Yeah, it’s the first day of Spring.  It was pretty cool to come out of the mountains of Kentucky where there were no leaves on any trees into the Tennessee Valley and see the bright vibrant colors of green everywhere last night.  That’s an awesome transformation!  That’s way I love spring.

Speaking of transformations, today is also Alien Abduction Day!  Yes, and if you are worried, you can buy insurance to protect against any mishandling by the extraterrestrials.

That’s one encounter I don’t plan on having.  I am not so big on having a creepy alien burst force from my rib cage.  But talking about transformations and thing inside of you, here is a transformation that even blows away the fantastic yearly surprise of Winter moving to Spring.

²⁰ I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. Galatians 2:20 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

As the flowers bloom and grow, think about you is living with you!  Let his presence bloom and transform you!

And that also got me thinking about the other seeds that I am planting right now.  I am really curious what I will reap in my spiritual, work, and physical life in the summer(and beyond) from the seeds I am planting right now.  I think we all have reap the benefits of good seeds planted, and the penalty of bad seeds when they bloomed in full force.

Let’s go through today planting the right seeds.

 ⁷ Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. ⁸ 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. ⁹ Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. ¹⁰ Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.  Galatians 6:7-10 NIV

I am not usually a note taker, as I find that I learn better by just listening ( or maybe I am just lazy?) – but I did stop and write down this one catch phrase, as I thought it would be good to pass along to all of you guys out there.  It was a great summary of the talk, and it is a phrase that you can remember and mediate on.

Simply put

Produce more than you consume

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

I am so pumped that John Hancock and the boys signed that document that led us down a path to incredible freedom as a country.  The freedoms that are enjoyed in this country to do whatever you want are such a blessing.  And it also reminds me of a similar declaration of independence:

for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. Galatians 3:27-29

What a great gift to have all this freedom around us.  Remember to use it and don’t abuse it.

Have a Happy Independence Day!

Now,Get out there and watch some fireworks!

¹⁹ “For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. ²⁰ I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. ²¹ I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” Galatians 2:19-21 New International Version (NIV)

But do we live it?  Or, I guess I should say, do we let Christ live it?

What’s interesting here, is this may not be a matter of doing what Christ would do, but more a matter of complete surrender, and letting Christ do what Christ would do.

This week, and especially today, I am going to try to take an inventory to see how much I am living and how much Christ is living in me.  Will  you spend a few minutes as well, examining your motives, your goals, your desires, your wants and your living to see how things are?

I find this verse extremely uplifting and extremely challenging as the same time.  How about you?

Invisible.

¹⁹ “For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. ²⁰ I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. ²¹ I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” (Galatians 2:19-21, New International Version)

This whole idea of becoming invisible, or maybe better put, the idea of dying to yourself and replacing your selfishness with the mind of Christ, is something that I have been struggling with and praying for for some time now.  For I know that that the days with I live for myself usually end up with things happening that are not so great, and the days when I hide myself and let Christ shine through are days of glory.

The dispenser still does not work for me, and I count that a blessing and a reminder.  A reminder of how I should be living my life.  A reminder that I should not be seen, but that the Christ should be seen in me.  When you wash your hands today and look in the mirror, ask yourself, “Who’s living in you?”

You ever have a day like that? From the moment the alarm goes off things just are not “on frame” – as they say in soccer. You can’t find stuff, teenagers are doing their best at being, well, teenagers. Then there are schedules, pressure, etc etc etc etc.

Today’s one of those days. So I am trying to slip in a little bit of motivation for myself ( and you) before I get whisked away in the land of endless emails.

So, a few verses I am trying to consider today, to reduce the anxiety and refocus my brain:

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9 ESV

But you, take courage! Do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded. 2 Chronicles 15:7 ESV

and then there is this one below.  This is a verse that most of the time we may not attribute to encouragement on a difficult day.  However I find it both humbling and full of purpose. It seems to emphasis the only task for the day that really matters and provides a little bit of clarity about the things that are causing stress.

But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. Acts 20:24 ESV

If your day has started like mine, spend a moment to recenter on the one mission and goal for the day – “the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.”

Although that was a humorous conversation and I actually pick out my own clothes int he morning, and usually at the store as well ( some of you are not surprised and wish that Amy would dress me!). But here’s the thing – as we consider our spiritual selves, when we attempt to dress ourselves we unfortunately are as I responded – exposed, and uncovered and unprotected. But when we put on the clothes of Christ we are spiritually unstoppable!

23 Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. 24 So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. 25 Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.

26 So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. Galatians 3:23-29 (New International Version, ©2011)

Heirs to the promise – unstoppable!

And with the clothing of Christ on, we are changed, and different.

13 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh. Romans 13:13-14 (New International Version, ©2011)

So as you go about today, consider who has dressed you. Are you dressing yourself and therefore leaving yourself exposed or are you putting on the clothing of Christ!

Yesterday the nation commemorated the anniversary of the passage, in 1786, of the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom, which provided the right to practice or not practice any religion you choose.

Today, we remember the great civil rights leader MLK Jr, and he efforts for racial equality and the freedom of to be able to be treated the same regardless of race.

These are both just remarkable blessings and things we should hold in high honor.  The blessings to be able to live in a land where you can be treated fairly regardless of of your faith, your gender, or your skin color is absolutely incredible.  However, those blessings pale in comparison to the freedom we are giving in Christ.

1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1

The yoke of slavery to sin and addiction.  You see no matter how oppressed you are by your government or by other people ( God Forbid), the freedom from sin and the salvation connected with that are still available. It’s such an awesome way to be able to approach to day, knowing you are not a slave of your desires.

13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. 14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. Galatians 5:13-15

So, all you freemen, approach the day with gratitude, for all the freedoms you enjoy, and use them wisely!

We Shall Overcome!

And today is a quick and gentle reminder of that.  Galatians 2:20 tell  us that we we are believers, we have put on Christ and Christ “lives” within us.

²⁰I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20 (New International Version)

This Christ or Jesus said when we was on this Earth that he is “the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6)

So that means that today as we walk around and talk and interact that we are showing people the way, the truth and the life.

Life in a way that reflects Jesus, and let your (his) light shine!