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Does God know your name?

11/2/2016

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​You may say, “He’s God, He knows everything, of course he knows my name”.
Let me ask in a different way. Take a moment and think of the most famous person you know about. Now imaging someone has given you this person’s personal cell phone number. If you call this person, maybe he/she wouldn’t answer, but if the person did, would he/she have any idea who you were? Following the call, the person might even block your number.
 
Now imagine you had actually met the person during an event prior to receiving this person’s phone number. The likelihood of him/her remembering you from everyone else he/she meets would still be quite slim (unless you made an impact – and even then the person would probably not refer to you as “friend” from that introduction and may have to stretch to recall your name).
 
Now, imagine you grew up with this person, hung out with him/her every day after school and helped each other out along the way. Then if you called him/her up, the person would know your name. You wouldn’t have to remind him/her who you are – you had built a relationship.
 
Now apply this to God. Have you really spent enough personal time with God that he would know your name? – Not just “getting into the moment” at an event (say a concert or revival or something), but really spent personal one on one time…?
 
When you talk with God (pray), do you really talk with Him or do you just “leave a message”? I hear a lot of prayers that are more like someone leaving a message for God than actually having a conversation. There’s not an expectation from the person praying that God is going to actually answer.
 
Would you say that you had a friend if the only interaction the two of you had was him/her leaving you a voice message every once and a while – and likely the same basic message every time?
You might eventually start erasing the messages before you even listen to them once you saw the number they came from.
 
Does God count you as a friend, recognize your name, recognize you as an insider in His inner circle? Or even outer circle?
 
There are two places in the Bible, both Matthew 7:23 and Luke 13:27 where when speaking of the days when we will one day stand in front of God, there will be people who said they knew the name of Jesus (or God in the flesh), that they even did works for Him, and His response would be, “I never knew you; depart from me…”. This might be a similar answer you would get when calling up the famous person who you really don’t know. The result however is much more serious, as the famous person doesn’t hold the power to decide the eternal fate of your soul (either inside or outside the presence of God – and yes, there’s a BIG difference).
 
There are many people who speak the name of Jesus and confess they know God, but they have never taken the time to build the relationship.
Relationships are not formed as soon as you meet someone. It takes time and continued interaction to build a relationship.
 
So when I ask you, “does God know your name?” what would be your answer?

It's not too late to start building or growing that relationship. What's the best way to start building a relationship? - Simply talking about those things that are important to you, discovering the things that are important to the other person (God in this case) and discussing them.

The Bible is full of things that are important to God. If you need help finding a place to start, feel free to reach out to us at [email protected].
​
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Find Your Worship

2/23/2015

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Worship is a key element to living a victorious life in God!

But what exactly is worship?

Worship is your expression of admiration to God for who He is.

We express our worship in many ways, and often we'll find corporate worship to be based in song and instruments ("corporate" means together as one), but what is your private worship?

Your worship may look different than someone else's. It is the way that you most deeply express your admiration and love for God. Some people sing at the top of their lungs. Some people sing softly. Some people paint or draw. Some people play musical instruments. Some people dance. Worship is not limited to just these forms of expression. But remember that it is not about the mode itself, for the mode is just the transportation for the expression of the worship you give to God. You can even worship Him quietly on your knees whispering out to Him, but you must find your worship. Don't base it on how other find theirs. 
The relationship you have with God is intimate and personal between you and God, and we each have to develop that relationship and grow to understand it. Whichever and however many modes of worship become those that express your admiration best, take the time often to enter into that place of worship. Not only does it immensely strengthen your bond with God, and it is pleasing to Him, but it also has immense power in itself to break chains of bondage and refocus our eyes and lives on the One who is Love in whom alone is life everlasting.




David was a powerful king, but when it came to worship for his God, he was unashamed to become undignified. 2 Samuel 6:22. If a mighty king can do it, there is no reasonable excuse for us not to find our worship to God in whatever way, no matter how undignified it may seem. 
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Fellowship

1/24/2015

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Fellowship with others who are also taking the challenge to be FREEDOM HI - holding each other accountable.

The importance of fellowshipping with the right people has a serious affect on a victorious life.

It is great to pour out and live out the example of your life with unbelievers - giving where they are - for the purpose of being FREEDOM HI, but this does not take the place of fellowshipping with other committed believers. Paul said, "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together" Hebrews 10:25 often referred to as "the fellowship of the saints", and this has unfortunately been washed over by many to assume it is covered as we go to church for the weekly service. 
Think about the services you attend. If it's like many, you walk in, greet a few people, smile, sit down for the service, get into worship, feed on a good message/teaching (hopefully, if not, that message is for another day), pray, and then greet a few people afterwards with some light conversation before going your separate ways. That is not fellowship.
Attending church for service is important and should not be omitted, but attending church is not the "assembling of ourselves together" of which Paul was speaking and church attendance is not meant to be the only sustaining factor in our spiritual life. 
The church is not a place, the Church is all of us who have been reborn to Christ - everywhere. We, all of us, need each other to walk in the fullness of victory, we are built for relationships.

The intentional getting together with uncompromising believers just to do stuff together, where quality time can be spent is crucial to keeping us strong and healthy in the Spirit. If you don't hang out with other Spirit filled, uncompromising Christians, then it is highly likely that you are lacking luster in your life and walk, and there's no better time to make some new connections than today. Not everyone connects, so maybe it seems like there's no one in your congregation that you really feel connected to - that's okay. Your congregation is not the whole church and there are people in your region that you can connect with - Guaranteed!
You don't need to change assemblies to connect with other believers. Fellowship across assemblies is not cheating on your church, you are the church and so is every other true believer in Jesus Christ. 
The next question may be, "How do I find these other believers?" Well, one way is through FREEDOM HI. Contact us and let us know where you are located. We may have some connections there. Other ways are posts in activities sections of forums and attending other congregations' activities. Or try getting involved with a project or effort where other believers may also be volunteering. Prayer is a super promoter of friends - meaning call out and ask God for friends and connections that don't compromise.
Be willing to engage with people, ideally people of the same gender as to not come across with mixed motives or put yourself in a position open to temptation. And, yes there are people out there who want to know you just for who you are. 
And, even for those who have always had better success befriending people of the opposite sex, I want to encourage you that there are people who you can connect with and have a very edifying and holy friendship with and you don't have to pretend to be into things that aren't you. There's no problem with hanging out with people from both genders, but from a practicality standpoint, if you aren't married to the other person or share the same parents, it is better to spend time with people from the opposite gender in group settings. Friendships help keep us accountable, they satisfy our natural nature for relationship and camaraderie, they provide support and encourage us when we are down, and they help strengthen us as Christians as we share in testimony and victory.

If you want victory in your life, make an intentional decision to spend time in pure fellowship with other Christians committed to walking God's way.

Write it down, make it a goal.
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    Author

    Not growing up in a Christian home, I learned according to the ways of the world and was not discouraged from seeking after all the world had to offer. With an outgoing personality and a badly damaged heart I went about seeking meaning in the world, something that went more than skin deep, something that would last.
    I sought it in any angle, some that the world would consider positive, some the world would consider negative, and a variety in between. But in the end, it was all striving after the wind. I remained empty after each newness faded. I gave up thinking that there was anything that could fulfill and I died inside. I muddled through life with a smile on my face and a bounce in my step, while inside I was far removed from such a vibrant state. I figured I just needed to 'get through' and make whatever difference I could along the way, for it seemed not to matter anyway.
    THEN...
    On an unexpected day when I was 26 years old, I met Christ.
    A person living true to the calling God gave to him spoke simply about the state of my life with specific examples as if he knew all about me - I had never met this person before. It broke me and all I could do was cry. The words he spoke were by the direct leading of the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of God, that can only be known through the door that is Christ Jesus.
    That day this man served as a Human Interface to me knowing Christ, and in such, to my freedom.
    I came out of the death that I walked in and was made new.

    I now live to be that Human Interface of FREEDOM to others by the leading of the Holy Spirit, seeking to live by the word of God, not compromising to the ways of the world. I've tried the world, and in it is nothing that fulfills. I've tried the Lord that is the Almighty God, and in Him is fullness of life and peace that surpasses all understanding.

    I am FREEDOM HI, you can be too.

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