Tracy's Blog

So I didn't want to leave you mucking around in Gal. 5:19-21 for too long..... onto verses 22-23 . One of the most amazing things about our salvation is that we have not only been saved from our sin and rescued from destruction, we have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit that we may truly live! Here is the comparison of the NIV and The Message on the fruit of the Spirit: NIV The Message Love Affection for Others Joy Exuberance about life Peace Serenity Patience A willingness to stick with things Kindness A sense of compassion in the heart goodness A conviction that basic holiness permeates things and people Faithfulness loyal commitments Gentelness not needing to force our way in life Self Control able to marshall and direct our energies wisely The one that stood out to me as odd was his translation of "goodness". I've always viewed it as goodness in the person who has the Holy Spirit, not a conviction about holiness in things and people. As I thought about it, I ...

Sometimes when I'm reading a passage in NIV and it is sounding so familiar that I can't really listen to it, I pull out another translation of the Bible. As I read the passage and find words I don't expect, it causes me to stop and consider what is being said and hopefully hear a fresh perspective. Currently, the translation that I pull out when I'm looking for a fresh perspective is Eugene Peterson's "The Message". When I read Galatians 5 in it, I thought, "this is my next blog". So, here is a comparison between the NIV and The Message on the acts of the sinful nature with a little commentary from me. Galatians 5:19-21 : the obvious acts of the sinful nature/of trying to get your own way all the time NIV The Message Sexual immorality Repetitive, loveless, cheap sex Impurity A stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage Debauchery Frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness Idolatry Trinket Gods Witchcraft Magic-show religion Hatred Parano...

As I start to write, I am well aware that it has been too long since my last post. "Well, there has been a lot going on," I tell myself. And it is true! There is the daily routine of childcare and housework and dog walking and errands and on and on. Plus deadlines for projects that dominate or the unfortunate situations (having a sick child was mine this week) that drain time and energy exponentially. It seems that life can get so full that it is a struggle to find time for some of the most important things.... like writing blogs, reading my Bible, and being still before God. And that's what the "Mary Minute" is all about. A couple of weeks ago, Jess and I were talking about the story of Mary and Martha from Luke 10:38-42. Not surprising, the affirmation that Mary received for sitting at Jesus' feet - in a posture of submissive learning - instead of rushing around dealing with the many details of meal preparation challenged us. Is it possible to l...

"Those who cling to worthless idols,forfeit the grace that could be theirs." I love this verse. It's clear. It's direct. It's a warning. A bright yellow light swirling round and round in our minds to help us resist the draw of worshipping worthless idols so we can instead participate in divine grace. It was Jonah who prayed these words - while in the belly of the whale (Jonah 2:8). In his day, the idols were statues and figurines. Unable to speak, relate, or act, they were completely without value or use (except that which the worshipper ascribed to them.) In our North American world today, most of us don't bow to gods carved out of stone or wood but we still can cling to worthless idols. An idol is anything that we worship other than God. It can be another person, money, status, emotional security, a hobby, or (you fill in the blank). Whatever we depend on for our ultimate joy and peace, whatever we turn to for deliverance when we are in trouble, whatever co...

The other day I had an insight about our "feet being fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace". You know, from the armour of God in Eph. 6. In the past, I've interpreted that phrase to mean that we are always ready to share the good news with people we meet and that our feet literally carry us into those conversations. While I still hold to this interpretation, I'm getting a fuller picture of how the gospel of peace is "offensive armour" and how it impacts our approach to others. Let me explain.... One of the main tactics of Satan is fear and intimidation. Fear paralyzes us and keeps us from obeying God. Fear of others - of what they will think of us or of how they will react to us - is a signficiant battle in many peoples' lives. Much mental and emotional energy is spent coping with the tensions of potentially stressful interactions or genuine intense conflict with others. The gospel of peace radically influences our attitudes towa...

I'm on an interesting journey right now as I consider what it means to love others in the Body of Christ. This is probably going to influence many of my blogs in the future. I hope that's okay. Today's entry is not so much a devotional thought as a request for your input regarding the whole area of burden bearing. The featured text is Galatians 6:1-5, specifically verses 2 and 5 "Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." "for each one should carry his/her own load." I absolutely LOVE how the Bible doesn't shy away from the realities of life. How often within a passage or a section of Scripture there are things that seem to contradict each other or at least raise a question of how do we interpret the saying. I find Gal. 6 does that for me. Here is the thing I'm thinking about and would love your feedback on. If a person is not carrying their own load, they (or their life circumstances) becomes a burden th...

One of the challenges of our spiritual lives is sorting out our thoughts. We have all kinds of them: quick, random things that come through our mind (ie. songs from the 80's), strong impressions that sink into our memories, repetetive messages playing in the background like a radio we can't turn off, and many, many more. Have you ever thought about the fact that you are the only human that has access to your mind AND that you have authority over it? This may seem untrue when your mind is being bombarded with messages through advertising over the TV or when you sense the enemy of our souls is tempted you with a thought put into your mind. But it is true. God has commanded us to take every thought captive. 2 Corinthians 10:5 says "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." This is spoken in the context of not waging war like the world does. We are...

Prayer is integral to our lives with God. It is our opportunity to commune with Him, to pour out our hearts to Him, to bring to Him our problems and praises. When I was a young Christian, someone explained prayer to me in this simple phrase: "Prayer is talking with God". I still believe this (even as I've come to appreciate the listening aspect of my conversations with God - a topic for another blog). But what I'm thinking about today is the role of faith in our prayers. I read Jesus' words in Mark 11:22-25 and two statements fo Jesus' stand out: "Have faith in God" (vs.22) and "Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." (vs 24). Prayer, like good person to person communication, doesn't just involve the act of talking or speaking words, there is another crucial element - faith/trust. Although I could start a litany of questions that stem from these two verses, I just ...

Has this ever happened to you? You are talking with someone at a social event and they are griping and complaining about someone else - their mother-in-law, co-worker, "friend", or even pastor - and then that person walks by and the complainer quickly puts on a smile and a sweet voice to talk with the person they have just been grumbling about. Inside you feel a little sick as you observe their great acting skills and wonder if they have missed their calling. Maybe they should be in Hollywood. I hate it when that happens.... when someone "puts on" a facial expression or presents themselves in a way that I know is not consistent with their true attitudes. It always makes me wonder what they say about me behind my back. But it also gets me thinking about the Christian life and how we are to "act". In Colossians 3:14 we are commanded to "put on love". Does Paul mean that we are to pretend that we love others?? That Christian virtue is really just an...

Now that we are out of bed, what do we do? There are many things that may make up a typical morning ritual – the paper, coffee, shower, checking your email – but one thing is pretty universal – getting dressed. Just as we put on clothes appropriate to the tasks of the day, we need to dress ourselves spiritually in preparation for the day ahead. The difference is that what we put on to equip us to face the spiritual battle of the day is not something different every day. In Ephesians 6 , Paul lays out what we need: the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the readiness of the gospel of peace as our shoes, the helmet of salvation, the shield of faith, and the sword of the Spirit (the Word of God). We also ask for the ability to pray in the Spirit on all occasions. As I write this blog, I’m sitting in the dining hall of Beulah Camp in New Brunswick and although I’d like to write more (and even be a bit humorous), Timmy is potentially going to wake up any moment so I’m going t...

Do you have trouble getting up in the morning? I do. I'm one of these people who just loves the feel of warm cotton sheets and the idea of closing my eyes "for just a couple of more minutes". And that's on my good days. On the mornings that I'm scared of what lies ahead -- an exam or an interaction with a difficult person - or am stressed about not being able to accomplish the many, many things that need to be done, it's not the warmth of my bed that is pulling me back but the desire to retreat and hide out from my day.The other morning as I laid in bed trying to rouse myself, I thought of Jesus on the day He was betrayed. What did he think of on that Thursday morning as He woke up? He knew what was coming; "You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified." ( Matt. 26:2 ) Did He have trouble getting out of bed?We don't know. What we do know is that Scripture reveals a range of emotions t...