Something Sacred is at Stake
“… but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live” (Romans 8: 13 NKJV)
The Bible is filled with descriptions similar to Paul’s admonition to “put to death the misdeeds of the body.”
Moses describes for the Israelites in Deuteronomy 30: 11-20 that there are, essentially, two roads before them: one road of wisdom and obedience leading to life and another road of disobedience and folly leading to death.
Say “Hello” to Freedom
I sat in the group room in my office, listening to the chatter and hostility of those that were ordered by a judge to be in that room. They were angry. Frustrated. Sad. Confused. And they were taking turns expressing their feelings about having to provide drug tests. That abstinence was “stupid.” That they were just going to go back to using the day their case was closed.
Death Has No Victory
I still see the man who raised me when I look in my father’s eyes. At 86 years young, you can see in his face how much time has passed and how much life he has lived. Yet along with the years, Parkinson’s disease has slowly, but steadily, stolen even more strength from my father’s body. He walks with a symptomatic shuffle. His words are few and he is slow to express his thoughts. My father battles every day to accomplish the daily activities of life, yet when I look in his eyes, I still see the dad of my childhood. I still see the same eyes of love and welcome.
Sanctified in Christ
I heard a speaker one time say we need to memorize power packed scriptures. I believe Romans 8:10 – 11 is one of those power-packed scriptures because understanding the truth of the words changes everything about the way we live our lives. Christ in you! What? Christ in me? There is incredible power in understanding those words.
Celebrating New Life
4:43 am. The window is cracked and I can hear the sounds of baby birds chirping. It is an early alarm clock but one that puts a smile on my face. In a half foggy, semi-awake, slumber I started to think about a similar sound; the sound of little fuzzy yellow ducklings and then, of course, Easter. Easter thoughts bring me joy, so I don’t mind at all that it’s only 4:43 am. Don’t you just love when you are half awake and half asleep how your mind travels to the strangest places? I am grateful this morning that it wandered to such a happy place.
Christ in Our Broken World
It was an ordinary, giving my son a bowl of Cheerios, kind of day. My son was laying down on the couch, slowly waking up, messy hair on top of his head and his favorite blanket in his arms. Then:
“Mom. We need to take care of the Earth. Because if we don’t take care of the Earth, it will be broken.”
Mindset on Jesus
Losing a loved one is one of the most difficult times in life and one of the most difficult things to understand. When we are tied in knots with grief and heartache, life slows down. When we are not exercising our strength to say good bye, it seems someone we know is going through the painful stages of grief. The heart ache penetrates to a deep place forcing us to grapple with the meaning of life. I have a friend who reminds us that it’s actually death that brings our attention and focus back to life. During this grieving process we have recollections of what this world is all about. It’s about the living.
Envy: The Enemy of God’s Peace and Wisdom
In his letter to the Christians in Rome, the Apostle Paul notes that the “mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.” Of course, one must return to Paul’s earlier letter to the Galatians, where he lists the nine characteristic “fruits of the Spirit” (5:22, 23). One of the nine “fruits” is peace. And in his letter to the Colossians, he instructs his readers to “let the peace of Christ rule in (their) hearts” (3:15).
Which Way Will We Choose?
“Following after the Holy Spirit leads to life and peace, but following after the old nature leads to death.” Romans 8:6 TLB
It took only a second. One second to choose a path that would indelibly mark his life and future. Just one quick second. In that second lay one decision to turn away from the life which granted him peace and life and make the one decision to choose regret and death.
Peace in the Turmoil
I remember the day clearly. It was right before Christmas in 2012. Our house was decorated to the hilt. Cookies and treats were everywhere. The chaos and busy-ness of the season could not drown out the joy of Christmas. Particularly this one. It was my first Christmas as a mama. I got home from work and as usual, checked the mail box. And there it was. The envelope I sent a week prior to my father with pictures of my son. With the note scribbled on it, “Return to Sender.” I hadn’t spoken to my father since May of that year. I hadn’t seen him since our wedding three years prior. There were a million and one things rushing through my mind and a tsunami wave of emotions flooding my heart. But the common theme I felt in that moment was very familiar. Rejection.
Can They Tell You’ve Been with Jesus?
When was the last time you ran into someone you haven’t seen in a while and they made the comment, “There’s something different about you?” How about someone you see regularly making a comment like, “It’s apparent you’ve made some changes in your life. I can see them.” When you are spending time with God and digging into His Word, the Bible, to allow the truth of it to change you, these comments should be normal in your life. Yet, it’s not just reading the Bible that changes a person because, in our own strength, we will often fail. The change seen by those around us on the outside is the fruit that comes from the internal Spirit we receive when we receive the gift of God’s salvation through accepting Jesus.
Looking Through the Lens of God's Kaleidoscope
For my 50th birthday, my daughters gave me the coolest gift. It was an antique brass kaleidoscope. It reminded me of being a little girl and full of awe when I peered through one of that little throw away cardboard kaleidoscopes. I loved how a simple turn on the viewing cylinder would change the design and patterns I saw. It filled me with wonder and I believe nurtured the joy of curiosity and exploration I have today. I explore God and His Word with that same curiosity that was developed back then. You see, it was a kaleidoscope that helped me understand how a small shift can make a huge change in perspective.
Free, Indeed?
One of my favorite stories is played out in the movie The Shawshank Redemption. In this story, we follow the lives of men who are condemned to live out the rest of their days at Shawshank Prison for real crimes committed. Many of the inmates have committed murder early in their lives. Now we meet them as old men who have been imprisoned for decades. It actually tells a beautiful story of one inmate who refuses to give up hope. Refuses to see only walls and guards and bars on his cell. He brings the beauty and life and purpose to the prison and to his friends by embracing hope. I won’t spoil the entire story line for those of you who have not seen it but it’s a great read and movie.
Fruit of the Spirit of Life
The law of the spirit of life that sets us free from the law of sin and death is enacted and legislated by our Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth (Romans 8: 2). It is the spirit of life that liberates, transforms, and overcomes.
And the closest thing we have to seeing this spirit of life is to witness its effects, or in more biblical terms, its fruit.
Jesus talks a lot about fruit.
He had just finished telling his disciples that they shouldn’t continue the cultural habit of assuming bad things happen to people simply because they’ve done bad things (Luke 13: 1-5). Evidently eighteen unfortunate souls had died when a watch tower in Jerusalem collapsed. The presumption was that the eighteen had perished because they were guiltier, worse sinners, than those who were still living.
Free to Live in Boundaries
This morning I woke up early with this blog on my mind so I opened my Bible to Romans 8 and then I just sat with it. I asked God to flood my mind with the things I should write and this is what happened. My mind went back to a phone call I had last night with my spiritual mentor. We were talking about my mom’s cancer and questions I should ask her doctor. She said something to me that I will never forget. She actually said 45 minutes worth of things to me, but this statement is cemented into my brain. “Sometimes it feels as if our life is surrounded by an electric fence and we don’t know where it is until we bump up against it.”
Finding Grace Through the Unthinkable
This last month I've found myself reading through the book of Ecclesiastes and grieving books. Our good friend’s son recently passed away unexpectedly just a few days after thanksgiving. We were heartbroken and still are. My husband and I would find ourselves just randomly crying through the days that followed his death because of the shock and deep despair we were experiencing. This little boy wasn't even 3 years old and he was one of my daughter’s dearest little friends. Everything suddenly felt very unfair. I started questioning God more than I ever had before: "What good comes front this?" "How do you work through something of this magnitude?" "How is there supposed to be joy in the midst of this type of pain?" "How do they, our community, our family, move forward from this?" So many days I would talk to God out of pure anger. During my kids nap time I would leave the monitor with my husband shut myself in the car and just scream and whale uncontrollably. Those first few weeks were probably some of the hardest days of my entire life. As I started to come out of the shock and anger, I started experiencing shame.
Wrestle For His Freedom
Do you know how to wrestle? Have you watched a competitive wrestling match? Maybe your brother or son wrestled in high school or college and you were there to cheer them on. Maybe you’ve seen a match while flipping through all the different events during the Olympics. Wrestling takes patience, strength, and technique to be able to grapple with your opponent, pin them, and win the match. I can wrestle with my children and quickly “win” the match, but wrestling with myself and my thoughts proves to be a much more powerful and difficult opponent.
Surrendered To His Grace
This year I’m going do it. No matter what, I am going to make it happen. I am going to lose the extra pounds, work out, be more self-disciplined and have balance in my day. These are my goals and no matter what, by will power it will happen this year. This year is different! I’m going to start as soon as I get done singing “Auld Lang Syne”. No messing up this year. Nope, this is the year for change. I am filled with hope and determination. No stopping me, my mind is made up!