as one of the redeemed are not activities in liberty but mere excuses to indulge. A dangerous activity any time of the year. If you have been freed from addiction or bondage in some area that is sometimes a part of some people's celebration of Halloween don't flirt with that activity if you want to stay free.

When it comes down to it, the issue of Halloween and how to approach it is a matter of the heart and the conscience before God. Whatever camp you decide to pitch your tent in, do it out of love for and with love for God and the desire to be as close to Him as possible, not out of either fear or an excuse to sin. And wherever you stand, don't argue about it or look down on those in the other camps. Only God sees their heart and can judge where they are coming from and their level of understanding of the truth that He has revealed. If they pursue God He will lead them to or keep them in the place they need to be regarding Halloween and all other matters. But separate yourself from the world more by your attitude of love and mercy toward the lost and toward each other than by any outward display, in this and all matters and issues.

Today can be a awesome opportunity to show love and kindness and to share the good news of the freedom from fear and all other chains that is found in Christ. This is a holy message, a message that there is a place where we don't have to be afraid of the darkness and can have peace in the midst of the terror and chaos that torment this world every day. There is a merciful and forgiving God and to reject Him leads to a life more frightening than anything Halloween can produce. What a glorious day to remember that, to share that, and to remind ourselves and others that Satan has been defeated and God is not trying to kill us but save us and give us a life worth living.

About eating food offered to idols, then, we know that “an idol is nothing in the world,” and that “there is no God but one.” For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth—as there are many “gods” and many “lords”— yet for us there is one God, the Father. All things are from Him, and we exist for Him. And there is one Lord, Jesus Christ. All things are through Him, and we exist through Him. However, not everyone has this knowledge. In fact, some have been so used to idolatry up until now that when they eat food offered to an idol, their conscience, being weak, is defiled. Food will not make us acceptable to God. We are not inferior if we don’t eat, and we are not better if we do eat. But be careful that this right of yours in no way becomes a stumbling block to the weak. For if someone sees you, the one who has this knowledge, dining in an idol’s temple, won’t his weak conscience be encouraged to eat food offered to idols? Then the weak person, the brother for whom Christ died, is ruined by your knowledge. Now when you sin like this against the brothers and wound their weak conscience, you are sinning against Christ. Therefore, if food causes my brother to fall, I will never again eat meat, so that I won’t cause my brother to fall.

- 1 Corinthians 8:4-13

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Unshackled Moments ~ October 21 ~ Back To The Future

Welcome to Back To The Future Day. The internet and social media are all abuzz with comparisons between what the movie predicted and what reality gave us. The two minute Youtube video below is one of many that explores the subject that has Cubs fans excited and many of the rest of us wondering where our hover boards are. Life hasn't turned out quite like the fantasy or the dreams. And let's face it, that may be a good thing. After all, fashion and attitudes of 2015 through the lens of 1989 are not so appealing today.

Time travel is not only possible, it's dangerous. It's so easy to get trapped in the cycle of visiting the past in our mental time machine and replaying it differently. Imagine making this or that choice differently and the alternate time line that would result. If we get tired of that, we can fast forward to the future and jump ahead where somehow everything is fantastic and amazing. But sooner or later, we have to come back to reality, and when we do, what do we focus on? Do we see the ways life is better than we imagined, or do we mourn our lack of hover boards?

Today is my personal Back To The Future Day as well. It's hard not to look back at all the dreams and expectations I had not only in 1989 but on October 21, 2008 and compare where I am and what I have to what I hoped for and thought might be. Seven years ago today, I walked out of the Walls unit of TDCJ, finally free after seven and a half years in prison. I've almost been out as long as I was in, and as that time gets closer and closer to the same I struggle more and more with what might have been and fighting to stay out of my personal time machine. 

Seven years ago Texas set me free. In less than 24 hours I would realize how unfree I actually was as my parole officer laid down the rules I would have to live by for the next six months and denied my request to go to my aunt's funeral. I had missed a few funerals while inside, but now I was out and still couldn't go pay my respects to a woman I loved and hadn't seen or been there for due to my mistakes. I would never be able to make that right. Over 500 job applications later, and I learned that a true second chance and employment in a field I enjoy and that will pay that bills will be a miracle on the magnitude of parting the Red Sea, if it ever happens at all. About a week into parole it became clear that I couldn't stay sober for even as little as six months, even to assure not having to go to prison. My emotional downward spiral began as I came to terms with the fact that I was an alcoholic and an addict and would never be able to successfully or safely drink or drug again. 

Over these past seven years I have learned the ways my past, despite forgiveness, will affect and limit my life for the rest of my days on this side of eternity. There are doors which will not open without miracles. Hopes from around the time the movie which started all this reflection have withered and died, and while I'm ok with that most days, sometimes there is a dark, black ache in my heart and soul as I deal with the losses that mean some of the blessings of God are never going to by mine. Psalms 127:3-5 Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them, and similar scriptures at times feel like taunts and reasons to question all sorts of things from past actions and choices to God's love. I could go on until I became one raw, wounded, angry nerve screaming that life isn't fair and throwing a temper tantrum over not getting my flipping hover board. Chances are if you look back at where you thought you could be at various times from when you entered your teen years, to exiting them to whatever milestone was reached where you thought OK from here on things will get better, you can see the places where the hover boards are missing and life hasn't lined up with what you predicted, expected or hoped for.

But that's because we focus on the wrong thing when we look at the fantasy future. Take another look at the 2015 from Back To The Future and compare it to today's reality. Other than the hover boards, the flying cars and for a few, maybe the Cubs, does it really look as good as out reality, much less better? I believe our reality looks a lot better than the movie clips, and I know that the life I have today is better than what I would have had, if I where even still alive, which is doubtful. Today I have a life worth living that I never dreamed possible. I have a relationship with God the likes of which I never believed possible from the time I was grade school aged. I am happy as a minister, and hope to be able to dedicate myself to full-time ministry in the future, a calling I literally said no to and ran out of the church to get high over in the mid-1980s before spending far too long pulling a Jonah imitation. I couldn't believe that preaching and doing what God wanted could be as joyous and satisfying as having the hover boards and flying cars I dreamed of. Now I know that following God is not as joyous and as satisfying, it's far more so.

When I gave up on some of my own dreams, God gave me others, better ones. He brought Leah into my life, and I couldn't have made a more perfect match and helpmate for myself if I had tried. I never believed I could have a relationship like ours and be so happy. I will never be a father, but I get to be a grandfather, and I have two amazing adult stepchildren I love and am proud of. There is a life so much better than the never ending party I thought I wanted. God's plans for us are far far better than the fantasies we create out of our own selfish desires. There may be areas in all our lives where the loss is still heavy and hard, where the land is still barren and yet to be restored, where the wounds have not yet turned to scars and still hurt, but the fact remains that reality road is better than traveling in our mental time machines, trapped in the past or the dreams and fears of tomorrow when we travel it in His will and with an understanding that He loves us, as we are, not as we should be. He has a plan. He wants to give us both a life worth living now and a future better than we imagined. But the only way to reach it is to get out of the time machine, let go of the hover board and come back to the now. See with a fresh perspective what the Lord has done, all the near misses that grace provided, the disasters that love kept from utterly destroying us, the captivity we have been set free from, the rain in the droughts and the promise of restoration and blessing beyond our wildest hopes.

We can keep going Back To The Future and frustrate our lives with comparisons or we can go Back To The Father with thanksgiving and praise and get something better than what we wanted in the first place. The choice is ours, yours and mine. Daddy won't make it for us. But for me, I'm going to make this a Back To The Father day. I've lived with the disappointment of Back To The Future long enough. How about you?

Unshackled Moments ~ October 20 ~ Leah Made A Trade

Yesterday, moments after my phone battery beeped its way into the red zone, I received a text from Leah. She had an appointment that morning, and I had asked her how it went and told her I love her. She answered that it had gone long. Then she sent THE TEXT...the one that said when she got done she needed to call me. Key suspense building music. Texts like this are rarely good news. Then, the music in my mind became more ominous as she sent an additional text saying it's important.

Great. Something at least not good is going on, at worst something quite bad. Now my phone has less than 12% power and won't last long. I can't turn it off to save juice because I don't know when she'll be done. It's not too long though. As my wife tells me about the "mild" form of glaucoma she has and the emergency surgery she needs to have Wednesday, I'm trying to listen to her while also trying to get my phone off mute. My phone starts acting seriously weird whenever the battery gets critically low. I realized something was wrong when I asked the same question the second time, and she continued to talk without pause or concern for what I was asking. Then it became a bad commercial with me hitting buttons and asking, "Can you hear me now?" It didn't occur to me until later that not only had she not heard my question, but she had not heard any of my support and reassurance before I finally got the mute off either.

More importantly, I realized that she didn't really need it. She'd already received the support and reassurance she needed from the Holy Spirit. Now, she still has mine, and I am sure that will bless her, but her needs are met. I came to this revelation when I asked her how her daughter was handling the news after the explanatory phone call yesterday evening. "She's fine ," Leah informed me. "She's not worried because her momma's not worried." It hit me just how much Leah has changed over the past five years in regards to her relationship with God.

 Relationship rather than religion made the difference between peace and panic yesterday. When our relationship began, Leah was very religious minded. Now, I'm not saying she was very religious. She avoided religion and God like the family in a Gothic horror avoids the wing of the mansion where that bad thing happened. But when she thought about God it was with a religious, legalistic , who is that mad-man-in-the sky? mindset. When something good happened she waited for God to punish her for enjoying it too much or balance the scales by making it less good or giving something bad. If something bad could happen it was time to try to appease the bully above so that he wouldn't follow though on the threat.

Five years ago, this news of an incurable eye disease that if untreated could lead to blindness and if the treatment goes wrong could lead to blindness would have produced panic and the specter of the worst case scenario springing from every dark corner of her mind. I'd have spent the whole night holding her and trying to assure her that God's not out to get her for not ever being good enough and that this isn't punishment for being happy and enjoying life too much. Yesterday she needed neither. She smiled, told me what was going to happen, talked to her children and her father about it, and then we cuddled up and watched a Halloween movie. No big deal. Because today she sees how much can go right as much, if not more, than how much can go wrong. Yesterday she saw a blessing in being in the rare 10% of cases involving this. Most cases aren't symptomatic of the pain she's been having for a few months. That pain pushed her to the doctor and to an early diagnosis, which improves everything. Most importantly, she sees a Daddy who loves and cares for her rather than an abusive bully sitting in the big easy chair in the sky waiting for her to step out of line so he can beat her some more.

Now, if she gets scared tomorrow before the surgery I'll be there for her. And I'll hug her and tell it's all going to be OK. But she really doesn't need me to. She informed me last night that she intended to drive herself to and from the surgery and didn't need anyone to take her. OK, so I'm the needy one now and need to be there just on the off chance she does need me. The trickle effect of the growing awareness of her Daddy's love superseding the concept of a father's wrath has opened her up to the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit's gift of peace. Just one example of many of the benefits of relationship over religion and superstition.

Leah traded in a superstitious relationship with religion and the panic it produced for a relationship with a loving Daddy and the peace He brings that passes all understanding. She traded in trusting Him for her needs rather than appeasing for protection. And by doing so she reminded me of the power in having the right perspective. Today I want to follow her example. I want to keep the right perspective of who God is and how He loves me as the filter through which all the events of the day pass through. Let us all do that and receive  the refreshing fruit juice of the Spirit's peace, joy and love no matter what lemons the world hands us.

Unshackled Moments ~ October 19 ~ Deitiphobia

Deitiphobia - the fear of God.

Those who have heard me preach may have heard me say things such as "I don't preach about a "Get ya God, but of a God who loves you as you are, not as you should be." And that's pretty much true. I don't speak much about a God who should be feared, that mean old man in the sky waiting with a frown for us to screw up so he can punish us, zap us with lightening or even squash us like the bugs we are. No. I don't preach about that god, because I don't believe in that god. I don't believe in that mean old man....I believe in a loving Daddy who should be feared.

Sound like I'm contradicting myself? I'm not. There are several types of fear, and all should be applied to God in some ways and by some. But not everyone should or can fear God the same way. Now I don't mean, love God in your own way, fear God in your own way, whatever works for you man. Let me see if I can explain this a little better.

One of the most obvious types of fear is a fear of destruction. There is a ancient Greek type of battle going on near some remote village. A horde has come in against the people in the village. The people are fighting to defend themselves as best they can, but they are outnumbered and outmatched. Enter stage left: Our HERO walks on the scene. Or is he THE VILLAIN? We're not sure yet. He looks so imposing. He walks like power and death personified. There is just something about him that makes you stop a stare. You want to be near him. He's beautiful. You want to run. He's the most frightening man you've ever scene. He's the drawing but deadly awesome, wonderful fear of a beautiful tiger. Reverential and respectful fear of one such as this only makes sense. And with this type of fear, describing the most awesome Frank Miller 300 warrior wouldn't come close to the reaction we'd have if we could really see the Mighty Warrior Himself come onto the scene.

So there's a pause as both sides wait to see what happens. The warrior walks into the middle of the scene and without any effort whatsoever annihilates the biggest, baddest, scariest of the bad guys. Maybe numbers will help. A group of men move in, and with moves that put The Matrix to shame the warrior kills them all without receiving a scratch himself. The rest of the attackers turn to flee. He chases them down, kills all but one. He tells the survivor to spread the word that this is his village and no one can attack it without fearing his wrath. Enemies far and wide leave the village alone out of fear for their champion. It is not good to be an enemy of God, and if we are His enemies, then He is indeed much to be feared. There is no greater enemy. No one and nothing can destroy the way the Creator can.

But while the enemies are running scared, the villagers are breathing a sigh of relief. Sure am glad he's on our side, they say. He promises to protect them if they will have him as their king. If they don't want his kingship, he will leave them to themselves. No. They want him as king. What better king than one who can protect them from the whole world? But if a king, then a ruler. And by definition a ruler has rules. Turns out this king hates evil and people who don't love each other. So he sets out rules to protect the law of love. And those who step outside the rules are soon to find that the king can and will discipline. This is a larger version of the fear I still have of my mother. I know that she loves me, but there's a part of me who knows she can still spank me with a look if I get out of line and need it. The fear of punishment as motivation to obey. The fear of being on the wrong side of the rules. The fear of hell. These are necessary, because God hates sin, and it's that type of fear, the fear of judgement that drives many of us into obedience at first.

Then the king has children. The children seems to be able to get away with more than others. They are obviously much loved by the king. It's not that he likes bad behavior or looks the other way with the, But where the citizens under his rule or expected to adhere, period, without excuse without exception, the king takes a different approach with his children. He walks with them. He talks with them. He teaches them the why and the how of the law of love. He guides them and trains them so that they can follow it. These children never fear the king's judgement, but they have a reverence and a respect for the father they love and who so obviously loves them. Still, while they may not get the death penalty their love drives home the desire to please. Their greatest fear becomes disappointing and displeasing Daddy. Not because they fear His wrath, but because they want to return to him the joy that he's given them. Because of love. Because it would break their heart to break his. And that is the fear we should have if we are His.

But if we are His child we are no longer His enemies and have no need to fear the mighty warrior. If we have been adopted by Him then we are His children and never have to fear His eternal judgement. But we, as His children, should still fear correction and more, fear breaking the heart of the One who paid such a high price to call us His own. But He's not the mean old man in the sky because to even His enemies he says you can be children. He sacrificed His very Son to make it possible for all of us, no matter who we are without Him, to have peace with Him and become His children.

Unshackled Moments ~ October 18 ~ We Need To Do Less

We are called to surrender our will and our life to God, to pick up our cross daily and follow Him. That last part is basically a call to suicide of the will. We are asked to die daily, and that is scary. No matter how much we do it or for how long, it will never become easy this side of eternity. It will become easier, but not easy. The earthly mind can never truly desire to completely rid itself of selfishness. Because of this simple truth that there will always be at least some conflict between the regenerated spirit within that desires to serve and obey God and the carnal mind with its desires to do its own thing.

Part of the conflict stems from a lack of trust. We can come to a place where we believe that God wants what's best for us easier than we can come to that place where we believe that what God wants will actually make us happier than what we want. After all, what's best is not always what is most enjoyable, as most parents can testify. So the question rises up in our hearts in the midst of this conflict between our will and His, can we serve Jesus and still enjoy our lives?

Can we mix our Christian responsibilities and service with our human desires? Can we strive for the higher calling and purpose of God and still enjoy the pleasures of creation? It seems impossible because of the limitations of time and resources.  No matter how much we have, there doesn't seem like enough of us to go around. Time spent with family or enjoying a hobby is time that we are not being of service to the lost and broken. Time watching a football game is time we are not studying the Word or making the most of our prayer closet. Money spent to go to the movies is no longer available to help the needy or support ministry and missions.

The problem of limited time and resources is added to that lack of trust mentioned earlier. What lack of trust? Well, if you, dear reader. are anything like me, there are at least times where there is fear that if we completely surrender and mean it when we say we'll go anywhere and do anything that God wants that He'll...well, He just might call our bluff and take us up on our offer. What if the price is high? What if God call us to a mission that takes us away from spouse or children or grandchildren for weeks....or even a year or more? What if we are called to start or join a weekly prayer group or Bible study that takes away from the time we consider "free time." Even a price as relatively small as an hour or two of sleep sacrificed to get up early or stay up late to study and pray may be more than we really want to pay.

Yesterday the phone woke me early on my one day a week that I have the opportunity to sleep in. I pray for chances to be of service and profess my willingness to be used of God to bless others, but really God? I have to give up my sleep in day? I am embarrassed to admit feeling this way, but it's exactly how I felt. Here was a person in genuine need calling, asking for help, giving me the chance to be the hands of Christ and express His love, and I grumbled over a half hour or so loss of sleep. Then things got worse when I called back and learned that to do what was asked would cost me the first hour or so of the Texas Tech football game, the one college football game I wanted to watch. I obeyed. I was the willing servant, but I must admit that I did it more out of duty than desire. There was more grumpiness than joy in my service. Then, as if to give me a second chance, the same person called again, needing more help. This time it would cost me seeing the end of the game. Even as I grumbled it felt as if God were asking, "Am I more important to you than a football game?" The answer is yes, God, You are more important. I sacrificed that time and realized later, that if this was going to happen, that yesterday was the best time possible. I enjoyed watching that game much less than any other this season. Even though they won yesterday, they didn't play well. It wasn't a good game. The loss earlier to TCU was the most exciting game in years. I could have missed that. Missing the start and end of a mediocre game is a very small price indeed to be of service to God and my fellow man...in retrospect of course.

The assumption is that redemption and enjoying this life are competing against one another. Attention paid to the things of earth is attention that can't be paid to the spiritual and vice versa. This assumption is correct as long as we focus on the activity, on how much time, money and energy we have to spend in a day. But what if the two sides of the coin are joined on a deeper level, not by doing more but by doing less? This idea, I believe, is the significance, even in New Testament grace over law times, of the principle of the Sabbath.

The actual meaning of the word Sabbath means to cease or rest. Stop. Take a break. Don't do anything that would be labeled as productive, financially or otherwise. Do something that would be a waste of time by most standards. This is the example that God set when He who needs no sleep and has no need to recoup energy lost did something that seems so unnecessary for an all-powerful being. Rested.

To take a day of rest for every six days of labor is a day to remember that God has delivered us from our striving, and it is a day to enjoy family and friends, the world He created and the life we have worked for that He has given us. It is not that being able to work more is the goal of resting, but rather that to labor will provide the opportunity to rest. And that if ends are tight and it feels like we can't afford that rest, we learn to trust God for our needs and our rest and take it anyway. We don't rest so we can work, but we work so that we can rest and enjoy what we've done. To get that wonderful cool down period after exercise that feels so good, we must first truly work our muscles. We can't enjoy one without the other. We can't enjoy rest without work, but we'll never be able to enjoy work and service without rest either. And the very fact that a God who does not need rest established this time is evidence that our Daddy wants us to enjoy life, both our service and our rest.

Rest is the reward for the labor behind us, but it is also the proper spiritual place of preparation for the labor ahead of us. In the cycle of time, what is the last day of the week, also becomes the first day of the next week. The day of rest is God's gift to us. It is both a reward for laboring and a refueling of our spirit as well as our body before we are called to do more.

The Sabbath is a gift because it is a day purposefully set aside for time with God and for enjoyment. We're not allowed a break. We're actually commanded to be nonproductive. To just be. To just appreciate. To just enjoy the life that we've been given and the God who gave it to us. To take off the yoke and enjoy the feeling, sight and smells of the plowed earth behind us and the different smells and beauty of the field before us that's waiting to be plowed. To soak in the joy of life and the creation that God made for His glory and our pleasure. We properly observe the Sabbath when we spend that time on what rejuvenates us. It may be cuddling with my wife while watching a movie or watching a football game for me. It may be something entirely different for you. But whatever it is, we must receive it. God will not force His design for rest on us. We must become content with where we are and what He's given us before we can take a rest from the striving to do and have more or we will never be able to turn our minds away from the "to do" lists and simply, with gratitude, release the need and desire to be more and do more. Let us keep in mind the benefits and calling to schedule a time to enjoy and do less.

Unshackled Moments ~ October 17 ~ Hide And Seek

Those on a spiritual journey often are called seekers, and there is some truth in that. After all, Jesus said that if we seek we will find, and Jeremiah 29:13 tells us that we will find God when we seek Him with our whole heart. So it may at times seems like God is playing a game of hide and seek with us and that we're "it." But we've got it backwards when we feel that way. God has always been "It." It is He who has always sought us out and provided a way for us long before the idea of trying to find Him is even on our radar. The act of seeking Him is more than we make a choice to stop hiding and come out where we can be found rather than having to search out a hidden God.

God is not hidden. The earth and the heavens declare His glory. You can not go through the day without seeing something that declares that He is, unless you want to. We have hearts that choose at times not to "see" God, because we don't want to. We're like little children afraid of the dark who shut their eyes as tightly as possible in the superstitious belief that if we can't see what we're afraid of, we can't be seen. Hiding is what we do, not what God does.

Hiding from God is a natural by-product of sin. The first thing that Adam and Eve did after the very first act of sin is try to cover themselves, their nakedness and their shame, which is a form of hiding. Then they literally hid themselves from God. God shows up calling, "Adam. Adam. Where are You?" It always seemed strange to me that God would ask that. After all, He knew exactly where they were. You can't hide from God. Except that you can.

God allows our hiddenness. The kind of relationship and presence that God desires to have with us can't be forced or coerce, even by God. So He gives us the free choice to be known and to know or not to be. Metaphorically, God covers His eyes and allows us to run and hide. But He never stops there. He says that He wants to have a relationship with us that He will be "It" and follow us into the very depths of hell on earth to call us safely back to Him.

Adam and Eve's story is our story. We hide because we don't want to expose the brokenness and darkness within us. We hide in our fear and our shame. We hide because of fear that if we are ever truly transparent, seen and known we will no longer be accepted and loved. We hide from God, from others, and even from ourselves. If we hide well enough, if we make a good enough disguise, we might get away with our hiding, and others may accept us. But deep inside is that voice that if people only "knew" who we really are, how we truly feel and think, that they would never like us, much less love and accept us. So we go through life wanting love, receiving love, and all the while thinking and feeling that love can't be real because they aren't loving the real us, the hidden us. They don't know who we are. We can play the hidden in the game of hide and seek that even we ourselves can forget for a while who we are. 

But God knows. He only allows us to deceive ourselves into believing we are hidden. He calls for us. "Where are you?" He asks, like a parent playing hide and seek with a child, looking everywhere but behind the couch where they know the child is hiding. Daddy is waiting and hoping for that moment when we will burst out and say, "Here I am!" He already knows that brokenness and darkness we want to hide better than we do. He still loves us. He still accepts us. And He promises that if we will stop hiding, and by that act of moving out of hiding toward Him become the "seeker" that He won't hide Himself from us. He will always allow us to come to Him.

Let us stop hiding from God and ourselves. If we are tired of the brokenness and the darkness, if we are sick and tired of being sick and tired and filled with bitterness and bad attitudes and shame, then we can stop playing hide and seek with God and with ourselves, and even with others. Not only will He smile and say, "Ah there you are!" He will take us in His arms and show His love to us, and He will heal our brokenness and remove our shame.  

Unshackled Life Ministries is grateful for every person that reads the daily Unshackled Moments and or listens to the messages. I want to thank those who have clicked "like" on something that blessed or ministered to them. It is encouraging to know that God is using this ministry to help and bless others. Please remember that if God used something from this ministry to help, encourage or bless you, it could also bless someone else. Would you help get the devotions to more people by sharing the Moments and messages that you read or listen to? Hitting the share button instead of or in addition to the like button will help us reach more people with the good news of freedom and the encouragement to live an Unshackled Life. Thank you and God bless.

Unshackled Moments ~ October 16 ~ It's Not You It's Me?

Do you, like me, also hate those times when some pet peeve or irritant is proven not to be an outside annoyance, but rather something that you dislike about yourself? There are so many trite sayings about this phenomena that are easy to play lip service to, such as "You dislike in others what you dislike about yourself," or as Osho put it, "If you are afraid of yourself, only then are you afraid of other people. If you love yourself, you love others. If you hate yourself, you hate others. In relationship with others, it is only you -- mirrored." There are many more, such as the one I hear the most, "When I am disturbed, it is because I find some person, place, thing or situation -- some fact of my life -- unacceptable to me, and I can find no serenity until I accept that person, place, thing or situation as being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment." There is a kernel of truth in these generalities, and when they are right, they sound so very right and so very deep. But they are not always true, and at times can get you seriously hurt if applied incorrectly and at the wrong time.

Seriously, I don't have to be afraid of myself to be afraid of that man with the gun trying to rob me. No, that's not really what the quote is addressing, I know that, but being afraid of someone trying to hurt you is an aspect of fearing others, and at that time, when someone is trying to hurt you, it's time for fight or flight, not self-introspection about what you might fear about yourself. And if your house is on fire, the answer is not to achieve some weird sense of serenity as it burns down around you by accepting that the situation exactly as it should be at that moment and releasing that horrible unacceptance. After all, acceptance is the key to all our problems. Yeah, accepting God is the key to everything problems and otherwise. But sometimes what we need to accept is that something is exactly as it's not supposed to be and we're supposed to do something about it, such as get off the couch and out of the house before we burn to death, and oh yeah, call the fire department.

So there we have a couple of examples of sweeping generalities often spoken and applied as though they were universal truths that can be applied unilaterally, and I think I am being clear hear that it bugs me when they are used as such. The reason that I bring it up in the first place, is because it bugs me no end sometimes when I realize that I have stumbled into one of those times and places where they are indeed accurate and to be heeded. This happened to me recently. I got frustrated and a little hurt when someone did to me something I have done to others, to them in matter of fact. I thought things were better, that restoration occurred in the relationship, but now it feels like the same old same old blah, blah, blah, whine, whine whine. Then a thought broke through the self-pity and whining, interrupting my self-righteous, self-indulgent misery I was enjoying. Isn't that exactly what you did five years ago, only what you did was a step further, just one notch worse?

Crap. Now how am I supposed to glory in feeling put out? How can I like my wounds instead of treating them and letting them heal now? I didn't mean to hurt anyone five years ago. In truth they weren't even a factor in the equation. They weren't on my radar when I moved that piece on the chessboard of my life, and maybe that in itself caused pain. We like to be important to others, to be on their radar, to know that if we are cared for that being included and being considered is part of it. But sometimes I fail to include and consider the people in my life I care about because what's going on isn't really about them at all, even if it might bless them to be included. And this situation that sent me into a pity spiral wasn't about me, had nothing really to do with me, and wasn't in the least bit about revenge for what I had done. I simply wasn't a factor at all because it's not about me. Once I realized this, I was able to let it go and actually help with a later complication that occurred.

Then a little later, someone asked me for forgiveness, and it actually made me, one who speaks and writes often on the need to forgive even when the other person hasn't asked, mad. I repeat the sayings, meaning them, believing them, like "refusing to forgive is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die," and "forgiveness doesn't excuse their behavior; it prevents their behavior from destroying your heart." Yes, I say these things, and mean them. And yet, the very act of asking for my forgiveness upset me more than what he was asking forgiveness for. It would have been easier if he'd never asked for forgiveness in the first place, so I could have just forgiven in spite of him. Why?

Well, I've learned to forgive without being asked. And it's even easier most times to forgive when someone is sorry and asks for forgiveness. But there are two kinds of apologies that really tick me off. I'd rather not get an apology than to get one of these. The first is the "I'm sorry; please forgive me" that is really an "I'm sorry that you have a problem with me or what I've done; will you just get over it already?" That one really chaps my hide. The other is the "I was wrong, I'm sorry, please forgive me" that is really a "I'm not really to blame or at fault, the devil made me do it or it's just the way I am/was raised/insert blame shifting excuse here. Both of these attitudes make me mad and make it hard for me to forgive.

I want to say, "No. I won't forgive you yet. Go think about why you need forgiveness and come ask again when you understand." But why? Because in this case the trite saying is true. I have done this, and I hate it when I realize it, and the times I hate it most are in my relationship with my Heavenly Daddy. There are times when something I do bothers someone else when maybe it shouldn't. Like the first account of my pity spiral I needed to pull out of, sometimes it's not about them or our relationship at all. But that can never be said about Daddy. Everything that involves me is relevant to Him and our relationship. There is never anything I do, think or feel that He just needs to accept and get over it already. That "You made me this way, so let it go already" mentality is highly inappropriate and out of line. That's like saying a carpenter building a house should leave a roof leaking because it's always leaked. It leaked from the start because construction wasn't complete. It's not supposed to leak at the end. The idea that a house half built is how it's always supposed to look and function is ridiculous. The same can be true of us. We're under construction,

And on more than one occasion I have asked God to forgive me when in reality what I want is for Him to excuse me. Forgiveness says "What you did was wrong, but I will choose not to hold it against you or make you pay for it." Excusing says, "I know you couldn't help yourself. You didn't mean to do that. You weren't really to blame. So not only will I not hold it against you or make you pay for it, I won't be upset if you do it again, and I won't ask you to change." No. No. No, that's not contrition. That's not sorrow over our actions. No, I will not excuse and leave the door open for the continuation of the behavior that bothered/hurt me in the first place. That's how I feel when someone  comes to me with this attitude, and I wonder if God feels that same as I do about this foolishness? It's like asking for the slate to be cleaned off to make room so it can be dirtied again. Ridiculous, or to quote one of my favorite lines from The Princess Bride, Inconceivable.

How dare they? How dare I? Real forgiveness means looking at the situation without excuses and without allowances, being able to call wrong wrong and still releasing the debt of the offender. And real contrition is accepting responsibility without excuse, without shifting blame, without downplaying the damage and asking for pardon and mercy.

Let us quit doing this to God. If one of us is right about a situation and the other wrong, we are never the ones who are right. God's evaluation of acceptable and unacceptable behavior on our part is always accurate. Let us ask the Spirit to illuminate our hearts so that we can see the truth about our leaky roofs and the need for repair. Let us remember that we're the ones that need to get over ourselves and that why or how we set fire to the house doesn't matter. What matters is that the house caught fire, the fire needs to be put out and the damage needs to be repaired. No more downplaying, no more excuses.

And while not everything that upsets or hurts us is truly a mirror of what is wrong with us, there are times when it is indeed true. Let us be open to see revelation of areas we need further construction in our own life in the actions of others that disturb us. And while we never have to excuse or permit further damage, let us be quick to forgive, even as God the Father has quickly and graciously forgiven us.

Unshackled Moments ~ October 15 ~ I confess

Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. When I kept silent, my bones grew old through my groaning all the day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was turned into the drought of summer. Selah I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah 

 - Psalm 32:1-5

Sometimes it feels so hard to let go of the past, to think that we will ever be free of the guilt and shame and to overcome the obstacles its wreckage leaves in our life. David knew about bearing guilt and struggling with the past. David is known primarily as a man after God's own heart and as the writer of many of the Psalms. He was the second and one of the greatest kings of Israel;. He also used his position and authority as king as a way to have an adulterous affair and later had the woman's husband killed to hide his crime. In the land of Israel, the king was both a murderer and a sex offender and should have been stoned to death for both crimes according to the law. He received mercy and grace, but there were still severe consequences for his mistakes. Everything in his life was affected and tainted by that sin, that crime, that mistake until he died.

The mercy and grace that David received did not erase all the consequences. It didn't keep his sons from losing respect for him, abusing and trying to kill him to take the throne. He never had it forgotten. It never disappeared from his record. Thousands of years later, we can turn to II Samuel 11-I Kings 2 and read all about his mess up and the mess that followed until his death. Never mind a scarlet letter, his sin made the Book, and people talked about it from the time it was discovered until, well, probably until Jesus returns. 

But David discovered the wonder and freedom of forgiveness that comes with confession. He started a Psalm of contemplation with the declaration that those who have been forgiven are blessed, despite not being spared some of the natural consequences. Blessed are those who have been forgiven and who can live honestly. It's hard to be honest when you're hiding and covering up sin in life. He thinks back on his mistakes and sees that when he thought he'd gotten away with it and was hiding it, he was miserable, afraid, having to lie with words and life daily, and he was dying inside. There may be things in our life where we can relate. Things that we have felt that silence is the best possible way to escape the shame of our past. If others don't know, it can't hurt them. If others know they'll look at me differently. Whatever excuse we use to stay in hiding about the things we have done and have been done to us, the better way is to expose them to the light. There's an axiom that we are only as sick as our secrets. We have to stop lying, even to ourselves, and hiding our past and our present in order to heal.

Family problems, addictions, behavior issues, bad habits, things we've done and things done to us, etc. may seem to be better kept quiet about, and I'm not saying we should shout all problems and sins from the roof tops of social media. A little more discretion in some areas might do a lot of us some good. But there should be at least one person besides ourselves that we have talked to about and been open and honest with about what has been a dirty little secret. If we continue to guard that secret with our lives, it will cost us just that. Our life.  Silence and secrets always lead to an infected spirit and tormented mind that festers and worsens with time, and it always, always begins to affect the other areas of our life.

David found the key to freedom from guilt. He got honest with himself and with God. He confessed. Confession isn't about letting God know what we did or what's been done to us. We don't have any dark little secrets from God. No matter how well we've lied to ourselves, denied, covered up and hidden our toxic waste from ourselves, God knows it all. He's never fooled by our lies or manipulations, and the things we do to forget don't affect Him. Confession is for us, not Him. Confession means we're finally going to address what's killing us. It means that we're going to do something critical to healing, which is to admit that we can't heal it or fix it ourselves. 

There's something broken and shameful in us all. We all have places of brokenness and things in the past and present we wish didn't exist, that we could keep the world (including ourselves) from knowing and thinking about, things that we bear guilt, shame and fear of, about or over. But our brokenness is not a bad thing. Jesus didn't come for the ones who have it perfectly all together (you know, the myths that we compare ourselves to). He came for the broken, the sick and the messed up. If we pretend to be healthy the Doctor can't do much, but when we're honest about where we're at and where we've been, He can do His work to heal and restore us. We've all kept secrets at times, but some are carrying around secrets that are killing them. It may be skeletons in the closet about the past, sexuality, impulses, bitterness, anger, finances, marriage, work, or a million other things. What may send one person screaming into the darkness and hiding from the monsters under the beds we made and now have to lie in may not bother someone else. Wow, they don't just wear that scarlet letter, they made a billboard out of it. Have they no shame? They probably do, about something else they're hiding and distracting people from by not having shame over what they don't or can't hide, but if they are blessed, then maybe not. Because there is a place in the light of God, where no, there is no need to have any shame. The Blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony are our two most powerful weapons and tools to help others with. The word of our testimony, which is the experience, strength and hope of our past and our present, can't be effective while sheathed in shame. But if we keep playing the game and keeping silent about our secrets, we can’t heal and move forward, and we surely can't help anyone else.

Despite his past and his mistakes and the consequences they caused, David ends this time of contemplation with a declaration that his life is victorious. 10 Many sorrows shall be to the wicked; But he who trusts in the Lord, mercy shall surround him. 11 Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous; And shout for joy, all you upright in heart! The righteous have victory and joy. Those who aren't righteous are considered wicked and have many sorrows. We might be inclined to think that the difference between the two is one sins and has things that they are or should be ashamed of and the other doesn't. But David has shown through this psalm and by the example of his life, both good and bad, that the difference is actually only that one has been forgiven and no longer has to hide in the dark and lie. The glorious song of the righteous is not the song of perfection but the song of redemption, restoration and forgiveness. I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever, because I understand just how merciful He is, because I, like David, have been in dire need of that mercy, deserving death but receiving life.

Can you come to the place where you see that truth of that in your own life? If so, then you are blessed. Even if we have to wear a scarlet letter in the eyes of others for the rest of our lives, let us leave our shame with our other burdens at the foot of the cross of forgiveness and walk through this day with the understanding that we are clean before our Lord and that what we've experienced can help others if we don't hide.

The Wonder Of Adoption

Dalyn Woodard shares on verses 14 through 16 of Romans chapter 8, and gives what is perhaps a new perspective to those in this time of what Paul was saying when he wrote of us being the adopted children of God. Being adopted into the family of God provides a security that we can trust.The message, "The Wonder Of Adoption" is about 42 minutes long and was recorded at Nacogdoches Christian Fellowship on Wednesday, October 8, 2015. It's our prayer that you are blessed and ministered to as you listen. May God bless and keep you.

Unshackled Moments ~ October 14 ~ Sinkhole

The Lord is righteous in all His ways and gracious in all His acts.The Lord is near all who call out to Him, all who call out to Him with integrity. He fulfills the desires of those who fear Him; He hears their cry for help and saves them. 

 Psalm 145:17-19

It always seems to happen, and it always seems to happen at the worst possible moment. Maybe you finally get a new car with the insurance money from your last disaster and the ground drops out from under you. Literally.

That's one of a few stories I can think of behind this photo of a car straddling a sinkhole with a huge question mark implied....Will the car be rescued or will it fall into the gaping, and probably slowly expanding, sinkhole below it? You're going along minding your own business, taking care of responsibilities, enjoying the benefits of a good life lives right when without warning a sinkhole materializes underneath you.

For the children of Israel it happened after being set free. They endured 400 years of slavery, and God finally freed them from Pharaoh. But before they even had a chance to become the screw ups we know and love as our Old Testament bad examples they found themselves facing the sea on one side and Pharaoh's army on the other. Did God bring us to freedom just to watch die horribly? That's the question they asked themselves.

I've asked the same question. Maybe you have. God did You deliver me just so this disaster could claim me instead of that one? Did You bless me and give me so much joy and hope just to take it away? Why did I get the blessing, the joy, the whatever I was so happy about 5 minutes ago just watch it fall apart or be put into jeopardy as my stomach twists and I fall soul first into the pit.

Sometimes these things happen, the sinkhole appears, because we drive or park on muddy, slippery ground. I'm not saying that we did anything wrong. In fact we may have been trying to do something right. But in the process we made ourselves vulnerable, we gave the enemy an opening to destroy something God had blessed us with. My last such sinkhole came when I attempted to help a recovery center raising funds. The vulnerable place I put myself in while trying to help a cause dear to my heart cost me a job I did well at and had hopes for advancement. It could have cost much more had God not parted that particular sea and denied the enemy the permission to destroy the ministry that I've been called to. I can see the deliverance and grace of God and the protection of the just all over that situation, but that said, I had looked for a job for a long period and had finally been given a chance with the one I had on the day the sinkhole appeared. I did it well, and my employer was pleased. I had been promised a raise and was learning to do the tasks that the supervisor handles. I finally felt like the past was falling behind and a future was possible. Sinkhole.

It took me three months to find work, and I am grateful for the work that I have. I have a great boss who is truly a man of God. He is very understanding of family first and is liberal with leave. He has been quick and careful to make sure that I am able to take care of ministry first. It's a blessing. That said, it's not the desire of my heart, and there's a piece of me that can still feel that sinkhole falling and sees all the potential pits. It sometimes feels hopeless, like whatever direction I try to go in, the pits of the past are waiting.

Or maybe it feels more like the man I know whose sinkhole is threatening more than employment and ministry. He endured and overcame cancer. God healed him, but now, it appears to be coming back. Cancer that goes into remission and then returns is often harder to beat than ever. Sinkhole. Let's be honest, we may say we'll be happy with whatever extra time we get, but when we pray for healing of cancer, we're not asking for a couple of years. We want our lives back.

Those old things coming back. We've taken responsibility for our part, whatever it is. We've done our best to clean up our part of the mess. We've tried to clean, handle and respond to the wreckage as God would have us, in the right way, according to the Spiritual principles we believe in. We've done all we're supposed to do, and then sinkhole. Sinkholes cause drops that leave us dizzy, confused, frightened and scared. We may not see any way out depending on how hard, fast and far we fall. But above every sinkhole there is a God who has the power to make the earth conform to His commands.

When He begins to bless us and move us toward that Promised Land, the enemy, the old slave master, is going to pursue. There will be obstacles and sinkholes, because what is in opposition to God is also in opposition to our being blessed of God.  But we have this promise. The Lord is near all who call out to Him, all who call out to Him with integrity. He fulfills the desires of those who fear Him; He hears their cry for help and saves them. 

When the sinkhole appears, call out to Him and trust that He will hear. He will save us first, and as we walk with Him, He will give us the desires of our heart. It's been a year since my sinkhole, and the Promised Land is still on the horizon rather than where I dwell, but it's coming. Maybe your sinkhole happened long ago and it feels like the land will never be restored, or maybe the ground just dropped this morning. I don't know. I do know that God is faithful and mighty. That the Promised Land is better than Egypt and worth the time in the desert. I know Job lost it all before he got it all back. Today let us let go of the past with its pits and the fear of the falls in the future and push on towards the blessings and promises God has placed on the horizons of our heart. We can trust Him. The sinkholes will not destroy us or rob us of the treasures God has given us. The past does not determine our future. God does.


I found the image used as the illustration in several places on the web, but never saw the credit for the photographer. It is not my intention to use the photo without giving credit. If anyone can tell me who took this photo, I will give proper credit. 

Unshackled Moments ~ October 13 ~ The Shack

Today's Unshackled Moment is a little different than usual in that there is a choice to listen to the message, which is about 7 minutes in length, or read it below. Sunday, October 11, 2015, I was asked to minister for communion at Nacogdoches Christian Fellowship. God had already given me something beautiful to share as an Unshackled Moment. I shared what He had given me with the church, and this means that unlike the usual read only UM, there is audio as well. It's our prayer that you are blessed and ministered to as you listen and or read. May God bless and keep you.

Awesome. Wasn’t it beautiful to see those children praising God like that? That was an awesome time of worship, to see the little ones praise, to join them in praise, and I don’t know how she does it, time and time again (I think more faithfully than I can pull anything out of the Word), but my mother planned some worship when she wasn’t even going to be here that was just exactly what I needed, and I’m sure I’m not alone. But I’ve been looking into adoption throughout the scriptures as I prepared for Wednesday night, and all through these songs that we heard and sang today, we heard about God, who He is, and Him making us His, making us new, and about that idea of adoption and that idea of taking something that might not seem to have any value. And if you want to hear more on the adoption thing, we’ll talk about it Wednesday night, but as I was listening to some of this and praising, this image popped in my head which is somewhat related, making things new.

I remember being a little boy and we’d be traveling with my parents and my little brothers. And we’d be driving down the highway, and off to one side of the vehicle or another you’d see some field. And in the field would be the remains of a house. And some of them you could tell where once beautiful, nice houses. And some of them you could tell where probably not all that great to begin with. But at this point, they were falling in, you could see patches of holes all the way through them, roofs were caved in, vines and weeds had grown all through them, and there just wasn’t much left that said house at all. This was back when Mom and Dad were definitely rent to rent to rent, month to month to month, and it was my mother’s dream to have a house of her own.

And every so often we’d pass one of those houses, and Dad would look over and say, “There’s your dream house, Honey.” And they would laugh. They would laugh, because as much as they wanted a house, nobody wanted that. You know, I think you’d be better off burning it down and setting up a tent. These were not safe. They were not attractive. There was nothing good about them. Whatever value they had had at any point in time was gone. You couldn’t even restore these. What’s left is rotten. What’s left is broken. Bulldoze the whole thing, use the field for something else, or build something entirely new.

God could definitely look at us that way, because we were fearfully and wonderfully made. We were born beautiful and innocent, but under a curse. And no matter how beautiful we are, it doesn’t take too long for the curse of sin to affect our lives and we become broken, and destroyed. And our lives can be something that when you look at it, there’s nothing of value there... in our eyes. And it can seem like it’s just not even worth restoring, that it would just easier for the One who spoke the world into existence to go, “Burn it to the ground. I can start over. I can do something better than to try to rebuild what was here, to restore this.”

But He didn’t do that. He looked at that broken down life, like that broken down house, and not only said, “I will restore that to what it was intended to be, beautiful and lovely, but I will pay everything that is of value to Me for that broken down shack. I’m not just going to try to get a ‘C’mon you know this isn’t worth anything so you’re wanting to sell that for fifty cents, I’ll give you a quarter.’” No. He gave everything. He said, “You see a broken down, destroyed, rubble. I see a treasure worth the Life of My Son. That’s what He sees when He looks at us. That was the price that He paid when He went to the cross for us. We can look in the mirror, or we can look at others, or others can look at us and see nothing but brokenness, destruction, rot, ash, nothing worth anything. But He saw something worth everything.

And He’s not scrapping who we are and starting over. He’s building a new creation In our spirit now, but it was what was always intended. Restoration to what was always intended, because each of us has something unique to reflect God’s glory with. That was the price that He paid. That’s what we need to remember today. So that we don’t buy the lie that we have no value, that we’re not worth anything, that God can’t make something good out of the destruction that’s sitting out in the field of our lives. Let’s remember that.

Father, I thank you for the price that You paid, that You valued us so much, that You saw what was left, and what we had done, and what had been done to us and said, “I love that! That’s My dream, to restore that to the beauty that I wanted it to be when I created it.” Make our lives the beauty that you intended. Help us to remember the mighty cost that You paid so that we could come to You, so that we could be restored by You, so that we could become Yours and be adopted by You. Let us not forget it today, now as we take communion, or as we leave this place, or at all throughout the week or the rest of our lives, In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Unshackled Moments ! October 12 ~ Trivial Pursuit

In a continuation of the frustration with my laptop's computer power problems I experienced a wonderful reminder of Daddy's love. I was trying to half watch and mostly listen to a live streaming football game as I worked on our washing machine. But I had allowed the battery to run very low, and this is when it seems to have the most problems once it's plugged back in. I was having to unplug the cord from the computer and plug it back in every ten to fifteen seconds. I couldn't step away from it. This went on for several minutes, and I became quite frustrated. After one of these unplugged/plug in attempts I cried out a desperate prayer. It consisted of two words, "Father please."

As soon as I said it, I felt silly as the enemy and my mind teamed up to tell me I shouldn't be praying to get to listen to a football game. God doesn't care about football I heard in my head. There are far more pressing and important issues in the world than whether or not I can stream a game. But something within my spirit spoke up and disagreed. Football may not be important to God, but I am important to my Daddy. He cares for me. Is listening to a game seriously important? No. But it mattered to me, and Daddy cares about me. If my earthly father had been there and had the power to make the computer work I wouldn't have hesitated to ask him to make it work. No, Daddy cares about us and even the trivial things that matter to us.

I stepped away from the computer and back to the washing machine feeling grateful for the reminder that Daddy loves me, regardless of what happened with the computer. But I received confirmation that what I had heard in my spirit had been truth. The power worked, the computer charged, and I had no more problems with it for the rest of that time.

We need to remember what Jesus said. We have not because we ask not. Our Daddy cares for us and will not give us stones when we ask for bread. Sure there will be times when these prayers are not answered as we wish. The car still won't start. Every light on the way to work will turn red before we reach it. The cable ill not work. We have to remember to stay grateful for His love, even when we don't get what we want, but that said, we can't live as though there are some things not important enough to take to our Daddy and ask for help. He cares for us. Ask. He cares about what we care about, even the little trivial things.

Unshackled Moments ~ October 11 ~ Thankful In Hard Times

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

I Thessalonians 5:16-18

Yesterday morning I attended a men's breakfast at the church of a friend of mine. We had a nice time of food and fellowship, followed by a short devotional, and then we wrapped things up with a time of prayer. The men, myself included, spoke our prayers requests, and they were the typical things you would expect, expressing needs for health, concerns for family members, the folks in South Carolina, and rain here. But one of the men moved me in a mighty way by saying that he wanted to have a time of prayer of thanksgiving.

Prayers of thanksgiving aren't new to me, and don't normally effect me so. But it seems this gentleman, who is probably a little older than my father, has been dealing with health issues with his wife for the past few weeks. She is doing better from what I could gather, but still needs help. She evidently felt like a burden on him due to the fact that he was having to take care of her. But he didn't see it that way at all. He loves her so much that he is thrilled to be able to care for her and help her. He teared up as he said he just wanted to thank God that he could care for her and for the opportunity to show his love for her in this way.

Well, it made me tear up a little too. What an awesome spirit and example of a servant's loving heart. This man's attitude helped strengthen him with the joy of the Lord, and guarded his heart against the bitterness and self pity that weariness of duty can sometimes cause. When we serve out of duty, even the enjoyable can become a burden and something to rush through hoping it ends soon. But when we serve others out of love for God and love for them, rejoicing and giving thanks as we do so then the yoke becomes easy and the burden is light and the life we lead is worth living and blessed, even when we are going through things that would be in some's prayer requests to be removed.

Unshackled Moments ~ October 10 ~ Load Shifts

Yesterday my boss drove one truck, and I drove another up to the Palestine area to pick up a load of equipment. We managed to load 10 mowers and more on the trailer he hauled and my trailer was pretty full as well. While he took care of the paperwork, I chained everything down. About halfway home I noticed the mower on the back of his trailer shift after Eddie hit a bump. A few more miles and countless more bumps and the shift became a slide.

I felt a little sick at my stomach as I called Eddie and told him to stop so that we could check the load. But when we stopped, the mower felt secure. The chain had done its job, and it wasn't going any further. We drove the rest of the way back to the shop, and it all rode fine. We didn't lose a thing. It looked scary and ugly and dangerous, but the truth was that it was secure.

Despite the way things looked, once we both saw and felt the tautness of the chain, we knew it would ride. We had faith in the chain. Sometimes our life can feel a lot like this load of equipment looks, crazy out of control and on the verge of disaster. And there's no doubt that we pile things into our lives and others add to the load in such a way that from time to time things shift and slide as the bumps on the road of life are hit. But we can have faith in our Daddy. He is stronger and more faithful than any chain. He is our security and our protection. It may seem sometimes like he came undone or broke when things start to slide. But that is our perception more than an accurate view of things from an eternal aspect. He is faithful and able, and even when it looks like  it's all falling, He's got it. We can trust Him.

Unshackled Moments ~ October 9 ~ More On Power

There's a problem with the laptop I use.  It's been getting bad over the last week or so, and it caused some frustration during my recent vacation by joining my phone in being as uncooperative as possible. I'm not sure if the problem is with the battery or the computer itself, but even plugged in it will quit taking a charge and sometimes will even shut down. The thing is that it may work fine for hours with no problem. Then, like this morning, every minute or so the lights will flash indicating that it's not taking a charge and the battery will run out soon. All I have to do is unplug the cord from the computer and plug it back in, and it starts working again. This last time for about 15 seconds.

The next time it may last for hours, and that is actually when it's more of a problem. If I check it every few seconds, even if it stops working the battery doesn't run out. But when it works for a while, I can get caught up in whatever I am doing on the computer and forget to watch it. Then when it stops working I sometimes don't catch it until the computer suddenly shuts down. For some reason with this issue it doesn't bother to give a battery warning other than the blinking power lights. At the moment it hasn't gone off for a minute or two, and it becomes harder, even as I write about it, to remember to keep glancing at the power indicator rather than to simply write.

It's not really an issue as long as I am there. I can get into a rhythm of glancing that way every thirty seconds or so. Now, I can get the computer fixed or replaced eventually, but until then, I simply have to keep an eye on the power indicator. I'm kind of like this old laptop. I may do fine for a while, but sooner or later, if I don't keep checking to make sure I'm receiving power, I'm going to shut down and stop working properly. I wrote yesterday of making sure to plug into the Power Source, the Holy Spirit, first thing so that there's enough juice to get through the day walking by the power of the Spirit. But I also need to remember that my battery doesn't always hold that charge or recognize that it's plugged in. The cord doesn't change. The source isn't unplugged. But sometimes I act as though I'm running on my own. In addition to that initial charge, I need to keep checking all the indicators to make sure that I'm taking in the power that I'm supposed to. Not only do we need to plug in, but we need to make sure that nothing is causing  us to run on our own power even while we are plugged into the source.

Victory Over Sin

Dalyn Woodard shares on verses 12 and 13 of Romans chapter 8, showing how in this short passage of scripture we find the amazing truth that we have within us the power to have victory over and to walk free from sin. The message, "Victory Over Sin" is about 51 minutes long and was recorded at Nacogdoches Christian Fellowship on Wednesday, October 8, 2015. It's our prayer that you are blessed and ministered to as you listen. May God bless and keep you.

Unshackled Moments ~ October 8 ~ Jump Start

I just hooked a battery charger up to the battery on my motorcycle. It's around 30 minutes until I have to leave for work, and I wanted to make sure that I would be able to crank the bike. Leah and I have been on vacation, which means that the motorcycle hasn't been started in a week. If the bike sits that long, it rarely will start. If it gets cool overnight, it almost never starts, as it seems the battery doesn't have enough cranking power to turn over the cold engine. When you add sitting for a week and multiple cool night temperatures together, it wasn't even a question. I knew the battery would be dead. I did turn the key on and hit the starter button to be sure, but all I heard was the expected buzz of the low battery. The engine didn't even attempt to turn over.

Because I was prepared, I won't be late. Because I can plug the battery into an outside power source and charge it, I know I can get the motorcycle started and won't have problems with a low battery for the rest of the day. If it gets cool tonight I may have to jump the bike off again tomorrow, but that's what happens when you buy a cheap battery that doesn't have much cranking power or hold a good charge in the cold.

I don't hold a good charge either. I haven't got enough power on my own to get started well in the mornings. Maybe you can relate. If you can, don't forget that while it may be all too easy to see the old nature reflecting back in the mirror at the start of the day, we can wake the new creation within us up with the help of a spiritual jump start. We plug ourselves into the ultimate power source, the Holy Spirit, first thing, knowing that we don't have the power within ourselves. Once we have enough juice to get started the alternator the new spirit within us keeps us charged and in tune with the spirit for the rest of the day. Start off right today and plug into Him.

Unshackled Moments ~ October 7 ~ Feelings, Nothing More Than Feelings

You don't go by feelings, but it's good to feel what you're going on.

Don Hurley

That feeling you get when you know God is near is nice, wonderful evening. Sometimes it is so clear that you're in the presence of the Creator it's almost electric. It's nice to feel what you're going on, but as nice as those feelings are, they are not an indicator to be trusted. God allows those feelings, those sensations, those responses to the Holy Spirit as He wills, but their presence does not always prove we are in His flow, and their absence does not prove the negative. The key, and what we go on is faith, not feeling. "Trust and obey, for there's no other way..." regardless of what we feel. Today let us remember that the warm fuzzies may be nice but they are not necessary. Let us simply determine to believe and act on that belief, knowing He is near because He promised to be there, no matter what we feel.

Unshackled Moments ~ October 6 ~ Man's Best Friend

My wife has a little female Cavalier named Izzy that I don't like. I think she's cute but brainless. One of the things that annoys me about her is that she gets tangled up worse than a Brittany Spaniel. She jumps up on a wood pile near her dog house and gets her lead tangled up to the point where she can't get down. Then she stands there and yelps until I untangle her. I tell her that if she'd quit being stupid and jumping up there she'd quit getting tangled up, but of course she can't understand me. It's frustrating.

I wonder if that's how God sometimes feels about me. Sometimes it feels like I keep making the same mistakes over and over. That I just can't get it through my thick skull that the easiest thing would be to quit jumping on the wood pile, but I seem to only remember about the time I notice I'm tangled up again.  Then I yelp for help, and He comes to my aid. If I were God I would tell myself the next time I get hung up I'm on my own so stop being stupid. But God doesn't do that.

God's grace says keep coming back. Keep asking for help. His grace is sufficient to help me stop jumping on the wood pile, but when I do, h\He is faithful to help and forgive. I still get the consequences of being tangled up. My life is not as good or comfortable. But I don't have to be afraid that acting like a stupid dog that can't learn not to make the same mistakes is going to make Him wish He could trade me in for another model. And neither do you.

Unshackled Moments ~ October 5 ~ Let Freedom Ring

Those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, bound in affliction and irons— Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distresses. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and broke their chains in pieces. Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! For He has broken the gates of bronze, and cut the bars of iron in two.

Psalm 107:10 & 13-16

Living outside of God's will can feel like a prison,especially when it leads to addictions and patterns of behavior that we can't seem to shake. On our own strength we, like Paul, may find ourselves repeatedly doing the things we swore we wouldn't do anymore, the things we hate, the things we know are wrong, while failing to do what we know is right.

But we have something more than our own strength. We have God's assurance that He is able to break down the gates of our prison, to cut the bars that keep us in two and to unshackle our chains. We can call out to Him when we need to escape our bondage. We don't have to get cleaned up before we turn to God. We don't have to start doing what is right before we get His help in doing what is right. We don't have to free ourselves. No matter how many times we have tried and failed to stop our addictions, bad habits and poor decisions, no matter how many times we have quit even trying to stop and just went with the flow of old behavior that we were just too tired to fight and even somewhat enjoyed, He can turn and will set us free when we turn to Him in surrender.

Today let us remember that our freedom is in Christ and not our will, determination or strength.

Unshackled Moments ~ October 4 ~ Missing The Kick

Last Sunday Randy Bullock was a professional football player. He kicked extra points for the Houston Texans. This week he lost his job. The past two seasons he made 66 extra points out of 66 attempts, a perfect record. This year he missed two. The second miss came Sunday, and even though the Texans won the game, Bullock lost his job.

Sometimes life feels this way. We're cruising along with a perfect record, then something changes (like distance being added to the extra point kick). Then we make a mistake or two, maybe a mistake that doesn't even cost the game, and suddenly it seems like everyone is against us and we're losing everything we've worked for. Praise God that it doesn't work that way with Him, regardless of how it may feel. God is the original make things right King. He's all about second and hundredth chances and restoration. Grace says where we're weak He will be the strength we need rather than firing us for not being perfect. So, when it feels like no matter how hard we try we can't be perfect, don't be afraid of being cut from the team. Just ask the coach for help. His grace is sufficient when the kick is too much for us to make on our own.

Unshackled Moments ~ October 3 ~ Deeper Than Desperation

Desperate people pray. When people become desperate and or afraid they pray. They cry out to God for help, even when they are not sure if there is a God. A significant percentage of professed atheists admit to praying on a regular basis. The prayers of the desperate are sometimes referred to as 911 calls. They are the most simple prayers. God help.

People are not fond of being called on in this way. We quickly become tired of annoyed with people who only seem to try to contact us when they are in need. But God's ways are not our ways, and  He hears us when we call. He never looks at the caller Id thinking "I wonder what they need now?" before letting that call go to voice mail. He is generous with His attention and  quick to respond when we reach out to Him, even in doubt and desperation.

Many a spiritual journey has begun from such a place of desperation. God doesn't hold it against us that we may have only sought Him, relationship with Him and His aid when all else failed and we reached the end of our rope. So we need not fear His rejection if we continue to come to Him with our needs and fears. But if we want to be fully satisfied and content in our lives, we need to go beyond the prayers of desperation.

The truth is that life begins in the presence of the Creator. To have a life worth living we need to seek and stay in the place of relationship with our Heavenly Daddy. It may seem like a restriction or a burden at first, but true freedom comes from joining our spirit with His and tethering ourselves to Him. Today let us spend time in the awareness of who He is and our relationship with Him that goes deeper than the difficulties of the day.

Unshackled Moments ~ October 2 ~ Don't Race Solo

NASCAR racers may seem like they have a pretty easy task. All they have to do is drive around in an oval and  all their turns are in the same direction. I used to hate NASCAR for much this reason. It seemed boring and pointless to watch people driving in circles, and like  many, I only wanted to see the wrecks. But the reason that wrecks are common is that there are more dangers in the race than are obvious.  The truth is  that there is  a lot of strategy involved in a race to position the driver in a place where they can safely finish the race and  do so in such a way as to come to the end as close to being the winner as possible.

If a driver attempts to make those decisions on their own they can get into trouble fast. The driver simply can't see everything they need to know, and he can't make  the mechanical adjustment s that need to be made. But the driver is not alone. There is a pit crew that changes the tires, keeps the car fueled up, makes minor mechanical adjustments to keep the car running its best. And there are spotters seated high above the track. The spotters can see what is happening in front, behind and around the driver they are helping. The tell the driver when they need to slow or speed up, when to go high on the track or low. When something dangerous has occurred or is developing.  Without the spotter, the driver can only perceive a small portion of what is going on around them, and at close to 200 mph, that is a very dangerous situation indeed.

We are running a race, and life is going by fast. No matter how skilled we are, no matter how wise, we can't do it ourselves. We need our spotter, the Holy Spirit, to guide us safely through the dangers and obstacles of life. And we need a pit crew, others who can help keep us going. And though we are driving in our race, we can't just drive through life. We become pit crew for other drivers, helping with encouragement, support and prayer.  Running around our track, it's easy to get caught up in the race and what's going on around us and forget that we're not alone. After all, there's no one in the car with us. But today let us remember that as fast as life goes by, we were never meant to run our race ourselves and that we are called to help others run theirs.