Walking With Jesus

Another Look at Trials

“I have told you all this so that you may have peace in Me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33 NLT)

Satan’s goal is to tie us to this world, and he does that by feeding our love of sin. By keeping our attention on ourselves and what makes us feel good or brings us pleasure, Satan seeks to keep our eyes off Jesus and our focus on ourselves. Believing we’re a “good person” and “deserve” the best things, it’s a short step to shifting our focus to how to acquire those things without giving God’s will consideration.

Trials are not about you or me, as personal as they may feel, at their core, trials are about building faith and enabling us to see Jesus more clearly. Jesus’ plan is to give us peace, but Satan will work overtime to take it away, and among his most common tactics is a trial. A physical, emotional, mental, financial, or relational trial will rock us and seek to steal our peace, but when our faith is focused on the Lord and we realize it’s not about us, it’s much easier to navigate.

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And when we realize the Lord Jesus has overcome this world, that He’s given us healthy, godly choices to fulfillment apart from seeking sinful pleasures, then our mind and heart are opened to a whole new way of thinking and living. Rather than viewing difficulties and trials as bad, evil, and a result of something we’ve done or are doing wrong, we see they’re often Satan’s way of attacking us because we ARE doing something very right – we’re honoring and glorifying our Master and Lord.

I love what J.C. Ryle wrote: “Trials are intended to make us think; to wean us from the world; to send us to the Bible; to drive us to our knees.” Satan’s goal is to use trials to distract us from the Lord, but by faith in our risen Lord we can shift our focus directly to Him. We don’t dwell on the problem; we dwell on the solution the Lord will lead us into.

We can keep our thoughts on ourselves – “What did I do wrong?” “Why did this or these things happen to ME?” “When will I catch a break?” Or immediately go to the Father: “Father, I understand You’ve allowed this circumstance to help me see You more clearly, to wean me from this world, and to build my faith, but I’m struggling to understand what’s going on. Please help me maintain a good and positive attitude as I seek to become more like You through this difficult process.”

Trials aren’t fun and they’re not designed to be but think of them as spiritual “exercise.” In this season of my life the absolute last thing I want to think about is exercise. It’s all I can do to get out of bed, let alone take a “brisk walk for 30 minutes” in 95+ degree heat. Yes, intellectually I understand exercise is good and maybe if I did more, I could actually get out of bed easier, but that’s the point – complaining is much easier than doing something about the problem…or trial.

I’m learning the more intense the trial, the more I need time with the Lord and His Word. The more I need to focus on thinking His thoughts and seeing things from His perspective. Have you read the end of the Bible? We WIN! Jesus overcomes the world once and for all, but in the meantime our defeated foe is going to pull as many as he possibly can to hell. We must be about our Father’s business of rescuing as many as we can.

Trials can distract us or increase our focus on those in our spheres of influence who need Jesus in our family, workplace, school, in the gym or wherever we find ourselves from day to day. No one needs anything more than a love relationship with Jesus and if we have that, we must be compelled by God’s Spirit to share it with everyone we can, regardless of what kind of trial we’re facing.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Darwin’s Horrid Doubt

By: John Stonestreet and Dr. Thaddeus Williams

*This insightful article is a “must read” for any thinking person. You may need to read it more than once, as I did, but it’s well worth the time. Blessings, Ed 😊

Charles Darwin, the father of modern evolutionary theory, once wrote in a personal letter to a friend: “The horrid doubt always arises whether the convictions of man’s mind, which has been developed from the mind of the lower animals, are of any value or at all trustworthy.”

Today on Breakpoint, theologian and professor Thaddeus Williams, talks about Darwin’s Horrid Doubt and why it matters.

Do you understand Darwin’s “horrid doubt”? If our minds came from a capital “M” Mind—God—gifted to us as truth-knowing mechanisms, we have a reason to reason. But if our minds came from a non-mind, a literally dumb process of random mutations and natural selection, then our minds are not fundamentally truth-knowing mechanisms, but mere survival mechanisms. We cannot trust our minds on an atheist’s story of our origins any more than we can trust in Darwin’s words, “the convictions of a monkey’s mind.”

With progress in the field of philosophy of mind since Darwin’s day—especially over the last fifty years—we have found at least nine profound reasons that Darwin’s horrid doubt was justified. How could the impersonal and mindless “It,” that is the material world, possibly account for nonmaterial realities people experience ten thousand times a day?

There is the reality of I-ness, that is first-person consciousness, being more than an impersonal “It.” This reality is known by philosophers as indexicality. There is also about-ness, the ability to think abstractly: one can think about Mars without the splitting headache of the Red Planet materializing in your brain matter, because thoughts can be non-physical. Then there’s what-it’s-like-ness, the phenomenological texture of subjective experience or what philosophers call “qualia.”

There’s also for-ness, or one’s ability to think toward goals, known as “teleology,” and therefore-ness, which are the laws of logic that aren’t physical. There is this-or-that-ness, which is choice-making power that can’t be reduced to machine-like determinism or quantum indeterminism. We also experience, awe-ness, creativity and beauty that go beyond the physical. Every day we use what-ness, that is, the meaning in language that transcends its physical medium, known as “semantics.” And we all experience, ought-ness, the reality that moral values that can’t be reduced to chemicals clashing or neurons firing.

Do you see the big point? If we originate from mindless matter alone, then we—the hunks of sophisticated steak that we are—must make faith leap after faith leap to pretend we have a reason to trust reason and all that goes with it.

Thankfully because the capital “M” Mind, who is God, exists, our minds are at home in reality. In Him, we find a reason to reason. Our freedom, morality, logic, meaning, creativity, individuality, experience, and purpose are no longer explained out of existence but are nourished and expanded. Reason and imagination are not reduced to mere survival mechanisms. They are truth-knowing and beauty-making mechanisms gifted to us by a God of truth and beauty.

Human reasoning and creative powers are not the product of dumb forces. They come from God. So, let’s not waste them. Let’s obey Jesus’ greatest commandment to love God not only with our hearts, souls, and strength, but also our minds.

That was theologian and professor Thaddeus Williams, author of the book Revering God, and the soon to be released book Reflecting the Son. Learn more about his work by visiting the Shed & Beam YouTube channel.

Addition or Exchange?

“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT)

What changes when we become a new creation in Christ Jesus? EVERYTHING! The above verse in the Amplified Translation of the Bible says: “Therefore if anyone is in Christ [that is, grafted in, joined to Him by faith in Him as Savior], he is a new creature [reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit]; the old things [the previous moral and spiritual condition] have passed away. Behold, new things have come [because spiritual awakening brings a new life].

When we, by faith, invite the Lord of Creation to forgive us and give us new life in Him, we’re not adding anything to our old life, we’re exchanging our life for a brand-new life made possible by faith in Jesus. Too often we want to think of Jesus as a nice addition to our old life, as if He just wants to clean up our old life and make it better, but that’s not how it works. That’s why the Ordinance of water Baptism by full immersion is so powerful.

As Paul describes in Romans 6, we’re lowered into a watery grave, symbolizing our death to sin and our old life, then “raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.” That’s the same imagery Paul uses in 2 Corinthians 5 when he speaks of a “new creation”, his words literally mean “a brand-new species of being, one that has never existed before.”

Yes, of course, as long as we’re in these bodies of clay, we’ll do battle with our old, sinful nature, but that’s the beauty of our new life in Christ, He gives us power and authority to rule over that “old” person and in ever increasing ways find joy and deliverance in our victory in Jesus. Here’s the key difference in someone who is born again of the Spirit and someone who isn’t, the life-giving Spirit of God indwells and empowers us to live in ways that were impossible before the Spirit moved into our life. The newness is because of Him, not simply us trying harder to be good or to do better.

Do we always choose to walk in that power and authority? Unfortunately not, but to the extent we do, our lives will reflect the newness of life for which Christ alone can take credit. Paul Washer understood this when he wrote: “The true convert does not receive the gospel as an addition to his previous life, but in exchange for it.”

If we’d allow it, that simple truth would transform our lives in ways nothing else has or can. Yes, I understand it takes time to grasp the depths, heights, width, and breadth of our life in Jesus, but give me a break, it shouldn’t take a lifetime. To still be a “baby” believer after 5, 10, even 15 years and more is ludicrous. Even an elementary perusal of the New Testament should give us a sound basis for solid growth in our walk with the Lord.

That’s why it’s so critical that we get quickly aligned with a Spirit-filled, Bible-based Body of Christ where we not only learn right doctrines and beliefs, but where we can see it daily being lived out in the lives of our Pastors and leaders. And, yes, I understand that there are obvious differences in how people define that. But I know people from Non-Denominational, as well as Denominational groups, Calvinists, Wesleyan-Arminian, Reformed, Charismatic groups who all follow the Bible and are seeking to live Holy lives set apart to the glory of their heavenly Father. Where Jesus is exalted, people will learn to follow Him.

Have you traded your old life for the new life only Jesus offers, or are you still trying to “clean up” the old you? The only pathway to heaven is a transformed life by the renewing of you heart and mind in Jesus. If you haven’t done that, please tap on anewstory.com and allow Ron Hutchcraft to walk you through a helpful and meaningful way to allow that to happen. Trade your old life for a new one today!

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Profession of Faith

“But now God has shown us a way to be made right with Him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.” (Romans 3:21-22 NLT)

You’ve likely heard the expression: “The ground is level at the foot of the Cross!” What does that have to do with making a profession of faith? Everything! No profession of the Christian faith is made apart from a visit to the Cross of Christ, because no forgiveness can be had apart from the realization of what happened there. Our forgiveness was made possible by the sacrifice of the Lamb of God whose shed blood washes away our sin. No Jesus, no Cross! No Cross, no forgiveness! That’s why profession of Faith in the Jesus of the Bible is the only way to the heaven of the Bible. Christ alone by faith alone! It’s the clear teaching of Scripture.

“Yeh, but I just want to give my heart to Jesus.” That’s all well and good, but what does that mean? If it doesn’t mean total surrender and commitment to Him and His Kingdom, you may as well keep your heart, because He won’t be able to use it unless it includes your body, mind, and soul. He wants everything, not just part of you. A profession of faith that doesn’t include the surrender of our whole being is pointless and powerless, because it won’t make any difference for eternity.

If our faith doesn’t change us, it certainly won’t lead to anyone else’s positive change. A. W. Tozer made an interesting observation when he wrote: “A Profession of faith that doesn’t make a difference, doesn’t make a difference to God either.” But how do we know if our faith is making a difference? Look in the mirror! Is it making a difference in the way you live, act, think, work, love, drive, speak, spend time and money, raise your kids, treat your spouse, worship, serve, how you think about God?

If you can’t detect any real change in how you think, act, speak, or worship, you’ve probably wasted your breath professing faith in the risen Christ. If someone is holding a gun to your head threatening to kill you unless you renounce your faith in Jesus, does your ”profession” give you the courage to say, “Absolutely, Jesus is my Lord and I’d rather lose my life than deny Him.” Otherwise, what’s the point? Here’s the point, Satan is holding his fake gun to our head every day, trying to convince us our faith isn’t real.

We’re going to live for one of two people, ourselves or someone else, and unless that “someone else” is Jesus, our faith is pointless. We can cry and blubber on and on about how much we love Jesus, but if it doesn’t make any difference in how we order our lives, of what value is it? It takes no effort for me to say: “I’m a vegetarian,” but if I never eat vegetables, something’s wrong with that picture.

I can profess faith in Christ from morning to night, but if His life isn’t evidenced in the practical ways I live, work, and play, who am I trying to kid? The purpose of profession is living it out to the glory of God and for the furtherance of His eternal Kingdom. There is NO life without the Spirit and there’s no Spirit without true confession, repentance, and submission to the Lord’s authority in our lives.

Please, child of God, profession isn’t enough without the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit bearing witness of His presence as He lives His life out in and though us. The Spirit’s presence can’t be counterfeited or faked, so unless He’s living in and through us, we’re fakes and pretenders and there’s far too much of that in the Church today.

We must give credence to our profession of faith through a dedicated and determined life of faith squarely placed in and focused on the Lordship of Jesus. If that doesn’t describe you, please stop pretending and yield your life and allegiance to Jesus before it’s eternally too late.

Tap anewstory.com and let Ron Hutchcraft help you understand how to give your life to Jesus.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Dangerously Blind

By: Ron Hutchcraft

*Ron is hitting very close to home with this insightful and moving message. Please read slowly and carefully, as the Lord has more here than we’ll see if we rush through. Blessings, Ed 😊

New York City is a bit of a shock to any first-time visitor. It’s especially jarring for someone who has spent her whole life on an Indian Reservation. Now, Linda was from the Navajo Reservation in Arizona and she was part of our ministry’s Native American Youth Outreach Team that we call “On Eagles’ Wings.” She was able to see New York from a distance at first. There’s the Empire State Building, there’s the skyline, and she said she wanted to see it all up close. Ha! Well, that may have changed now that she has seen it up close. See, she went in with us when I spoke in the city one night and the traffic and the crowds; man, they were all over the place and they made her feel like maybe she was on a battlefield without a helmet. She also found certain aspects of the city exciting and she might go back. But as our team was driving along the Hudson River, we were headed for the George Washington Bridge and Linda must have been reflecting on her life on the reservation for a minute because she just looked up into the Big Apple sky and said two words, “No stars.”

I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “Dangerously Blind.”

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from 2 Corinthians 4:4. It’s a very revealing statement from God’s perspective. “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ who is the image of God.” Basically, what’s this saying? There is heavenly light that God wants you to see. It’s the Good News of the glory of His Son, Jesus Christ. And what’s the Good News? Jesus loves you very much. He proved it by paying the sin penalty that you deserved when He died on the cross. He demonstrated His unbeatable power when He blew the doors off His grave and rose from the dead, and so Jesus is all the love, and all the meaning, and all the peace you’ve been looking for all these years.

But there’s a problem with God’s light. It’s the same problem our Navajo friend had seeing those stars in New York City. The earth lights blinded her to the heavenly light. When that happens to people spiritually, they can literally miss Jesus and miss God’s love, and miss heaven forever.

This says that the god of this world, who is the devil, has blinded our minds. We’re surrounded by a lot of earth lights that blind us to the much brighter light of God. We’re blinded by the lights of making money, or having fun, or important relationships, or busy schedules, even our religion. And we just keep ignoring Jesus, or postponing Jesus, or forgetting Jesus. We’re blinded

The devil, whose goal it is to destroy you, will use anything or anyone he can to keep you from seeing and following Jesus. His intention is very simple – to block your view of the real light until you’ve passed the point of no return. But today, maybe right now, the light is breaking through.

This could be your God day. You could tell Him right where you are, “Lord, I have run my life long enough. You are supposed to run my life. You gave it to me, and I’m tired of this sin wall that’s been between us. I believe that your son, Jesus Christ, died to take that wall away to pay for my sin. And beginning this moment, Jesus, I’m Yours.” I hope you’ll take that step so you can be sure you belong to Him and secure your eternity once and for all.

That’s what our website’s there for. It’s ANewStory.com. And it would be a great place to anchor to as you cross over, as the Bible says, “from death to life” today. I hope you’ll go there.

For this moment, God has taken you away from the blinding light of all that earth stuff and all those earth people so you could get one clear look at the light of Jesus Christ. Now in the words of the Bible, “Seek the Lord while He may be found.”

Natural Disasters and the Will of God

“The Roman officer and the other soldiers at the crucifixion were terrified by the earthquake and all that had happened. They said, ‘This man truly was the Son of God!’” (Matthew 27:54 NLT)

In the last year alone there have been nearly 51,000 earthquakes worldwide. While there are positive effects brought about by the often-catastrophic damage of earthquakes, what catches our attention is what to us is the needless loss of life. In the last 30 days in Venezuela alone there have been at least 12 earthquakes leaving tens of thousands homeless and nearly 70,000 unaccounted for.

Where is God in this? Does He not care? Why does He allow such destruction of property and such, to us, needless loss of life? Is He to blame? Could He not stop or prevent such tragic loss? While I don’t know the specific author of what is to follow, I found it at gotquestions.org and believe it’s good to share with you. I also recommend their site for other Bible-related questions.

“Why does God allow earthquakes, tornados, hurricanes, tsunamis, typhoons, cyclones, mudslides, wildfires, and other natural disasters? Tragedies like the 2025 wildfires in California cause many people to question God’s goodness. It is distressing that natural disasters are often termed “acts of God” while no “credit” is given to God for years, decades, or even centuries of peaceful weather. God created the whole universe and the laws of nature (Genesis 1:1). Most natural disasters are a result of these laws at work. Hurricanes, typhoons, and tornados are the results of divergent weather patterns colliding. Earthquakes are the result of the earth’s plate structure shifting. A tsunami is caused by an underwater earthquake.

The Bible proclaims that Jesus Christ holds all of nature together (Colossians 1:16-17). Could God prevent natural disasters? Absolutely! Does God sometimes influence the weather? Yes, as we see in Deuteronomy 11:17 and James 5:17. Numbers 16:30-34 shows us that God sometimes causes natural disasters as a judgment against sin. The book of Revelation describes many events which could definitely be described as natural disasters (Revelation chapters 6, 8, and 16). Is every natural disaster a punishment from God? Absolutely not.

In much the same way that God allows evil people to commit evil acts, God allows the earth to reflect the consequences sin has had on creation. Romans 8:19-21 tells us, ‘The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.’ The fall of humanity into sin had effects on everything, including the world we inhabit. Everything in creation is subject to ‘frustration’ and ‘decay.’ Sin is the ultimate cause of natural disasters just as it is the cause of death, disease, and suffering.

We can understand why natural disasters occur. What we do not understand is why God allows them to occur. Why did God allow a tsunami to kill over 225,000 people in Asia? Why does God allow hurricanes to destroy the homes of thousands of people? For one thing, such events shake our confidence in this life and force us to think about eternity. Churches are usually filled after disasters as people realize how tenuous their lives really are and how life can be taken away in an instant. What we do know is this: God is good! Many amazing miracles occurred during the course of natural disasters that prevented even greater loss of life. Natural disasters cause millions of people to reevaluate their priorities in life. Hundreds of millions of dollars in aid is sent to help the people who are suffering. Christian ministries have the opportunity to help, minister, counsel, pray, and lead people to saving faith in Christ! God can, and does, bring great good out of terrible tragedies (Romans 8:28).”

For Further Study

An Act of God?: Answers to Tough Questions About God’s Role in Natural Disasters by Erwin Lutzer

The Quest Study Bible: Answers to Thousands of Your Questions About the Bible

Related Articles

Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people?

Does Satan have the power to control the weather?

Are there any volcanoes mentioned in the Bible?

Where is God now? Where is God when it hurts?

What does the Bible say about famine?

Is It Possible?

“Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, ‘How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God!’ This amazed them. But Jesus said again, ‘Dear children, it is very hard to enter the Kingdom of God. In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!’ The disciples were astounded. ‘Then who in the world can be saved’ they asked. Jesus looked at them intently and said, ‘Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.’” (Mark 10:23-27 NLT)

As you look at your life, the activities of your day, how much is impossible for you to do without the Lord? Don’t answer that too quickly because the reality is, you couldn’t lift your eyelids, you couldn’t even take a breath of air without the powerful presence of Almighty God. Some may muse: “Whoa! That can’t be true. I don’t believe that!” Suit yourself, but I tend to take what God’s Word says very literally unless the context dictates otherwise, and when Jesus said in John 15:5: “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in Me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from Me you can do NOTHING!” (emphasis mine)

Yes, I realize Jesus was speaking to those who have placed their faith and trust in Him, and so am I, but the reality is, as one day every knee will bow and every tongue confess, that every word that came from the mouth of the Savior was true, we will then understand that EVERY person, believer or not, was and is subject to the authority of the Savior.

The air He allows us to breathe, the energy and intelligence to work, to do the things we do from day to day are a gift from Him, largely taken for granted and ignored. But for those of us who know Him, love Him and are seeking to serve Him, we view virtually every detail of our lives as miraculous. It’s in that context I invite you to view whatever the Lord has called you to do, be, say, or think as IMPOSSIBLE without His divine intervention, guidance, and grace.

Just as it’s impossible for someone to have a transformed life except through the power of God’s Spirit, it’s impossible for us as believers to live above sin, to have a holy life, to walk in obedience to the Spirit’s leading, to live, to move, and to even exist without Him. Every detail of our being is impossible for a child of God. That’s why the faithful man of God, George Müller wrote: “Faith does not operate in the realm of the possible. There is no glory for God in that which is humanly possible. Faith begins where man’s power ends.”

Think of the implications! Listen to what we say: “I’m going to: lead this class! Preach this sermon! Talk to this person about Jesus! Lead this person to Jesus! Go to the store! Eat this meal!” and on and on it goes day after day operating in the energy of the flesh. Yes, of course, when we think about it we realize we can do nothing without the Lord but isn’t that the point! We shouldn’t have to think about it!

Our second nature should be to realize before any activity of any kind whether “spiritual” in nature or not: “Lord, enable me by Your grace to fulfill this responsibility/activity/whatever it is, in your strength and in a manner that renders You glory, honor, and praise.” The Lord Jesus should constantly be in our thoughts and on our mind, leading, guiding, equipping, instructing, empowering, us to be wise in whatever He is leading us to do.

Our most important mission is to help others see Him more clearly, leading them to a saving knowledge of Him in their own lives. And do you know when they’re watching our lives most closely? Not when we’re “presenting the Gospel,” but when the Gospel is presenting itself in and through the way we conduct ourselves in the normal course of our day.

Are we living in utter dependence upon the Lord, realizing nothing is possible for us without Him, or are we still trying to accomplish everything we do in the energy of the flesh?

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Parents Afraid

By: Ron Hutchcraft

“This helpful article by Ron Hutchcraft was just too good not to share. Blessings, Ed 😊

My wife and I were staying in this apartment at the Jersey shore for a weekend. We were going to save some money by cooking for ourselves. But, there was one small problem with the kitchen. We discovered it the first morning. We had this English muffin in the toaster. Suddenly I hear this high-pitched alarm in the kitchen. I went running out there. The smoke detector had gone off. Problem: There was no smoke, just a little English muffin cooking. It was just a little heat coming from across the room from the toaster. Oh, we got to hear that smoke alarm again several times while we were there. It was a very sensitive alarm. And the problem is because it would go off so often, guess what? Pretty soon you don’t take it seriously anymore.

I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “Parents Afraid.”

Our word for today from the Word of God is a great verse for anyone, but especially for parents in times like these. 2 Timothy 1:7 – “God did not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power and love and a sound mind.” You’re not supposed to have a spirit of fear. See, fear-based decisions usually don’t take us down the right road. Fear-based parenting usually backfires.

If you’re a parent today, there are a lot of things you could be afraid of for your children. They could be physically hurt, they could be spiritually hurt, or they can be infected by the moral pollution that’s everywhere. They could lose their faith, they could rebel, or they could mess up sexually. Our kids can choose the wrong friends; they can make a romantic mistake. They can believe a sophisticated lie.

Raising children in this kind of world, you could find yourself letting fear take over; especially if you see a warning sign in your son or daughter. But God hasn’t given us a spirit of fear. He wants you to parent with a spirit of power and love and a sound mind. He wants you to parent positively, not with criticism and nagging and worrying and put downs or being overly possessive or protective. Those approaches usually help produce the very rebellion we were afraid of.

When we parent out of fear, our alarm keeps going off all the time. Every incident, every negative comment from our child becomes a battleground. Maybe you see signs that you’re becoming like that smoke detector; you’re going off on everything. If you do, eventually you won’t be taken seriously anymore, probably at just the point in your child’s life when you really need to be taken seriously. You just can’t afford to have your son or daughter saying, “The alarm, again?”

Parents whose fear or negativism or perfectionism makes them sound off all the time tend to create rebels, because we create an immunity to a parental voice. And a child who is immune to mom or dad’s voice is like an unguided missile. If you sense that your alarm’s been going off too often, it’s time to turn that around.

It begins with an apology – asking your child to forgive you because of the nagging and the negative. Be honest with them about some of your fears for them. Tell them how much you believe in their potential and in their gifts and that you hate anything that might keep them from becoming all they were created to be. Be willing to be vulnerable with them. Be willing to need forgiving. You might be amazed how many walls that can bring down.

Then choose your battlegrounds. Learn to analyze a conflict or a concern, and put them in one of two categories: major battle or minor battle. And then save your ammunition for the battles that really matter. Bite your tongue on the others. Before you talk to your child, talk to God about your child. Bring your fear and your anger and your frustration to God so you don’t always have to dump it on your son or daughter. Give God time to work it out, and then jump in only as He prompts you to.

Because of Christ in your life, you can parent with confidence, with authority and restraint. And then when your parent alarm goes off, your kids will respond. Just wait until there’s real smoke from a real fire.

How Free Is “Free” Will?

“The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it. But the Lord God warned him, ‘You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden- except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.’” (Genesis 2:15-17 NLT)

It’s interesting to me that the expression “free will” isn’t found in the Hebrew or Greek manuscripts of the Bible, yet the Bible is filled with examples of the need to take responsibility for our actions. From the very beginning, as revealed in the verses above, the Lord called Adam to accountability in regard to the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Having now had access to the carnage of man’s decision to break that commandment, is it any wonder we still wrestle so violently with our will? Can anyone legitimately question whether we are, in many unmistakable ways, the master of our own destiny? Yet, how many times do we hear and likely have said, “Things just didn’t work out like I expected.”

We want things to go well, but “things” are too often governed by the desires of our heart that long for personal fulfillment. We want things done our way in our time with results in our favor. When the center of our universe is ourselves, it’s hard to reckon with the commands of someone who desires to rule our life. But here’s the critical issue with which we must come to terms: This Person isn’t a dictator; He’s a loving Father who only has our best interests at heart.

On many levels our relationship with God is like a child to their father. As a rule, young children want to obey their parents; they want to be loved, cherished, treasured as important, not treated like a thing, a possession, a piece of furniture. They believe their obedience should and will be rewarded with love, and that’s exactly as it should be. But in the world in which we now live, because too many parents aren’t emotionally equipped to deal with children, they seek to rule them in unhealthy ways, resulting in adults who have distorted and very unhealthy attitudes and impressions of what a father should be.

The development of our will begins in our formative years and is largely shaped by the environment in which we grow up. If our mother and father were loving, kind, generous, provided well for our needs and seemed genuinely interested in our wellbeing, it’s easy for us to trust, to see good in people and to open our heart to a loving God. But if, on the other hand, they were angry, unpredictable, violent, uncaring, didn’t provide well and generally made us feel we were never wanted, were in the way, didn’t belong, our will is driven inward and it becomes very difficult to trust anyone, even a loving God.

So, what’s my point? Choosing to love and serve God is a step of faith that is rewarded with an eternal security, such that we never have to doubt that the God who made a promise to “never leave or forsake us” is a God of His Word. We can know with certainty that what Jesus said is true because His life verifies that everything about Him is genuine, pure, holy, and 100% believable.

That’s why when I put my “yes” on the proverbial table, I laid my “free” will right beside it. When I opened my heart to Jesus and received His forgiveness and eternal life as a gift of grace, I traded my will for His, my heart for His, my desires for His, my hopes, dreams aspirations for His. Whatever He wants is what I want because He knows me best and loves me most – even more than I love myself.

I can’t and won’t lose my salvation because I’ve entrusted it’s safe keeping to the only One who ever loved me enough to die in my place, pouring out His life’s blood on my behalf. And here’s the really great news! He did that for you also. Here’s the truth – If you’d been the only person on earth who needed a Savior, He would have still died, just for you. You can trust that Person to rule your life. I have for more than 60 years, and He’s never lied, hurt me, or done anything that hasn’t been in my best interests.

Please stop running from Him, trying to rule your own life. It’s hopeless. Please tap anewstory.com and let Him know you’re ready to give Him your will and submit to Him your life and allegiance for all eternity. You will literally NEVER regret it! The Lord Jesus paid a dear price to purchase your freedom; you can trust Him to guard it with His life. Let Him break the shackles of selfishness that have imprisoned you and free you to finally be all He created you to become.

How free is “free” will? It’s free for you to give to whomever you choose. Please choose wisely!

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Destroying Our Love of Sin

“Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, ‘Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?’ ‘No, Lord,’ she said. And Jesus said, ‘Neither do I. Go and sin no more.’” John 8:10-11 NLT)

It’s interesting to me though the Lord didn’t say to the woman some version of: “Come, follow Me!” my sense is she never let Him far out of her sight. Her life was changed forever and she knew the source of that change.

Nothing had appeal to her like Jesus after that life-changing encounter with Him. All her longings were centered and focused on pleasing Him, following His instructions, learning what it meant to be a lover of Truth. John Newton grasped the reason for her response when he wrote: “Wonderful are the effects when a crucified, glorious Savior is presented to the eye of Faith. This sight destroys the love of sin.”

No, He hadn’t been crucified yet, but my sense is she was there when He was and she mourned likely more than the other disciples. Why? Because few had come from where she’d been, and few had come so far in their love and devotion to Him. This may well have been the woman who poured the expensive ointment over His head as recorded in Mark 14, but we won’t know for sure until we get to heaven.

The point is, when Jesus is our first love the things we value become gifts to give expression to our love for Him. He’s the focus of our desire, no longer the things that once brought us pleasure. We wrestle with sin because we haven’t yet come to terms with who we love the most – ourselves or Jesus? Our sin or our freedom to love and serve our Lord? When we love ourselves, we want to please ourselves and there’s really no limit to the ways or means by which we’ll seek to accomplish that.

Sex, drugs, lying, cheating, immorality on whatever level, even religiosity is no problem until we meet Jesus and we realize He doesn’t tolerate habitual sin in our lives. What does that mean? It means we do the same sin over and over and over and believe it won’t matter in our walk with the Lord. Sin is what separates us from the Lord, so, if our goal is to please and honor ourselves, it’s a pretty good indicator that we haven’t had a true encounter with the living God.

A religious experience can be very emotional and make us feel really good, but unless and until it causes our heart to break at the thought of what our sin cost our Savior, it’s just another religious hoop we jumped through to soothe our conscious or to check a religious box. If our behavior isn’t governed by our love for and devotion to our Savior, our sin won’t make us sick and cause us to rush to our Savior for forgiveness.

When we ignore sin or believe it isn’t a big deal, it’s simply evidence of who we’re trying to please and why. When our motivation is to make it to heaven or to miss hell and not to magnify, please, and honor our eternal Savior, we’re wearing a costume that may prevent others from seeing who we really are but can never fool the Lord. Not until we love the Lord more than we love our sin will we ever be free of sin’s shackles. The closer we get to the Lord the looser sin’s grip is on our lives.

Yes, of course, as long as we’re in these bodies of clay, we’ll always have the capacity to sin, but we’ll also, by the power of the Holy Spirit, have the ability to live without habitual sin in our life.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊