Enlightenment leads to self-control

egkrateia (eng-krat'-i-ah) is the word in Galatians 5:22 that is translated as "self-control."

In what we call chapter four Paul talks about being children of Sarah not Hagar; so that those of us in the new convenient are free children not slaves. Chapter 5 opens with this statement: For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

Of course, Paul is speaking of spiritual freedom and spiritual slavery. I have come to understand why the early Christians were willing to die for their faith. Feeling powerless under the rule of the Roman Empire, the Gospel message empowered them with the knowledge of Jesus Christ the Emperor of the Universe. Believing in Jesus, gave their lives a fresh and vibrant meaning. No longer were they feeling like pawns in the world. There was a lot that they could not change but they could chose not to bow their knees to the Emperor and they can chose not to act like everyone else.

When faced with the choice to either confess Jesus or continue to empower Rome with their allegiance they chose to confess Jesus and therefore chose death. Believing that Jesus is the Life they would have not feared death and would not have wanted to release their new found freedom.

The part of Paul's message that really hits me hard today is that today all of us have a level of freedom that our First Century brothers and sisters in Christ could not have even imagined. Today self-control does not mean just not bowing our knees to the Emperor. It means that we do not control or manipulate other people to do what we want. It means that we do not let other people control us. We do not submit to anyone but exercise our freedom in Christ and freedom as US citizens to follow Jesus as we are spiritually called to do.

Also it means that we control ourselves. We do not give into compulsive behaviors of any variety. This applies to all aspects of living. One of the fruit of the enlightenment, the Wisdom of The Holy Spirit is to get in control and remain in control of ourselves. We shouldn't let anyone dominate us and we should not submit our wills to any power in this world. It means that we should dominate over anyone else. We should be the voice of empowerment and freedom.

sunlight and water

Sunlight is wonderful. It gives definition and color to the visible world.

When sunlight reflects on moving water it creates a reflection of sparkles and slices of light moving and dancing on the water.

Water is magnificent. It sustains life and cannot be created nor destroyed. It is cures thirst, refreshes, stimulates, invigorates and is very dangerous.

Swimming in a large body of cool water on a hot summer day while the sunlight is reflecting on it is truly mystical and spiritual.


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Dear God,I surrender my financial affairs and concerns about money to your Divine care and love.I ask that you remove my worries, anxieties, and fears about money, and replace them with faith.I know and trust that my debts will be paid and money will flow into my life.I have only to look to nature to see proof of the abundance you provide.I release all negative thoughts about money, and know that prosperity is my true state.I commit to being grateful for all that I now have in my life.I learn to manage my finances wisely, seeking help where needed.And finally, I ask you to help me understand my purpose in life and to act on that purpose with courage and strength. I know that prosperity will come, in part, by doing work I love. Please help me use my skills and knowledge to be of service in the world.Thank you, God.Amen

Another prayer

Show Me the Course
Steer the ship of my life, good Lord, to your quiet harbour, where I can be safe from the storms of sin and conflict. Show me the course I should take. Renew in me the gift of discernment, so that I can always see the right direction in which I should go. And give me the strength and the courage to choose the right course, even when the sea is rough and the waves are high, knowing that through enduring hardship and danger in your name we shall find comfort and peace.
- Basil of Caesarea (c. 329-379)

Workday Prayer

Workday Prayer
Lord Jesus, as I enter this workplace,I bring Your presence with me.I speak Your peace, Your grace, and Your perfect order into the atmosphere of this office.I acknowledge Your Lordship over all that will be spoken, thought, decided and accomplished within these walls.Lord Jesus, I thank You for the gifts You have deposited in me.I do not take them lightly, but commit to using them responsibly and well.Give me a fresh supply of truth and beauty on which to draw as I do my job.Anoint my creativity, my ideas, my energy so that even my smallest task may bring You honor.Lord, when I am confused, guide me. When I am weary, energize me.Lord, when I am burned out, infuse me with the light of Your Holy Spirit.May the work that I do and the way I do it bring hope, life, and courage to all that I come in contact with today.And, oh Lord, even in this day's most stressful moment, may I rest in You.In the name of Jesus my savior I pray. Amen.
- Unknown

A prayer of repentance

Merciful God, we have sinned in what we have thought and said,in the wrong we have doneand in the good we have not done.We have sinned in ignorance:we have sinned in weakness:we have sinned through our own deliberate fault.We are truly sorry.We repent and turn to you.Forgive us, for our Saviour Christ's sake,and renew our lives to the glory of your name.

The Scent

John 12:1

(NRSV) Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Beth'any, the home of Laz'arus, whom he had raised from the dead. 2 There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Laz'arus was one of those at the table with him. 3 Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus' feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But Judas Iscar'iot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, 5 "Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?" 6 (He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) 7 Jesus said, "Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. 8 You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me."

Oh the scent of fragrant perfume! The pound of perfume could have been sold for 300 denarii, which is about a years salary. A years salary in the 49424 Zip Code is $72,000. No one here makes THAT much do they? Perhaps all of us are closer to the national average of $36,000 a year. I did a Google search and found the most expensive perfume in the world. It is from the Clive Christian Collection, called Number One (pictured above) and sells for $2,350 per ounce. Yes, Number One, much better than Chanel Number 5 In November of 2005, Harrods sold an exclusive version of this perfume. The bottle contained a half litre of perfume and was made of cut glass topped off with a large diamond and collar of 18 karat gold. It sold for about $215,000 or 170,000 British Pounds.

Nard: a Himalayan flowering plant and the fragrant oil derived from its root (possibly a citrus aroma)

There weren't a lot of ways to save money in the First Century. One way was to bury in the ground and find it later. Much later, people have found coins buried in the ground and old coins aren't very rare for that reason. Another method was to buy something of value and keep it your house and sell it later in hard times. Apparently the jar of pure oil of nard was Mary's savings and she broke it open and poured it on Jesus. She literally poured out her life savings.

There were two types of giving 1) Alms giving to the poor--money is handed out in small increments on a as needed basis. We saw this a lot in Madagascar. The poor would come into the shops daily and receive a few small coins, less than a penny in value. Shoppers would bump shoulders with them as made their way in and out of the place. We do something similar with the Silent Needs Fund. We give a little of our budget to help people as needed. Judas was saying that the perfume should have been just that, a small act, not an act of love. 2) Act of Love--Making a dent in our income so that we feel it and it hurts. We should feel it. Cynthia's father, a Presbyterian Minister stepped up to tithing. After about three years he met another pastor at a conference who was talking about tithing. He said to him, "I tithe and I don't even feel it." The other pastor responded, "then you should give 20 per cent" The point it is that giving out love should be felt.

Jesus smells good and is ready for his crucifixion. He will smell good for the rest of the week. He is going to the cross for the joy of it. Medieval teachings make it clear that we should feel sorry for Jesus--sorry that he died. Feeling sorry for Jesus makes us feel sorry for our sins. Jesus calls his death his moment of glory. His crucifixion is his glorification, a true moment of great joy.

Paul talks of another scent or smell; Philippians 3:8 More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ. The translators wanted to use pretty words rather than the real ones. They used the prettier word rubbish and he Greek word here is skubala, which is a four lettered word in English, dung. Our earthly things do not smell as sweet as the act of giving from Love.