Longing for Freedom - Martin Wiles

For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins. Colossians 1:13-14 NLT

He was longing for freedom.

The letter said he was in prison, but for what I didn’t know. The return address was unfamiliar. As the contents fell out and I read, Jason* told his story. He had read one of my devotions in a publication distributed at the prison. His life had been a wreck. He was there because of bad decisions—which ones didn’t matter.

Jason needed someone to listen and encourage him. While there, he had chosen to surrender his life to Christ, but the darkness surrounding him depressed him. He tried to be a light but wondered whether he was making any progress.

Over the next year, we corresponded monthly. He told me about the dreams he wanted to fulfill when his prison stint ended. Then the letters stopped. Recently, I received another letter. He was out and working—but still struggling to find his way in a cruel world.

Millions celebrate Independence Day in America. Even more have given their lives for the freedom Americans enjoy. From the War of Independence through the many that have followed, Americans have fought for their freedom and that of others.

True freedom, however, can be enjoyed anywhere—when behind bars or subject to cruel rulers. Christ made this freedom possible when he died on the cross and paid for the sins of humanity.

Bars may hinder us from doing what we want—as they did Jason—but our spirits are free. Oppressors may forbid us from worshiping Christ publicly, but they can never imprison our souls. What has been set free by Christ is free forever. Jason and many others have discovered this while in prison. Christians living under oppressive governments have as well.

When we ask, Christ forgives our sins and casts them as far as the East is from the West. He no longer requires that we pay for them. Anyone who asks can be free.

Are you enjoying the true meaning of freedom?

Prayer: Father, thank You for the freedom found through forgiveness. 

Tweetable: Have you found the true meaning of freedom? 

Thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts! We also invite you to follow and like us on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram. Help us spread God's encouragement through His Love Lines.

Grace Giver - Martin Wiles

Elisha replied. “Do we kill prisoners of war? Give them food and drink and send them home again to their master.” 2 Kings 6:22 NLT

Elizabeth Keckley was a slave in Missouri before the Civil War.

Keckley’s greatest desire was purchasing freedom for herself and her son. Her owner told her that if she could raise $1,200, she could have her freedom. Keckley worked as a seamstress. She engineered a plan to go to New York City and work to raise the money, but her owner feared she would not return.

Instead, some of Keckley’s wealthy clients in St. Louis showed grace by contributing the money she needed. Keckley paid the price for her freedom as well as her son’s. She moved to Washington, D.C., where she counted Mary Lincoln among her dressmaking clients. Without the help of others—grace—Keckley never would have been able to purchase her freedom.

The king of Aram fought the king of Israel, but God had a habit of telling the prophet Elisha all about the enemy king’s plans. So often, in fact, that the king of Aram thought a spy had infiltrated his ranks.

Once, when the enemy army had finally found Elisha, Elisha prayed that God would blind the enemy army. Elisha, in turn, led them to Samaria—the middle of their enemy’s camp. When the king of Israel witnessed this turn of events, he asked Elisha if he should kill them. Although the Arameans wanted to kill the Israelites, Elisha told the Israelites to show them mercy. “Feed them and let them go,” Elisha told the king of Israel. Show them grace, even though they came here looking to destroy you.

Grace adorns God. From the beginning when Adam and Eve sinned by disobeying Him, God has demonstrated grace. Instead of destroying them, God killed animals and clothed them with hides—an early symbol of His grace. The entire Bible and history are filled with acts of God’s grace.

Grace is God’s undeserved favor—shown primarily through salvation, but in many other ways too. We can’t earn the forgiveness for our sins that ushers in salvation. Nor can anyone else give it to us. Neither can we get it because our friends or relatives have it. It is a personal thing only God can grant.

God gives grace in large doses to those who trust Him and in smaller doses to those who don’t through His common grace. He makes His sun to shine on the evil and the good. All experience the rain and the goodness the earth produces.

But only by God’s grace—and our asking for it—can we experience the forgiveness we need, the abundant life God offers, the daily peace God can grant, and the eternal life He promises. And when we’ve experienced it, we’ll want to sprinkle a little of it around for others.

God is the ultimate grace giver. Have you asked for His grace?

Prayer: Father, may we give grace in small doses so that others will be pointed the greater grace that only You can give.

Tweetable: Are you giving grace to others? 

Thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts! We also invite you to follow and like us on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram. Help us spread God's encouragement through His Love Lines.

Flashback Friday - Freedom Before God - Martin Wiles

The fate of her people depended on her decision. What would she do?

She was living in a foreign place, and now the news had spread that the king had deposed the queen. Esther’s cousin, Mordecai, was a high ranking official and privy to the palace scuttlebutt. After the king gave orders to find a new queen, she had been rounded up and taken to the king’s harem. When the day arrived for the king to choose a new queen, she was selected. Now a dastardly no good—who hated her people, had convinced the king to issue a decree allowing her people to be annihilated. Mordecai told her she was her nation’s only hope. 

As queen, Esther had the privilege of approaching the king—but not unless summoned by him. With prayer as her shield, she appeared before the king, was welcomed with his golden scepter, and delivered her people from certain death. "Though it is against the law, I will go in to see the king. If I must die, I must die" (Esther 4:16 NLT).

As God’s child—who has experienced the fullness and completeness of his forgiveness, I have the right of coming boldly before him. Esther cowered because she knew her life was at risk; I come without fear realizing I’m no longer under condemnation for my sins. Christ has taken their punishment and thereby freed me.

Unlike the king with his subjects, God gives me a continual invitation to approach him. He’s never too busy, and my situations are never too trivial. He’s concerned with all the details of my life’s journey. After all, he is the one sending me on this trek. Since I’m human and subject to failure, I need his continual guidance. 

John Kennedy, Jr.’s favorite place to hide—while his dad, John F. Kennedy, was president of the United States—was under his dad’s desk. As the PS (President’s son), he enjoyed the privilege of boldly entering the office of the most important person in the country. 

Sin, past failures, and busyness can keep me away from God, but he’d rather I enjoy the freedom of basking in his presence. 

Prayer: Merciful God, thank You for our freedom to enjoy Your presence. Encourage us to come boldly and often before Your throne of grace. 

Tweetable: Are you enjoying freedom before God? 

Thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts! We also invite you to follow and like us on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram. Help us spread God's encouragement through His Love Lines.

Throwback Tuesday - Martin Wiles

Control or Controlled

When I saw the “Hot Now” neon sign, all sense of self-control vanished. I had to have one. The heck with calories and sugar levels.

My wife and I were ushering Mom to a Christmas concert. As our car crept up to the parking lot and we prepared to park, I couldn’t help but notice what lay lit up across the street. A Krispy Kreme doughnut shop…freshly built…with the all-important neon sign shouting an essential message for lovers of dough, sugar and fillings. We immediately made plans to visit as soon as the concert concluded. I enjoyed the music, but my mouth watered for what followed. And I wasn’t disappointed. One dozen was just enough for the ride home and breakfast the following two mornings. A classic picture of self-control’s absence. Read more...

Looking for a wide selection of genres in Christian books at discount prices? Use coupon MWiles for 20% off. Click here to see selections.

Thanks to all our faithful followers who are "sharing" our posts--please keep it up! We also invite you to follow and like us on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. Help us spread God's encouragement through his love lines.

Flashback Friday - Martin Wiles

The Den of Iniquity

Though cute snuggled in his “den,” approaching too closely will uncover bared teeth, a bark, and-if necessary, a sharp crunch on the finger.

Our Chihuahua demonstrates perfectly the traits of the breed-possessive, selfish, habitual, loving to friends but vicious toward anyone intervening in his cozy world. Burrowing is also one of his habits. Whether underneath the bed covers, beneath his favorite blanket, or buried in a throw, he loves to snuggle and be covered while doing it. But his den quickly becomes iniquitous when invaded. Read more...

Looking for a wide selection of genres in Christian books at discount prices? Use coupon MWiles for 20% off. Click here to see selections.  

Thanks to all our faithful followers who are "sharing" our posts--please keep it up! We also invite you to follow and like us on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. Help us spread God's encouragement through his love lines.

Mastered - Martin Wiles

Even though “I am allowed to do anything,” I must not become a slave to anything. I Corinthians 6:12 NLT

Could it be possible that technological devices drain the brain?

I, along with other teachers and administrators, sat through a two day conference. One of the key note speakers was an international speaker who had written two books on the subject of addiction to smart phones and other connected devices. The statistics pummeled us to the edge of our seats and were, to say the least, disturbing. 

Gaming, notifications, likes, views. All terms I was familiar with. What I wasn’t familiar with was what happens when any of those things happen. A chemical called dopamine that stimulates the pleasure part of my brain is released. When my brain is flooded with large doses—which happens when overuse of tech devices takes place, addiction occurs. The same type a cocaine addict experiences. 

Cutting was another term I was vaguely familiar with. When the tolerance wall has risen so high that the dopamine can no longer provide the pleasure it once did, addicts often resort to cutting. This releases a different type of chemicals—endorphins, but ones that provide a pleasurable feeling nevertheless.

The percentage of young children and teens—along with adults, who are addicted to smart phones and other connected devices is alarming. In Paul’s day it wasn’t tech devices but a way of thinking. Some were legalists and consumed with the “can’t do’s.” Others were libertines and thought they could do anything now that God’s grace had liberated them. Paul didn’t disagree with the freedom thinkers but proposed that he’d not be mastered by anything. 

Being mastered is dangerous. The only thing that should master believers is the desire and firm commitment to allow God to mold us into the image of His Son—a process that is often painful and lengthy, but one that is essential for successful Christian living. 

Obedience to what Jesus considered the two greatest commands allows this to happen. Loving God with our total being should become the pursuit that masters us daily. Doing so changes our actions, attitudes, and outlook on life. Combined with this is loving our neighbor as ourselves. This, too, will change how we act toward and react to others. 

Spend more time demonstrating your love for God and others than you do on tech devices.

Prayer: Father, prick our hearts and minds so we have a desire to serve You and others with our entire spirits, souls, and mind. 

Looking for a wide selection of genres in Christian books at discount prices? Use coupon MWiles for 20% off. Click here to see selections.  

Thanks to all our faithful followers who are "sharing" our posts--please keep it up! We also invite you to follow and like us on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. Help us spread God's encouragement through his love lines.

Putting the Past to Rest - Martin Wiles

Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! 2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT

She ran from her past, but she couldn’t hide from it.  

Frances and her sister lived with an abusive father. Their mother died when they were both very young. Their father molested them sexually and drank continuously. Finally, child welfare intervened and placed them with an aunt. 

Frances’ restless spirit wouldn’t rest. When she was old enough, she joined the hippie movement and all the activities that accompanied it. She drank to excess, experimented with all types of hallucinogenic drugs, and traveled the country trying to find herself. Occasionally, she showed up to visit her old childhood sweetheart who still loved her dearly. He wanted to marry her, but she wouldn’t commit. She didn’t know it, but she was still running from her past, trying to make it disappear through unhealthy relationships and habits. 

One day, Frances decided to put her restless spirit to bed. She called up her childhood sweetheart and proposed to him. They married, but there wasn’t any happily ever after—just happy. Drugs and numerous sexual relationships had presented her with a sexually transmitted disease for which there was no cure. She died shortly after taking her vows. 

The apostle Paul gave the formula for putting our pasts to rest. It doesn’t happen through free sex, addictive substances, financial security, or through the hundreds of others ways I might try. My past is laid to rest through a relationship with Christ. Frances’ childhood sweetheart knew that, but he could never convince her until it was too late. 

Knowing Christ through faith doesn’t erase my past, but He gives me a different perspective on it. The baggage of my past mistakes—self-inflicted or not, will always follow me, but it doesn’t have to haunt me. My past, present, and future mistakes and sins are immediately forgiven when I ask Christ to forgive them. 

Who we are in Christ presently isn’t who we once were. Others may label us addicts, abusers, gamblers, or criminals. Christ labels us forgiven children. We may remember how terrible our past was, but Christ forgets it and gives us the ability to tell it goodnight. 

If you’re in Christ, put your past to rest so you can get on with the present and future.

Prayer: Father, thank You for forgiving our pasts and giving us a bright future. 

Mercy Roller knows her name is a lie: there has never been any mercy in her young life. Raised by a twisted and abusive father who called himself the Pastor, she was abandoned by the church community that should have stood together to protect her from his evil. Click here to order. 

Thanks to all our faithful followers who are "sharing" our posts--please keep it up! We also invite you to follow and like us on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. Help us spread God's encouragement through his love lines.

Positioned for Security - Martin Wiles

You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get it all? Luke 12:20 NLT

Like everyone else, I’ve looked for it all my life. 

Along with significance and self-worth, security is one of life’s basic needs. To be loved unconditionally. I needed to know my parents would in spite of my mistakes and less than perfect body. When I became an adult, I still sought it. Burglar alarms, firearms, money in retirement programs, participation in Social Security. I even married and had children, thinking that would carry on my family line. Searching for a job that provided enough to live on with a little to spare didn’t hurt either. 

Along the way, I discovered there were some things that wouldn’t provide the security I hoped for. The rich fool found out the same thing. His time was given to his livelihood. When his barns overflowed, he reared back and planned to enjoy life for many years to come. Until God reminded him his life was on loan and He was about to call for full payment.

Wealth won’t position me for security. I’ve never been close to being wealthy, but there have been times when I was comfortable. I discovered how uncertain that was when the situation that made me comfortable disintegrated overnight. Suddenly I wasn’t taking it easy anymore. Neither did the rich fool. The life God loaned him ended before he knew it. 

Nor will health position me for security. I’ve always enjoyed good health, but that too can change quickly. And it did. A few months after pastoring my first church, I found myself in the hospital with a bleeding ulcer—a health condition it took me a year to overcome. The rich fool was obviously healthy since he thought he had many years to enjoy his wealth. 

Even relationships can’t position me for security—though I often look there as well. What appears stable and permanent can readily become unstable and changing. I’ve watched that happen too—with a spouse, children, and friends. 

The only thing that positions me for security is my faith connection with Jesus Christ. Nothing else will last and nothing else will provide the peace and comfort He does. 

If you’re looking for security, look no farther than a daily walk with Christ. 

Prayer: Father, thank You for providing the security we need through our relationship with You. 

Looking for a wide selection of genres in Christian books at discount prices? Use coupon MWiles for 20% off. Click here to see selections.  

Thanks to all our faithful followers who are "sharing" our posts--please keep it up! We also invite you to follow and like us on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. Help us spread God's encouragement through his love lines.

Throwback Tuesday - Martin Wiles

Forgiven And Free

“I’ve asked God to forgive me, but I’m not sure he has.” Or “I’m just not sure God can use me with a past like mine.” Statements I’ve thought, heard or made but statements reflecting a misunderstanding of God’s forgiveness.

I have a past. I’m not proud of everything in it, and I’d gladly relive it, but I can’t. It is what it is. On the other hand, I’ve learned a great deal from my past mistakes and have used personal examples to caution others about blunders and sins better left alone. Read more...

Looking for a wide selection of genres in Christian books at discount prices? Use coupon MWiles for 20% off. Click here to see selections.  

Thanks to all our faithful followers who are "sharing" our posts--please keep it up! We also invite you to follow and like us on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. Help us spread God's encouragement through his love lines.

Throwback Tuesday - Martin Wiles

Conquering Guilt

Series: Conquering the Past

I was a young adult feeling God’s call into ministry who was also feeling guilty.

God’s call came on top of ten years of running and accumulated guilt-over ignoring the original call, bad decisions, bad relationships and bad habits. While all repented of, their memories tormented me. And Satan stoked the fire: “How could you claim to be a Christian and…?”  Guilt can be genuine or false. Real guilt arises when God convicts us of sin with the intent we change courses. False guilt channels through the same path, but the author is Satan and his goal is destruction. Read more...

Looking for a wide selection of genres in Christian books at discount prices? Use coupon MWiles for 20% off. Click here to see selections.  

Thanks to all our faithful followers who are "sharing" our posts--please keep it up! We also invite you to follow and like us on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. Help us spread God's encouragement through his love lines.

Flashback Friday - Martin Wiles

Living For The Future

I muttered it under my breath hundreds of times and occasionally even aloud: “I can’t wait until I’m eighteen so I can do what I want.”

My parents and I didn’t have the healthiest relationship during my teen years. I was to blame. Rebellious, obstinate, sarcastic, overly independent. Traits they tried to tame-or at least temporarily control, while at the same time encouraging me to channel their positive aspects in beneficial directions. But I wasn’t cooperative. I was living for the future and freedom. Read more...

Looking for a wide selection of genres in Christian books at discount prices? Use coupon MWiles for 20% off. Click here to see selections.  

Thanks to all our faithful followers who are "sharing" our posts--please keep it up! We also invite you to follow and like us on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. Help us spread God's encouragement through his love lines.

Infinitely More - Martin Wiles

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Ephesians 3:20 NLT

Dropout wasn’t a word with enough negative connotations to keep me from becoming one. 

By the midpoint of my senior year, I’d had enough. Education had been disgusting me for quite some time. I could now legally decide whether I wanted to continue or not. I chose not to. But after several months in the work world, I saw how important a high school diploma was. Reluctantly, I returned and graduated. 

A few years later, God confronted my “I hate education” attitude by calling me into the ministry, which required I attend four years of college. Several years later, he allowed me to earn my Master’s degree. One year later, he put me in touch with a gentleman who offered to pay the tuition and book fees for me to earn my Doctor of Christian Ministry degree. By God’s strength, I was able to accomplish infinitely more than I ever could have by myself. 

Sometimes I forget about the mighty God I serve and about the presence of His Spirit within me. Occasionally, I launch out into tasks with the plan mapped out, thinking I have all the answers. Periods of failure remind me I control nothing but myself and that even the best laid out plans can go awry. God also has a habit of reminding me I can only do all things through Him and His power—not my own. 

Underestimating God’s power and being satisfied with less than He wants to give or accomplish is tempting. This verse reminds me He can do infinitely more through me than I could ever imagine. God’s power over the world is limitless, and it is unlimited in believers as well. When our focus is where it should be, and when our faith is great and pure, God will take us to new heights and greater accomplishments for His Kingdom.

Don’t sell God short. Let Him achieve more through you than you could ever dream of.

Prayer: Father, prepare our hearts so that You might accomplish more through us than we could ever imagine.

Looking for a wide selection of genres in Christian books at discount prices? Use coupon MWiles for 20% off. Click here to see selections.  

Thanks to all our faithful followers who are "sharing" our posts--please keep it up! We also invite you to follow and like us on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. Help us spread God's encouragement through his love lines.