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We’re finally here! It’s our last week of You Are Free and we’re so thankful to have taken this journey with you and our trusted teacher, Rebekah Lyons!
Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you. — Galatians 5:1 MSG
This week we’re in You Are Free session six “Free to Set Free.”
In this final week, you will:
1. Watch the video for Week session 6 – either on DVD or right here on FaithGateway and take notes in the You Are Free Study Guide on pages 111-120.
2. If you’re meeting with a small group or in a church setting, go through the Group Discussion on pages 118-120 together.
3. For your personal study this week, I encourage you to spend some time each day going through the Between Sessions Personal Study in the You Are Free Study Guide pages 121-128 and reading the Scriptures.
4. Recommended (but optional) reading for this week: Review chapters 13-15 in You Are Free – the hardcover book, not study guide.
5. Join us on Thursday, May 4th at 9 p.m. EST (optional) for our last group live chat together! You don’t want to miss this wrap-up!
Scriptures this Week
- 1 Corinthians 13
- Galatians 5:1
- Proverbs 3:5-6
- John 8:36
- Matthew 20:29-34
- Revelation 12:11
- Isaiah 51:15-16
Save the Date: Big Announcement This Week
Friends, we are overjoyed that our summer online Bible study is all about the topic of… PRAYER! And I know you’re going to love the teacher because she has been one of YOUR most-requested Bible teachers of the last two years – and she said YES! Exciting changes are coming to our online Bible studies, so save the date for our big announcement this Thursday, May 4 on the National Day of Prayer! We can’t wait to have you join us this summer – we are all going to become prayer warriors together! ~Laurie
My personal response to this final week of our study….
Love Is the Key
(Love) always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. — 1 Corinthians 13:7-8a
Having someone in your life who says, “No matter what, I’ve seen it all, I’ve seen the up and the down, and high and the low, and I choose you. And, I’m going to walk with you. Even when you’re afraid.” ~ Rebekah
When we get hurt, oftentimes we emotionally shut the shades, turn off the light, and lock the door to our hearts because we don’t want to ever be wounded again. But, just as the numbing tools we can choose block pain and the lows, they also block joy and the highs, the heart lockdown that “protects” us, shuts out healing, too. Those of us who’ve been there and don’t ever want to do it that way again know that we need love to heal and be well again, but we have to be brave enough to let others in, especially Jesus. And, that love leads to beautiful things!
Love is a vital component to healing. ~ Rebekah
I get it. You may not like the demographic you either were catapulted into or poorly chose all on your own. Maybe, like Rebekah, you’re embarrassed by the fear and anxiety that took you out. Maybe, like me, you didn’t choose to be divorced. Maybe you’ve never told a soul about the abortion you had while you were in school and you’re afraid of telling anyone. Maybe you think you can hide your eating disorder a little longer. Maybe you don’t want to admit that depression has weighed you down to the point that every day you teeter on the brink. Maybe you’re still clinging to the extramarital relationship that you know is permanently scarring lives you had no earthly intention of hurting. Maybe you don’t want to be labelled as, “That one.”
But, the truth is that Christ came to set you free. He loves you and you can’t even wriggle out of it. The truth of your life held up to the light of day in the presence of Jesus and loving friends is not only endurable, it’s the only way to freedom. His love will change you. His love will heal you.
His love is our way out.
Along the way, you’ll discover that there are brave warriors who’ve been there, done that, and not only survived, but surprisingly thrived. And they can love you through with the love of Jesus.
Being loved by God and by others changed my life forever.
My ex-husband told me flat-out and very casually that I was unloveable. Like that was a perfectly normal husbandly thing to say — that there was literally only one thing that was remotely tolerable about me. After years of that and many other kinds of abuse including adultery and the desperation that came from financial abandonment, I believed him way down deep in my bones. It just felt devastatingly true. His abuse hung on me like clothing and I didn’t think I’d ever feel any different.
But, God!
Love is so much stronger than hate.
After soaking up, seriously brining in the love of friends, family, counselors, pastors, and most of all the Lord and the living Word of God, I recognized the murderous evil of that lie and I could push it away and tell satan (who was the author of that lie in the first place) to go to hell (literally).
Because I am loved, praise Jesus. And I am loveable. And, my friend, so are you!
And, here’s the beauty part:
With the truth in my back pocket that Jesus loves me and I am loveable came a shocking eye-opener to many people who also believe the lie that they are unloveable. My heart grew so determined to sucker-punch the enemy by being a friend to the fellow broken, to show them that they’re loved.
When I was at my lowest, a few friends stepped up to be “2 AM friends” — people I could call 24/7 to listen, empathize, and pray with me. Now, it’s my honor to be a 2 AM friend to others. I had coffee buddies who brought me books and worship music. Now, it’s my joy to be a coffee buddy bringing books and worship music. Sweet friends called when they were thinking of me, especially on special days. Now, I love to be the friend who calls.
Once Jesus’ love rings true, we have the eyes to see so many others with fresh wounds in the same places you have scars.
Just as He gives us brothers and sisters ahead of us, He provides others who are just starting the journey. Way before you feel ready, far before you feel healed enough, long before you feel prepared to come alongside and lock arms with another person, that’s exactly what you’ll be compelled to do. Because that’s what love does.
Love says, “I choose you. And, I’m going to walk with you. Even when you’re afraid.”
If Jesus has set you free, you are free indeed. — John 8:36
Jesus came to set us free… and, He gives us the joy and privilege of being His hands and feet to others who need freedom, too!
Talk about beauty!
Prayer for the Week
Jesus, thank You for the freedom that You came to bring. Thank You that You woo us out of the damage we cause ourselves and the wreckage done to us. Thank You that You put friends in our path who love You and who have been through it before. Thank You that You put friends in our lives who need to hear what we’ve learned about You along the way and need to be loved on by us. What a privilege! We love You, Jesus! Amen.
Let’s Chat
You may not feel completely free yet. That’s ok. But, you can still set others free. Who are you befriending right now and loving on for Jesus’ sake? Come share with us!
