07_04_13 Independence Day rAW Wow. Independence Day once again to reflect on the meaning of it or just take it as another holiday on the calendar that most of think we know what it is or just don’t give damn, as long as I get paid for it somehow. It is a time of parades and community events that draw us out of caves that some of us conveniently hide out in. Weird way to start this out but I am going to give it yet another twist for those who know me. My quick understanding of Independence Day is not some movie made in the 1990’s. It is about the birth or beginning of a new Nation, started by men who had the courage to do so and put their lives on the line for it. Once these men signed their names to the Declaration of Independence they were hunted down by the British who came over here to tell them otherwise about this freedom they were hoping to establish. These men were willing to give up everything they owned including their lives. In guy slang talk, “they had some pretty BIG KAHUNAS.” Today I did the Firecracker 5K Race in Warrenville. I walk about a 15-minute mile average in my neighborhood and today I did the race in 44 minutes & 48 seconds. I am pumped up. I also had the honor of finishing the last 500 yards with Phyllis, a 73 old as I caught up to her. She and I encouraged each other to keep on keeping on with or stories. Hers is she is a breast cancer survivor and she mentioned another thing she overcame as well a caretaker for her husband. Every word she spoke was an inspiration for yours truly. I shared what I could in the spontaneity of the moment as others around are cheering us on near the finish line. We crossed together and did a high five. There was encouragement every step of the way on this 5K course from runners/walkers themselves to the neighborhood folks who stood or sat in front of their houses cheering us on. The volunteers from water tables to cheering sections at various points were awesome. Thanks to all who put this together and the volunteers. You all rock. Then we met our neighbors Brian, Tammy & Sarah for the first time since they moved in 5 years ago. Tammy’s story was also inspiring as she is a cancer survivor herself. Wow. Her first 5K and my second of the year. Amazing what a little adversity will do to get you motivated. Mine a stent and the two ladies are cancer survivors. I took it from our conversation that Brian and Tammy are believers based on their lingo. There is still another part of July 4th every year that some of you know about me. It is my “Spiritual” Born Again Birthday that I use as a celebration of BC (before Christ) and AC (after Christ) became personal and very real in my life. This happened in 1986, 27 years ago. Pretty cool “Born Again” Birthday don’t you think. Independence Day celebrated twice for me. Freedom for our Nation and freedom for my old way of how I lived my life. The word freedom is the “buzz” for me to comment on here. I am sure most of us have heard the phrase “With freedom comes responsibility”. Action speaks louder than words and so on. We have to make decisions day in and day out that will shape our futures and for those folks young and old around us as well. Our Nation is looked upon through out the world as a marvel of people coming together as One and to tell another (Great Britain) their intentions don’t include them. Same thing for me 27 years ago or for that matter the winter of 1986 was my first detour from a life that was spinning out of control with a personal conversation with the Master Himself but July 4th was the official day I committed by faith my life to Jesus Christ on a golf course in Bloomingdale around 7:30am with my boss Bob, his son Pat and a Pastor of a Church Van Gale. How is it I recall this day so vividly? It was my Saul conversion to Paul like in Acts 9. I believe that is the type of experience we all have when we do our one eighties in life. When we come to our forks in the road that will change our lives forever when we say YES to Jesus and NO to Satan & ourselves. It is our time to step into God’s plan for our lives. It is a time for change that was long over due for some of us, a change for the better. As I entered July 4th during my quiet time early in the morning I was reading, Still Higher For His Highest by Oswald Chambers a daily devotional book that I read from time to time. July 4th reading was titled True Freedom, not Independence. Well, well. How could I not read it with a title like that; I felt conflicted before I even read one more word. The Bible verse Oswald was writing about came from 1st Corinthians 6:12. I’ll use the Message version today 12 Just because something is technically legal doesn’t mean that it’s spiritually appropriate. If I went around doing whatever I thought I could get by with, I’d be a slave to my whims. Follow along with me if you will and see if you find Oswald’s spin on this as interesting as I did, confusing at first but interesting. “We call liberty allowing the other fellow to please himself to the same extent as we please ourselves. True liberty is the ability earned by practice to do the right thing. There is no such thing as a gift of freedom; freedom must be earned. The counterfeit of freedom is independence.(This is where I got interested) When the Spirit of God deals with sin, it is independence that He touches, that is why the preaching of the Gospel awakens resentment as well as craving. Independence must be blasted right out of a Christian. There must be only liberty, which is a very different thing. Spiritually, liberty means the ability to fulfill the law of God, and it establishes the rights of other people.” Whatever you get out of this reading I’m just letting you know from my end that this was yet another moment I liked how Oswald explained this. I am not letting Oswald have the last word but the Bible verse that is used is now helping understand a deeper truth about freedom & independence from God’s point of view. You see I do resent as Oswald wrote the fact that I have established a certain type of thinking and doing in my life that satisfies self and what I thought would benefit those around me. That is simply bass ackwards and this is confirmed by 1st Corinthians 6:12 no matter what version you read it in. So I learned something new about my independence from my old ways just like our Nation from King George. It is for the good that God be first then others of how I should think. It is good for me to dig deeper into my relationship with Jesus with the help of the Holy Spirit so God can be pleased by my way of going about how He programmed me to be. First Him, then you and myself last. When I keep this order through out my day I have less problems to contend with. When I do otherwise, it seems all hell breaks loose, spiritually speaking. Then my actions become my personal whims seeking self satisfaction instead of what is good for those around me. I’d like to end this with a phrase most of you are familiar with from me. Communty----Good------Isolation----Bad. Community, those around us, for that matter whom God has placed in our paths to help others see Him through our actions and words. Community of our families and friends and especially our Brothers and Sisters in Christ. Community, how it should be lived out by the example of our Lord Jesus Christ and how He lived His time out on this earth. He said something over and over that resonates with yours truly “ I and the Father are One”. Well you and I should live as one, as best we can. Do unto others type of mind set but first getting to know God like we’ve never known Him before. Day in and day out, learning more about His ways and what it is He wants each of us to do to bring honor and glory to Him. In valor there is hope. This is a fade to black quote at the end of a movie Act of Valor. It is a great movie from start to finish of the sacrifice of self for the good of those around them. I recommend this movie. A bit tense at times but it puts you into the lives of our unsung hero’s who make us safe as a Nation to carry out our so called freedoms they and our leaders deem necessary to protect. Let us never forget them, those who fight for our freedoms and those who protect those freedoms day in and day out. Our police-firemen-doctors-and all public employees protecting & serving us, but most of all let us never forget the wonderful work @ The Cross Father God did for us by sacrificing His Son Jesus Christ. When we awaken the Holy Spirit within us and invite Him along for the ride, then and only then does our Born Again experience begin to take off to places we never dreamed of. “For God so loved the world that He gave” Love is giving at the expense of self. That is what love is for me. . tbc
Posted on: Sun, 07 Jul 2013 13:07:16 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015