Unshackled Life Ministries

Thursday, September 2, 2021

Beautiful Jars Of Clay

Sometimes we may feel to ordinary or even worthless to be loved by and used of God. Dalyn Woodard shares that there is a reason not to lose heart when we see we don't measure up. The message, "Beautiful Jars Of Clay" is about 40 minutes long and was recorded at Nacogdoches Christian Fellowship on September 1, 2021. It is our prayer that you are blessed and ministered to as you listen.

You can find links to the other messages in this series below the video.

You can hear the message in the series, "Foundation Of Love," here. The second message, "Much Ado About Saul/Paul," here. The third message, "Wrapping 2020 With Hope," here,. The fourth message, "God, Grace And Peace," here. The fifth message, "The Nature Of God," here. The sixth message, "Living A Comfortful Life," here. The seventh message, "Suffering Happens," here. The eighth message, "The Art Of Bragging Well," here. The ninth message, Earthly Wisdom Vs Grace," here,. The tenth message, "A Sure Thing," here. The eleventh message, "Signed Sealed Delivered," here. The twelfth message, "Love In Action," here. The thirteenth message, "Essential Forgiveness," here. The fourteenth message, "It's A Trap," here. The fifteenth message, "Smells Like Christ's Spirit," here. The sixteenth message, "We Are His Letters," here. The seventeenth message, "Gaining Greater Confidence," here. The eighteenth message, "Murderous Letter Or Life In The Spirit," here. The nineteenth message, "Living Boldly, Trusting Goodness," here. The twentieth message, "Don't Lose Heart," here. The twenty-first message, "God Is Sovereign Not Evil," here, and the twenty-second message, "So The Blind May See," here.

This site is free. If this blessed, helped and or informed you, the best thing you can do is pass it on via the social buttons below. And please subscribe or follow Unshackled Life Ministries on Facebook.

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.

If you would like to have notifications of new Unshackled Moments and messages sent to you via email, send an email to dalynwoodard@mail.com requesting to be added to the list. You can also follow Dalyn Woodard (@Dalynsmsings) on Twitter or Unshackled Life Ministries on Facebook.

Wednesday, September 1, 2021

Unshackled Moments ~ September 1, 2021 ~ Peace And Rest

A friend requested prayers for rest and peace, and the way the request was worded clearly revealed the desperate need and the truth of it. This was not a drama moment seeking to feed the jones of an attention junkie but a cry for help. Of course, I have been praying for him since, but I also began thinking that he is most certainly not unique or alone. The world is out of control, and in every direction there are messages of fear and responses of anger or panic, and if you only hear and see those who post most or yell the loudest, the divisions between us all seem to be getting worse rather than better. It feels like we are in the eve of destruction, and no one can figure out how to keep the guy next to him from opening the gift that sets it off. We of course, think we know the best path forward, but it looks to our neighbor like we’re the one with the dangerous gift on destruction’s eve.

So, the whole world reacts to the world reacting, which leads to more reaction at a greater intensity until all we hear is the feedback loop of fear and anger getting worse and worse. There is no peace, so how can we rest? Well, first, get quiet. Not don’t speak or cry out or ask for help, but rather don’t add more input into the cycle of anger and reasons we should all fear. Is that the solution? No, but you can’t apply any solution and simultaneously add to the problem. Stop feeding the beast.

Next, stop chasing peace and rest. It seems counter-intuitive, but when to chase these things, we are running after the results instead of seeking the source that provides the results. I know it’s like the hottest part of August right now but bear with me and imagine or remember if you will what it is like to be outside in the cold of winter. You’re freezing cold and desire little more than warmth. We can bundle up or move around, but the best way to truly warm up is to get close to a source of heat. Warming is not a result of finding warmth, but rather of finding a source of protection from the cold and of drawing near to something putting off heat.

When it comes to peace and rest, our instinct is control. If we control what it making us anxious, then it won’t make us anxious anymore, right? Wrong. Control is an illusion, and in our hearts we know this. The more we try to control what can’t be controlled, the more out of control everything feels, the more we twist ourselves into knots and the less rest we find.

Jesus said, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30) The work that burdens us is the work of trying to control what we can’t control, ourselves and others. Basically, it boils down to the weight of trying to save ourselves. But when we step into the yoke of Christ, He does the work, and we are walking along with Him at rest because the weight of what needs to be done is no longer on us.

Hebrews tells us to strive to enter the rest o God, which tells us two things. First, there is a rest that we can enter. Second, we have a part, something to strive for. Our part is to stop our work to save ourselves and control everything. This passage, chapter 4 of Hebrews, is speaking of the Sabbath rest of God, where we stop our labor and rest in Him. We trust God. It sounds simple, but sometimes the simplest answers are the best. Rest and peace and joy and hope are all fruits of the Spirit. To truly have them, we must draw near to and allow the Spirit of God to work in us. Peace comes through surrender and rest comes to those who no longer fight for control we don’t really have in the first place.

This has gotten long, so to sum up, if you are desperate for peace and need rest, the answer is Jesus. Draw near to Him. The peace in the midst of the storm, the peace that is true though makes little sense according to the situation (that passes understanding), is found in relationship with Christ and in seeking our refuge and safety and hope in Him. He came to set the captives free, and that includes freedom from worry and fear and hopelessness.

Unshackled Life Ministries is grateful for every person that reads the daily Unshackled Moments, the weekly Unshackled Echo and or listens to the Audio Messages. I want to thank those who have clicked "like" on something that blessed or ministered to them on social media, commented on the blog or replied to an email subscription. 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 and sermons to more people by sharing this? Hitting the share button or forwarding this to a friend 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.

Sunday, August 29, 2021

More Than Enough

Dalyn Woodard shares on the freedom to no longer live trying to balance the scales of good and evil because of what Jesus has done. The message, "More Than Enough," is about 6 minutes long and was recorded at Nacogdoches Christian Fellowship on Sunday, August 29, 2021. It's our prayer that you are blessed and ministered to as you listen.

Saturday, August 28, 2021

Unshackled Moments ~ August 28, 2021

2 Timothy 3: 16-17 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God[b] may be complete, equipped for every good work.

If this is true, and I definitely believe it is, what can we do with passages that just don’t seem to apply to us in any way, shape or form, such as the last 5 chapters of Exodus? Ex 36 begins with skilled artisans being called and gathered and the people of Israel bringing a free will offering of supplies until there was more than enough to build the Tabernacle Tent of Meeting. The rest of the book, through chapter 40 describes the making of the tent, everything that went in it, and setting it up. So what? Sure, it shows the history, and it is interesting from that stand point, but how can it be used for teaching and training and equipping?

Because of all the detail, smarter folks than I have been able to show designs of what the tent looked like. But even without those pictures, you can read these chapters and imagine how beautiful and costly and how perfectly according to God’s design the tent and everything in it were. Remember what I said about the beginning of chapter 36? All the supplies to do this were brought by the people as a free will offering. If God did so much with what the Israelites gave, keeping in mind that He gave them all of that when He caused them to plunder Egypt, to make His occasional dwelling wonderful and lovely, how much more will He take what He gave us, our lives, when we freely offer them back to Him, and make them specifically according to His best design, lovely, beautiful, and a wonder, since He has made His very home, His abode, within us? And let us not forget the costly aspect of the Tabernacle. The precious metals, precious stones and fine linen may have been costly enough to support you and your family for several lifetimes, but it was nothing compered to the cost of the new temple of the Holy Spirit, the broken body of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.

We can see the cost and care that went into the Tabernacle and know that God is doing more for and in us to make His home in us and have relationship with us. So even in these descriptions and histories that seem to have little to nothing to do with us we can see God’s great love for us and be encouraged to continue to draw near to Him and live for Him.

Thursday, August 26, 2021

So The Blind May See

Why is it that some people just can't seem to grasp the good news of Christ? Dalyn Woodard shares that there is a reason some don't understand, but there is also hope, so don't lose heart. The message, "So The Blind May See" is about 28 minutes long and was recorded at Nacogdoches Christian Fellowship on August 25, 2021. It is our prayer that you are blessed and ministered to as you listen.

You can find links to the other messages in this series below the video.

You can hear the message in the series, "Foundation Of Love," here. The second message, "Much Ado About Saul/Paul," here. The third message, "Wrapping 2020 With Hope," here,. The fourth message, "God, Grace And Peace," here. The fifth message, "The Nature Of God," here. The sixth message, "Living A Comfortful Life," here. The seventh message, "Suffering Happens," here. The eighth message, "The Art Of Bragging Well," here. The ninth message, Earthly Wisdom Vs Grace," here,. The tenth message, "A Sure Thing," here. The eleventh message, "Signed Sealed Delivered," here. The twelfth message, "Love In Action," here. The thirteenth message, "Essential Forgiveness," here. The fourteenth message, "It's A Trap," here. The fifteenth message, "Smells Like Christ's Spirit," here. The sixteenth message, "We Are His Letters," here. The seventeenth message, "Gaining Greater Confidence," here. The eighteenth message, "Murderous Letter Or Life In The Spirit," here. The nineteenth message, "Living Boldly, Trusting Goodness," here. The twentieth message, "Don't Lose Heart," here, and the twenty-first message, "God Is Sovereign Not Evil," here.

Wednesday, August 25, 2021

Unshackled Moments ~ August 25, 2021 ~ The Blessing Of Difficulty

Exodus 2329-30: I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the wild beasts multiply against you. 30 Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased and possess the land.

Sometimes we get impatient with God and start doubting His love and care for us when our difficulties and enemies are not removed quickly. But God knows that sometimes it’s better to struggle some than to have areas of our lives unoccupied. A difficulty that keeps us fighting for the goal is better than areas we can ignore and become complacent about. Don’t let the things that surround you cause you to forget that God is your refuge, your strength and He loves you.

Sunday, August 22, 2021

It's All About The Cross

Dalyn Woodard shares on the change to our lives that can happen when we understand the central theme of scripture. The message, "It's All About The Cross," is about 9 minutes long and was recorded at Nacogdoches Christian Fellowship on Sunday, August 22, 2021. It's our prayer that you are blessed and ministered to as you listen.

ULM