Liberating Beliefs

 “If you abide in My word … you will know the truth and the truth will make you free.” John 8:31-32

          For many weeks now, we have been studying what it means to live the abundant life that Jesus promises us in John 10:10. (To catch up on all the lessons, complete with Power Point notes, go to www.Christ-Redeemer.org and click on the weekly services section.) We are really learning a lot of eye-opening – maybe I should say mind-blowing – things.

          In Romans 12:2, Paul implores his readers to not let the world squeeze them into its mold, and instead become totally new creations by having their mind renewed. In an interesting way, this is very similar to what Jesus said in one of His very first recorded sermons – Mark 1:15: “the kingdom of heaven is at hand; repent (change your mind and quit believing what you used to believe) and believe the Gospel instead.”

          The challenge we face as humans is that we are programmed by the belief system of this world to be controlled by fear – the fear of not being enough or not being loved. The enemy works through this fear to poison our faith, steal our hope, heap shame on our heads, burden us with anxiety, and trap us into making the same poor decisions over and over again.

          This fear controls us through a set of limiting beliefs – “rules” that run in the back of our minds and dictate many of our emotions, attitudes and choices. Here is a typical rule that controls most of us: “People who make mistakes are failures and should expect to be punished in some way.” This limiting belief impacts the way we judge ourselves and those around us, stealing and killing and destroying our ability to experience the essence of who we are in Christ.

          In order to begin to recover what the enemy has stolen, we have to embrace the liberating beliefs that are true because Jesus us declares them to be true of us. John 8:31-32 provides the context for these truths, when Jesus declares that once we put down roots in and begin to trust his word, we will finally recognize the truth about who we are and what our destiny truly is in Him and embracing this truth will set us free to finally step into the abundant life.

          So, what is the most important liberating  belief? It is the simplest one upon which all the others are based: God loved you so much that he gave his only son to die, so that you wouldn’t be lost but instead receive eternal life. This means you are important to God; from the foundation of the world he saw your need and didn’t want to lose you, because you are precious to Him. Yes, I know you are bombarded all day long with thoughts of inadequacy, failure, shame, unworthiness, rejection, helplessness, etc. – messages designed to stimulate fear and keep you trapped in the world’s system. However, the message of the Cross declares powerfully and unequivocally that YOU are loved and God is on your side.

          Surrendering to His amazing love for you will set you free to take another liberating step. How many times have been told to, “Love your neighbor as you love yourself?” Okay, so how can you love your neighbor if you don’t love yourself? As a matter of fact, if you don’t love yourself, you usually spend most of your time trying to get love from other people, hoping that their love will make you feel better about yourself. But if they can give you love, they can take it away, so what does this lead to? That’s right … fear of not being enough or being rejected or abandoned, and soon you are right back where you started.

          Once you freely accept Jesus ad his perfect, permanent loved for you, then your relationships become redemptive instead of manipulative. By this I mean that you can quit using people to get love for yourself and start loving those people with the abundance of love that you now have flowing in your life because of His love for you. Now not only is your life better, but you are becoming a blessing to other people, too.

          God’s word is full of lots of other liberating beliefs that can set you free from fear and energize your faith to step confidently and obediently to fulfill the destiny God has for you.

How are you doing so far at accepting and living in the love God has for you? Answer the following questions: 

n    Are you glad to be you?

n    Are you proud of YOU?

n    Do you like hanging out with YOU?

n    Do you treat yourself with respect and kindness?

n    Do you have confidence in your abilities and your future?

n    If you weren’t you, would you pick you as a friend?

n    Are you willing to love you and help you to change and grow and experience the fullness of the abundant life Jesus came to secure for you? 

As you review your answers here, let me give you one more liberating promise to start believing:

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! – 1 John 3:1

Let this soak in for a minute. Now, go out and live like you believe it.

Blessings, Jackie 

IMPORTANT NOTICE

CHANGE OF MEETING PLACE THIS COMING SUNDAY, MAY 25.

THE COMMUNITY CENTER WAS RESERVED BY ANOTHER PARTY FOR THIS SUNDAY, SO WE WILL MEET UNDER THE PAVILION AT PARK 10.

Continue south on Phillips Ranch Road past the Community Center until you come to the water tower. Jog right and then left around the water tower, staying on Phillips Ranch Road for several more blocks. You will pass the Baptist Church on the left. In a few more blocks you will see Park 10 and the pavilion and picnic tables on your right. 

BRING LAWN CHAIRS, UNLESS YOU WANT TO SIT ON THE PICNIC TABLE BENCHES. THE SERVICE STARTS AT 10:45 AS USUAL. BRING A PICNIC LUNCH, INCLUDING YOUR OWN DRINKS. WE WILL HAVE LUNCH TOGETHER AFTER THE SERVICE. 

In case of rain, we will meet at the new American Legion Hall, located on Prairie Creek Road, just a couple of blocks off of 1431. It is a bright yellow house; you can’t miss it. 

Christmas Outreach Spaghetti Lunch May 31

You now have plans for lunch on Saturday, May 31. Granite Shoals Christmas Outreach is serving a luscious Spaghetti Lunch at Grace United Methodist Church. Spaghetti with meat sauce, salad, garlic bread, desert and tea or coffee is yours for only $7 ($3 for kids under 10). Tickets will be available Sunday at Church.

Jackie M. English

Pastor

Christ Redeemer Fellowship

830-598-2034

830-693-2620

jenglish@christ-redeemer.org