Free Yourself!

April 8

Free yourself from the chains on your neck, O captive Daughter of

Zion.

Isaiah 52:2

Britton watched as the wild mustang walked right up to where the fence had

been, and stopped, refusing to take another step. This was the result of an

extended conditioning experiment to see if he could teach the horse to respect

imaginary boundaries.

First, Britton strung a heavy page fence around the small pasture; its

woven-wire a strong barrier against the mustang’s efforts to escape. Once

the mustang grew weary of straining against the fence, Britton strung dou-

ble strands of electric fence just inside the perimeter of the page fence, and

removed the higher, stronger fence.

The mustang, noticing the enclosure looked different, edged cautiously up

to the thin strands of wire. Seeing less of a barrier, he sniffed, and then placed

his nose against the top strand … wham! The charge of electricity hit his nose,

causing him to lunge away! He returned and tested it again receiving the same

unpleasant jolt of electricity. Twice more he tested the fence before keeping his

distance.

Britton then removed the top strand, and waited to see what the mustang

would do. Seeing the wild horse had no inclination to approach the final bar-

rier, he removed the fence altogether. For all intents and purposes the mustang

could run free if he so desired. But due to the fear of impending pain, he did

not move past the imaginary boundary.

h

Pain, regardless of its form, is a powerful deterrent. It can render the strong

powerless. Jolted by life’s pain-filled circumstances, some of us refuse to risk

freedom from captivity for fear of the pain.

God wants us to know He will remove each bar from the cage until there

are none left. Yet, even with all His help, at some point we must take a step

toward freedom. For even God cannot make us submit ourselves to our greatest

fears in order to trade imaginary pain for true freedom.

Jesus came to redeem us, to set us free from oppression, real or imagined.

But He will only come so far. We must decide to be free.

Prayer

“I come today, Lord Jesus, trusting that You will lead me

to safety. Set me free as I take this first step. Amen.”

 Extending Grace

April 7

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not

without effect.

1 Corinthians 15:10

As Jim looked across his desk at Levi, he silently asked God for the wisdom

to handle this situation. He’d received several calls from customers that recent

orders had been missing multiple items.

Myron from Harvest Equipment had called a few minutes earlier to let

Jim know that five different parts had been missing from his order. Jim humbly

responded, “I’m sorry for the inconvenience, Myron. Tell me what parts were

missing, and I’ll ship them to you overnight, no freight.”

Jim had discovered that Levi had been sent home two days ago, midshift,

for drinking on the job. Seventeen orders he had sent out had been shipped

incomplete. Jim was deciding what to do. He had every right to fire Levi on

the spot. But he’d been twenty-one once and remembered an opportunity he’d

been given to make good on a poor choice. He talked to Levi about good

character and how hard it is to restore once people witness one too many of

our poor choices. Jim decided to give Levi another chance and extended God’s

grace to someone in desperate need of it.

h

Jim was not hasty in dealing with Levi. He had never forgotten how God

had extended His precious grace at a crucial time of rebellion in his own life.

Without that grace, Jim might never have recognized how dangerous the road

was he had started down.

Paul never forgot God’s grace either. He spoke openly and often about his

past in a plea for people to stop judging harshly. His instruction to the church

at Corinth was to reveal to them how God’s grace not only saves, but also how

it can bring about tremendous change in a person’s heart. We have all been nec-

essary recipients of that grace. How can we, in light of that knowledge, refuse

to extend it to those who are perishing?

Prayer

“God of mercy, we ask Your forgiveness for the times we have

been stubborn and possessive with something so powerful

as Your grace. Teach us to be humble; show us how to walk

in grace so that we might extend it to others. Amen.”

 No Grading Curve

April 6

But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment.

When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we

will not be condemned with the world.

1 Corinthians 11:31, 32

She stared at the red ink at the top of the paper and silently began to formulate

an argument for her professor. She waited until the last student was gone and

then walked to Mr. Ambrose’s desk.

“Samantha?” he asked, seeing her agitation.

“How could you do this to me?” she all but screamed. “This paper deserved

a better grade!”

Calmly, and with appreciation for the moment, he responded, “In looking

at the basic thought behind your analysis, I found your work absent of genuine

depth. As I read, I felt you had no personal connection with the facts you pre-

sented. Your words were mechanical, devoid of emotion. I know you are capa-

ble of better work, Samantha. I do not grade on a curve, as I believe it sends

the wrong message. Students cannot be rightly motivated if they know they

can get by simply because of a curve that allows sub-par effort. You received a

grade commensurate to the level at which you performed, a level well below

what you are capable of.

Knowing the truth of his statement, she was convicted of the casual effort

she had dedicated to her work.

h

Being left to grade ourselves is a dangerous assignment. Most of us do not pos-

sess the ability to assess ourselves objectively; we tend to think highly of our

efforts and expect results accordingly.

As in the grading curve mentioned in today’s story, we can be deceived

into believing we can bypass Jesus’ sacrifice. Many are under the impression

that if they live a good life, they will somehow be deserving of heaven. That

just isn’t true. If it were so, Christ died for no good reason, and God is a liar. It

requires our receiving and acknowledging the blood sacrifice of Calvary. Only

by placing Jesus on the throne of our lives are we rightly motivated. We cannot

enter heaven by means of a grading curve.

Prayer

“Lord Jesus, reign in my life and lead me into all truth. I put

my trust in You, not in the world’s flexible gospel. Amen.”

 Yours Free—At a Price …

April 5

But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the

Christ … and that by believing you may have life in his name.

John 20:31

Art was skeptical. He’d seen mail order offers before: “This is your big chance,

Art Minot!” “You could win millions!” Then, in smaller print, “Or … ” and they

listed several “alternate” prizes ranging from plasma TVs to a keychain. He’d

always won the keychain.

But this offer was different. This was an offer for free dental care. The local

dentists were dedicating one day to give back to the community by providing

free dental work, regardless of economic standing. All you had to do was con-

tact the offices between 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on the prearranged date and

schedule an appointment.

So on that day, Art began calling at 10:00 a.m. promptly, finally getting

through around 10:40 a.m. Two weeks later, Art underwent a double tooth

extraction he’d been in desperate need of.

He later learned that these two dentists had performed over ten thou-

sand dollars worth of free work for the community that day. The dental work

had been free. All Art had to do was hit re-dial until he got through to the

receptionist—a small price for such a large reward.

h

Not all offers or promises are genuine and valid. Nor is everything we read

in print true. Many times, unsuspecting participants lose their life savings in

elaborate schemes. People believe what they read simply because it was printed

on decorative paper.

Most fraudulent offers rely on a desperate desire to find relief from a dif-

ficult life. The sad truth is that they offer big promises with little or no reward.

There is, however, one promise we can count on no matter what it’s written on.

It is free to those who would receive it.

John was an eyewitness to the price that was paid to give us life in His

name. Our cost is faith, faith that what we read in Scripture is true. This is the

sweepstakes we were born to win. The price was great; our free reward is huge!

Will you believe, let Jesus pay the price, and enjoy the reward?

Prayer

“Thank you for Your written Word, Lord. Send Your Holy

Spirit to testify to the truth in Scripture. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”

 Made for Laughter

April 4

A cheerful heart is good medicine.

Proverbs 17:22

Nancy and Craig constantly looked for little ways to make each other laugh

and enrich their marriage. This particular morning found Nancy headed out

the door for the day as Craig was finishing breakfast. 

They never parted company without a what-if kiss: What if something terrible happens and we do not see each other again? So, getting up from the table, Craig joined his beloved at their favorite spot: the doorway between the dining room and kitchen. 

Nancy stood on the step above the threshold, Craig on the kitchen floor, several inches below her. This offset their height difference, making for the perfect fit.

As they embraced and kissed, a mischievous thought came unbidden to

Craig. 

Not given time to brush his teeth prior to Nancy’s heading out the door,

he realized, with increasing amusement, here was a moment given by God!

Leaning back while still holding her around the waist, he looked into Nancy’s

eyes and said, “I guess this makes me a cereal kisser!” Spontaneous laughter

with a twinkle in their eyes gave testimony to the love they shared. 

These precious moments given of God deepened their relationship with each other and God.

h

We were created with an expressive nature, and it testifies to what’s going on

in our heart.

Many of us suffer from heavily burdened hearts, rarely displaying any sign

of joy or happiness. God Himself desires to bring complete joy to our lives that

we might recognize His nature and learn to emulate it.

It is my belief that we bring a smile to our Creator’s face when we laugh

with abandon. One of my favorite paintings is of a head-thrown-back, all-

teeth-showing, belly-laughing Jesus.

We weren’t created to walk around with a downcast countenance, showing

everyone how miserable we are. We will find what we look for; joy is optional.

Yes, there will be sorrow, but if we look for a light heart, we just might find one

filled with laughter.

Prayer

“Help us look to create those seemingly insignificant moments in

life, Lord. Teach us to laugh as You intended, to love each other

passionately with fervor and great joy! In Jesus’ Name, amen.”