Freedom ... From? To? For?

Freedom From, To, For? Galatians 5:1 - 23, ESV:

This patriotic weekend, we will be celebrating the country's 235th birthday. I have often thought about my freedom as an American. Am I truly free? I know I am truly free to live the way I want, but I am not free to choose the consequences. I know I am free to run in the street and play baseball, but I am not free from the consequences of having to fight off the traffic, and the constant interruption of the games. I can choose to go to the park to play, and enjoy uninterrupted baseball. I am free to ride on a boat, without the assistance of a life preserver, but I am not free from the consequences of when the boat flips over. Again, Am I really free? Have I truly appreciated the freedom that I have?

My grandparents, for several generations fought in wars. My father was in the army. Unfortunately, I was not. When I was younger, my father used to take me to a fourth of July parade downtown in my hometown of Columbus, Ohio. I used to love going to those things. What I loved more than anything else was the Armed Forces Marching Bands. The Marines, the Army, the Navy and the Air Force all had their "Dress Blues" and they marched smartly in precision while playing their instruments. I never heard the music, but I watched their cadence! Then, between the groups, there were some veterans marching. These men were injured, maimed, pushing others in wheelchairs. I looked at my father, as he would stand smartly watching these men, with his right hand over his heart. I could see a tear, or two. I looked back at these men, and I remember thinking, "What's so special about these guys?" It wasn't until years later, my father explained to me that these men who were maimed, etc., had given their lives so that we would be free, and live free. Then he said something that I will never forget" "Rickey, whenever you violate a law, you are slapping those men in the face! Don't ever let me catch you slapping these men!"

Of course, I was a young kid, then, and not an expert at analyzing the analogies of adulthood. But I had learned through the years what my father meant: "If you want to thank these men for the fight they gave to protect your freedom, live in freedom - not in captivity."

The entire fifth chapter of Galatians captures the entire focus of the Christian life. Here, in this specific chapter, we see the experience of Salvation, and the resulting expression of that salvation experience. They were saved from condemnation and brought into a relationship with the Father through Jesus to live in the freedom the Spirit as He has intended for us to live from the beginning - expressing our joy through the Fruit of Love.

Not only that, Paul also warns us that if we try to achieve salvation by a specific work of man (circumcision, for example) then we nullify the cross of it's very value. Once we complete the act of the law, then we must fulfill every obligation of the law - which brings certain failure. He says that if we want to be justified from Christ, but instead seek to justify ourselves by following the law, then we are severed from Christ. What are we free from? We are free from the demands of the requirements of the law, and the certain failure from not fulfilling the law. What are we free to? We are free to Love Christ and to love our fellow man. We were not set free to satisfy our flesh, but to live in the power of the Spirit!

But there is another aspect of the question: What are we free for? We are free to live out the life that God had intended for us to live from the beginning of time: To walk in the Spirit, to walk by the Spirit and to walk for the purpose of loving our neighbor, for the purpose of loving the father, and for the purpose of being a light on a hill, thereby giving hope to our city in times of darkness. However, let it be said that we are not free for ourselves, as we have been redeemed. The Apostle Paul reminds us that our redemption has set us free, but we do not own our bodies. We were purchased with a price.

Are you prospering in the power of the Spirit? Or are you floundering in the failures of the flesh? Are you enjoying the freedom that was given for you on the Cross of Calvary? Or are you, as my father would impress upon me, insisting to live in captivity to sin by "slapping the Lord in the face all the while He is on the cross?"

My challenge to you this weekend, "Learn to Live Free in the Freedom of His Grace (Not in the Requirements of the Law) Because He died for you!"

I thank you, my American Veterans, who have given your life for the pursuit of freedom and protection. I thank you, my members of the Emergency forces (Police, Fire, and Emergency Medical Workers) for diligently to provide protection so that I might enjoy the fruits of freedom in my community. And I thank you dear Lord, my blessed Savior, Redeemer and Friend, for giving your life for me in order that I might enjoy living in the fruit of the Spirit, and not struggling with the fruit of the flesh.

As the Gaither's have so eloquently proclaimed, "Let Freedom Ring!"

Happy Fourth of July Living!

Sincerely Yours,

Dr. Rick McClain, Pastor

Heritage Church of the Nazarene

A New Life, and a New Beginning ...

Something new is happening in the Church.

Someone in the Church has just given birth to a new born baby. And family members join in on the celebration. Grandpa told me that there'd be "50 people in the waiting room," and he wasn't far off, either!!

The baby was born, Mom and Dad are tired, but elated at the same time. Grandma and grandpa are happy with their first born grandchild. Great grandparents? Yeah, they're happy too, but this was number something or other!

It makes me wonder ...

I like new things. For some reason, I have been trained to like new things - from the beginning of my days. New toys, new clothes, new shoes, new ball gloves, new fresh-fallen snow, new cars, new house, new job, new baby, new son-in-law, new grandson, new job opportunities, and the list goes on and on.

My father once took an old bicycle and did an extreme makeover. He replaced the wheels, the brakes, the seat, and the handlebar grips. He sanded and painted the bike so well, that everybody thought it was a brand spanking new bike! When I rode that bike to school on the first day of school after Christmas vacation, someone stole it by cutting off the chain. That tells you something about the value of that Bike.

One of my favorite verses in the Bible is 2 Corinthians 5:17. If anyone is in Christ he IS a new creation. The old has gone and the new has come. Even in the Old Testament, God has promised us something new - a new heart, a new spirit. Newness all around. It is just exciting, I think.

When Jesus Christ comes into your life, he infiltrates who you are, He makes everything new. With the newness of life you are given everything that comes with it, new attitudes, new habits, new behaviors, and new heart (passion and desire).

The old things are passed away, done away with, gone. The trash is taken out, new "paint" is applied, and there is a totally new and extreme makeover. Here's a special thing, you don't even have to take a vacation!! He does it instantly!! In essence, he makes you BRAND NEW.

What is exciting about that BRAND NEW LIFE is that people will rave about your new life. They might even want to "steal it." Don't hide your new life, but instead, stand it on a hill, shining brightly for all to see - giving them direction for how to get that new life for themselves!!

Are you in Christ? If so, look around you, look inside you and see if the newness is still there. Remember, we have a salvation that will never writher, or rot away. We have a salvation that thieves cannot steal, and moths cannot ruin. But we must keep it fresh with a newness in the relationship with Christ. If anyone is IN Christ (a present imperative), the old has gone and the newness has come.

May God be with you!!!

Dr. Rick McClain, Pastor

Heritage Church of the Nazarene

We Really Need Each Other ... Today.

"Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much more as you see the day approaching (Hebrews 10:25)."

I like encouragement. I am sure you do, also. But encouragement is based upon the same principle as church attendance - establishing relationships. I remember watching the movie, "Facing the Giants." The coach was asking Brock if he trusted in his ability to go fifty yards on a bear crawl with a teammate on his back. Brock said, he did. The coach took a bandana and blindfolded Brock, put a supposedly 150 pound teammate on his back and began the process of encouraging Brock.

As Brock was wearing tired, Coach continued to encourage him more and more. FInally, at the end of the "exercise," Coach had Brock remove his bandana and he realized that he had gone far more than he expected, 100 yards instead of the requested 50. And on top of that, he carried a 180 pound player instead of 150.

Being a Christian is all about relationships. A relationship with God is established because of our belief in Jesus Christ - the Bridge to God. It is also a relationship with others that deepens my relationship with God, and strengthens my faith in my relationship with people who may not know Christ. All of these relationships - with God, with Christ, and with others, are interdependent with each other.

If you are having difficulty in your life, or if you are seeking peace in the midst of your storms, we invite you to visit us at Heritage Church of the Nazarene. Here, we will walk alongside with you, encouraging you, exhorting you and building you up for your journey and in all your relationships. This was the premise and picture of the 12th Chapter of Hebrew, the great cloud of witnesses that encourages us as we run the race marked out for us in Christ Jesus. I am deaf. I have never heard a crowd cheer, yell, and encourage me. But I do know a "visual cheer" when I see one. The best, most active "cheerleader" you will ever see on your journey? Jesus Christ.

Reuben Welch wrote a famous book some years ago, "We Really do Need Each Other." Even 40 years later, I think he is right. You need God, I need God, and we really do need each other.

Come, to Heritage Church of the Nazarene and find out why. I think you'll be glad you did!

The FIRST Blog!

as a Pastor, one tends to think a great deal before writing anything much less a blog. I have never written one before, and it is kinda interesting, to say the least.

As I sit here at my computer, I am thinking about my life verse. Do you have a life verse? It is a verse that people use as a mission statement for their life. I do not mean a favorite verse, as I have many of them. Psalm 139:14, "I Praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well," to name one of them.

But a life verse is something that motivates one to a life of purpose. I think my life verse is found in Mark 5:19, "And he did not permit him, but said to him, Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you and how he has had mercy on you."

Jesus just healed a man with a demon. Many other people have tried to help him to no avail. He ended up living in the tombs, his behavior was destructive. He had tried to kill himself, and he was not in his right mind. His speech was erratic, loud, disruptive and slurred. He was a man whose soul was in travail, all night and day.

I am sure that I was not like this man with a demon, but I was destructive. I was angry inside, and hateful, at times. My speech was spiteful, not courteous, and slicing to others. But Jesus had mercy on me that night when he forgave me of my sins and became not only the resident in my life, but also the president. Since then, I have made it my life verse to share with Jesus an updated testimony of what God has been doing in my life.

May I take a moment to tell you, as well? Why not come join us in the house of the Lord at Heritage Church of the Nazarene, 610 Dennis Street, Clanton, AL. We would love to have you, and we would love to share with you the story of God in our lives. It is the only story we have!

I hope you'll visit this site often, and get a new glimpse every week of what God is doing at Heritage Nazarene! We're excited, because leaving a Heritage unto the Lord is an exciting adventure!

Yours,


Rev. Rick McClain, D. Min.
Pastor