Don't Go There!

Boundaries...

Don't Go There - Stay with in the boundaries!

How many times have you heard that message before? Most of the time boundaries are set in place for one reason. Protection. They keep us from getting hurt or from hurting others. We drive within the speed limit so we don't smash into someone or something and get hurt. We stay within the boundaries on the ski slopes so we don't cause an avalanche on an ungroomed area. We stay on the path so we don't get lost. The list goes on and on...

God also sets boundaries. The boundaries are designed to keep us safe. His boundaries will keep us from getting hurt, hurting others, and they will keep us from making a mess of our life.

I don't know about you but I've always been one that likes to roll outside the boundary lines. I've always had a rebellious streak that screams "don't tell me what to do!". I wanted to do things my way. Honestly, in living "my way" I made a mess of my life. I thought if I lived my life within my own boundaries, and ignored God's boundaries I'd have more fun and be happier. Just the opposite happened. By trying to gain freedom, I lost my freedom. I was shackled with guilt. Burdened with brokenness and despair, and a prisoner to my mistakes.

BUT... God sent people into my path that taught me that if I embraced God's boundaries I would find freedom. Christ came to earth so that we might be free from our sin, He came so that we could be set free from guilt and shame which are products of those mistakes. That is what He has done in my life... He has set me free! I've found that by living within His boundaries, which are found in His word, we can have an abundant life. Living an abundant life is about living free.

I challenge you. I challenge you to examine God's boundaries and test them against your own. I challenge you to live within His "lines" and see if you don't feel better emotionally, spiritually and physically.

Want to explore God's boundaries... Good! Over the next few weeks we'll chat... and I'd like to invite those of you who live near Gallup, New Mexico to come to our Don't Go There! Youth Conference host by the Joshua Generation Church on Friday June 6, 2008.

Till next time... Don't Go There!