July 1, 2026 – Freedom
New – Luke 5;14 MSG – “Jesus instructed him, ‘Don’t talk about this all over town. Just quietly present your healed self to the priest, along with the offering ordered by Moses. Your cleansed and obedient life, not your words, will bear witness to what I have done.'” This verse inspired Slawson to describe what it’s like to be “Anchored to Jesus: Freedom manifests in action. What if someone filmed you for a day? What did you do? What did you talk about at the office or on the phone to your friends? Would your life match what you say you believe is true about Jesus? Freedom is not being untied, like a boat cast out on a reckless sea. Freedom is being anchored to Jesus, so sure of your security that the waves and the winds don’t matter. Freedom is not calm seas but no fear of the seas.”
Her words took me immediately to the Social Security/Medicare seminar that Don and I attended last night in which we learned a lot we didn’t know and cleared up a lot that we thought we did know. What mainly stuck with us, though, (besides that we need help to figure all of this out) was when he said that if we don’t have a budget, we are living on hope. Of course, at this point in our lives, we’ve heard of and have tried budgets; and, even though we do have a spreadsheet of all of all of our bills, we haven’t tied ourselves to the budget “anchor” especially in regards to those seemingly unaccountable expenses, like no-see-um bugs! I’ve always thought of budgets as being restrictive and oppressive, but leaning into the understanding of being anchored to Jesus really helps me understand that a budget can give us security as we continue on in life.
Prevail #182 – Ezekiel 3:10 – “Then he added, ‘Son of man, let all my words sink deep into your own heart first. Listen to them carefully for yourself.'” Larson asks, “How often do we listen to sermons, read books, and take notes for everybody else? [Actually I did think of other people during the seminar who could benefit, as well as us, from that information.] …But when we listen for others and not for ourselves, we skim the surface of what God is saying, and we miss the potency of God’s living, breathing word to us. It’s easy to view God as a content machine from whom we get tidbits of wisdom and meme-able phrases. He is the living God who spoke the world into existence…. We need God’s consistent voice in our lives like we need oxygen. And He does indeed want to speak through us, but He’ll do so only to the extent that we allow Him to speak first to us…. The more seasoned and secure we are in Him, the easier it’ll be to know when to hold our words and when to share them.”
JC – “I am Life and Light in abundance. As you spend time ‘soaking’ in My Presence, you are energized and lightened. Through communing with Me, you transfer your heavy burdens to My strong shoulders…. This time alone with Me is essential for unscrambling your thoughts and smoothing out the day before you. Be willing to fight for this precious time with Me. Opposition comes in many forms: your own desire to linger in bed; the evil one’s determination to distract you from Me; the pressure of family, friends, and your own inner critic to spend your time more productively. As you grow in your desire to please Me above all else, you gain strength to resist these opponents.” See Psalm 48:9, Deuteronomy 33:12, and Psalm 37:4.
Streams – Cowman writes, “Matthew Henry said, ‘We can depend on God to fulfill His promise, even when all the roads leading to it are closed.'”
Max uses 1 John 3:1 NKJV – “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!” to remind us, “You can have peace in the midst of the storm because you are not alone – because you belong to God.” We are anchored to and safe with God.
JL – “Infinitely wise God, I know that You are good, but Your ways are often mysterious…. Thankfully, every time I reach the limits of my understanding, I can keep moving onward by relying on my trust in You. I don’t want to be stuck in a presumptuous posture of demanding to know why things happen as they do. I realize it’s much better to ask: ‘How do You want me to view this situation?’ and ‘What do You want me to do right now?’ Though I can’t change the past, I can start with the present moment and seek to find Your way forward. Lord, teach me to trust You one day at a time. Let me hear You whispering this precious assurance, ‘Do not fear; I will help you.’ In Your trustworthy Name, Jesus, Amen.” See Psalm 37:12-13, Proverbs 3:5, and Isaiah 41:13.
