It is for freedom that Christ has set us free
Stand firm, then
And do not let yourselves be burdened again
By a yoke of slavery
-Galatians 5:1
* * *
I just started my Breaking Free journey and this memory verse from the Bible study guide could not have come at a better time. Lately, the devil has been tormenting me with thoughts that I will never be truly free from the addictions that Christ has delivered me from; telling me that I'll eventually go back to them. Well, obviously this is a lie because Christ set me free for FREEDOM, not to go back to bondage later on.

I had been having trouble accepting that God's love for me is unconditional. You see, I had fallen in ways that I had deemed unforgivable or major sins and so I felt that I had to earn God's love. Because I knew this was not a biblical viewpoint, I decided to embark on journey to find out what the Bible says about who I am in Christ by reading the Book of Ephesians where Paul talks about how God's love is unconditional and a gift. After reading Ephesians, I thought I'd be fine to proceed to the next phase of my journey: learning to live like Christ by studying the Book of 1 John...but it turns out I have one more step before that. Although I now truly believe that God loves me unconditionally and has forgiven me, I am still having a hard time forgiving myself; so I will now be going through the Bible using the Breaking Free study guide by Beth Moore to help me deal with this. Blog postings for the next couple of months will pertain to this new chapter in my walk with God. Stay Tuned.

And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. 
So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials.
And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way.
Be prepared. You're up against far more than you can handle on your own. 
Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued.
Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. 
You'll need them throughout your life. 
God's Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. 
Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters.
- Ephesians 6: 10-18

Figure out what will please Christ, and then do it.
Don't live carelessly, unthinkingly.
Make sure you understand what the Master wants.
- Ephesians 5:10,17

Don't allow love to turn into lust, setting off a downhill slide into sexual promiscuity, filthy practices, or bullying greed. Though some tongues just love the taste of gossip, those who follow Jesus have better uses for language than that. Don't talk dirty or silly. That kind of talk doesn't fit our style. Thanksgiving is our dialect.
- Ephesians 5:3-4 (The Message)

Don't let yourselves get taken in by religious smooth talk. God gets furious with people who are full of religious sales talk but want nothing to do with him. Don't even hang around people like that.
- Ephesians 5:6-7 (The Message)
* * *
I once dated a guy because he was full of religious smooth talk. He smooth-talking convinced me that he had/was interested in a relationship with Jesus, when I should have known (and I did know deep down) based on his lifestyle that he wanted nothing to do with Jesus. Ladies, beware of the smooth talkers! By their fruit you shall know them - not by what they say but by their lifestyle

Peace I leave with you; My [own] peace I now give and bequeath to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. [Stop allowing yourselves to be agitated and disturbed; and do not permit yourselves to be fearful and intimidated and cowardly and unsettled.]
- John 14:27 (Amplified Version)

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.
- Matthew 11:28 (New Living Translation) 

 "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly." - Matthew 11:26-28 (The Message)

I want you to get out there and walk—better yet, run!—on the road God called you to travel.
I don't want any of you sitting around on your hands.
I don't want anyone strolling off, down some path that goes nowhere. 
And mark that you do this with humility and discipline—not in fits and starts, but steadily
-Ephesians 4:2-3

* * * 
For me, this reminded me that when considering entering into a relationship with a guy, I must make sure that the relationship is not a path that goes nowhere. For example, dating someone who doesn't have a strong, bible-based relationship with Christ is a path that goes nowhere and the relationship could also lead me off the road God has called me to travel. I need to be in a relationship with someone that can help me run on the road God called me to travel.

I was also reminded to be consistent in my walk with God, something I'm currently struggling with as I figure out how to balance my time.

God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.
-Ephesians 3:20-21

I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—
that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in.
And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love,
you'll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ's love.
Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights!
Live full lives, full in the fullness of God.
-Ephesians 3:15-19

I returned and saw under the sun that
the race is not to the swift nor the battle to the strong, neither is bread to the wise
nor riches to men of intelligence and understanding nor favor to men of skill;
but time and chance happen to them all.
-Ecclesiastes 9:11

The steps of a [good] man are directed and established by the Lord
when He delights in his way [and He busies Himself with his every step].
- Psalm 37:23

It wasn't so long ago that you were mired in that old stagnant life of sin.
You let the world, which doesn't know the first thing about living, tell you how to live. 
You filled your lungs with polluted unbelief, and then exhaled disobedience.
We all did it, all of us doing what we felt like doing, when we felt like doing it, 
all of us in the same boat.
It's a wonder God didn't lose his temper and do away with the whole lot of us.
Instead, immense in mercy and with an incredible love, he embraced us.
He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ. 
He did all this on his own, with no help from us! 
Then he picked us up and set us down in highest heaven in company with Jesus, our Messiah.

Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. 
Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it.
It's God's gift from start to finish! We don't play the major role.
If we did, we'd probably go around bragging that we'd done the whole thing!
No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving.