Fruitful Thought

This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Deuteronomy 30:19-20   As we conclude this month’s fruitful thought on “Freedom” I believe we can all agree that freedom begins with a choice. The choices we make comes from our thoughts; how we view things and our perspective. Although we are created in the likeness and image of God our minds reflect what we exposed it to. That is why the bible says in Romans 12:2 “ be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Although we all are called to be free some of us have yet to experience a life of freedom. I believe to experience true freedom living we must renew our mind so our choices...

  Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body? If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything? But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. 1 Corinthians 12:14-18 NLT A couple of weeks ago I wrote about being free in my identity. I shared my challenges from my childhood to my adult life not knowing my who I was, emulating others I want to be. Never being free of who God created me to be. I want to share how even as I started to discover my identity when I gave my life to Christ, I still struggled. I was saved, in church every Sunday, going to mid-week service, even active in ministry and still felt out of place. I did n...

  Trust in the  Lord  with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; Proverbs 3:5 This scripture is extremely popular and is quoted a lot. I wonder how many of us realize that we need to take heed to it. I believe God has given us keys throughout scripture to escape and break free from sin. This is one of those keys to breaking free of insecurity. To break free of something you must acknowledge it and its bondage. According to the dictionary “Insecurity” is defined as uncertainty or anxiety about oneself, lack of confidence. The bible defines “Insecurity” as lacking confidence or assurance, self-doubt. Insecurity is also a sin because it is rooted in fear. Fear of rejection, and fear of what others think of you. Fear is a spirit and a sin. It did not come from God, and it is against what he commanded us to obey. (2 Timothy 1:7 & Isaiah 35:4) I defined insecurity as listening or thinking you are not worthy, loved, or enough; questioning your value ...

  To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32 NIV When I read these verses of scripture, it made me think about the bondage I was in with my identity. From my childhood up into my adult life I looked for acceptance. In doing that, I lost my identity. The desire to fit in drove me to become a copy of someone that was popular, someone people drew to. I had created a self-impose prison of my identity. It was not until I gave my life to Christ that the prison walls started to come down and I could see the light of freedom. I started seeing the truth of who I was, the person my Heavenly Father created me to be. More importantly, who I was in Him , “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” Philippians 4:13 NKJV . It did not happen overnight; it was a process. I had to press through years of a mindset that said I had to fit in. But o...

You, my brothers, and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh [ a ] ; rather, serve one another humbly in love. – Galatians 5:13 NIV As we have just observed Juneteenth, approaching July 4 th , and surrounded with issues that has stirred up controversy, “Freedom” is the focal point of discussion in our society. Freedom is something we all yearn for at some point in our lives. Think about it, a child wants the freedom to do certain things on their own; teens want freedom from their parents; adults want freedom from their responsibilities, and we all want freedom of choice. The truth of the matter is that we are all called to be free. Like most things we get fixated on one aspect of something. Freedom is one of those things. If we are honest, we have hijacked freedom to mean that we are free to do what we please, when we please, and with whom we please. This mentality often leads to a life of sin in which we have been set fre...