Let Freedom be your new name....

If you've ever been victimized, in any way, you no doubt have carried the weight of that trauma for far too long and if you're like me you've branded yourself a "victim."  The problem with the label of victim is the mentality it breeds and the strongholds it forges in your soul.  Years after the trauma, the "victim" is still tethered to and identified by the very crimes and offenses they're trying to escape --you live each day of your present a slave to the past.  THIS is not freedom!

A victim mentality will contaminate everything it touches and every life it comes in contact with, eventually tainting and putrefying all that it encounters, leaving behind a stench of rotting flesh.
From one former "victim" to the many others who may relate, THIS is not freedom!

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free."-Galatians 5:1 Accepting anything less than freedom is accepting less than what Christ came to give you and me.  Accepting the title of victim-- allowing it to shape and define who you are, letting it influence how you act, and giving it a vote in the choices you make--is CHOOSING to live enslaved. Again I say, THIS is not freedom! Paul's declaration, "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am the chief."-(1 Timothy 1:15) resonates with me, with a slight variation...I often think of it this way-Christ Jesus came into the world to save VICTIMS, of whom I've been the chief. See, I don't type from a soap box of self-righteousness and finger-pointing, but from humble gratitude for my rescue from bondage.  I once was lost and now I am found.  I was once blinded by the cataracts that years of being wounded and mistreated, abused and violated left behind, and now I see.  I was once bitter and jaded BY CHOICE and I believed the lie that the world and everyone in it was out to get me and out to hurt me, and that they somehow owed me. Today I am healed, I am whole, I am restored- I am a brand new creation!!!  I was once a victim and now I'm a Daddy's girl, a beloved bride, and a treasured princess-- THIS is freedom!!! I urge you, if you are wearing the label of victim, letting it sabotage the life and liberty that God has for you and keep you from knowing TRUE peace and healing, lay it down and invite the Truth to set you free. Be free. Be completely free.  "It is for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore KEEP standing firm and do not be entangled with a yoke of bondage!" -Galatians 5:1 "For, whom the Lord sets free is free indeed!" (John 8:36)   Let yourself lay down the label, the title, the identity of victim--recognize, it only victimizes you more!  "Victims" can never be free.  Victims can never be more than slaves. Go ahead. Make the choice right now to be free. Say goodbye to Victim and let Freedom be your new name...

Guard the Drain!!!

Washing dishes today, my spirit was suddenly flooded with a picture I knew was for a beloved friend, but quickly realized what a great lesson for us all.

I saw an over-flowing  bathtub and a hand then reaching in to pull the plug and empty the water.  It was a slow but steady leaking out at first, but then soon, as quickly as the water was being poured in it was being sucked down and out the tiny drain.

God began to show me that we are those tubs, He is the Ever-Flowing Fountain pouring in His presence, His life, His provisions and blessings, His strength, His peace, His love...
This hand of the enemy came subtly and swiftly, often undetected at first, reaching in to drain us of all the goodness of God that surrounds us, leaving us sapped and drained of all that is meant to sustain us.

What God is constantly and lovingly pouring into us is ours to receive and soak in.   In his sneaky and intrusive schemes, satan comes to steal, kill, destroy.  Be alert!  Don't fall asleep in the tub!  The Lord has come to give us life and life abundantly, to saturate us in all His fullness, and then to let that life spill over and onto all those in our bone-weary and dehydrated worlds.

Soak the entirety of your being in the over-flowing goodness of God today--get good and wrinkly in it!!!  And then refuse to allow the enemy of your soul to pull the plug.  Don't let your peace go down the drain!  Don't watch your health, finances, hope, faith, strength, and life spiral down and out of your tub!  Immerse yourself in the cleansing, invigorating, and revitalizing waters and then whatever you do, guard the drain! 

(Psalm 36:9- "For You, Oh Lord, are The Fountain of Life!")

feast...

I read a devotion today that has me picturing the emotional state of far too many of us.  I began seeing humanity flooding the street corners of life, downtrodden and filthy, holding up tattered bits of cardboard that read, "will_________ for love."  The blanks are filled with verbs as diverse as the faces that hold them, expressing the desperate lengths that this love-starved population will go to for this precious and crucial commodity. 

I myself have panhandled for love.  I have crouched in gutters and approached perfect strangers hoping for crumbs of approval and acceptance, when just beyond my blurred sight, a banquet had been prepared for me. Perhaps you can relate. 

"Like beggars we go from person to person with our empty cup crying, 'can't you add anything to my life?' They might throw in a coin or two. But when we shake the cup, the tinny echo reminds us how empty we remain." (Beth Moore)
 
Today, we have this promise-- God is Love.  His love fills.  His love satisfies.  His love is freely given and ours for the taking- not as pathetic, scrounging paupers, but as His beloved sons and daughters who are invited to come boldly before Him and receive!

Hear His invitation, "Come to My banqueting table. My banner over you is love, see it waving wildly overhead?  It's there to cover you, to protect you, to provide and satisy you.  While here, get a good taste of who I am--have your fill!  See??? I AM GOOD.  My love never fails, never leaves, never disappoints, never ceases for you.  You are My Beloved.  That is your new name, your identity.  You are My Beloved, and I Am yours.  Nothing, and I mean nothing, can separate you from My love, so rest in that and allow Me to teach you to trust in that.  Turn from your former vagabond ways and let Me be your shelter."

Feast on Him today and find your fullness in Him. Raise your cup up to be filled with Living Water and thirst no more.  Raise your cup to be filled, and then turn to the needy and love-starved right next to you and invite them to do the same--rest assure there is plenty for everyone.  He is the Love that never runs dry!

"Until we allow Jesus to fill our cups daily, we simply subsist. Sooner or later, God will make sure we confront the poverty of living on the alms of others so that we may learn to feast on Him." (Beth Moore)

Let's toss the signs aside and feast friends...

^"He brought me to the banqueting house, and His banner over me was love for love waved as a protecting and comforting banner over my head when I was near Him." (Song of Solomon 2:4 AMP)

"What marvelous love the Father has extended to us! Just look at it—we're called children of God! That's who we really are." (1 John 3:1 MSG)

^" For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." ( Romans 8:38-39 NIV)