The Freedom Response

What opens the door to freedom?

What opens the door to freedom?

When we combine learning about freedom along with what is restricting us in forms of what I call bondage (in opposition to freedom) we will gain more understanding in knowing what to trust and walk along side with God. 

Part of our journey with The Freedom Response is becoming men of understanding and we gain understanding by both realizing what freedom is and also by what restricts freedom that can keep one in bondage. 

Forgiveness - vs, resentment, bitterness, inability to extend grace and mercy. Are you waiting for someone to apologize to you? If you are, then you are restricting Gods grace and mercy in your own life that turns to a bondage of resentment, bitterness and inability to extend grace and mercy to yourself and others. You need it first in your own heart to know how that feels, or to have an understanding of what God has done for you to live in freedom AND to know in your soul that others need it as well and it is reflected back to others through what you have received. When others experience grace you are an extension of what you have been given…and others need that more so than your judgement, condemnation and self-righteous attitude. Forgiveness can release burdens that your soul has been carrying for years and years. Your soul is not designed to carry the burdens of the world…release them with forgiveness. 

Confession - Share with God first and then with another person what is weighing you down of sin or struggles in life vs, suppression. One of the leading contributors to sickness and disease is suppression of expressing your thoughts and feelings in a healthy way. Being vulnerable and communicating what is important to you is a skill that anyone can learn and with practice can open doors that one keeps closed from lack of knowing how to communicate. I also journal out and process what I want to communicate to God and to others and this helps me to confess in a way that releases accumulated shame and anxiety - all of what can keep one in silence that forms all sorts of dysfunctional issues physically and mentally….and spiritually. 

Repentance - honor your word by turning away from sin and all that is preventing you growing in Christ vs, staying in sin or living a negative lifestyle that hurts yourself and others for so long that you are thinking it is ok and a way of life that you were born into. 

Turning your life over to Jesus and learning from Gods Word (read Proverbs to get a glimpse of what a fool is and what walking in wisdom will help you with) causes one to not follow ones old patterns anymore. You get a sense in your heart that what you used to do is not fruitful anymore and there will be a desire to turn from your old ways and walk with humility to learn what is right in Gods eyes vs your old eyes. 

Humility - Learning to die to yourself, what you think others should do for you and prideful thoughts of how they should do it. Realize you are broken and need God more than what you think or even plan on - vs, pride. Self sufficiency. Ego. Putting yourself above others and to include God with thinking you know what is best and will act in a way to prove it. There is a saying of what EGO means: Edging God Out - and that is what pride does, it is arrogant, self-sufficient and lets the world know that YOU are in charge. Humility realizes one needs help, to confess and be vulnerable in seeking help or to serve others and to learn how to do so that brings God the glory…not you. 

Faith - living with deep trust that God will provide in ways that you can not do. Faith is living without seeing things to prove it. Trust vs, taking matters into your own hands thinking God will not be with you. Faith in KNOWING Gods plan for us will be beyond our own understanding and to take action into the very adventure of what we have faith in to learn and further develop our relationship with Jesus along the way - something we can not learn by being passive or disobedient in NOT doing what we are led to do in faith.
Faith in action allows God to form our character in Christ along the way of taking risks vs sitting in a chair waiting for something to happen.
Faith in action allows the journey of who we are becoming in Christ to be more important regardless of the outcome of what happens. 

Finally - some notes to consider as you journal your thoughts about this article: 

Truth is more meaningful than years of bitterness, anger and suppression that leads to loops of living life in continuous confusion. Confess and forgive. 

When things happen to us - or, things do not go as planned we lack understanding in how to process hurt, shame or unplanned situations that we did not ask for. Have humility and ask for help from someone that is two-steps ahead of you….a man of understanding. 

What is really going on is that we are untrained & unprepared. 

We need training in learning how to interpret life and to lean into leading in a way that reflects Gods heart more so than our untrained & unprepared heart. 

Confess to God.

Confess to a man of understanding. 

Train in preparing how to communicate what is important to you from Gods perspective. 

Train in forgiveness. 

Train in confession. 

Bondage vs Freedom is a choice and once you know what God wants for you - it becomes easier over time to give it all to Him and for Him to reform your heart from the inside out to become a man of understanding that you not aware of now. 

It is worth it. 

Scott Musgrave: Founder of The Freedom Response.