Freedom!

Freedom! My emotions begin to stir as I hear this word. I was excited when Ryan told me that this would be the theme for college ministry this fall while going through the book of Galatians. The Salt Company started four weeks ago and it has been awesome to see the excitement of the college students as they have come in the door. I have been amazed at what God is doing in this ministry and so honored to be a part of it. The last few months has been filled with times of discouragement, but many more times of encouragement.  

Since we are talking about freedom, I can’t avoid talking about the coming election. I can become quite intense about politics and the freedom our founders laid out for us in the constitution – Ryan might argue that crazy would describe it better – but with the election coming I have been wrestling with the question, “Where do I find my freedom?” It is a question I have struggled with because I really like the comforts and freedom America offers (probably because they were ideas taken from the Christian faith). But does my hope come from what freedom this country offers, which is temporary, or the freedom my Savior has to offer, which lasts for eternity? While I won’t stop fighting for our country’s freedom, it doesn’t even compete with the everlasting freedom that Christ gives!

Our culture has so many misconceptions of this idea of freedom, and we have encountered some of those misconceptions as we have begun the ministry at Simpson. One of the biggest falsehoods that we are seeing being taught and encouraged is the idea that there is no black and white or right and wrong, but every person has the freedom to make their own truth. As my faith has grown, I have come to understand that if I were the one creating truth, it would be completely biased. Who are we to decide our own gospel and what is right and wrong?!?! Galatians 1:11-12 says, “Now I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel preached by me is not based on human thought. For I did not receive it from a human source and I was not taught it, but it came by a revelation from Jesus Christ.” God IS truth; and because we are human HE has revealed to US that truth in scripture. We have to constantly fight against that sinful desire that wants to justify our sin and believe that freedom means you have no boundaries, but it is clear that there is right and wrong.

“For you were called to be free, brothers; only don’t use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love. But if you bite and devour one another, watch out, or you will be consumed by one another. I say then, walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit desires what is against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you don’t do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” –Galatians 5:13-18.

The very next verse Paul tells us what the works of the spirit are and then after that he tells us the fruits of the Spirit. The Spirit is key to our freedom. We can look at these verses and it can be clear whether our actions are of our self or the Spirit. As long as we are in this human body we will never completely stop sinning, but when we depend on God and let the Spirit live in us, then we are getting closer to conquering the flesh and living in freedom.

 Satan has so many men and women on Simpson’s campus fooled and they are blinded to the truth of Jesus. We desire and expect for God to bring His light and throw off the chains that Satan has placed on so many. We ask for your prayers as we face the opposition Satan is bringing as he works to keep so many students and faculty in bondage. We believe he is fighting hard because God has awesome things in store at Simpson. Please pray for truth to be seen and for many to be transformed by that truth. We also would ask for prayers to God for protection for the believers from the traps Satan has set so that we can run this race with integrity and endurance!

So we have seen one false idea of freedom, but this second misconception I have personally seen more often; probably because I grew up in the church. The churches in Galatia were changing the gospel and putting expectations (making them become circumcised) on believers as they were accepting Christ. They were turning back to the law and away from the grace that Jesus shed His blood for –who wants to go back to that?!?! It took me a while to grasp this and even, at times, I still battle it. So often I begin to see myself as better than I really am and think I am doing pretty well and then I am put back on my knees. God shows me that I need Him every hour of every day and faith is about this dependant relationship on Him, not a list of do’s and don’ts, earning our salvation through doing everything just right. Galatians 2:16 and 17 says, “No one is justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ. And we have believed in Christ Jesus so that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no human being will be justified.” What are some of those expectations we put on ourselves or others to know we are a “true” follower of Christ?

For some reason church has become a place where we put on this front that we are a faithful follower of Christ. How often is it a place we see brokenness, believers that are struggling, and sinners in need of a Savior? I believe the younger generations are seeking and desiring authenticity and are not getting it in the church. I fear if we don’t change that we are going to continue to see a mass exodus from the church and a further deterioration of our world. It’s time to be real with one another and real with our God as we live out this freedom we’re offered through an authentic relationship with Jesus.

For those of you wanting to know how The Salt Company is going, we are greatly encouraged. Last Thursday night we had about 50 students show up for worship, and about half of them have already gotten connected in weekly small groups. There is a hunger and thirst for the gospel of Jesus on Simpson’s campus, and as students are connecting with one another and beginning to take ownership of the ministry, we know God is being glorified in their lives. We also know, there are many, many more students that need to hear this message. Please pray those students would find their way to TSC on a Thursday night or a small group sometime during the week!

We so appreciate all the support and prayers, we couldn’t do it without all of you. Specifically, we would ask for prayers for the following things:

Student Leaders: We are already identifying students that will be great leaders in the ministry, but we need more, especially more guys! Pray that God would bring them, encourage them, and prompt them to accept the challenge lay before them.

Protection for our family: We are committed to this ministry that God has asked us to be a part of, and part of that commitment is the sacrifice of time and energy that can wear on us as a family. Please pray that any of Satan’s attempts to disrupt our family would be identified and taken care of, and that Ryan and I would continue to see how to best disciple our kids in the context of doing ministry. We rejoice in the fact that our kids will get to grow up seeing ministry being done daily, but we want to make sure we are living out God’s will for our family as a whole.

TSC Community: We really want to see The Salt Company become a united community of believers, and that process isn’t easy. We are working to figure out how we can develop relationships with students outside of our weekly gatherings, and we strongly desire for our students to begin building those friendships with other believers that will last for a lifetime.

Freedom from the stuff that binds us: Last Thursday in the middle of the teaching time (click here to listen), Ryan gave all of us the opportunity to come to the cross and confess the things that are holding us down and preventing us from living the lives that God designed for us. There were 50 responses, varying from the desire to preserve our self image to struggling with addictions to pornography, and everything else you could imagine. Pray that we would all be freed from these things so that we could pursue an unhindered relationship with our Savior.

That’s all for now – we promise to not go another six months before the next update!

Danielle