Feeling Like A Space Case!

Yesterday I fought one of those sickening migraines and when I got up this morning I felt, as we used to say in the seventies, like a “Space Case!”  I think that the commonality of the use of that phrase must have come from all the communes that used to exist in the hills between our fair city and the coast. (some probably still do!)  Northern California has always leaned toward more liberal politics and in the sixties and seventies abounded with people seeking to live freely, unencumbered from the traditional ways most of us follow.

I can remember back in 1972 when I was attending Junior College and my English 1A Professor invited the entire class out to his place for an after finals party.  He just happened to have lived in one of these communes.  When my girlfriend (and future wife) and I arrived,  we were a little taken back when we realized that many of the residents lived in converted chicken coops!  My Prof lived in the only house on the property with his wife and infant daughter.  What I also recall is how unrelentingly the teacher quizzed the two of us, wanting to know why we went to the front door instead of just going through the (old and very dilapidated) back porch!

But, back to this morning...  After getting the coffee going I went into my study, sat heavily in my chair and then stared at the computer screen where I have a vacation picture of my wife and I set up as the background screen.  As I fought back the emotions, I thought about how different my wife looked in that picture, which was taken only a few years ago, compared to the changes that have taken place in her appearance as a result of the effects of the Dementia.

As I sat transfixed in thought, I caught a glance of my open Bible laying next to my keyboard.  Turning toward it, I noticed that it was still open to Psalms 16 from yesterday.  My eyes were immediately drawn to the second verse and I read aloud, “I said to the Lord, ‘You are my Lord.  Without you, I have nothing good.’” (Gods Word ©)  My eyes then drifted right back to the picture on the screen and I heard that small still voice inside me clearly say, “If that is true, then the opposite of it is also true… With Me you have everything”  Then, He answered the silent plea that had been going through my mind as He stated, “Yes, Jim, you will see her that way again!”

In my excitement of the moment I spun around and grabbed my NIV Study Bible in order to read God’s promise to us from Romans 8:1-2.  It says “Therefore, there is NOW NO condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me FREE from the law of sin and death.”  With that I looked through my online commentaries to find the original meaning of the word “condemnation.”  According to James Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, the word means “an adverse verdict or sentence.”  What it confirmed to me is that we are FREE from the adverse sentence that the law of sin and death placed on those who were under it.  Jesus has set us FREE from that law and we are NOW instead, under the sentence or verdict of the “law of the Spirit of Life!”  The effects of that statement of truth were quick and powerful for me this morning.  It was like having the “Space Case” immediately thrown out of court and replaced with the winning defense of the “Jesus Case!”

Do you find yourself fighting a losing battle with the lying verdicts that the enemy of our souls has delivered to you?  Well, it’s time to take Romans 8:1-2 to heart and fill that “Space” in your life with the everlasting, solidly TRUE foundation of God’s Word.  The Holy Spirit who works as our legal aid, always wins His case!  You are already on the winning side.  Now you just need to live like it!  Stay tuned and keep asking yourself… What CASE am I Expecting TO WIN Today?”