Tracy's Blog

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...