I am Brave and Bold because Jesus' Blood sets me Free

I was a professional liar, and I believed lies about myself, especially in my younger days. As a middle schooler, I had an interaction with two of my church friends, and they asked me to stop participating in Sunday School. My answers and questions in class made everyone else uncomfortable. The lie the Enemy (Satan - the Father of Lies) shot at my thoughts was if I wanted to have any friends, then I needed to shut my mouth. I stopped participating in both church activities and school classrooms throughout my teen years and adulthood. That one lie incapacitated me in connecting with other people, because there was a fear if I shared my opinions on anything, then I would lose what little friends I had. No one would like the real me. I continued to omit the truth, and the childhood lie plagued me with all human interactions.

My high school best friend once shared her first memory of me. She said she was too scared to talk to me because she thought I might break from out interaction - I was too shy, quiet. She was unaware of the lie rooted in my heart, but Jesus knew. Jesus turned on a flashlight and shined it on my heart, on the memory where the lie first entered. I knew what the lie was but for the truth, I had to ask Jesus.

First, I rebuked the lie that I had to mute my opinions to have friends. I sought forgiveness from the Lord for partnering with that lie. He forgave me. While I went to the memory of the conversation with those two church friends, I asked Jesus what was His truth. He said, Your words and thoughts are valuable. I didn't create you to be silent but to be brave and bold. Whew! I received His truth and practiced sharing my opinions in conversations with family, friends, and acquaintances without the fear of how they may respond.

I discovered He was right. I was brave and bold. In college for my senior year Writing Capstone project, my creative non-fiction writing pieces revolved around the porn addiction I still wrestled with at that time, and I presented to not only my classmates, but to their parents, or guests, and my own parents. What?! Later in life, I published a book on the same addiction and shared pieces of my heart, secrets I thought I would never expose to public light. My being brave and bold - sharing my opinions and experiences as a woman in a porn addiction - was nerve-wracking yet freeing. I no longer had to stay silent because of a lie that dissolved under the Lord's truth and Jesus' blood of forgiveness. I was brave and bold because Jesus' blood set me free from lies.

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Your turn.

Who are you because of Jesus through the letter 'B'?

Hebrews 10:1-22 (TPT)

By The Stripes by Harborside