I just thought I’d mention what has been swimming in my head since Grae’s message this past Sunday.  Grae was talking about inheritance, and in my heart I had this flutter. You know the feeling. It’s one of those times when what is being said connects with your spirit and you know it’s for you right now. It’s something that all you have to do is agree with it and it plants deep and even feels like it takes a root system immediately. Anyways…I digress. My point is, Grae mentioned our inheritance and how we live with that knowledge. He talked about how Henry Ford’s children must live or have lived with the knowledge of the current provision and their future inheritance.

How much more is my heavenly Father wanting to dispense my inheritance? He paid the way so that I could fully enjoy all the good things He has for me. A good father looks out for his children and foresees the future. How much more does the Lord do that for me? Choices are mine. Experiences are mine. But the reach is so much bigger because the inheritance that I am able to walk in on the earth is far bigger than my mind can contain. It doesn’t just add up to God giving me money. When you’re well-connected things just happen for you. In the last two years I have seen a well-connected Father work out some amazing things for me. I want to continue to live like I have a well-connected Dad walking ahead of me, providing me opportunities to enjoy this life to the fullest in whatever way that takes shape. In the end, I’m a rich, happy girl.

Over the July Fourth holiday, as is my custom, I read a book on the founding of our nation. This year’s book was “The 5,000 Year Leap” by Cleon Skousen. It’s an insightful look at the principles employed in the drafting of our constitution. The overriding passion of our founding fathers was to create a government system where citizens could be free from both tyranny and anarchy. As I considered the freedom that we enjoy in this country and the amazing wisdom imparted to our founders in striking a proper balance between those two ends of the political spectrum, I thanked God for giving us a kingdom where true liberty can be experienced and enjoyed.

 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. (Galatians 5:1)  

The message of Galatians is that Christ and the promised Holy Spirit have set us free from slavery to the law (tyranny) and the indulgence of our sinful nature (anarchy). Our freedom came at great cost, the blood of our Father’s precious Son. And it has a great purpose. We’ve now been set free and empowered to love as He loves.    

You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Galatians 5:13-14)

The Holy Spirit taught me years ago that Satan’s counterfeit of liberty is independence. Independence may seem like liberty, but it’s not. Why? Independence often expresses itself in indifference which is the opposite of love. Love demands interdependency. We must first and foremost depend on the Holy Spirit who produces the nature and the power of love in us. The fruit of the Spirit is love… (Galatians 5:22) True love is not possible without the Holy Spirit.

Then we must do what we are equipped and empowered by Him to do, love our neighbor as our self. The love of God is not an emotion. It’s a power expressed though action. As such, it cannot find expression in independence. Love demands a giver and a beneficiary. Every soul that we encounter needs to be touched by the love of God in us. They are created to receive His love, and we are recreated to impart it.   

Creation’s Founding Father has given us the perfect dominion in which we can be free to do what he desires most of us: to experience His love for us, to love Him back, and to love others. For this purpose He has given us the Holy Spirit who has poured God’s own love into our hearts. And it is for the freedom to love and be loved that Christ has set us free. That’s true liberty!

I came across YouVersion a year or so ago when looking for a Bible program for my iPhone. I looked at others, but settled on YouVersion because of its attractive interface and numerous features, not the least of which is access to pretty much any version you can think of, along with the ability to download many of them for offline use when there isn’t any wireless signal available.

As it turns out, they have a really cool web-based version, as well. In addition to being significantly more pleasing in appearance than other online Bible resources, the interface is really slick and interactive, and allows you to view two versions side-by-side (common for desktop Bible apps, but pretty special for an online resource).

Side-by-side translations.

You can also sign up for an account, which allows you to track your reading progress, follow one or more of the numerous provided reading plans, journal about what you’re reading, and share your thoughts about passages with other users of YouVersion. These features all sync between the online and mobile versions, so you can keep track of everything no matter where you are. Oh, did I mention it’s free?

I have yet to dive completely in, but plan on taking much more advantage of this very cool resource.

Well, not my plan. God’s plan.

After being spiritually walloped all week by Amber Brooks’s song “Heavenly Places”, it was really neat to find that it specifically addressed much of what Grae had prepared to speak on. (Obviously we hadn’t spoken about it previously, or else I wouldn’t think it so remarkable.) Grae even mentioned Sunday that he had never heard the song.

In her song, Amber says:
“You above, seated in the heavenlies, who am I? Who am I to You?”

Then asks in the second verse:
“You above, seated in the heavenlies, who are You? Who do I say You are?”

In his notes for Sunday, Grae has written:

Two most important questions in life:

1. What do I think about God?
2. What do I think that God thinks about me?

That’s pretty neat.