God of power and mercy, bless this dear reader today in all that she or he faces; in Christ Jesus I pray, amen.
Our text for today comes from Galatians 5:13-26: 13 For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. 14 For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." 15 If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another. 16 Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, 21 envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, competing against one another, envying one another.
There is a crazy group of guys and one gal from San Antonio, Texas, that have their own television show on, I believe, is the Travel Channel. The show is called "Ghost Lab." Outfitted with all sorts of electronic equipment, computers, recorders, big screen monitors and tvs, the ghost lab is really a trailer this crew pulls behind it. Their mission is to prove scientifically the existence of the paranormal. And so, they travel to different places rumored to be haunted and try to record voices, or images that otherwise might not be captured by the human eye. The most recent episode took them to Alcatraz, the most famous prison in America. Spending three nights there they wanted to record anything that others have said they have experienced. Of those imprisoned on that island prison, Robert "The Bird Man" Stroud, was perhaps the most evil of them all. His ghost is suppoed to haunt Alcatraz. To get paranormal reactions these guys talk to the darkness in hopes of getting a response from the unseen. In a line that stayed with me was one they spoke to Stroud's jail cell. "Take a look out that window and see the freedom that you'll never have. It was bad enough to not have it while you were alive and now you're imprisoned here for eternity."
Paul's message was that of Jesus, freedom is ours. Christ gives us the freedom to rise above the expected or the norm of everyday life. If you look at the two distinct lists, most are imprisoned by what Paul calls "the things of the flesh:" fornication, impurity, licentiousness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, 21 envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these." How can one break away from these "everyday" things? Only by the power of Christ's Holy Spirit. Compare it to the things that come freely to us through Christ: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no better way to live. The first list is a list of chains. The second list is a list of rich blessings that are contagious and positive to others. The other night I was holding my new grandson, Caleb Eradio, and I saw his first smile and it came as I called him, "Liam Carlos," the name of my other grandson! The boy smiled and I thought, "He's thinking, my grandpa is sure old, he can't get us straight yet!" Nothing more contagious than a smile nor love nor joy nor peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. It will bring a world of good to you and to those with whom you share these precious things.
PRAYER: Dear God, I thank You for my freedom. I am free to choose how I will live my life and given the choice, I'd rather live free. May Your Holy Spirit guide me to the freedom that comes from You and may my life radiate the fruit of Your Spirit with others. I ask this in Christ Jesus' precious Name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
