When the chains fell...

Usually I have some witty intro (or at least I try to) to the blog, but today I have one simple question: Where were you when the chains fell?

Huh? I was in chains? What “chains” are you talking about? … Well I’m glad you asked! (Even if you didn’t, humor me by pretending you did)

Many of us have heard the story in Acts 16:16-40 (which you can read here) about how Paul and Silas have been stripped, beaten, and wrongfully imprisoned under careful watch. At midnight, Paul and Silas began to worship God … chained and shackled in a jail cell. As they continued to praise God, an earthquake commenced and the chains that once shackled Paul and Silas were broken.

So back to the question: Where were YOU when the chains fell? Allow yourself to remember back to the point where you felt you were at your darkest hour … where you felt all odds stacked against you ... Picture the heartbreak, sadness, fear, brokenness you felt at that VERY moment …

… and now picture the moment where God delivered you from some stuff, some things, some habits and even some people and replaced that with joy, hope, and love. Can you hear the “chains” falling? Can you feel the guilt, the hurt, the shame, the disappointment falling off?

Something that REALLY stood out that passage of scripture is when the guard is awakened by the earthquake and goes to kill himself because he thinks the prisoners have escaped, Paul stops him by saying they are all there (v.27-28). The jailer then realizes the power of God’s hand on the life of Paul and Silas and asks what must he do to be saved.

Had Paul and Silas escaped, the jailer (and subsequently his family) would not have been saved. Paul and Silas chose to let the power of God deliver them instead of escaping. Had they “escaped,” God wouldn’t have gotten any glory and no lives would have been saved. The next morning the decision was made to release Paul and Silas privately … but Paul made them escort them out PUBLICLY to display God’s power.

Had Paul and Silas escaped rather been delivered, they would have had to hide, “lay low”, and sneak around to get to another place where they could minister ... all while “watching their back” from the past they were running from.  Escaping would have traded the literal chains for the figurative chains of being “on the run.”

When we “escape” things instead of being delivered from them, we usher in a certain silence with a cloud of secrecy hovering over it. When people escape, they can’t FREELY talk about it, they can’t blast their story to the world… they have to “lay low” and stay hidden.

When you “escape” you silence your testimony! Deliverance produces a freedom that escaping never can! God wants you FREE to talk about what He’s brought you out of!

AFTER the chains were broken Paul’s conversation with the jailer saved his life. The Bible says that we overcome by the Blood of the Lamb AND by the word of our testimony … how many of US have silenced our testimony by escaping rather than being truly delivered?

I want to submit to you that every chain that’s been broken off of your life wasn’t just for you but for you to display God’s power to someone else so that they may be saved. For every “chain” that’s come off of you, God has blessed you with a word of encouragement to share with someone else.

It is my prayer that we stop trying to “escape” and submit to God’s power to deliver us and BREAK EVERY CHAIN in our lives. Lord I pray that you will break the chains of sin, hurt, pain, disappointment, negative relationships, emotional distress, fear, shame, guilt, worthlessness, and any other chain that has us physically, emotionally or spiritually bound to the things of our past. Remind us Lord that there is NO CONDEMNATION to those who are in Christ Jesus, You are FAITHFUL AND JUST to forgive us, and help us to remember that although we are called to share our testimonies we DO NOT have to JUSTIFY the grace that You have shown us!

I pray that you find yourself in God’s presence, where there is liberty and fullness of joy, as you rest in the fact that whom the Son has set free is free INDEED!

Below is Tasha Cobbs' performance of "Break Every Chain" from WTAL 2012. You can follow her at @tashacobbs and get the single on iTunes & Amazon!

I love you and rejoice with you as the chains fall!

Allison

"Cash Out"

Quick question: have you ever purchased a relatively expensive gift for yourself and had people try to get you to explain WHY you would spend THAT amount of money on that particular item? (Examples iPhone 5, iPad mini, (no Apple shade tho!), Concords, LeBrons, or a Certain Shoe or Clothing brand…whatever the case may be.) …And THEN have them suggest what THEY would’ve done with that amount of money?

Most people’s first thought is something along the “you wasn’t with me shooting in the gym” train of thought or one that suggests “you-don’t-know-how-hard-I-work-for-my-money-and-therefore-have-no-right-to-tell-me-how-to-spend-it.” Often times we sacrifice for what we want (publicly AND privately) only to have it criticized by those who won’t be affected either way. After all THAT sacrifice, you won’t let ANYONE discredit what you went THROUGH to get what you want.

Over the last 26 years I’ve come to realize something most folks know, values vary among people. Not everything carries the same weight to different people. For instance, $1 isn’t the same to me as it is to Diddy. *Diddy bops*

“Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him,objected, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” –  John 12:3-5

A few quick points and I’ll be out.

·         Judas, the person IN the church, was SO worried about the CONTENTS of the box, he missed the CONDITION of the woman. A woman, bowed low before her Lord & King (who had also just raised her brother Lazarus from death in John 11) to anoint Jesus as her sacrificial worship. Her worship was birthed out of gratitude!

o   When someone gives COSTLY worship to God, who are we to judge what their worship SHOULD cost? We gotta stop judging folks’ worship!

·         Honestly, it seems like Judas was just trying to help right? Nah … he good. “He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.” – John 12:6 … Judas was the treasurer …but he was also stealing to benefit his own needs.

      o   NO ONE knows the price you’ve paid for your worship, therefore NO ONE can tell you HOW to 

           worship! #Confession: I’ll admit it, I used to call folks “Jesus Freaks” because of THEIR 

           style/method of worship (forgive me! Lol) but after THIS year, can’t NO ONE tell me how to 

           worship because NO ONE knows exactly WHAT it cost me.

·        Sometimes your worship will cost you EVERYTHING! 

When’s the last time you truly worshiped? Does your level of worship reflect your level of gratitude?

Today, I encourage you to get to a place where you can FREELY worship God. Enjoy the peace & joy that worship brings, don’t let ANYONE suppress your worship and surround yourself with people who understand & don’t question your worship! 

Ponder on God's goodness, grace & mercy ...reflect on the gratitude in your heart ... and worship accordingly!

Love you lots ... Not just the cliche' type either, like I REALLY love you! :)

Allison (<--yes, that's actually my real name & not LouBay, contrary to popular belief....but I still answer to both, Lol)