Unsatisfied By Average

The Musings of a Stubborn Believer

Category: liberty (page 2 of 2)

Why We Live

Identity determines purpose.

In other words, who you are determines what you will do.

*  *  *  *  *

I have a question for you. A question still ringing in my ears from a secret spot on a sunny hillside at Sweetwater…

Can you tell me, in 10 words or less, why you’re alive?
I mean, are you living today for a reason, or are you just breathing, working, studying…?

Let me tell you a little secret:
Identity determines purpose.
Satisfaction is the fulfillment of that purpose.

I’m blessed to be surrounded by some deep, beautiful people…
You know what we’ve been learning of late?

Just living isn’t enough.

Let me gently remind you who you are.

You’re the King’s son. The King’s daughter…
You’re the broken little lamb that the Shepherd keeps charging into the briers to rescue.
(That’s His blood on the thorns, not yours.)
You’re the pinnacle of God’s creativity.
Yes, you.

And you were created to identify with God. And for God to identify with.
And you’ve been broken, and bruised, and horribly disobedient.
But you’ve been redeemed.

That’s who you are.

So now: Your purpose… Your motto. 10 words or less?
Choose them carefully. Because in the end, they’ll be the reason why you breathe, work, studyLive.

Can I tell you why I live? Why I love, preach, blog, breathe?
Why I want to finish Nurse Practitioner and spend 6 months of 12 in a dark land?

“To Make Men Free.”

The Audacity!

There I am, backed into a corner.

By my weakness.
My track record.
My sin.

It’s not the first time, either.

My heart pounds.

What is going on?

But then through the darkness of another failure kept fresh by my enemy’s brazen taunts, I remember:
I do not for one second believe that the power of darkness is greater than the power of Grace.

Not for one second.

Greater than me, yes.

But Grace abounds…

The audacity!
Audacity of Grace…

The Kingdom belongs to those who believe in the power of God’s dreams.

And keep believing
Especially in dark corners.

Hallelujah!

“For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again…” Pro 24:16



Open Doors

Isaiah 22

No one knows the real power of an open door, until they’ve known the pain of captivity.
You and I have a great deal to be thankful for…

This morning as I ponder the power of the One with the key to David’s house, I can’t help but think about some of the greatest open doors in history–

Like the door to Peter’s prison, opened at midnight.
Or the doors an earthquake opened, the night a jailor’s family was saved in Philippi.
Or the door to Bedford Jail that opened only after the world had been given the gift of Pilgrims Progress.
Or the doors of Dachau, with its nearly 40,000 prisoners.
Or the famous gates of Auschwitz, opened 65 years and 5 months ago, this very day…

But as ignominious those prisons, as weighty those doors, and as laureled the liberators that finally moved them off into history, there remain strongholds yet greater…
Prison camps no less destructive, gates no less formidable.

They are otherwise known as selfish hearts…

But glory be to the Father… If we recognize our captivity, we can also know the power of the open door.

“So He shall open, and no one shall shut…” Isaiah 22:22

Sing!

Isaiah 12
Praise is peace, and joy, and freedom. And one of the ultimate defenses against temptation.
And it’s the least we can do…
Even if it is a “sacrifice of praise”… After all, His was the sacrifice of suffering.
I personally don’t think that a life of perpetual gratitude is too high a price to pay.
“Sing unto the Lord; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth.” Isaiah 12:5

Safe, and Free…

Isaiah 10
My God is a tender Father to the faithful…
But no less a Man of War. 
And what a beautiful combination! It means that while He loves me like a daddy loves his little boy, and while He deals with the utmost tenderness and compassion, that’s only half of the story…
Because my Father is also a fighter. 
And that means that even as He holds me tenderly, He fights my chains ferociously. He is all business when He deals with our Archenemy, and He’s the ultimate Winner… 
While I am in His hands, I’m safe, and free. 
Isaiah 10:33-34

The Shadow…

Just think:
It’s the most beautiful place in all the world…
A palace without boundaries, a treasury inexhaustible, a fortress impregnable… The place where the both the strongest and tenderest of God’s treasures are perfectly safe.
But this is not like the vaults or bunkers of the world. It is the place where ultimate freedom, and top security become one. Where the most profound protection expresses itself, not with bolts and locks, but with perfect liberty.
This is the sanctuary of the Most High. The shadow of His wings… His pavilion.
And the fear of the Lord is the key to the door.
“Sanctify the LORD of hosts Himself; and let Him be your fear… And He shall be for [you] a sanctuary…” Isaiah 8:13-14

Then, Lord Jesus, teach us to fear… That we might abide under the shadow of Your wings.

I am Persuaded!

I love this. You are free.



He said so.

Read it really slowly…


Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.
But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Ye shall know the Truth, and the Truth shall make you free.
If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.


AMEN, and AMEN


(Quoted: Romans 8:35, 37-39, I John 5:4, I Corinthians 15:57, John 8:36, John 8:32, II Timothy 1:7)

The Price of Liberty

Perhaps I shouldn’t wait to post until I feel like I’ll have time to write to my heart’s content… That wont happen any time soon.
So here’s a short thought from my morning…
______________________
Liberty is a costly commodity. If it’s free to anyone, it’s because someone else paid a high price.
Thanks be to God, Someone did…


1 Corinthians 15:57

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