Tag: Galatians

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Dressed for Combat

Football season kicked off last night in grand style. I even found myself slipping out of bed a few times to check out what happened to the Pitt overtime game and the USC game.  Finally a sport to watch again ( sorry baseball fans!)

Anyway, as most men know the uniforms are half of the deal when the team takes the field.  Several times after the last few years teams have changed colors in the locker room before entering the field for the game with the intention of creating come motivation and inspiring the crowd. Even my wife tells my boys “looking good on the field is most important”.

Anyway, earlier this week Nike released it’s new “Pro Combat” uniforms for a few selected schools.  And you guessed it the Mountaineers were in the mix this year.  They will were their uniforms against Pitt later this year.  It’s amazing the buzz this has created with Mountaineer fans, and I assume with the other team’s fans that are in the mix this year.  I can only assume the players are pretty excited as well.

So why?  Why is the uniform so much more than just a shirt and britches?  Why is so important that your uniforms like so tough and bad?  Why do teams like to wear that menacing all black?  We know, because it tells who we are.  It expresses what we feel about ourselves. In football, its say I am ready and I am playing hard and I am going to play as good as look.  We look the part that we want to be.

So what about our life, especially our spiritual lives?   Well check Galatians out:

26You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, 27for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ Galatians 3:26-28 (New International Version)

Paul says Jesus Christ is our uniform!   Can you think of anything more menacing in spiritual warfare then to be wearing the son of God?  We are clothed with him, we have put in on!

For some odd reason, I have made the picture of the new WVU uniforms my background on my computer.  Really, I am not sure why.  But I can say that every time I see it, I get a little bit of extra motivation, as if I were putting those one someday.  Which is really sort of childish, isn’t’? But what I am realizing is in the spiritual battle, I am wearing a uniform that is so much cooler and lighter weight and refreshing then the Pro Combats from Nike. The question is will I play like it today!

Put on the uniform that Christ gave you, and realize that you look ready for combat in them.  Play like it today!

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Do Good

I have several thoughts working around in my brain today, but they are all baby thoughts.  Thoughts that are not ready to be released into the mighty blogosphere. So I will keep incubating those for a few more days.  And since my mind is preoccupied, today’s thought is quite simple, yet quite astute.

It’s a simple message and a reminder to do good.

9-10So let’s not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don’t give up, or quit. Right now, therefore, every time we get the chance, let us work for the benefit of all, starting with the people closest to us in the community of faith. (Galatians 6:10, The Message)

Be salty today, don’t back down, and impact people!

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Summer Harvest

Do you like tomatoes? If so I have some for you!  I am currently picking handfuls of Cherry and Roma tomatoes a day from my square foot garden.   I am also starting to bring in cucumbers,  squash and peppers.  I have a few little bitty really hot peppers that have grown amazingly, I am just not exactly sure what do to with them. If you have some suggestions, I will gladly listen!

Its been a great experience this spring, taking care of these vines by directing their growth and providing support and water.   And finally what a pleasurable experience walking into the house with hands fulls of fresh produce.  Its a great thing being a vinedresser.  I can only imagine the pleasure the Lord gets in when he observes the fruit we bear.  Check this out – still from the Johns:

1“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

5“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. John 15:1-8 (New International Version)

This is to my Father’s glory!   Yep!  The Father loves to walk into the kitchen with a big grin on his face and an armful of fruit – your fruit!  Live today in a way that glorifies the gardener by producing fruit!    Are you not sure what fruit you can produce?  Take a quick look in Galatians and if you know the song sing along while you read it.

22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

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Oppression and Freedom

I like picture of the day and picture of the week blogs.  There are several sites like that that I frequent.  I think it helps get a perspective of what is going on all around the world.  This week, the WSJ picture blog seemed to be full of pictures of oppression – riots, ethnic fighting, and police brutality.  Its was really heartbreaking to look at those images.  But at the same time it was so motivating to know the freedom we are blessed with here in this land.

So with Juneteenth right upon us as well, It seems such a great time to consider the freedoms we are afforded.  But not only the freedoms we have as a citizen of the country we reside, but the freedom we are given from our Savior.   Many people view following the Christ as a binding and limiting engagement.  But check this out.

23“Everything is permissible”—but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible”—but not everything is constructive. 24Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others. 1 Corinthians 10:23-24

and

13You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.  Galatians 5:13 (New International Version)

We are called to be free!  We are blessed that we have been delivered a message that allows us to live, not by a series of laws, but by the spirit of love.   Boy, that something that brings joy and hopefully stokes you up a little bit.  And just imagine the feelings of the American slaves when they realized that the rumors of their freedom were true!

How are you using your freedom?

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Happy Ada Lovelace Day

Its Ada Lovelace Day!!!  The day that girl geeks treasure!

Who, many of you ask, is Ada Lovelace?  Well, Ada Lovelace is the world’s first computer programmer.  Yes, that’s right.  She wrote software for Mr Charles Babbage’s analytical engine way back in the 1840’s!  That’s right again – the 1840’s.  It was really even more then that, she really developed software development!  Talk about bootstrapping!  Learn more about this incredible piece of geekistry here or here.

So all geeks of the world, I being one of them, raise their handheld devices today in honor of Lady Lovelace!

Also, there is a group called findingAda.com, that is rallying around this day to recognize women in science and technology.  So, I thought I could give a quick shout out, in honor of Lady Lovelace, to several of the great women who I develop software with everyday including a fellow daily buffeter – Lisa Ignaszak!  Thanks Lisa for all the great work that you do!  I will raise my sweet tea up to you today!  (Make sure baby-j takes you out to lunch! )

So today, don’t be bound by things that don’t bind.

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

Use the talents that you have been given, and make a difference in the world – one day at a time!

4There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but they all come from the same Spirit. 5There are different ways to serve the same Lord, 6and we can each do different things. Yet the same God works in all of us and helps us in everything we do.

7The Spirit has given each of us a special way of serving others. 1 Corinthians 12:4-7 (Contemporary English Version)

And to finish up a little bit of Ada to celebrate the day:

with Ada.Text_IO;

procedure Hello is
begin
  Ada.Text_IO.Put_Line("Happy Ada Lovelace Day!");
end Hello;