Ephesians 5:8-20

⁸ For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light ⁹ (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) ¹⁰ and find out what pleases the Lord. ¹¹ Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. ¹² It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. ¹³ But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. ¹⁴ This is why it is said:

“Wake up, sleeper,
rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”

¹⁵ Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶ making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. ¹⁷ Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. ¹⁸ Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, ¹⁹ speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, ²⁰ always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Reflection:

The flash point experience brings us from darkness to light and it’s not just a onetime experience because we are now light in the Lord. We learn to grow and become more the children of God.  As His children, we have the privilege and joy of getting to find out what pleases the Lord and to live it out. So we no longer live as we once did.  We live the new way: of being filled with the Spirit, praising God to one another, and meeting together to worship, share, and receive.  It’s being thankful in our hearts before God, and living as the children of light that we are to be in this world.

Response:

Let’s pray that we will live in the new way of being filled with the Spirit, praising God to one another, meeting together to worship, share, and receive.  And as we do, may we become more thankful in our hearts and may the Light in us shine outward into the world.

Thanks to The Atlantic!

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President Obama has beaten one of his biggest challengers…

Smoking!

The president had been public about his bad habit in the past and has tried to quit since taking office. Now, having received his official check-up, his physician certified him as “tobacco free.”

The president is in excellent health and ‘fit for duty.’ All clinical data indicate he will remain so for the duration of his presidency.”

The report also noted healthy eating and exercise for the commander-in-chief.

Now how will he deal with the stress of this economy?!

A partnership between BAE Systems and UMBC will support teaching, research and technology development in the cybersecurity field. The $150,000 investment will not only include a partnership with UMBC’s Career Services Employer Partnership Program, but enable UMBC’s Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering to develop an active learning computer science classroom that meets the unique goals and challenges of the department’s introductory courses.

Paul Falkler, BAE Systems’ Vice President and General Manager of Information Technology & Cybersecurity Solutions (ITCS) said, “While working with UMBC over the last eight years, I have continuously been impressed by the high level of professionalism of its employees, its strong academic programs and the caliber of its students. This past summer, we needed interns to support our cybersecurity business on short notice, and UMBC delivered talented ones that helped shaped the solutions we offer our customers. That’s very impressive.”

Read the full story on the UMBC News site.