February 25, 2025

Let’s get one thing straight: freedom isn’t floating naked down a river, drinking a bottle of bourbon with fireworks in both hands and no plan for where to land.

That’s chaos.

Real freedom—the kind that doesn’t burn you alive or leave you empty—lives inside of structure. Like jazz needs time signatures. Like surfing needs a shoreline. Like salvation needs surrender.

We say we want to be free, but what we usually mean is we don’t want anyone telling us no. No rules. No consequences. Just vibes. Just indulgence. Just us, baby, rolling downhill with the brakes cut and the stereo blasting “Runnin’ with the Devil.”

But here’s the thing: you can’t run with the devil and walk with the Light. Not forever.

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🏀 The Game Isn’t the Game Without the Lines

Imagine a basketball court without boundaries.

No sidelines.

No shot clock.

No refs.

Just a bunch of sweaty dudes pushing each other and calling it freedom.

It’d be anarchy.

It wouldn’t be a game—it’d be a brawl.

The boundaries don’t steal your freedom.

They define it.

They make the game playable.

And life’s the same way.

We were never designed to be gods of our own universes.

We were designed to live with God, not in rebellion against Him.

And that’s what real free will is: the ability to choose within the architecture of creation.

Within the laws of gravity, morality, love.

You can choose to jump off a cliff like my buddy Larry—but you don’t get to negotiate with gravity on the way down.

Spinal surgery.

Titanium pins.

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🎯 The Salvation Question: Is It Really Up to Us?

Now here’s where the theologians start swinging like it’s the eleventh round in a Holy Ghost boxing match:

Romans 8:29-30 says God predestined us to be conformed to the image of His Son.

And some folks read that like the credits are already rolling on the movie of their soul.

No say.

No shot.

Just destiny.

But maybe… just maybe… God’s foreknowledge doesn’t erase our choice—it just knows the ending before we do.

Maybe He saw every fork in the road and every stubborn detour we’d take.

And still chose to call us anyway.

I believe in a God who knocks—but doesn’t kick down the door.

He invites.

He warns.

He waits.

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🛣️ Free Will Is a Two-Way Road

You can choose to curse God.

Or you can choose to cry out to Him.

You can choose addiction.

Or you can choose healing.

You can keep walking deeper into the cave—or you can turn and run toward the light.

But every choice bears fruit.

“You say, ‘I am allowed to do anything’—but not everything is good for you.”
— 1 Corinthians 10:23

Just because you can eat the whole cheesecake doesn’t mean you should.

Just because you can ghost your family, numb out on TikTok, and chase validation through strangers online doesn’t mean it’s leading you to joy.

And just because culture screams “do you!” doesn’t mean that “you” won’t crash the whole car.

“Don’t be concerned for your own good but for the good of others.”
— 1 Corinthians 10:24

There it is. That’s the crossroad where free will meets faith: Not my will, but Yours be done.

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🙏🏽 Choose This Day

Joshua laid it down like a mic drop in Deuteronomy boots:

“Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve… but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
— Joshua 24:15

We all serve something.

Some god.

Some hunger.

Some ghost.

The question isn’t if you’re serving—it’s who.

“Now choose life…”
— Deuteronomy 30:19

Freedom doesn’t mean living without a Master.

It means choosing the right one.

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⚡ Jesus Changes the Terms

The moment you choose Jesus, you’re not just saved—you’re transformed.

Not just rescued—you’re recruited.

Not just healed—you’re sent back into the war with armor that fits and a fire that won’t go out.

Jesus doesn’t chain you to a pew and call it holiness.

He sets you loose on the world with a sword of truth and a calling to walk in the light—unashamed, unafraid, unalone.

And if you’re still dragging a past behind you like an iron sled, remember this:

He’s already in your tomorrow. Already whispering hope into your cracked foundation.

Already holding the map out.

Already knocking.

The question isn’t whether you’re free to choose.

The question is: What are you going to do with the freedom you’ve been given?