Freedom Starts Today预览

Victory Is Found One Day at a Time 

On September 2005, I put a gun to my head because I wanted my life to end. I wanted the pain to be over. I was losing everything, including my sanity. I could feel the darkness around me. I had become a dysfunctional alcoholic trying to numb the pain. I was at a new low, and my family now had become aware. My big brother was on a one-way flight to Austin to put me in my own car and take me to Dallas for a family intervention.

I walked into my first 12-step recovery meeting five days later. It was the scariest thing I’d ever done. But what happened that night, and the things that followed, changed the rest of my life. I was set free—and that’s why I’ve written these words for you and others who long for freedom. The principles and practices I’ll introduce this week are what God used to walk me out of an addiction that was killing me. 

Sin is a supernatural problem that demands a supernatural answer. You have no power over sin; God has all power over it. So if you’re tired of losing the fight against sin, prepare to no longer be tired. You feel this way because you have been fighting a more powerful foe. This week, you can start the process that will help you learn how to bring God into the fight, for as Jesus said, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

One of the Holy Spirit’s main roles in our lives is to kill sin and make us like Jesus. Daily warring against sin by the Spirit makes us new. This isn’t some new fad—this is how the church has always warred against sin, but we have forgotten. 

It’s time to remember: “Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. . . be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (I Peter 2:11, 5:8).

Because of what Jesus did for me 15 years ago, I decided I would spend the rest of my life telling people that Jesus is real, they’re never too far gone, and He can change everything. Your journey to freedom begins, not after reading through these seven days. Freedom starts today. 

So now it’s your turn to consider: What will you daily ask Him to free you from? 

Who will you text or call to proactively commit to not giving into your struggle for the next 24 hours by God’s strength?