Word Up….

Fall came down quickly this go around, and a lot has been happening along the way for many of us! Fine tuning the ride to get ready for the cold weather, preparing ourselves for possibly a snowy one this time (wooly worms don’t lie, man, jus’ sayin’). Regardless of where our heads are at this fine October day, there’s something a little bit more I think that is on my mind today.

There’s been a lot of talking about the things going on around us. There are shootings and lootings and just downright nasty things happening all the time. Do you really expect anything more? I mean seriously, we live in a fallen world. What does that mean, MG? It means the minute it was handed over to the devil in the garden, he had full reign. (You can read about that in Genesis chapters 2 and 3 in your Bible) That means he has been able to cause men and women to do just about anything he has wanted them to do all this time! However, …

Jesus did come in between to take the reign back, died on the cross, rose again and is seated in heaven with the Father and has made salvation possible for you. All you have to do is ask, and that is in the Bible as well in so many places Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Romans and more so read it all and you will see He made the way for you and me to combat that wicked devil and take back the control of this world and live an eternal life of peace! But in the meantime, ….

What about now? Someone just shot and killed my best friend, my brother, my son. Someone raped my daughter, my wife, my girlfriend. Someone robbed my house, stole my car, took all I had. Someone beat my grandmother, left her to die. My spouse has cancer, my child is crippled, my son was killed in the war, my family was taken in a car accident. All these things are driven by public enemy #1…satan, and he is good at trying to get you to see people as the enemy instead of him. Why? So that he can trap you into carrying this simple little thing called …

Unforgiveness…which is the hardest prison to get free from. When someone else has brought a hurt upon you, especially a deep one, it is very difficult to forgive. It takes a lot of faith and a lot of love to be able to do it. Listen, people really don’t know why they make choices to kill, rape, or abuse others. Ask them, they will tell you, “I don’t know, I just get angry, or this thing comes over me and just takes over, I can’t control it.” They aren’t making excuses, it’s true. The enemy will put something in their head and replay over and over until they act on it. I’m sure you can track the source. Sickness and disease can be traced to many things as well, life stresses, bad food processes, alcohol/tobacco history. A fallen world of a sin nature.

Then, to add to forgiving others, you also must forgive yourself which is even harder! Most of us don’t realize that we harbor the guilt of others’ around us getting hurt or sick. ‘If I had only been there’, ‘If I could take their place’, ‘It should have been me’, ‘I should have….’: sound familiar?

Bottom line: Know who your enemy is, forgive who it isn’t, and live a free and happy life. Our Father doesn’t expect you to carry the weight, that’s why He sent Jesus.

There’s Freedom in that Wind…See you there!

Mary G.