Bye bye birdies

It's been a while since I've been able to post on here. A few posts back I told you about our little chicks. They were so cute and every time I'd be outside with them they followed me EVERYWHERE! Lucy, Ethel, Blondie and Sarah, each with their own little personalities. We were in the process of building their coop and things were rolling along quite smoothly when a neighbor gave us some news that brought it all to a screeching halt. Apparently there is an addendum to the local zoning laws for residential that states that in a residential area you have to be zoned agriculture to own chickens. I understand this to a point however you can have exotic birds that squawk and live to be 100-150 years old, their poop is just that...poop, unlike the manure that is produced by chickens, they don't eat bugs and garden scraps like chickens, and did I mention the noise? I'm sorry. I really don't have anything against parrots or any other exotic bird. I just don't get the mentality of the written law. But we knew we had to obey it so through a friend of a friend we were able to find a great home for the girls (as we used to call them). They will be free roamers on their new farm. And I'm sure they will love it.

Just like we need to be obedient to the laws of our land here, I am reminded about the need for obedience in our Christian walk as well. God's desire is for us to be able to "roam free". Not free to do as we please, like society tells us we should, but free from the burdens and yolk of this world. Free to live a full and blessed life. Free from the bondage of sin.

The foundation of our faith in Christ is rooted in obedience. Through obedience to Him we develop our character and strengths. We learn to be patient and loving. We learn to be more like Him. We learn to trust Him. Disobedience only leads to sin and ultimately death. Strong words? Let's see what God says. Adam and Eve were free roamers. They had free reign in the Garden of Eden having only one admonition from God, and that was that they couldn't eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God gave them this instruction for their own protection, not to limit them, but to keep them from experiencing separation from Him and to keep them from death. Genesis 2:16-17 says this "16 And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17.but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." They had everything they could ever want or need yet when the serpent came crawling and calling with his lies and deception they couldn't’t resist. They had to prove their independence through a prideful action, completely disobeying what God said to them claiming lies to justify their actions. And afterward they both were immediately aware of their nakedness, their own vulnerability.

Just like them, we don't look at laws as being protective, but rather restrictive. We get prideful, believing we can do it on our own. We disregard what God is telling us choosing instead to believe the lies of the enemy, “If it feels good do it” or “just one peek won’t hurt” or “If everyone else is doing it then it can’t be that bad” or how about “If he doesn’t make you happy leave him. God wants you to be happy” or maybe “It’s just a harmless flirtation”. But that's so backwards. He doesn’t give us guidance to restrict us. He gives it because He loves us. Without laws there would be no order, only chaos. It's because of laws we can be free. We need to be aware of our nakedness and vulnerability without the cover of Christ Jesus. We need to know and accept His love and protection.

Because of Adam and Eve's disobedience death was brought into the picture. The serpent was crafty and he didn't have any regard for Adam and Eve. His purpose was to plant a seed of pride into the hearts of Adam and Eve. It was to cause them to doubt God's words. He does the same thing to us today. How often are you tempted to disobey God? Does the word obedience resonate a bad image for you? Obedience to Christ is a beautiful thing and shouldn't cause distress in the heart of the believer. Choosing it means choosing life. Even when you doubt, God is still God.

He loves you my friend. And so do I.

Until next time…