My Beautiful Grandmother

I was out of town this last weekend for my Grandmother's (my mom's mom) funeral. She died a couple weeks ago after a two year battle with a variety of cancers. And it was such a strange experience for me to be at my grandparents house in Ohio and her not be there.

As a child I would spend my summers in Ohio visiting my dad and I would always spend a little time with my grandparents going swimming in Lake Erie, watching videos from the library, going to Indians games and making raspberry pies with the raspberries that grew in my grandpa's garden; I have so many good memories from my grandparents house. And as I spent this last weekend there they all came flooding back and I half expected my grandma to come walking out of the kitchen and ask me to go to the garden and tell my grandpa that dinner was ready or to hear her from her bedroom saying that I needed to get ready for church. But she she wasn't there. And the more I looked at pictures of her the more I wished she was still here to play dominoes, or go skiing, or take me to visit the wild life center she volunteered at.

I can remember waking up some mornings as a child and she would be sitting in the sun room, drinking her tea, faithfully reading her Bible (with her pet bird sitting on her shoulder). And I can still hear her voice imploring me to find deeper truths in some of the TV shows that I watched as a kid (like Family Matters or Full House). And every time I saw my grandparents holding hands or cuddling on the couch, I was always in awe of the love they had for one another (if you get a chance, please pray for my grandpa, I know he will miss her dearly).

There is no doubt in my mind that my grandmother was an amazing woman; the kind of woman that I would like to be.

Here are some good pictures of my beautiful grandma (a lot of them are with my grandpa).

I love you, Grandma! I'll see you in a little while.

Being Prepared for Battle - The Sword of the Spirit

Sorry for the delay of this last post. I was out of town this last weekend for Eddie's sister's graduation.

This is the sixth of six posts.

Ephesians 6:13-17

The Sword of the Spirit

"and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God"

This piece of the armor might be the most talked about piece, with a variety of good commentaries and interpretations on what it is and what it's for. But here are some of the thoughts that I had as I was dwelling on it.

One thing I noticed is that this is not my sword, it's the sword of the Spirit. The word of God is not necessarily my offensive weapon, it's the Holy Spirit's offensive weapon. Which makes sense in a lot of ways. Why is it that some people can read the Bible and not be convicted of sin or see any of the truth in it? Because the power of the Spirit isn't wielding the Word in that persons heart. Without a soldier, a sword is useless; Without the Holy Spirit, the Bible is just another book. The Word has power because the Holy Spirit gives it power as its wielder. (I'm not saying that the Holy Spirit can't wield the Word in a non-believers heart, my point is that the Word's power to change hearts comes from the Holy Spirit.)

And, praise the Lord, if you believe in Jesus Christ as your savior, the Holy Spirit is a deposit guaranteeing your inheritance (Eph 1:13-14). If you are a Christian, you have the Holy Spirit within you. But how can the Holy Spirit help you tear down strong holds in your life without his weapon, the Word of God? Thus, we need to take up the Sword of the Spirit so that the Spirit can wage war and fight for us. Because I can't change my own heart, I don't have the power to change my motivations or desires. But the Lord does have that power and he uses his sword to battle temptations and motivations in order to sanctify me.

But if I am not spending deep, meaningful, meditative time in the Word, then I am not equipping the Spirit within me and I should not expect to see any change in my own life or to have an effect on anyone else's life. But when the Spirit has his weapon, I see change in my life and I see how he uses me to reach those around me.

Being Prepared for Battle - The Helmet of Salvation

This is the fifth of six posts.

Ephesians 6:13-17

The Helmet of Salvation

"and take the helmet of salvation" (v17)

1 Thessalonians 5:8 says that this helmet is "the hope of salvation". It's our promised future salvation that is our head protection. I think even more specifically, it is the protection of our minds.

Our minds are where the battle rages day in and day out. It seems like everything in this world is fighting for a claim on my thoughts. From TV, to the internet, to the radio and beyond, my thoughts are being swayed by all of the eye candy that is put out there for me to dwell on. And when Satan wants to take me down, where does he strike? In my mind. He sits on my shoulder whispering temptations into my ear all day long. He knows that all he needs to do is get my mind off of the things in Phil 4:8 and I'll be useless.

So why is the hope of salvation my protection on that battle ground? Because when I keep my mind on my promised salvation, then my sinful thoughts are seen for what they really are; pointless and evil. And when my mind is dwelling on the glory of what it will be like to stand in the presence of my Savior, fully justified, sanctified and glorified, every other thought fades away and Satan has nothing greater to tempt me with.

The battle for my thought life can be won by focusing on and rejoicing in my salvation and the greatness of what Christ has done and will do for me.