Access Granted

This weekend I was able to participate in a kind of renewal for a dear friend. Like so many of us, he has been through some issues in the past. Since it is pretty much impossible to go through things in a vacuum, the people who have been around have either found out the facts, or more often than not, made up their own to fit what they think may be true. If this has never happened to you, you can probably quit reading now and move back over to Facebook! For the rest of us, read on…

Because of the amount of “new truth” that folks have so generously spread, my friend has found it difficult to have his ministry thrive in the way that it used to. Yes, it’s not uncommon for people to hold our past (or perceived past) against us. This person is a gifted speaker who has had their voice quieted in the past few years. But this weekend was a triumph! During conversations that he had with his small group he mentioned that one of his dreams was to speak in the church where he was saved back in the 70’s. After some inspired conversations with the right people, a date was set and he was invited to do just that. So Sunday a handful of us took a three and a half hour drive to go watch him preach. It was beautiful. “Amens” were said. People shouted “that’s right!”. We even heard a few people issue a familiar “Come ON!”. Redemption. Restoration. Recovery.

This can be ours for the taking. We don’t need to be repressed by our past, that’s just following a lie from the enemy. Many times this lie is told loudest in the places where we live by people who think they know us. Listen folks, and hear this: I am not the things that I have done in the past; they do not define me even though people try to make it be that way. I am a grateful Christian believer. I am an heir to the kingdom. I am a Child of God! That’s who and what I am.  We might never soar in the places where we live (but I won’t give up trying). But we will…

Rise Up!!!