Chained or Unchained

In the Bible there is a scripture that talks about how it is for freedom that Christ set us free. Unfortunately people have taken that scripture and twisted it out of portion. They like the thought of being free because to them it’s a freedom to do whatever they want. They think being associated with Christ takes away their freedom instead of giving it to them. Having Christ in their lives means they can’t smoke, drink, cheat on their spouse, hate someone, lust after another, worship whatever god they want to, lie on their resumes, over eat, under achieve, cheat on final exams, speak what they want or say what they want and the list goes on.

 The problem is we think we understand captivity and we think we know what it’s like to be free. However, it's amazing what we allow to bind us up and hinder us from being truly free. We walk around demanding our right to be free yet our actions dictate otherwise. How we live our lives and the fact that we are held captive by so many influences paints a picture of being bound by self-installed chains. Our love of money, our addiction to drugs, alcohol, sex, and food all bind us in the chains of those afflictions replacing a freedom available to all. 

Think about it, being addicted to something whether it’s smoking, drinking, drugs, food, or gambling or whatever is anything but a freedom. Yes, we had the freedom to choose to do those things but after that what about them is free? Is getting lung cancer from smoking being free? Having a heart attack from being overweight is that being free? Having to steal and do all sorts of things to feed a drug habit is that being free? Being influenced by alcohol and wasting your body away one drink at a time is that being free? No, they are anything but true freedom they are a path to captivity. It’s bondage to a substance that has us under its control in spite of those who say, “Oh I can quit anytime.” Then do it!

 The freedom to choose to have Christ in our lives stays that way, a true freedom. It’s a freedom from bitterness, anger, selfishness, greed, hatred, inner turmoil, stress, and being under the control of other elements of life other than ourselves and Christ. Christ came to set us free yet we continue to live within the captivity of our actions and attitude. Why is that?  It doesn't have to be that way if we just would just turn our lives over to Christ. We don't need to be held hostage by alcohol, tobacco, food, or emotions if we don't want to be. I was told once by a friend that if I wanted to lose weight, truly loses weight I would do it. I was insulted. She was crazy I wanted to lose weight but I just couldn't do it. It took me awhile but I found out she was right. As much as I said I wanted to lose weight my addiction to food was stronger and greater. I wasn't willing to give up what I loved so much to do and that was eat.

Another problem we have is having the wrong idea of what freedom is. Too often people look at freedom as an excuse to run wild and do whatever they want at any cost. Little do they know that eventually what happens is they bind themselves up worse in the long run taking away what they thought they were fighting for, their freedom.

We need to appreciate the freedoms we have for what they are. In the United States we have enjoyed our freedom for over 200 years. Unfortunately people are beginning to forget what that freedom means to us and what it is exactly our founding fathers set up for us. Little by little we are beginning to bind ourselves up with our own chains.

It would do us well to get a taste of the freedom Christ supplies for us that takes us away from the captivity of sin and rewards us with eternal life and everlasting peace with Him. This kind of freedom is hard to find and shouldn't be taken lightly.

The choice becomes ours. God has given us that freedom to choose. We just need to remember for every choice we make there are consequences both good and bad. Think before you leap, consider what’s ahead and proceed with caution, faith, and trust in God our source of true freedom.

In other words, the chains we feel are not from God they are installed by our own choices. The sooner we own up to that fact that sooner we can get them removed thanks to God.

Chained or unchained, there is no choice that falls between the two. We are either free or bound, chained or unchained. When we fall alive into eternity it’s going to make a difference.

© 2012 Karen J. Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Publishing      Journey On Our Knees

***The picture I used today was painted by our youth minister at the church, Darin Hollingsworth. Thanks Darin! Job well done.

Bend in the Road

As I travel to town daily to go to work I go around a bend in the road that was nicknamed “Dead man’s corner” many years ago. Over a long period of time it earned that name because of the people who were killed there. This includes the drunk driver that hit my husband, brother, and their best friend. It was on this corner that as I came into it I found my adopted granddaughter and her mom sitting on the side of the hill waiting for a ride to rescue them from the car troubles they were having. I picked them up and took them home, the car was rescued later.

Life is full of bends in the roads. As much as we would like to travel from Point A to Point B with the straightest of all road it doesn’t work that way. Funny thing about a straight road, they can be boring which makes the journey appear to be longer than it really is.

The bends in the roads we encounter can come from situations such as being diagnosed with cancer, told your spouse wants a divorce, troubles with raising kids, problems at work, and so much more. These are all disruptive moments that come up in our lives that we need to be prepared to handle.

Unless you are familiar with the road you don’t know what is around the bend. We trust in the road department that they don’t have some surprise on the other side. We trust that the road is built well enough that we can get through to where we want to go.

With life’s situations that create bends in our roads we need to trust God as our road department that He knows what He’s doing. That the road we are traveling won’t end up in a surprise on the other side.

When traveling in a car we are taught to have some kind of provisions tucked away in case something happens. And trust me things can happen such as flat tires, dead batteries, trees blocking the roads, lost drivers and so much more. In our spiritual journey we need to be prepared to take with us the provisions God supplies through His grace, mercy, strength, and wisdom.

The bends in the roads we encounter don’t have to earn the nickname “dead man’s corner.” How we handle the situations we come up upon will determine whether we will live through them or allow our spirit to die there and go no further.

Years ago with my epilepsy I once had it created a very big bend in my road. I was declared disabled, lost my job, my driver’s license was taken away, I was told to never have kids all in the span of the first month or two of my new marriage. Many times thanks to pity parties and discouraging moments I stopped on the side of the road and wanted to quit. It was there that I wanted to die but God wouldn’t let me. Little did I know at the time he was traveling with me through these bends, he was the one that rounded the corner and found me sitting on the hillside as He asked me if I needed a ride.

Praise the Lord we have God with us during these moments. We should never doubt that. Just because He is there doesn’t guarantee us smooth sailing, what His promise is, is a safe landing on the other side.

As I travel into the next bend in my road with cancer I’m glad God is still with me. The hard times I face are not punishment for bad behavior from yesterday but for blessings in my future to learn what I need to learn in the classroom of hard knocks. My teacher travels with me, on my spiritual car I’m traveling in I hang up a sign on the trunk that says, “Student driver. How’s my driving? Call Jesus.”

Cutting your portions

As my lunch time approached at work I got to thinking about my eating habits. I know as well as anyone that the reason I am overweight is because of bad eating habits. Believe it or not the best way to lose weight is to cut back on your eating and exercise. It took me over 40 years to learn that but how could I portray that my grandkids so they don't have to wait that long to learn. As I stared at the office equipment in front of me the paper cutter caught my attention. Placing my salad on the cutter I took a picture to send to my granddaughters.

"Are you remembering to cut your portions?" I asked. As I thought about it myself I had to first answer that question myself. "Am I cutting my portions?" Honestly and truly I haven't been cutting my portions like I should. I've been able to cut out sugar but those extra portions are still a treasurer I just don't seem to want to give up.

We live our Christian lives that very same way. We gladly give up the things that aren't that precious to us. Its easy to hand over the parts of our lives we really don't care about. Its the things we want to keep that are hard to give up. In order to teach my grandkids the things they need to benefit their lives I need to demonstrate it myself in my own life. The letting go of the things that need to go and keeping only that which truly is needed to survive.

Karen

Prayer

Today is the National day of prayer. If there is one thing our nation and world needs and that is our prayers. Our sincere and honest prayers as we lift before God our nation and the world as a whole. It is said, "the one who advances on their knees in prayer never retrieves". Praise the Lord when we keep in touch with God we have no need to retrieve over anything except from sin itself.

Keeping in touch with God on a daily if not a moment by moment basis is the anchor needed to stay strong. It was a door that was opened for us through the shed blood of Jesus Christ when he died for us on the cross. Prayer will advance us in our lives and develope in us the ability to stand strong. Our focus as a nation and as a worldwide body needs to be on God, our dependence on Him needs to be voiced. Too often we have tried to go out on our own and it only gets us further lost in the wilderness of the world.

Prayer is the beginning of every jouney and the fuel that keeps us going down every path. There is never a moment in life that we don't need it, never a second that God grows tired of hearing from us. One day a year set aside to pray for our nation is far from enough but its a start to something that is as long lasting and precious as we make it.


Karen

**Our picture today features Tacey a little girl that is one year old, prayer knows no age or no limit. We can all do it and the sooner we start the better the journey.

Journey to be skinny AGAIN

As my granddaughter and I set out on our journey we stopped to collect pictures of ourselves to show we weren't always over weight. We were skinny once and we can be again is our motto.

This is what we found and we made a copy of it to carry with us. Shortly afterwards another granddaughter asked to join. Now we need to update out picture of encouragement.

It's amazing how we need to be reminded once in awhile that we weren't always flawed in some way or another. Even if it takes going back to our baby pictures we need to remind ourselves we were there once and can be again.

The only difference is the fact that the second time or third or fourth time will have to be done with greater effort. That's our problem these days we are not willing to put that effort into it. We've gotten lazy and callus in our desires to do what needs to be done. It's too easy to let things slide and accept what we have to avoid doing something about it.

Cry out to Jesus

One day as I prayed earnestly for my granddaughter I decided to take my picture. Deep into the words flooded with tears I snapped my camera phone. I wanted her to see what it's like sometimes when you cry out to the Lord. The reaction I got out of a couple of people when they went thru the pictures on my phone was, "Oh Karen, Oh Grandma you're so funny."

I wasn't trying to be funny, I was honestly and truly praying and crying out to Jesus on behalf of my granddaughter. Doing this is all a part of the journey on our knees, the turning to God in prayer to help us through life and to keep in communication with our Lord and Savior. There is nothing funny about it but pure joy and happiness knowing we have a Savior who listens and cares.

Too often because of the things that go on in life we might think, "God doesn't care about me. If He did care then why did grandma get cancer, why did grammy have a stroke, why did......and the list goes on." When we call on the name of the Lord its not a safety plan that makes us go through life with no incidents to deal with. No, what it is, is our path through life's difficulties. Honestly I couldn't have found my way out of my 12 years of epileptic seizures if it wasn't for Jesus. I never would have survived the difficulties of dealing with alcohol in the family. My cancer would have taken me down both physically as well as spiritually if it wasn't for the fact that I have Jesus on my side. That's not a peaceful path of tranquility and no worries but a powerful guide and companion to walk me through life. The time of tranquility and peace comes when we reach Heaven, until then we have this life to journey thru. What's nice is the fact that this life is temporary, the life in Heaven is for all eternity. Amen! Cry out, talk out, speak softly it doesn't matter as long as you stay in communication with the Lord.

Saying no

Recently in our quest to lose weight and eat healthy my granddaughters and I have joined forces. One day as I said no to this lovely muffin I sent a picture of it to them and told them what I did. Or better yet what I didn't do. I didn't eat this. Some of life's journeys are hard and it helps to have the encouragement of others to get through them.

There are journey's that are not always fun but having a cheering section around you helps. Our plan is to go without sugar until July when we go on vacation. We may mess up once in awhile on our journey, so far so good, but that's okay as we learn to pick ourselves up and keep on going. Moving forward in life in spite of the obstacles that may come our way. The best thing our cheering section can do for us is to holler "jump" when those obstacles appear as an encouragement to keep on going and don't let life stop you.