It's so easy to change the world

It's so easy to change the world

I grew up in a world where I never wondered where my next meal would come from, whether or not I would have clothes at the change of seasons, whether there would be toys under the tree at Christmas. I had everything I wanted and more. I was also raised to know Jesus and know the Word. I was raised to be proud to be an American, and also to know that there were people around the world not as fortunate as I am. Anytime I went to scrape food off of my plate and into the trashcan my parents or grandparents would say, "Don't you know there are children all over the world that don't eat that much in a week, and you are just going to waste it!" On some level, I knew that there were people suffering.

As I grew up in church, I had a heart to follow Jesus. I had a desire to study the Word at a young age. Missions-not my thing. I went to GAs, and we had a group that would go to Ecuador every couple years, but that was really the extent of our missions involvement. I went to World Changers when I was in high school, and I liked that, but I never really developed a heart for missions. I saw it as more of a program or accessory to church rather than the very mission of the church.

If you know me or have read my other blogs, you know God took me through a period where he leveled out all my human-based ideas about Him and His word. This is one of the areas he revolutionized. As He opened my eyes, I started seeing passages EVERYWHERE in Scripture about caring for the poor and the needy.

Like:
     Psalms 82:3 Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.4Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.

And:
    Isaiah 1:17 - Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.

And:
    James 1:27 - Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

I really could go on and on, but I will finish with this last passage. It pretty much speaks for itself. As you are reading it, notice the "then's." What is God saying will happen IF we do these things?

Isaiah 58:6 “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness[a] will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
9 Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
“If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness,and your night will become like the noonday.

Oh, we like all the things God says He will do for us, sandwiched in between the things we rarely do for others. Maybe you, like me, have heard the phrases "the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard," or "the Lord will answer; you will cry for help and he will say: Here I am," but rarely heard the part about sharing your food with the hungry or providing the wanderer with shelter or clothing the naked? Not part of our everyday vocabulary is it? Maybe a couple times a year-if that- when we are giving to missions? I believe very strongly that the reason the light of the church in America has begun to fade is because we have abandoned this principle. We are COMMANDED to care for the poor and the needy. It is not a suggestion. It is the very heartbeat of God. We see this in Christ. He was drawn to the poor, outcast, and forgotten of society. Are we?

When God began taking me on this journey, I had been married to a seminary student/church intern for about a year and a half, working as a teller at a bank, and had just recently had our first little bundle of joy that we weren't expecting for another 5 years or so. Every bone in my body wanted to up and move to Africa, but that wasn't what God had for us at the time. I was ready to give every penny that we didn't have to the poor. I would cry over Abigail in her crib because I knew there were so many babies out there with no one to love them, and my heart burned to adopt as many as I could. I became frustrated because I looked back and realized I had wasted all my years in high school and college that I could have been going overseas and working with the oppressed and it seemed like I was learning all this too little too late. Thankfully, God was working on my husband at the same time and lead him to start a homeless ministry with the college students at our church. That was my first opportunity, but my second has been something our family has cherished for years now. We encountered Compassion International. 

I had heard about Compassion, but never really gave it much thought. Austin and I were at a Student Life teen conference and heard testimonies of Compassion children that are grown up now and going to college and are passionate worshipers of Christ. We decided to adopt a child. Now, of course, we hardly had 2 pennies to rub together, but we knew this was something God had lead us to do. We went to the Compassion booth and found Sheena Marie Pioquid. 

 

She was not quite 4 years old when we adopted her, and she has been a part of our family ever since. 


$38 a month. That's it. That provides Sheena with:

Food and clean water

Medical care

Educational opportunities

Important life-skills training

Most important of all, she hears about Jesus Christ and is encouraged to develop a lifelong relationship with God.

It is that easy to change a child's world. At first it may sound like a lot of money, but I ask you. How much do you spend on cable? eating out? coffee? clothes you don't need? Is all that worth more than a child's life?


Could your family give up something to change a child's life forever? I am a huge believer in Compassion. They are a trusted organization and are committed to integrity and changing the lives of children all over the world. I know there may be skeptics who read this blog and want to start a debate on the authenticity of charities like this one. I cannot vouch for any others, but I trust Compassion wholeheartedly. Not only have I heard on multiple occasions from adults that were sponsored as children, but multiple accounts of people who had the privilege of meeting their sponsored children face to face.


Sheena is from the Philippines, and her family was directly affected when the terrible Typhoon devastated their land. We were contacted almost immediately by Compassion to tell us that they were searching for Sheena and her family to make sure she was ok. Our family was distraught, but we rejoiced and wept when we got a letter from Sheena letting us know that their house was damaged, but that she and her family were ok.


After a couple good years with Compassion and Sheena, Austin and I decided we should have a Compassion child for each of our children, so we adopted Daniel in Kenya.



Now, we have been through some really tough times financially in the last few years, but we sacrificed other things, and never considered cancelling our sponsorships. The funny thing is- we never missed the money. Never.

One of the things Austin and I settled before we got married was our giving to the Lord. We believe that a 10% tithe is not taught in the New Testament, but that it is the jumping off point. We believe that God will lead us in how much we give, but it will never be less than 10% of our gross income. Our Compassion donations are separate from the tithe we give our church. I am not suggesting that you take the money that you give your local church and give it to Compassion. I am asking you to pray about what in your life you can sacrifice to change a child's life. We in America have far too long given whatever dregs we have left over to the Lord and called it sacrifice. Sacrifice costs us something.

I am asking you to consider as a family adopting a child and changing their lives. Go to Compassion's website and look at some of the faces.

http://www.compassion.com/sponsor_a_child/default.htm


 Don't just take my word for it. Read some of the Compassion bloggers who are also sponsors and have just recently taken a trip to see the Compassion sites for themselves.

http://www.thenester.com/2014/01/dear-fellow-sponsors-all-over-the-world.html

http://www.chattingatthesky.com/2014/01/29/10-things-learned-january-uganda-edition/

http://goinswriter.com/mess/

http://joythebaker.com/2014/01/this-place-we-share/

http://blog.compassion.com/boys-will-be-boys/

You may not be able to change the world, but you can change the world for one.

How should Christians stand with Phil Robertson?

I would like to start off by saying I am probably one of the biggest Duck Dynasty fans you will ever meet. I counted down to the first episode like it was Christmas. Most of my friends laughed at me and called me a redneck. I didn't care. I loved the show and the entire family from the very beginning. 

I have walked a long road in the last seven years, and part of that journey has been God showing me how I am to love people even when I don't agree with them. One of the cancers in the American church today is division. Jesus prayed that all believers would be united because that it is how the world will know who Jesus is and that He loves (John 17:22-23). Our enemy knows that if he can cause division, then we become less effective in our mission of sharing Jesus with the world. I think he has hit that mark in America. We are probably more divided than any other group in the world. I am not saying that we will all agree all the time. Even the first believers didn't agree all the time, but we can and should be united in love. We differ on doctrine and practice, but we should at least agree to love the world as Christ did. What I have come to see over the last several years is, we do a lot of things in the name of Christ, but loving the world as he did is often last on the list if on the list at all. 

My journey started when I was reading through the Gospels in my daily devotions and started to be really bothered because the Jesus I was reading about made me very uncomfortable. He was homeless. He walked up to prostitutes and lepers and beggars and started talking to them. He befriended them. He touched them. He was moved with compassion by the lowliest of society: the ones no one else would get near. He didn't knock on doors in clean, rich neighborhoods and walk through the Romans road with them. He didn't drop evangelism material on tables and in drive thru windows. He didn't leave measly tips at restaurants and write "Smile, Jesus Loves You!" on the receipt and consider that sharing Jesus. This Jesus was nothing like the person I was learning I should be in church. This Jesus was much more like the missionaries I had met over the years that I steered clear of because "that wasn't my calling." I explained away the call to "go to all nations" because some were called as missionaries and others were called to be teachers. That was me... a teacher, called to serve the church. I began praying that God would shake the things that could be shaken, so that what cannot be shaken remains (Hebrews 12:27). I asked him to remove any parts of my theology and practices that were man made and not from Him. I will tell you, not much was left when He was done. That began a journey of virtually relearning everything I had learned since I was a child. I began trying to look at Scripture through God's eyes and not human eyes. What I began to see overwhelmed me. I believe I have only begun to truly understand God and his precious Son. I love Him more everyday. I love his children more everyday. All his children. Not just the saved ones. I am moved with compassion for the poor and the needy more everyday. 

I say all that to preface what I am about to say regarding the controversy over Phil Robertson. First of all, please, please, PLEASE be informed before you make any statements! Don't just blindly trust everything you see on Facebook. For example.

      

        “It seems like, to me, a vagina—as a man—would be more desirable than a man’s anus. That’s just me. I’m just thinking: There’s more there! She’s got more to offer. I mean, come on, dudes! You know what I’m saying? But hey, sin: It’s not logical, my man. It’s just not logical.”

Read More http://www.gq.com/entertainment/television/201401/duck-dynasty-phil-robertson#ixzz2nvmBCtw4

I agree that homosexuality is a sin. But I also believe that drunkenness is a sin. And lust. And gluttony. One sin we praise the day after Thanksgiving and laugh about. The other we treat as a contagious disease. I agree that the basic premise of what Phil is saying is biblical, but I don't know that the crude and crass way it was delivered was appropriate for a widely circulated magazine. I don't know that this makes Jesus famous? However, I also cringe at the thoughts of what might have made it into print had GQ interviewed my grandfather as he was 4-wheeling through the woods. GQ knew exactly what they were doing when they interviewed Phil. They knew what they would get if they asked him about his beliefs on homosexuality. Why else would they have asked? Why did they even go there? To get this response. From him and from us. GQ has probably had more people read that article than have read any article in the last several years. The enemy is tempting us to act like lunatics and further maim the name of Christ. We are giving him what he wants. Again. 

This, however:

       As far as Phil is concerned, he was literally born again. Old Phil—the guy with the booze and the pills—died a long time ago, and New Phil sees no need to apologize for him: “We never, ever judge someone on who’s going to heaven, hell. That’s the Almighty’s job. We just love ’em, give ’em the good news about Jesus—whether they’re homosexuals, drunks, terrorists. We let God sort ’em out later, you see what I’m saying?”

Read More http://www.gq.com/entertainment/television/201401/duck-dynasty-phil-robertson#ixzz2nvsOFoHJ

And this...

         “If you simply put your faith in Jesus coming down in flesh, through a human being, God becoming flesh living on the earth, dying on the cross for the sins of the world, being buried, and being raised from the dead—yours and mine and everybody else’s problems will be solved. And the next time we see you, we will say: ‘You are now a brother. Our brother.’ So then we look at you totally different then. See what I’m saying?”
I think so?
We hop back in the ATV and plow toward the sunset, back to the Robertson home. There will be no family dinner tonight. No cameras in the house. No rowdy squirrel-hunting stories from back in the day. There will be only the realest version of Phil Robertson, hosting a private Bible study with a woman who, according to him, “has been on cocaine for years and is making her decision to repent. I’m going to point her in the right direction.”


Read More http://www.gq.com/entertainment/television/201401/duck-dynasty-phil-robertson#ixzz2nvtuTB8Y

Now that, I can get on board with. I appreciate Phil for not being afraid to voice his beliefs. I appreciate that he made sure to say that although he disagrees with homosexuality, we are called to love people. No, I don't like the way he said it, but I do believe in his right to say it. What we have to remember as Christians is, we have tried to censor the other side for a long time. When they lose their rights, we lose ours. Yes, I agree that it has swung pretty far in the other direction. Televisions, magazines, and radios broadcast smut, but the minute anyone says that they believe homosexuality is wrong, there is an outcry of bigotry and hatred. The problem is, we have given the world centuries of proof of so-called Christian hatred, violence, and mistreatment. What we have to remember is, we all have the right to turn the channel, turn off the television, tell our children, "NO, you may not listen to or watch that." 

Am I upset about A&E suspending Phil? Absolutely! They knew what they were getting when they hired him, and they have made millions off of him. The issue is, most people in the LGBT community are pretty big supporters of our right to free speech as well. I believe their cause would have been much better supported by issuing a statement that they do not agree with or support Phil's beliefs. Anyone who did not think that was enough could simply not watch the show. However, by suspending Phil, they have whacked a hornet's nest that has people on both sides acting crazy! 

Here's the thing. The Robertsons were millionaires before A&E, and they will be just fine without them. If anything, Phil will probably be happy to see the cameras go. So, what can we do to support them? Well, I won't be watching the show without Phil. We have yet to see what the rest of the family will do. I hope they will all be able to quit and go on without the show, even though I will miss it dearly. I don't know much about contracts and all that, so I won't claim that if they don't quit they are liars and pagans. I believe they know my Jesus, and He will guide them on the right path. It is not my place to say whatever decision they make is right or wrong. I believe we can support the family without supporting A&E, but I don't know if storming the offices is the way to do it. I don't really see Jesus attempting to overthrow the government? And  I am trying to see through His eyes, not human eyes. 

I would love to see the Christian community stop protesting and boycotting and start loving people again. There are times that we need to be strong and fight. We need to fight against human trafficking and racism. There are causes worth dying for. TV is not one of them. Let's stop giving the world more reasons to claim that we are filled with hate. Let's stop treating sinners as the diseased and start loving them the way Jesus did. Let's let God worry about whether or not they are going to heaven or hell. Should it matter to us? Are we called to love only those we believe to be saved or are we called to love our neighbors as ourselves? None of the disciples knew that Judas was the traitor, because Jesus treated him exactly the same, knowing all along he was the one who would betray him. Why do we excuse some sins by claiming no one is perfect, but become outraged if someone else dare bring their sin into our churches? Let's treat EVERYONE the way we want to be treated. Let's turn the other cheek. Let's go the the extra mile. Let's honor God with our wealth. Maybe we will see God in a different way. Maybe the true church in America will be revived and be a haven for hurting people again, and not just a source of pain and bitterness for so many. 

Big Dinosaur

I decided to blow the dust off my old blog and try it out again. We have entered a new phase of life, and Austin has taken the job of Minister of Youth and Education at Immanuel Baptist Church in Lancaster, SC. This is great! We love the extension of the body of believers there and we are falling in love with the town. There is only one little problem. We haven't been able to sell our house in Greenville, and are forced to divide our time. Mostly, that looks like Austin spending several days in Lancaster while the kids and I stay here going about our lives. We all go down on Saturday evenings, spend the night with one of the many gracious families that have opened their homes to ours, go to church Sunday morning, drive back that night, and start all over again.

It is a lot for our family right now, but we are so thankful that we know where we are headed and we know that this too shall pass. One of the main down sides to this situation is that Austin is getting to know our new family and getting to spend time with them outside of church. Because I am only there on Sundays and sporadic Wednesdays, I don't feel that I am getting to even begin the relationships that I am so desperate to deepen! I thought this would be a good way for our Lancaster family to know a little bit about what is going on with the Tram Fam while we aren't there.

I will be blogging different things: sometimes just stories of what we are experiencing, devotionals about what God is teaching me through His Word and life, maybe just pictures to show the whirlwind we call our home. I hope that this will help bridge the gap between Greenville and Lancaster until we can fully be there are begin the new phase of our lives! I will use one capital letter to refer to the people in our lives to protect privacy, so forgive me if that seems to flow unnaturally, but we can never be to careful in this age we live in!

This past weekend we stayed with a sweet family in our church that is actually related to me down the line in the enormous web that is the Dabney family. P's grandfather and my great-grandfather were brothers and both "Dabney" men. Ironically, her daughter's name is very similar to mine! We have already come to love this family even though we have not had the privilege yet to spend much time with them.

T (my 3 year old son) is in a huge Dinosaur phase right now. However, he is also in a scared-of-his-own-shadow phase as well. We walked into the house and I heard T yell, "Dad! you have to come see this huge triceratops!" A few seconds later I hear A say, "Whoa! That is a huge triceratops!" I have to go see this thing. I went in and there is this stuffed dinosaur every bit as big as you would think a real baby triceratops might have been. B proceeds to show us all the things this toy does. It was hands down one of the coolest toys I have ever seen. I thought, "we won't be able to get T away from this thing." Then I notice, he is hiding behind his dad's leg. No matter what we did, we could not get him within 2 feet of the dinosaur. The adults went back in the other room for our late night milshakes, and the kids stayed in there. I heard their oldest son trying his best to get T to warm up to the dinosaur. Finally, he would touch it and pet it, but no way was he riding it! He, however, has talked of nothing else since we left.

I have mulled over that situation since Saturday evening. It was so funny to me how amazed T was at this toy, but was so frightened to go near it. Without trying to make something out of everything, I was thinking this morning about how many of us react the same way to the Holy Spirit. We are amazed and overwhelmed at this powerful and HUGE part of the Trinity. However, most of us would rather stand back and say, "no way I am riding that!" God must look at us thinking, "Isn't that what you have been asking for? Don't you want my power? Don't you want to see miracles and revival in your generation?" We can't be afraid to tap into the power of the Holy Spirit. I want to see amazing things in my life! Let's make a commitment to dive into the Word, into prayer, and into the amazing adventures God has called us to! Ephesians 3:20 says that God is able to do "immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine according to His power that is at work within us." If we believe that, why are we content with safe, small, boring lives? Don't we want to not only admire from a distance the lives of other brothers and sisters in Christ who are living these amazing lives through the power of Christ, but jump in there are do amazing things as well?

God will use each and everyone of us right where we are in awesome ways! It is not only those in ministry He calls to the adventure; He wants to use people in every level of society in every level of every organization! Let's decide that we will no longer sit back and be satisfied with the status quo-let's jump on and ride that dinosaur!

He still walks among the lampstands

The gospels tell us that zeal for His Father's house consumed Jesus (John 2:17). What consumes us? Of the people that gather in our churches every Sunday, how many of us are consumed with zeal for God's house? How different would our world look if we were consumed with zeal for God's house? What brought about this statement about Jesus? He walked in and was disgusted and enraged with what the temple had become, "a den of robbers (Matthew 19:46)."

Basically, the temple had become a market place. The religious leaders had turned the sacrifice system that God had created to atone for their sins (until He sent His perfect Lamb) into a way to turn a profit. I can't think of anything we do in church purely to turn a profit, but there are many things we do to benefit ourselves instead of bringing glory to God. Our worship services, our activities, even our "outreach" projects many times are more focused on making us feel good or stroking our consciences than truly worshiping.

Scripture teaches over and over that true worship is sacrifice. What do we sacrifice to worship today? An hour of our time? A portion of our sanity trying to get to church on time? Some of our money- if there is any leftover? There are people all over the world that literally sacrifice their lives to worship God. They know what zeal is. They are willing to go to extraordinary lengths to get to church. They will suffer extreme situations to be able to worship and fellowship with other believers. We get antsy if the service is too long or the temperature is not just right.

God has humbled me over the past few days that I am zealous about many things, but God's house has taken a back seat to many of those things far too often. I have several friends that are involved in church plants in some form or another. I have often looked on their situations with jealousy because they seem to be in places that the Spirit of God is moving in mighty ways, and they are seeing Him change people's lives constantly. I have been called to a traditional church, and many times I have wondered why when it seems like everything for my generation is leaning towards church plants. This week, I got my answer. Jesus still walks among the lampstands. The churches that have been established for decades-no matter how stagnant- Jesus is still zealous about them. How exciting would it be to be in a church where the light is just about to be extinguished, maybe Jesus is on His way over to remove the lampstand (Revelation 2:5), then all of the sudden that little flame starts to grow. Jesus stokes the fire a little. Then it grows more and more, and the next thing you know that fire is roaring and the lampstand is a beacon once again! Full scale revival is possible in our traditional churches!

Here is the issue-for something to be revived, it has to die. We have to die to ourselves if we want God to breathe the breath of life into our churches again. We cannot let our opinions and desires run the church anymore. We have to give God the reigns back. We have to be people and churches that God wants to display his name. God will not bless a church that does not bless Him. We have to be willing to love people the way Jesus did. We have to see ourselves and others the way Jesus does. We need to understand that there are no degrees of good and bad...acceptable and unacceptable. There are two situations. Sinners in sin and sinners redeemed. Jesus came to save the sinners in sin and He wants to change the redeemed. What would Jesus's congregation look like? It would not be filled with the pretty church people. It would be the poor, the outcast, the diseased, the possessed, the sinners, and every now and then a wealthy, clean religious person. If we loved people the way Jesus did, wouldn't our congregations look similar?

My prayer is that I will see people through Jesus's eyes. I want to be overwhelmed with compassion and love. I want to be consumed with zeal for my Father's house. I want to be part of a revival in my church! Jesus, stoke the fire! 

Because He Is Not One Of Us

It is amazing to me that I can read through Scripture and see things that I have never noticed before! I found this little jewel today.

"Master," said John, "we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we tried to stop him, because he is not one of us." "Do not stop him," Jesus said, "for whoever is not against you is for you."  Luke 9:49-50

This little scenario is tucked right after the passage where the disciples are arguing over who is the greatest. Sometimes our arrogance amazes me! Some days I don't know why God even bothers with us. Thank goodness it is not up to me, because I would have wiped us all off the face of the planet! Before we start wagging our fingers at the disciples, let's think about ourselves for the moment. How many times have we looked at people in other Denominations, churches with different styles of worship, Sunday school classes, even- God forgive us!-different races and said, "You are not one of us; you are not welcome here." Most of us may have never said it out loud to someone, but most of us have thought it at one point or another. We may even go so far as to think that they should stop what they are doing because they are not doing it the way we are doing it. Jesus basically said, "You are going to have to learn to work together as a body; if they are not working against you, learn to work with them." What a lesson for our churches today!!!

In the movement of contemporary, casual worship services we have divided our church even further. No matter which side you land on, there are issues either way. I have heard of congregations where the members would not let someone preach unless he wore a suit. I have also heard of memebers of contemporary congregations say they would not listen to a pastor if he wore a suit! He is not one of us... If we could learn that none of us are perfect and there are points of doctrine and tradition that we all have wrong, we would find such joy in the diversity of the body! We need to start separating what really matters and when people are working against us.

One of my favorite bible teachers calls them spine issues and rib issues. The spine issues are those things that are crucial to our faith-the things that separate Christianity from other religions. The rib issues are personal opinions and personal preferences. We have made the rib issues spine issues and divided ourselves to where we are fighting each other and not moving forward. We will know the answers to all of the issues when we get to Heaven, but maybe we need to agree to disagree on some things and move on as a unified body of Christ. If we can learn to do this, maybe we will see for ourselves what Jesus prayed for in John 17:21 "that all of them may be one, Father."

Radical Jesus

I was studying today when Jesus told His disciples that He must suffer and be rejected and die. (Luke 9) After, He told them that whoever wants to follow Him must take up his cross daily. I thought about that for a minute. I thought it must have been quite a surprise to hear that their leader would suffer and die. We know it was particularly distressing for Peter who stepped out of the will of God to rebuke Jesus. Then I thought, Wait! Jesus didn't say He would die on a cross! He just said that He would suffer and die. The thing is, we have probably heard hundreds of sermons on taking up our crosses, but I just dwelled for a moment on how that statement would have come across to the disciples. The cross was reserved for the most heinous of criminals- murderers and thieves...not good, religious people. What Jesus was telling them was, your life is about to make no sense to you at all. Punishments for people that have been reserved for the scum of the earth are about to be chosen for your teacher, and eventually you. How did they feel when Jesus told them, to be his followers, they must take up a repulsive instrument of torture and death and carry it around with them-what is He talking about? We look a the cross now and see it as beautiful, holy, revered, but they were on a different end. From now on, when I think about taking up my cross, I will have a deeper respect for the life Jesus has called us to. It is not just a metaphor. We are to take up the death of our flesh. We are to put to death our opinions, wants, and desires-daily. If we learn to do that, we will be His followers. The funny thing is, the more I follow Him, the more I realize that my desires deserve to be put to death. They are sinful, wordly, and only lead to destruction. The only way to walk in freedom and victory is to desire what He desires for us. Jesus, thank you that you change my heart and you help me want the things that you want for me! Help me take up my cross everyday and bring glory to you as one of your disciples.