Column A OR Column B

When I was a kid, I loved those Chinese restaurants where you could peruse the menu and choose delicacies from both Column A and from Column B. You selected one or more dishes from each column and the result was often a wonderful variety of culinary treats - and sometimes some very strange and disappointing tastes!

But Galatians 5 makes it clear that when it comes to life and faith, we can't pick and choose options from each column. We either choose to go with Column A OR Column B.

COLUMN A

Galatians 5:19-21

Sexual Immorality

Impurity & Debauchery

Idolatry & Witchcraft

Hatred

Discord

Jealousy

Fits of Rage

Selfish Ambition

Dissension

Factions & Envy

Drunkenness

Orgies

OR

COLUMN B

Galatians 5:22-23

Love

Joy

Peace

Patience

Kindness

Goodness

Faithfulness

Gentleness

Self-Control

There's no option for picking and choosing. It's black and white, either one or the other. God gives me a choice. My way or the power and fruit of His Spirit. Attempting to pick and choose results in confusion, discouragement, a lack of integrity, and an invalid witness to what living for Jesus is all about.

"Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve ..."

- Joshua 24:15.

By the powerful filling of the Spirit,

go for the fruit in Column B -

Linda

The Invitation

"The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love"

-Galatians 5:6.

I just love it when the Holy Spirit sheds new light on a familiar passage of Scripture. Paul is telling the Galatian gang to forget all the trappings that come along with keeping the law, striving to impress others with their piety, thinking they need to add more to their salvation than what Christ has asked.

Our faith is so simple, isn't it. So powerful and life-changing. Yet so basic that even a little one can understand the truth. No wonder Christ says He wants the little children to come to Him.

They are the ones who truly get it. We adults come with all kinds of baggage filled with preconceived notions, cultural expectations, junk from the past, and legalistic debris.

But it is all about faith. Trust in Jesus. Trust that shows itself through a pure love with absolutely no agenda except adoration of Christ. And a pure, vital belief in all of who He is.

Period.

"All other ground is sinking sand ..."

Thank You, Jesus, for the truth that frees us. Give us courage to accept the beautiful purity and powerful simplicity of the invitation you've extended to us.

Linda

Legacy Leavers

September 13th is Grandparents Day. We look at the lives of our parents' parents, and choose to honor them, whether they are alive or are now gone from us.

What is their legacy?

Legacy is defined as "something transmitted by or received from an ancestor or predecessor or from the past."

So, what are you transmitting to those in your world ... family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, the next generation? What are you modeling for those you influence? What are they receiving as they observe your lifestyle, choices, words, and responses to daily joys and sorrows?

My dear friend Kristen Milligan lives a life that's all about intentionally leaving a legacy.

So today I honor my Dad and Mom who continue to model what "Living for Jesus" looks like. And remember my grandparents who were loving, godly, and faithful - to Christ and to their families. That's my legacy. And I remain determined, by the grace and power of the Spirit, to pass it on to the people in my world, young and old.

Linda

"... I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days ..."

- Deuteronomy 30:19-20 (NKJV).

Sure Cure For the Blues

Psalm 142 describes David's experience with the blues. "I cry aloud to the Lord; I lift up my voice to the Lord for mercy. I pour out my complaint before Him; before Him I tell my trouble." (Verses 1-2)

Experiencing opposition, criticism, rejection, and attacks on his integrity, David "cries out" = "shrieks," bellows," "makes sounds like thunder" to the Lord about his needs with heart rending groans. His self-image had been assaulted; he felt stripped , worthless, useless - his response is to plead for evidence of God's favor.

What did he need from God? He needed to see himself as God saw him - favorable, loved, useful, needed. The first step in healing is to tell God in prayer how you feel and what you need in an honest and forthright way.

Psalm 142:2 - "before Him I pour out my trouble." "Trouble" = "tied tightly," "restricted," "being bound up." "Pour out" = "cause to be conspicuous," "nothing hidden." Sometimes we find it impossible to articulate the thoughts that ache with pain, hostility, and grief. Get rid of the past by dealing with it. David first confesses (agrees with God's diagnosis) his sin, is forgiven, forgives, and is restored.

Why did God restore David? Because God is drawn to broken people; He loves to use broken people. Isaiah 42:3 "A bruised reed he will not break and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out." When we are broken, He brings compassion and grace and strength.

Cry out to Him honestly with your "trouble" and He will heal you and restore you -He did with David and He will do the same for you.

How do we get rid of the past that may bring the blues? More on that later ~ Bob

Today I Glean ...

Recent musings from my journal ... Linda

... So I come to You, Lord Jesus, eagerly this morning with all that's true about me. And thank You for Your presence ... the presence of Your Spirit, Your Self. The presence, as I seek it, of peace, and rest, and hope. And reclaim my faith and trust in You, which some days seems so strong, and on other days seems so tentative and fragile. I claim absolutely every promise You've given me as mine. And in the claiming of Your promises, there is a perspective that's holy and right and solid.

Galatians 5:1 says that, "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."

So for today I glean ...

1. Christ has redeemed me. Freedom becomes paramount. Yes - from the old law, but also from sin, the old me, the taunts of the enemy. Freedom from anything that would enslave or tie me down. I am free. I am defined by all that Jesus says about me. I am not defined by lies, memories, sin, sadness.

2. The Spirit who indwells equips me to stand firm. Not to cower, to regress, to get caught up in what's going on around me. I stand firm because the power of Christ dwells in me.

3. I make the choice not to pick up the burdens that I used to haul around ... That's done and over with. Truly I am free indeed. Praise God! And that freedom that came at such a huge price gives me cause to praise the name of Jesus, my Savior.

So, love is my focus today, along with that praise. My focus. My choice. So may praise to and love for the Redeemer fill my soul today. And may that filling leave absolutely no room for anything that would distract or take my focus off of the One who loves me so deeply.

After all, I am a daughter of the King.

GRATITUDES

1. The quiet gentleness of today.

2. Glimpses of anticipation for the days ahead.

3. Nuggets of treasure revealed.

Pressure

David experienced pressure - "Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident" Psalm 27:3.

His response to pressure was to put confidence in God. "Confidence," means "to trust," "to be assured," to be secure."

Hudson Taylor said, "It does not matter how great the pressure is. What really matters is where the pressure lies - whether it comes between you and God, or whether it presses you nearer to His heart."

Psalm 27:4 tells us that the one thing that was essential for David was to maintain constant, intimate, fellowship with God. The "one thing," single purpose, was to behold and to inquire of God - to be preoccupied with God's will, His person, to "gaze on His beauty."

If pressure is on you today, try David's solution in Psalm 27.

Pushed closer to Him daily ~ Bob

"Building Children's Self-Esteem"

1. Make sure that your children know they are worthy just because they are God's children.

2. Give unconditional love at all times.

3. Be alert to any signs that your children may be developing a distorted self-image - seeing themselves as unworthy, useless, less than adequate.

4. At all times, verbally affirm the positive strengths you see in your child.

5. Every child has unique gifts, so intentionally try to help your child discover what these unique strengths are, even if they are not on your agenda or value list!

6. Make sure that the feedback you give your child is not distorted by your own desires or disappointments.

7. Provide an atmosphere of complete trust for your child.

8. Some negative feedback in life is inevitable, and probably true, so every child must develop the courage to face up to, and learn, whatever he/she can from it.

9. Critical to a healthy sense of self is the development of a trustworthy 'self-evaluating internal filter' that will acknowledge the positive things about oneself, and not hoard the negative things. By allowing your child to share their successes, failures, and feelings with you, you can strengthen the accuracy of this filter.

10. A healthy self-esteem cannot be built just on achieving a lot of success.

- Archibald Hart, Writing for AACC's Pass It On

Good food for thought for all parents, grandparents, and teachers ~

Linda