004 - Truth Makes Us Free!

#004 – God’s Word is truth that has the power to set us free! Hear from a woman who overcame overwhelming childhood trauma and lies by being exposed to the word of God.  She grabbed on to this truth and is now experiencing the life transforming peace and love of God. 

We hope you enjoyed this episode as we focused on how God’s word, when applied to our lives truly makes us free.  Stay tuned for our next episode that will explore hearing God’s voice. 

Transcript

Welcome to transformed by the word, a podcast about discovering how to live your life with gratifying purpose. God created you for a reason and the Bible contains the keys to unlock your transformed life. Now, here's your host, Debora Barr

Thanks for joining me for Episode Four of transformed by the word. Today, we are exploring freedom in truth.

If we do not know who God created us to be, we can actually become lost.

In the second Disney Ice Age movie, called the meltdown. We ended up meeting a character of female woolly mammoth named Ellie.

And we learned from the movie that she was separated from her herd when she was young, and she ends up crossing paths with two opossums named Crash and Eddie, she ends up staying with them and their mother. And she started living like an opossum. She forgot who she was.

It wasn't until Manny, a male woolly mammoth discovered her and helped her to realize that she was not an opossum, but actually a mammoth.

That truth set her free to live the life that God intended for her all along.

I'm excited to share that we have a special guest today, who has an amazing story of how God completely transformed her life through the power of His Word. And the loving support of a woman who knows the Word of God and helped her to know who she truly is who God created her to be.

We will be back in just a moment.

I am so excited to have a special guest with me today. She's my friend, and she's such an inspiration. She has a heart and a love for God that just oozes out of her. God has done such a miraculous things in her life. And I'm so blessed to call Victoria my friend. So welcome my friend.

Thank you. Thank you very much for this opportunity. I'm excited to be here with you today. 

Yeah, it's such a blessing to have you. Now you have overcome so much to be where you are right now. And I know that you have a contagious love for Jesus. Can you share with us just a little bit about your background and and how you came to know the Lord? 

Certainly I do have a tremendous love for Jesus and it comes from, I think a place of such brokenness and an understanding through that brokenness of who he is and the power that he has. I was actually born into a family that worship Satan, they were straight up satanists. And with that came a lot of abuse, rapes and rattlesnake pits and drinking ungodly things and just torture so that you most people wouldn't even find believable but it was my reality and then

from that, because it's such a long and complex story, but the Fast Forward God had a godmother who now I believe with all of my heart is the only lady I will ever call my mom. She came into my life and I was in such a broken, broken space there. But she fed me the Word of God and taught me and reaffirmed for me what Jesus was all about that there was a Jesus Christ that had died for all of our sins and just started to thrive and have continued to grow from that. Since then, I have had three different encounters with cancer, but my fates through all of that, from what I've learned about Jesus Christ has just spawned off just miracle after miracle after miracle in my life. 

Wow. Coming from such a place of brokenness, how was it that the word of God intersected your life? I mean, when you first heard it, could you even believe it at first? 

No, that's very good point to bring up the way I was raised from an environment of Satanists. They taught me - tried their best to program my mind and drill into me that everything that the Bible said was wrong, that it was false teachings and that it was, you know, fake and just a feel good thing and that if I really wanted to know what real power was to, you know, worship Satan and so, from a child not being exposed to the world, I was, you know, never out loud out in public, I was just constantly in their presence. So I didn't, I came out of that with an understanding that there was nothing good about God, but but as mom, my good mom began to pour into me the Word of God, I became more open to hearing what she said she surrounded me with so much love, which was, you know, now my understanding God's love flowing through her and that just permeated me. I soaked it all up. And so as she was spilling the word into me and, and telling me the truth about Jesus, not that he was a bad guy, but he was this awesome, amazing person that gave his life for me, I began to receive that. And it has been a transformation process. Literally, it takes staying in the word, but there is so much power in the word that it overcame that dark past that I came from. 

Wow. So when you first accepted Jesus as your Lord, did you feel like things change right away? Or did it take time? Can you explain that a little bit?

Again, that's an interesting question. There was definitely some immediate peace that I felt. That drawing and His presence being there. Definitely. I knew something was different. But that doesn't mean that I got it all right right away, still don't get it all right today. There are things you know that that caused me to stumble there are things that I, as I said, I don't get right. But it's uh, you know, when we give our lives to Christ, it's a it's a sanctification process, we never fully reach that perfection until we're in his presence in heaven. So yes, there was definitely an immediate sense of peace and everything is going to be okay. But that doesn't mean that my life was without bumps and bruises along the way since then, the good thing is, is that he's been with me through all of that, and I constantly improving and learning from each of those times of tribulation.

I imagine given your background that there was quite a battle for your soul. I know in my own life, that when I came to the Lord, there was the worldly pull to go back to where I was, but I can imagine the spiritual warfare in your life being very intense. Because your family background, I'm sure that that was not an easy release for you to get that full freedom.

Absolutely there is. Oh my goodness. When I tell you that there is some sort of battle every day I am not exaggerating. The difference is that as I have stayed in the word and it has transformed my mind, I know who is stronger I know who is bigger I know who has won the battle. So now I'm at a place where when the devil would come after me because as you said, Reverend Barr, that's exactly what happened. It was a huge fight. mine and my mom's lives have been threatened by these people. You know, there's been death threats against us and then even down to the cancer. You know, some say that they curse and place things on people. 

And I, you know, I don't know, all I know is that God is bigger and better. And as I have meditated and dwelled on his word, and that has become a part of me, I'm now no longer running fear when the devil tries to pull me back because it still happens today where he still tries to pull me back. But now I can laugh. I literally can laugh at him because I know who I am. And I am a child of God, and I'm in his hands and he's got me covered. So it's, it's just so much freedom there.

And I would like to add to that, that when I counsel a lot of new babes in Christ, and I hear them say, how is the Bible relevant to me today? Because they're there. You know, they feel good. They sense this presence. They know that Jesus is the answer, but they look at the holy word a lot of times, not everyone, but most of the time. They will say, you know, this was written a long time ago. How can I apply it to my life today? And I put the I get to a point where I challenged them. Because I know the power of the word and it's supernatural. Some people would say magical that's comes from a place of ugliness and evil to me to use the word magic. It is truly supernatural. It's God's power, that literally just there is no explanation. But if you read it, if you if you if I just challenge people read it, put it to the test, and see if your mindset doesn't change. His Word is true, it's valid and it doesn't return void and everything that you put out there is going to do something and it starts with doing something to you.

That is so so true and so powerful. Do you have a favorite scripture? 

The one that I have decided encompasses my whole life is Psalm 107:2, which says, Let the redeemed of the Lord say so who has been redeemed from the hand of the enemy, and that I go to a lot because it literally I was born into a world that functioned around Satan and I have been redeemed from that. And now is my desire to say so to the whole world. And, and so I love that scripture. But then there are things like Romans 8:1 that speaks about condemnation and at times, I really have to stand on that because the world will come at you and make you feel like well, you can't do this or you can't do that because you've been you know, you're condemned because you had this in your past or whatever. But there is no condemnation for those that walk according to the Spirit and not to the flesh.

And, and that scripture, you know, also keeps me on track because it is when you walk according to the Spirit and not to the flesh, you should feel some kind of way. If you're sinning, you know, that's the Holy Spirit's prompting within you, but that's your own self. That's not condemnation from Christ.

That is so true. And the Word tells us that we actually have to apply the word to our lives. I mean, reading it, studying it, memorizing it, if you don't incorporate it into your life and apply it to your life. There is no transformation. Yes, you just have a head full of knowledge. 

Yes, yes, you do have to take that extra step and act upon it. But you will be amazed at times the Word of God I'll read it and I'm like, wait a minute. So and so just just really ugly to me. And you don't want me to say anything bad God, like come on. Now. You know, your flesh gets in the way. But if you just again, I just challenge people put it to the test and see what he wants to do, because he will take care of it. And you know, His Word is just so rich and so full. It's just once you do it, once people begin to really get into it and you can start however little timeframe you set, I guarantee you, you will start to hunger and it'll start to when you're making time. So start little if you have to, but watch how he will transform you.

Yeah, that's powerful. so powerful. So do you have any final words that you would like to leave with the listeners today?

Just please, do what we've just said here today, please, if you if you don't know Christ, please, please surrender your heart to Him today and see the difference that he can make in your life. Reverend Barr will certainly lead you through on how to do that. It's just the best decision you could ever make. But in addition, once you have accepted Him as your Lord and Savior, open up the Word of God, and be transformed, read it, read it, meditate on it, see how it can apply to your life. And be true with it, be true with it and be true with God. Be honest in your heart. You know it's good when we're transparent with others because it helps people grow and and come out of their shell more. But the main thing is being transparent with God because He already knows what you're doing. He already knows what you're up to. And there is so much freedom when you can open that word and say, You know what, this is my life in God, you know it, but here I am, and he will work miracles in your life.

Amen. Thank you so much for being on the show today. You've been such a true blessing. And I'm grateful to call you my friend.

Amen. Awesome. Glad to know you Reverend Barr. God is doing amazing things through you. It's a blessing to see.

We'll be right back.

Victoria's life was completely transformed when she was exposed to the truth. And she responded to the truth.

She accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior and His truth began to permeate her life.

Jesus said to those who believed him,

if you abide in my word, you are my disciples indeed.

And you shall know the truth. and the truth shall make you free.

Jesus can make you free.

If you have never surrendered your life to the Jesus Christ, you can do that right now.

It is by faith that we believe that Jesus died on the cross for our sins.

If you're ready to place your trust in the Lordship of Jesus Christ,

why don't you pray this prayer with me?

God, I confess that I'm a sinner, and I need Jesus in my life.

I repent of my sins and I turned to you.

I believe that Jesus died on the cross for my sins. He was buried and he rose from the dead.

I accept this by faith and I invite Jesus

To be Lord of my life,

to reign and to rule in my heart.

Thank you for forgiving me and saving me. Amen.

If you just prayed and accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, I want to hear from you.

Please visit my website at TBTWpodcast.com. And let me know about your decision for Christ so that I can encourage you and support you with the next steps for your faith.

My prayer for you today is that you will abide in God's word and allow it to bring about change in your life as the truth of his word works in your mind and in your heart to truly transform your life.

Stay tuned for our next episode of transformed by the word where we will explore Hearing God's voice

Thank you for listening to transformed by the word with your host Debora Barr be sure to subscribe to our podcast on iTunes or Google Play and connect with us at TBTWpodcast.com. Until next time, be blessed.