Today is the last day in February. I have this mental image of winter being in January and February. We’ll get some snow in December and some snow in March, but it doesn’t last long. So, when February is past I begin to breathe a sigh of relief and begin making a few plans for warmer weather. And the weather man is certainly cooperating with my mental image this week. This warm rain and weather ought to quickly bring an end to all this snow and ice, turn things into mud again.
I did a funeral two weeks ago and noticed some green flowers protruding through the ground. That was my first notice of spring. Spring always reminds us of the resurrection that follows death. God is the author of life, and always promises another spring. I’m still feeling a little rough but have the strength to do some tax stuff and work on sermon ideas. What do you do as you await spring?
Tags: spring, weather
This weekend our bedroom got really warm one night so we opened the window a little. The next morning my eyes were swollen and I couldn’t stop sneezing. I had forgotten that part of Spring! I have this Spring-time allergy that affects me for about two months, then is gone. I had been looking forward to warmer weather for so long I had forgotten the down-side to Spring.
Yes, there is a down-side to every good thing we hope for. We want flowers, but we don’t want rain. We want to go shopping, but we don’t want to go to work. We want to have fun, but we don’t want to be responsible for our actions. This is life. The bad comes with the good.
So, we can either focus on the bad things coming into our lives, or we can focus on the good. They’re both there at every turn. I can be defeated, or I can be a winner. The choice is up to me. So, I believe I’ll go spray my nose again and enjoy the sunshine one more time.
Tags: , allergy, spring
Easter comes this year as early as it can on the calendar. Easter is a season of spring breaks and getting ready for warmer weather. It is a season for tulips and robins and mud and spring cleaning. Its also a season when people go shopping for warmer clothes.
But did you ever think of it being a season of revival in a person’s spiritual life? As people begin to look outward from the winter seclusion, it is also often a time when people attempt to make improvements in their homes as well as their lives. The cross is all about improvements in the life of a believer. The Book of Ephesians is a great teaching about the believer being in an exalted spiritual position. But it ends by challenging the reader to live according to this exalted spiritual position. Its a challenge to a life of holiness that draws attention to Jesus, not us.
The classic parable of the Prodigal Son is also a story of personal improvement. The son went back home, but his attitude was never the same. He was now the new and improved version. When Legion was delivered of the multitude of demons, his life was dramatically improved. Prior to the resurrection, Peter cowardly denied Jesus three times. After the resurrection, the same Peter boldly declared the resurrection of Christ before multitudes. His ministry had been vastly improved.
Let’s take some time this Easter season to do some spring cleaning inwardly. Let’s be transformed by the renewing of our minds.
Tags: cross, Easter, holiness, improvement, spring, transformation