{"id":2406,"date":"2022-02-01T13:56:46","date_gmt":"2022-02-01T13:56:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/?p=2406"},"modified":"2026-04-14T06:20:24","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T06:20:24","slug":"pursuing-freedom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/pursuing-freedom\/","title":{"rendered":"Pursuing Freedom"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-container uagb-block-ca5ff7a6 alignfull uagb-is-root-container\"><div class=\"uagb-container-inner-blocks-wrap\"><div style=\"font-size:24px\" class=\"has-text-align-center has-link-color adobe-reg-italic wp-elements-85a8a21107b8ee66b96e773a6aa630b7 wp-block-post-date has-text-color has-web-light-green-color\"><time datetime=\"2022-02-01T13:56:46+00:00\">February 1, 2022<\/time><\/div>\n\n<h2 style=\"color:#ffffff;font-size:45px;font-style:normal;font-weight:600;text-transform:uppercase;letter-spacing:4px\" class=\"has-text-align-center has-link-color proxima-font wp-elements-8489a226fd32958d683121eb2fa02d00 wp-block-post-title has-text-color\">Pursuing Freedom<\/h2><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-container uagb-block-42bd1541 alignfull uagb-is-root-container\"><div class=\"uagb-container-inner-blocks-wrap\">\n<p class=\"adobe-reg has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-14dcb81ed4c28d7768d5c75b3320b16d wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">Dear Friend,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-2fc8ac229aac783fd16abd5f8a8ccc78 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">It is to be expected that measurable relief and restoration can result from the hard work of personal restoration. Some individuals seeking to leave the transgender lifestyle experience a total cessation of any further tendencies to \u201cboot up\u201d the same icons that once were such an important part of their daily feel-good maintenance\u2014or of what seemed to be their survival. But anyone involved in recovery work encounters periodic troublesome skirmishes. The crucial question then becomes \u201cMy way or God\u2019s way?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Daily focus<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-f64d58751d70390497df356ceda8efb5 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">People who have battled transsexual desires tend to follow their damaged inner compass, which naturally points back to transgender confusion and bondage when trials arise. At such a time, the person needs to acknowledge that, just like the apostle Paul, he faces the daily task of focusing upon the Lord and daily doing what is necessary to put to death the misdeeds of the body (Romans 8:13) in order to live to the fullest. That discipline is required in order to make Jesus Lord of our life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-8706162096396e9238d44856b00764c1 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; No one likes this self-denial; Paul struggled with it (see Romans 7). Many have interpreted continuing struggles with their flesh patterns as an indication that they are only denying their true identity as transsexuals. They say that denying the desire is a lie, and they want to \u201clive in truth.\u201d After embracing the lie as the truth, they adjust their lives accordingly, and expect everyone else in their social sphere to do the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-d6abed34f0ad0dd240e56b7354c9037f wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; These kinds of thoughts and feelings don\u2019t have to regulate their conduct or become their reality. To be a Christian is to learn to draw heavily upon Christ\u2019s amazing grace to overcome our natural, ungodly, and fleshly inclinations\u2014to deny the old sinful nature its knee-jerk reactions to external stimuli. Jesus said that those who want to be His disciples must deny themselves and follow Him. The gospel of Jesus Christ always forces an issue of the will. Do we accept God\u2019s verdict on sin as revealed through the cross of Jesus Christ?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Real life\u2014or stew?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-15a65ea84e60c996320d07129b4912ee wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">The question is not whether God loves us or not. The question is, \u201cWill we allow that great love to permeate our humanity and change our heart, our sinful propensity to rebel against God\u2019s intention, or will we abandon our inheritance for a bowl of stew as Esau did?\u201d (See Genesis 25:29-34.) Exchanging a caring and loving family (and God\u2019s fruitful blessings) for feminine clothes is an Esau-like, shortsighted swap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-c32cbb9c082e03c7988e3e87c303a05e wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; God is neither partial nor irrational; His grace does not declare sex-reversal surgery to be sinful and selfish for one and then sanction it for another. Who could trust such an unstable deity? Our human selfishness and instability concocts such a confused self-serving notion as one that says, \u201cGod told me to do it.\u201d The god of self is the one that declares such nonsense. Some argue that \u201cGod created me to be the opposite sex,\u201d and they mistakenly wound up in the wrong body. Blaming God for their \u201cdilemma\u201d is a lie. We humans have created and manufactured \u201calternative lifestyles\u201d and then pinned them on God. Gender then becomes the person\u2019s idol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Freedom or license?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-2db8727efb783ccfb0f3dcbe47db82eb wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">At times, running up the white flag of surrender may seem like the only reasonable thing to do. But is it? Such heretical, self-serving license, rooted in victim mentality, gives the person who believes the lie an inner sanction to destroy not only his life, but also to victimize his family and friends by this choice\u2014by his own selfish, fleshly desires.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-99a444d8d21da6480d79db909a0c9c00 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; So let\u2019s talk about freedom in this context. Freedom does not mean the total absence of transgender inclinations, thought, and feelings. Genuine freedom comes through daily application of the principles of the Spirit-led life, through death to the old ways of dealing with life\u2019s circumstances, and the appropriation of the new life that Christ offers to all who seek Him daily for the grace He alone supplies to walk as a slave to righteousness. Paul clarifies it further as he drives home the point of successful Christian living: \u201cDo not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up\u201d (Galatians 6:7-9).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-b7dc3424a6df5f9aa43717ecb83c111e wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Some seem to think that \u201csuccessful Christians\u201d are free from the temptations of the old life. Look around on any given Sunday and you\u2019ll see that such a belief is neither sensible nor true. The notion that Christians can reach a point beyond temptation to sin is a myth perpetrated by self-righteous people who fail to understand the Scriptures, their fellow man, or even themselves. Being free can be accomplished only by daily standing against the natural, powerful inclinations of self-will.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-02468b3a2425b6fba5951460f7c6d990 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The person who truly wants to escape the selfish desires of a temptation like cross-dressing must steer clear of any opportunity to indulge the flesh; stay away from the places and things that enticed the \u201cold man.\u201d The same principle applies to any wrong indulgence, whether it\u2019s overeating, gambling, alcohol consumption, or illicit sex. People indulge in harmful activities\u2014whatever they might be\u2014for the same reason: They\u2019re looking for comfort. No one should be surprised that humans sometimes desire sinful indulgences. But to baptize those demands and call them \u201cGod\u2019s will\u201d reflects a hard and wayward heart; it cheapens the cross of Christ and reveals resistance to the truth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-e8823af1748d0f791a5b9318c78d0bab wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Cross-dressing or transgender issues are not new to the human race or to Christ. But those who struggle with these topics can walk in freedom from the conflicting passions of their soul when they properly maintain their spirit, soul, and body. In so doing, they walk in truth and light, as directed in John\u2019s first epistle. Change is discovered when, in hard or difficult times, people turn toward Christ and pursue His ways rather than their own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>A crucified life<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-eac919bf2b1be38ec3ed917b1bfbe6ad wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">Galatians 5:24 says, \u201cThose who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature, with its passions and desires.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-1abe74bad5ccd9146fe1786cba94319a wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Freedom encompasses nothing less than a regular, ongoing, daily, and vital relationship with the only One who can save\u2014Jesus Christ. Freedom requires a determined stand against the impulses of one\u2019s flesh and the sinful drive that would propel each of us into self-serving destruction if given half a chance. Read 2 Corinthians 6 and 7 to see instructions for Christian believers. You will find commands such as these:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-38e8cb2652daff65d6392569511ec4d5 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">\u00b7 Do not receive the grace of God in vain or to no purpose (6:1).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-eda1e614256ac6a6df38beac1dde01f9 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">\u00b7 Do not be yoked with those who profess things inconsistent with your faith (6:14).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-533bc8b1fbd3a82e0dbd9a7a5f042d8f wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">\u00b7 Do not make partnership with those who are iniquitous and lawless (6:14).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-0cca1aaa1bcd305291eabdb711a0758f wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">\u00b7 Do not align yourself with those who walk after their flesh and another god (6:15).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-6aecb919ed9387ac8f7c6ff027d0a671 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">\u00b7 Come out from among and separate yourself from the unclean (6:17).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-a9c5a64ac832823cd7c2974c3c491f60 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">\u00b7 Cleanse yourself from all that contaminates and defiles body and spirit (7:1).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Victory through God\u2019s grace<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-77381b7381f5d69f3e155a0d3d0a3126 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">Pretending that people cannot overcome wrong desires\u2014or are unable to work through addictive thoughts or habits\u2014is a destructive form of denial. To be an active over-comer requires a soldier-like posture and mentality\u2014a heart that aims to honor God. No one is sinless in himself. God\u2019s abundant provision of grace is the only thing that can help people to change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-3bd7057d328ceb7b05f4ad8aedcaa3ec wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Society tells us to gratify our wrong desires rather than to be disciplined, restrained, or responsible. The path of least resistance leads only to captivity. Some are caught in the battlefield of the mind. Others are caught in the crossfire: wives, children, parents, and friends.&nbsp; I prayerfully ask you to read this book and allow our heavenly Father to come alongside you, no matter where you are at this moment. And, if you are a minister reading this book, may the Lord our God guide you heart and bless you with wisdom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-33ceccd00727f4b328349d0078c3610f wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\"><em>But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.<\/em>&nbsp; \u2013 Ephesians 4:7<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"gsp_post_data\" \r\n\t            data-post_type=\"post\" \r\n\t            data-cat=\"uncategorized\" \r\n\t            data-modified=\"120\"\r\n\t            data-created=\"1643723806\"\r\n\t            data-title=\"Pursuing Freedom\" \r\n\t            data-home=\"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dear Friend, It is to be expected that measurable relief and restoration can result from the hard work of personal restoration. Some individuals seeking to leave the transgender lifestyle experience a total cessation of any further tendencies to \u201cboot up\u201d the same icons that once were such an important part of their daily feel-good maintenance\u2014or &#8230; <a title=\"Pursuing Freedom\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/pursuing-freedom\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Pursuing Freedom\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2406","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Denise Shick","author_link":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/author\/denise\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Dear Friend, It is to be expected that measurable relief and restoration can result from the hard work of personal restoration. Some individuals seeking to leave the transgender lifestyle experience a total cessation of any further tendencies to \u201cboot up\u201d the same icons that once were such an important part of their daily feel-good maintenance\u2014or&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2406","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2406"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2406\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2410,"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2406\/revisions\/2410"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2406"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2406"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2406"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}