PERSISTING IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD

I have status.  You know, standing, station, prestige, prominence, position, all that and a bag of chips.  And guess what?  You do too if you’ve accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, repented of your sins and follow His ways.  If you’ve done that then you have what everybody in the world really wants, tries to fill, chases after and works so hard for — an endorsement, right standing, approval, acceptance, you have status!

He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 
2 Corinthians 5:21

What gives us status?  Righteousness.  Righteousness is a little tricky to fully comprehend, at least for me.  Righteousness asks our minds to accept something that is hard to accept.  The more I think about it, the harder it is for me to lock in on.  Not because righteousness itself is so hard to understand, but because it is so hard for my human mind to fathom the why and the how of it.

Righteousness is God acting consistently with his own character to rescue sinners while remaining morally perfect.  In other words, it is the saving status granted to believers who are in Christ by a perfect God.  Believers have status, our status is righteous.  We have been made right with God by Jesus Christ.  There is no higher status in all the world and beyond this world than finding ourselves righteous because of a perfect God.

Deuteronomy 32:4 tells us that God is a God of faithfulness, without iniquity, righteous and upright is He.  The human standard for righteousness is God’s perfection in every attribute, every attitude, every behavior, and every word.  That standard seems unattainable and it is on our own.  That standard is too high for me or you to obtain.  Only through the cleansing of sin by Jesus Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit could we ever be found righteous.

Think of it this way, Jesus traded his perfect righteousness for our sin, on the cross.  It blows the mind when you really think about it.  Jesus took on our sin and gave us his righteousness so that one day we could stand before God and God would not see our sin.  When God looks at us he doesn’t see all the wrong we have done, or the right we should have done.  He doesn’t see the many times we’ve missed the mark or spoken out of turn.  He doesn’t see every misstep, the times we lied, cheated, stole, hurt and abused others and ourselves.  He cannot see our sin because believers are covered in righteousness.  When God looks at us, He sees the Holy righteousness of Jesus Christ because of the exchange made on the cross. Don’t move on too quickly, chew on that for a minute. When God looks at us, He sees the Holy righteousness of Jesus Christ because of the exchange made on the cross.

We are made right(eous) with God because of what Jesus did on the cross.  Why is this important?  Habakkuk 1:13 tells us:  “your eyes are to pure to look on evil, and you cannot tolerate wrongdoing.”  Do you see what happened?

On the cross Jesus was treated as a sinner, even though he was perfect, holy and true, and at the cross I am treated as if I was righteous, I am given status even though I’m not perfect, not holy and not true.  Jesus made a trade.  He traded down so that I could be lifted up.  He took on my sin; the sin I should bear and gave me His righteousness.

Jesus took on my filthy rags so that when God looks at me He now only sees me dressed in robes of righteousness.  Because of what Jesus did, God doesn’t have to look away from me.  He can now look at me full on.  And when He does He no longer sees a sinner, He sees one made righteous with the precious blood of His Son Jesus Christ. 

I now have status.  You know, standing, station, prestige, prominence, position, all that and a bag of chips. And guess what?  You do too if you’ve accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior.

Thank You, Jesus!

Like many others who are reading through the Bible this year, I’ve been reading in Genesis. The beginning.  Man, oh, man, what an epic story.  And then there’s Exodus!  I have been reading the history of the patriarchs in Genesis, and next up came Jacob. 

Jacob was Isaac and Rebekah’s son.  You might remember how Jacob, at his mother’s prompting, deceitfully stole his brother Esau’s blessing.  Jacob ended up on the lam, sent away by his mother and father to spare him the wrath of his brother and to ensure he didn’t marry a Hethite woman.  Jacob ended up at Bethel where he wrestled with God and God declared: “All the peoples on the earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.” And then he moved eastward toward Haran.

As he came upon a well in a field, he encountered three men waiting to water their sheep, and there he inquired about his Uncle Laban.  They knew Laban and in fact pointed out that his daughter, Rachel, was approaching to water her flocks.  As a skilled shepherd himself,  Jacob wanted to know why they waited to water their flocks when there was good daylight grazing still to be had and why shouldn’t they water their flocks and then return them to graze.  Fair question. They responded:

We can’t until all the flocks have been gathered and the stone is rolled from the well’s opening.  Then we will water the sheep.
Genesis 29:8

Wow!  This may sound crazy, but when I read that I thought that was probably one of the coolest verses I’d read in the Bible.  I underlined and even brought out the “big yellow” to highlight the verse.  I don’t want to ever forget the words nor the sense of profoundness I had when reading it.  Again, this is one of those verses I’ve read often (Genesis is one of my fav), but this time those words spoke aloud.

Now, I know this is about sheep, and nothing else.  It is not prophecy, and I definitely don’t want to read something into this verse that God did not intend, but if you are even vaguely familiar with the New Testament you may have had some of the same thoughts when you read it, you may have connected some symbolism in this verse too.

Jesus is the Good Shepherd.  Jesus gathers His flock.  Jesus removes the stone of separation.  Jesus provides living water.

But this verse also made me think of 2 Peter 3:9:

The Lord does not delay his promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.

Just as the shepherds were waiting for everyone to get there before they opened the well – before they rolled the stone away — the Lord, in his infinite patience, mercy and love, is waiting, purposefully extending the time of grace so that everyone will gather to permanently drink from the Living Water.

As the shepherds gather at the well, Christ is gathering His flock of believers.

He protects his flock like a shepherd; he gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them in the fold of his garment. He gently leads those that are nursing. Isaiah 40:11

As the stone is rolled away from the mouth of the well, Christ is removing sin’s barrier.

Looking up, they noticed that the stone – which was very large – had been rolled away.  Mark 16:4

As the flock is watered, Christ is providing living water.

“Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.  Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”
John 7:37-38

Believers are gathered, all sins have been removed, and we have been , and forever will be, refreshed by the waters of life.

For the Lamb on the throne will be their Shepherd. He will lead them to springs of life-giving water. And God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”
Revelation 7:17

Amen.

“Be wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord our God to walk in his statutes and keep his commands, as it is today.”  1 Kings 8:61

When I read this, I thought it would be a great verse-of-the-year.  You know, one to memorize, to focus and meditate on. A govern your life by kind-of-verse, a top goal for 2026 verse.

These words from 1 Kings were spoken by King Solomon.  Remember him?    We know him as prosperous, wise, and peaceful.  The Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon writer.  In addition to poetry, he was also a gifted builder chosen by the Lord to build His Temple.  He had a knack for business and had quite the foreign policy.  He reigned over Israel during what was considered the Golden Age. Cue the roses and sunshine. Stop!

His wholehearted devotion to God, the devotion he exhibited and spoke to his people of early on in his reign began to wane and although he started out quite devoted to God, throughout his reign and in his final years He began to stray more and more from God.  Just like the rest of us, his straying began because He was not wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord, He did not walk in his statutes and He directly defied God’s Word, reminding us that lack of devotion leads to disobedience.

Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, because they will turn your sons away from following Me to serve other gods. Deuteronomy 7:3

King Solomon’s women choices may have been good for his foreign policy but they were not good for his soul He married about 700 royal brides (this was part of his foreign policy) and had about 300 concubines. These foreign brides introduced idol worship to the King and his people. King Solomon forgot that God’s statutes always have a purpose and are always for our protection and edification. Always.

“Be wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord our God to walk in his statutes and keep his commands, as it is today.”  1 Kings 8:61

So, what is “wholeheartedly devoted?”  What does that mean?  What does that look like?  How do we accomplish that?

The Hebrew word for “wholeheartedly” or “wholly devoted” is shalem.  Looks familiar doesn’t it?  That’s because it is.  The word shalem means complete, whole, full, perfect, at peace.  It comes from the same root word as shalom, and carries the undertones of peace that flow from wholeness, a wholeness that can only come from God.

A shalem heart is an undivided heart.  It is a heart oriented entirely toward faithfulness.  It urges all people at all times toward undivided loyalty to God.  Wholehearted devotion is about faithfulness.  It is about commitment to the Lord.  That kind of devotion compels us to live and obey, to walk and to keep his statutes.  At this stage of Solomon’s life, it was not all about opulence.  At this stage of his life, King Solomon wanted faithful people.  Not halfway committed people – not just faithful and obedient to God when they felt like it or when it was convenient but fully committed.  No excuses.

It was King Solomon’s desire for God’s people back then and it is still God’s desire for His people today, total commitment.  Total commitment does not mean perfection, it is simply fully setting our hearts on God – undivided, wholehearted commitment to God that is lived out in obedience to Him.

So, in 2026 I think our prayer should be for God to help us to be faithful, wholly devoted, committed people.  To follow the example of King Solomon in his early reign.  To be a people striving to faithfully, wholeheartedly live and obey, to be a people who walk and keep His Word.

We’re coming off the biggest gift giving holiday of the year, Christmas, and heading into the biggest gift return day in the New Year, christened “National Returns Day.”  According to the National Retail Federation, each year approximately 67,000,000 gifts given at Christmas will be returned.  The total amount sent back runs nearly $900 billion in returns each year — about 1/38 of the US National Debt.  The volume in returns speaks to the volume in purchases.  Wow!

Now, there are various reasons for returns.  The number one being the return of clothing because it just isn’t the right fit.  Coming in second is the gift people receive that they simply don’t want or don’t like.  I get the clothing thing – it’s hard to buy the right size for someone else when sizes are not regulated.  I also get the unwanted/not liked thing – everyone has different taste.

We all know how much time and effort (sometimes fretting) goes into buying the perfect gift.  We’ve all exhausted countless hours trying to think of just the right gift.  We’ve spent days running from here to there searching for something particularly pleasing.  And we’ve all spent way too much money on it when we’ve finally found it.  Why do we do it?  Sometimes it’s because we feel like we have to, but I like to think that the majority of the time we do it because we love to.  I truly love giving gifts, but that doesn’t mean that it is effortless.  In fact, sometimes it’s downright hard to find just the perfect gift, especially for some folks.

Now we have all had a hard person here or there in our life to buy a gift for.  Don’t say you never have…It may be someone who is indifferent about every gift, unappreciative, or unresponsive. 

Maybe when the receiver opened the gift they put it aside without a word.  Maybe when the receiver opened it they said “that’s nice” (we all know what that means).  Maybe the receiver flat out said they didn’t like the gift.  Maybe the receiver asked if you got a gift receipt. 

When we’ve searched for a gift that is a particularly pleasing gift and we’ve given it everything we have, sacrificed our time, our energy, our hard-earned dollars and found what we believe to be “the” perfect gift, one of immense value (not monetary) and it’s rejected, how does that make us feel?  We’ve all been there.

A friend reminded me recently that we’ve all been on the giving side of the Christmas gift scenario, but, whether we realize it or not, we’ve all been on the receiving end of that gift giving scenario too.  Never, you say?  Let’s think about it for a minute.  And let’s think beyond the gift with the shiny paper and big bow.  Might I make a few suggestions?

How about the gift of salvation? 

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6:23

How about the gift of faith? 

For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast.
Ephesians 2:8-9

How about the gift of forgiveness? 

But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ.  And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins.  For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.
Romans 5:15-16

How about the gift of eternal life?

Both the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” Anyone who hears should say, “Come!” And the one who is thirsty should come. Whoever desires should take the living water as a gift.
Revelation 22:17

How about the gift of peace? 

“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.
John 14:27

How about the gift of God’s Word?

Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled.
Romans 15:4

How about the gift of Jesus?

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 
James 1:17

These are just a few of the gifts God has given us.  Of course, the ultimate gift through which all other gifts come is the gift of His One and Only Son, Jesus Christ.  I think we can all agree that God is an amazing gift-giver and the gifts He gives are particularly pleasing.

I think it’s worth pondering though how God feels when His perfect gift to the world, Jesus Christ, through whom salvation, faith, peace, eternal life, the scriptures, and every other good gift flows from is treated with indifference, lack of appreciation, lack of use, outright rejection, or maybe even returned to the giver for an exchange.

Again, some of us are hopping right up and saying, I never did any of that.  And I gently say friend, yes, you have.  We all have.  We’ve all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, that’s why we so desperately need the good gift of Jesus Christ and the gifts that come with having a relationship with Him.

As we head into the New Year, let us commit to accepting the gifts God has given us.  Let us not be unresponsive, indifferent, unappreciative, apathetic, neglectful, idle.  Let us not request a gift-receipt to exchange for a “gift” that will never fit, never satisfy, never fill the void that only Jesus Christ can.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16

God has given us the perfect gift.  Don’t return or exchange it this year.  Use it, use all of it!

But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
Matthew 19:26

Wow!  Something I knew made new!  I’m sure you’re familiar with this verse.  In fact, some of us are very familiar with this verse.  It reminds us of the incredible power of God.  It reminds us that He is in control.  It reminds us that there is hope.  I call this a comfort verse.

But, the knew made new enlightenment also reminded me that I was an out of context quoter of the verse.  That I used this verse in my everyday life for myself and for others, but not in the context that it was spoken.  We’ve got a situation at work that’s impossible for us to work out, but possible with God.  We’ve got a finance issue that’s impossible for us to work out, but possible with God.  We’ve got a scheduling issue that’s impossible for us to work out, but possible for God.  We’ve got a relationship issue that’s impossible for us to work out, but possible for God.  We’ve got a health issue that’s impossible for us to work out, but possible for God.  We’ve got a child issue that’s impossible for us to work out, but possible for God.

Yes!  In all these things, and so many more, in fact all of life, this statement is true.  We are powerless, He is all powerful.  We can’t, God can.  And when I cherry pick this verse, although true in every context, I miss the specific context in which it is written.  When I pull only this verse out, I apply it specifically to my life and my situations.  And, again, it is true in every situation, it’s also much bigger and has deeper meaning than the way in which I’ve always used it.

When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved?
Matthew 19:25

This is what that verse is all about.  The Disciples had just witnessed Jesus’ encounter with the rich young ruler.  Remember, the young man who asked what he must do to have eternal life (salvation)?  Jesus told him to get rid of his belongings (stuff), give to the poor, and follow Him.  The young man walked away from Jesus grieving because he had a lot of worldly stuff.  Unfortunately, he chose not to.  He chose stuff over life.  He chose death over life.

Matthew 19:26 is a verse about the power to save.  Matthew 19:26 is a salvation issue.  Matthw 19:26 is a life or death issue and the Disciples were “exceedingly amazed,” or “astonished” at Jesus’ response.  They just didn’t get it.  They’d been taught prosperity gospel by the Pharisees – the more you followed the “rules” the more materially blessed you would be.  If this rich young man couldn’t have eternal life, then who in the world could be saved?

Let’s look again at Matthew 19:26:

But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

Such a beautiful verse.  I paused at the third word – beheld.  Beheld  means to see with attention, to gaze upon, to observe something with great interest, awe, or understanding. It is a signal that what is about to be described or said next is significant, divine, or noteworthy. Beheld, pay attention, listen up.  And what I really love about this verse is that Jesus beheld the Disciples.  He looked on them intently.  He gazed at them.  He made eye contact, and commanded that they focus on Him, and then He spoke:

With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

It is impossible for you to save yourself.  No amount of money, time, effort, power, coercion, stuff,  work or trickey will save you, it is impossible!  BUT, with God all things are possible!  This verse is about salvation.  Only God can save us and He wants to and He will when we stop trying to do it ourselves, when we stop trying to do the impossible.

How can this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God.
Luke 1:34-35

Salvation only comes through the Holy One to be born.  With God all things are possible.  Glory to God in the highest!

As I was studying a couple of weeks ago, I made a curious connection.  I love when the Holy Spirit does that and I love it even more when I pick up on it!  It all started with this verse:

Guard your heart above all else for it is the source of life.
Proverbs 4:23

Now we know that King Solomon wrote the Book of Proverbs, and we know wisdom was his forte, so it just makes sense that such a profound verse should come from him.  It is direct, concise, and very easy to understand.  It definitely is exceedingly clear.  But, as I was tempted to I know, I know, I know, brush by it, I stopped to dig a little and found this is way deeper than I’d thought.

The word guard in Greek is both devotional, meaning to watch, to keep, to observe, to preserve, to protect and maintain with a covenant-like vigilance; and instructional, meaning to watch, to keep, to observe, to preserve, to protect and maintain with a covenant-like vigilance.  Divinely it is active, steadfast and loyal guardianship that upholds every Biblical promise.  It is the unbreakable security of those who trust in God.

In Proverbs 4:23, the instruction to guard expresses the believers’ duty and responsibility to watch, observe and, preserve, to protect and maintain with a covenant-like vigilance, leaves no room for doubt that we believers have a huge responsibility with regard to our hearts.

What I was also reminded of is that guard isn’t just one way.  It’s not just about what we keep out, it’s also about what we let in.  They are not the same thing.  We don’t just guard to keep things out, but we also guard what we let in.  Keeping out what we don’t want in and keeping in what we don’t want out.  Think on that.  A simplistic view would be of course we want to guard against letting sin into our hearts and we also want to keep the Word of God in our hearts.

In the Old Testament times it was believed that the heart was at the center of inner life.  It was believed that it dictated thoughts, emotions, and actions.  Still true today.  The soul and mind combined make up the heart.  The instruction then to guard our heart because it determines our life course makes good sense – what we keep in and what we keep out.

And my next study verse was this:

My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
Luke 1:46-47

My mind made an immediate connection.  Two different verses, two different devotionals, and bam!

Mary’s life course was determined by her guarded heart, what she kept out and what she allowed in.  I’m not saying that is why she was chosen by God to bring His only Son into the world, only He knows why Mary.  In part God chose Mary because of her guarded heart because He would not have chosen His Son to be born to someone of an unguarded heart.  But, Mary’s guarded heart is reflected in her praise of Him!  He bequeathed His most precious gift to the world to be borne of a woman with a guarded heart.

How do we know she had a guarded heart?  By her words:

“My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!
For He has looked with favor on the humble state of His servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed.
For the Mighty One has done great things for me.
Holy is His name.
His mercy extends to those who fear Him,
from generation to generation.
He has performed mighty deeds with His arm;
He has scattered those who are proud
in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones,
but has exalted the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
but has sent the rich away empty.
He has helped His servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful,
as He promised to our fathers,
to Abraham and his descendants forever.”
Luke 1:46-55

Would our response to the same situation reflect we had a guarded heart?  Our hearts are so precious to God because we are to have hearts like His Son.  Our hearts are to reflect the Son to the Father.

Mary knew better than anyone of the difficulties she’d face were all she was told to come about.  It was pretty unbelievable.  And yet, when she heard this news she magnified the Lord.  She didn’t do so just with her lips but with her heart!   Her soul and her mind combined.  Mary’s reaction to the news was one of a heart that had been guarded (what she kept out) and guided (what she let in) by scripture.  And it must be no different for us.

Guard your heart above all else for it is the source of life.
Proverbs 4:23

What a curious time of year.  A time of year when some of us celebrate a very strange and unusual event, some even say unbelievable. An event that occurred over 2000 years ago.  The birth of Jesus, our Lord. Hallelujah!

Although we celebrate on December 25 each year, we don’t know that that’s the date of Jesus’ birth.  What we do know about the date of His birth is that it occurred most likely around 6-4 BC.  Our calendars may be a little off with regard to BC (Before Christ) and AD (Anno Domini – which refers to the years after Jesus’ birth).  They didn’t have birth certificates as we do today, however, genealogies were recorded (check out the Bible).  We do know that it wasn’t uncommon for the Romans to require a census to be taken.  When a census was taken, each person had to return to their hometown to fill out the forms for taxation and military draft purposes. 

So, somewhere around 6-4 BC, we do know that King Herrod required a census and Joseph took Mary to Bethlehem to fill out the paperwork. We do know that that is when and where Jesus was born.  And we do know King Herrod had heard about Jesus, was threatened by Jesus, and ordered all males in the land under the age of 2 to be killed (wow!).  Herrod “The Great” died about 6-4 BC thus putting Jesus’ birth around that time.  So, it appears our BC and our AD are off a little, but over a 6000+ year history, a few years isn’t too bad.

Again, I say, what a curious time of year.  A time of year when some of us celebrate a very strange and unusual event, some even say unbelievable.

How can this be?
Luke 1:34

We too are curious like Mary because there’s so much we don’t know and we too recite that same question, don’t we?

And the angel answered:

The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Luke 1:35

Wow, that is some kind of powerful statement, isn’t it?  Are we curious about it?  Do we think on it?  Do we ponder that thing in our heart?  We must.

Christ was born through the Holy Spirit and the power of the Most High. Christ was born so that we could be reborn. That is certainly worthy of our thought any time of year, but especially this time of year.

Luke 1:35 speaks to the manifestation of the Son of Man, Jesus, Messiah, Savior, Baby in the Manger coming to live in the world.  But, in a very different way, this verse speaks to the manifestation of Jesus, Christ coming to live in us.  The Holy Spirt and the power of the Most High will not overshadow us so that we birth the Son of God.  But, because of the Son of God, the Holy Spirit and the power of the Most High overshadowing us, we are reborn!

“Truly, I tell you, unless someone is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.”
John 3:3

In a very different way, when our salvation comes, we receive the Holy Spirit and the power (dunamis – our word dynamite, force, power, strength, ability, might, miraculous power) of the Most High.  We do not give birth to Jesus, or have any role in that whatsoever, that’s all God!  But, because the Holy Spirit and the power of the Most High overshadowed Mary, because of His birth we are born (again), we are given life (anew), we are new men and women (changed).  When we’re born again – we do know we receive the Holy Spirit and the power of God.

The power of the Most High threads through the Word with the pulsating energy of God’s own life.  The Word is alive!  God is power – mighty, miraculous, wonder-working, dead-raising, forceful, power.

The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Luke 1:35

How can this be?
Luke 1:34

Are we curious about it?  Do we think on it?  Do we ponder that thing in our heart?  We must.

Emmanuel, Emmanuel,
His name is called Emmanuel
God with us, revealed in us
His name is called Emmanuel.

Again, I say, what a curious time of year.  A time of year when some of us celebrate a very strange and unusual event, some even say unbelievable.  But we do know different.

The final fruit of the Spirit – gentleness and self-control – the final potential markers on our life path.  I said early on we were going to take each fruit of the Spirit individually.  The author of Galatians, Paul, listed each one separately so we should study separately.  But, as I study the last two fruit listed, the relationship between these two characteristics was striking to me.  I made a weird connection in my brain.  I said we weren’t going to bundle, but on these last two, I’m bundling, partly because they’re related, partly because they are the two I struggle with most, maybe. 

In addition to the direct relationship between the last two fruit of the Spirit, another interesting point is the verse referencing of these last two fruit.  Do you see it?  The version you are studying from or the translation you are reading may be a little different, but here’s how the verses are set in the New Living Translation:

²²But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
Galatians 5:22-23

Isn’t that curious?  The next two fruit are set out separately.  Is there a reason? Does it matter?  Well, Brother Paul did not separate the fruit.  Chapter references were added in about 900 AD and verse numbers were added sometime in the 1500’s.  In the original manuscripts, no such references existed.  Paul did not say to his scribe – Chapter 5, verse 22, But the Holy Spirit…The Books of the Bible were written in poem, manuscript, or letter form.  Enough of that, I just thought that was interesting, I’ve always wondered about chapters and verses.  You can check it out sometime.  Ok, enough said.  Oh wait, one more thing.  These divisions can lead us to think that we should read and study in bits and pieces.  Not so.  In order to understand the writings and the entire message of the Word, we cannot just pluck out a verse or a part of a verse to study, without studying the whole.  We must study the entire context – when, where, how, who, what, place, time, audience, etc.  Ok, now, enough said.

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives…gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
Galatians 5:22-23

And here we pick up…What do you think when you hear the word gentle or gentleness?  Do you think meek, mild, easy, soft, quiet, sweet, tender?  Or do you think the opposite, harsh, rough, violent, hard, difficult, unkind, severe, merciless?

What about self-control?  That’s pretty self-explanatory, right?  What does that really mean?  Disciplined, restrained, controlled?  Pretty easy to understand, right?  Plain and simple.  Here’s the problem – it’s not so plain and simple.

Is your life marked by the fruit of gentleness and self-control? Here’s where the bundling comes in for me.  In order to be gentle, I must have self-control.  Remember, we’ve been talking for the last forever weeks that we humans do not naturally display the characteristics of the fruit of the Spirit.  Only God does.  We can only display these fruit, we can only leave these characteristics in our wake if we are governed and guided by the Holy Spirit.  We were not born with the fruit of the Spirit existing within, we are reborn so the fruit of the Spirit exist within.  Get it?  In order to be gentle, I must be guided by the Spirit.  Otherwise, I am naturally harsh, rough, difficult, merciless, out of control. 

I love the definition of the Greek word for self-control – egkráteia.  Two words put together “in the sphere of” and “dominion, mastery” – dominion within – coming from within oneself but not by oneself.  It takes self-control, discipline, perseverance, endurance, all of which come from the power of the Spirit to display and drop on our path the fruit of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  These do not conflict with the law, they fulfill the law.  Just as Jesus did not come to destroy the law, but to fulfill the law, to offer salvation for all, we are to reflect that message to the world by the marks we leave on our path.

Wednesday
Read Luke 10:38-41.  Note how Jesus addresses Martha.  What is His tone?  Does He speak unkindly to her?  Are His words harsh?  How does He get the message across to Martha?  Doesn’t He speak to us in the same way? 

Thursday
Read John 4:1-30.  Note how Jesus speaks to the woman.  Speaking His message of hope gently, respectfully, but firmly.  He announces to her that He is the Messiah.  What does she do with His message of hope?

Friday
Read 1 Peter 2:11-12.  Why must we be careful how we conduct ourselves?  Read 1 Peter 3:13-22.  Are we prepared to give an answer gently and respectfully for the hope that we have?

Saturday
1 Corinthians 9:24-27.  Do we practice self-control?  Are we disciplined?  What are the benefits of practicing self-control and discipline?

Sunday
Read James 1:19-27.  Write down all the ways we should practice self-control in these verses.

Monday
Read Galatians 3:15-29.  What was the purpose of the Old Testament law?  Does the Old Testament law apply today?  Why does the Old Testament apply today?  What does it teach us about God?  Can we be saved by keeping the law?  How are we saved?

Tuesday
Search the Book of Proverbs and write down a scripture verse for every fruit of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  Post these verses as a reminder of the character of God.  Spend time in prayer asking the Holy Spirit to teach you and guide you as you mirror these images of God to others. 

We continue our journey through the fruit of the Spirit.  Next up, the fruit of faithfulness.  If we are to imitate the characteristics of God and faithfulness is a characteristic of God, we need to know what the fruit of faithfulness looks like.  How is it displayed, you know, how is our path marked?  Is it littered with faithfulness?  

We need to first understand what faithfulness is and is not.   The Word explains faith to us, verse by verse, from Genesis to Revelation.  God’s faithfulness is revealed and His desire for our faithfulness is revealed.  The Word says — God will never leave us or forsake us, even when we walk away from Him.  God is always with us, even when we don’t feel Him.  God keeps His promises, even when we don’t.  God is always working, even when we don’t see it and doubt Him.  God is devoted to us, even when we are not devoted to Him.  God is loyal to us, even when we are disobedient to Him.  God is trustworthy, even when we break our promises.  God is reliable, even when He can’t count on us.  God is everything we are not and everything we long to be – God is faithful.

Galatians tells us that when the Holy Spirit controls our lives faithfulness is one of the fruit produced.  We’ve talked throughout our study of the fruit about the necessity of the Holy Spirit to actually work the fruit in our lives.  The Spirit grows faithfulness, not man.  We cannot will ourselves to be faithful, we cannot hope our way into being faithful, we cannot want our way into being faithful.  Faithfulness, as with all the fruit of the Spirit are a result and can only be produced through our relationship with Jesus Christ, through our Helper, the Holy Spirit.  To think that faithfulness is something we can be without the help of the Spirit is completely…well, just wrong thinking.  Only when the Spirit is controlling our lives can we exhibit the fruit of faithfulness.  Only when we understand that our faith is enabled only by God, can we understand and sing at the top of our lungs:

“Great is Thy faithfulness, ” O God my Father,
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not
As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.

“Great is Thy faithfulness!” “Great is Thy faithfulness!”
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided—
“Great is Thy faithfulness, ” Lord, unto me!

God’s faithfulness to us is not dependent on us.  But our faithfulness to Him is dependent on Him.  Our faithfulness can only come by God’s work in our heart.  It is God’s faithfulness to us that delivers us.  Do we pray for God to work in our hearts?  To grow faithfulness in us?

Yet faith comes from listening to this message of good news –
the Good News about Christ.
Romans 10:17

Wednesday
Read 1 Corinthians 3.  Write down Apollos and Paul’s roles in the planting of faith.  What is God’s role in the planting of faith?

Thursday
Read 1 John 5:1-11.  What is the victory?  Who achieves the victory?  How is the victory achieved?

Friday
Look up Colossians 3.  How do we live this new life in Christ?  How do we live faith?  Where are the Words of Christ to live?

Saturday
Read Ephesians 6:10-18.  How are we to use our faith?  Against what are we to use our faith?

Sunday
Read Genesis 17:1. What instructions does the Lord give to Abraham?  Was Abraham faithful to God?  How was Abraham faithful to God?  From the beginning…

Monday
…to the end of the Word, God speaks of faithfulness.  His faithfulness to us and our faithfulness to Him.  Read Revelation 19:11-21.  What was the symbol of the white horse?  What is the rider of the white horse called?  Who is riding the white horse?

Tuesday
Read Lamentations 3.  Memorize Lamentations 3:22-24.

We’ve been working on the fruit of the Spirit for a few weeks and you’re probably thinking it will never end.  Take heart — we’re over half-way through!   The beauty of the fruit is that none of them cost us a penny, they cost much more, our hearts.  All these fruit reflect the character of God, all things we could not be without Him.  None of these fruit are a result of this world.  If they are present without the Spirit living within, they are superficial and disingenuous.  When the winds of life blow, without the Spirit abiding within us, these fruit will be temporal.  If we are not powered by God, we are powered by another god of this world, namely, ourselves.

Every step on God’s pathway represents a deliberate choice to follow Him.
Charles Stanley

Next up on our exploration of the marks we leave behind on our life path, is the fruit of goodness.  Remember, this is very similar to the fruit of kindness, but the fruit of goodness is not quite the same. The difference is slight but evident.  You’re probably thinking the same thing that I did – well I’m a good person, I do good things, you know — it’s all good.  Good is a hard word.  Hard to define.  Hard to live.

Goodness, the act of being good.  So, what is it?  Dictionary.com has more than 49 definitions for the word good.  Some are — satisfactory, morally excellent, virtuous, righteous, pious, kind, high quality, high moral standard, excellence, satisfaction, approval, the extent to which something is right or wrong, it speaks to conduct, it is the opposite of bad and the opposite of evil.  

The word good or goodness, is used over 100 times in the Bible.  Biblical definitions of good or goodness are — a good thing, honorable, upright and acceptable to God.

The Greek word for good agathos means –  inherently (what’s within us) good; as to the believer, it is goodness that originates from God and is only powered by Him through our faith in Him.  It is closely related to the Greek word kalos.  The definition of kalos makes it all clear.  Kalos — beautiful, as an outward sign of the inward good, noble, honorable character; good, worthy, honorable, noble, and seen to be so.

What in the world does all that mean?  Well, actually, it’s out of this world!  Goodness means the good within us, that can only come from God, being outwardly revealed by who we are and what we do!  Goodness is an outward sign of our inward heart. Phew-wee-baby, it took a while to get around to that, didn’t it? 

He gave His only son…
John 3:16

God’s heart was revealed in the giving of His Son, the outward sign of  His inward heart.   God’s goodness was revealed in the giving of His Son.  The fruit of the Spirit are the attributes of God. As followers of Christ we must reflect those attributes, including the fruit of goodness.  So, how’s your heart?  Is your life an outward sign of your inward heart?  Is that good or bad?

Wednesday
Read 2 Corinthians 5.  Verses 1-9 are more talk about new clothing.   Since Bible folks wore robes, the references to new clothing are significant to me.  They all essentially wore the same thing.  I would think changing, and putting on new clothes, would be radical to them.  Change your clothes – what do you mean change my clothes – be different – seek eternity – God has prepared us for this and as a promise, a guarantee, He has sent the Holy Spirit to live in us.  It always goes back to Who is living within us.  The fruit of the Spirit are dependent on the Spirit!

Thursday
Read again 2 Corinthians 5.  Check out verse 10.  Scary!?!  But true.  We will all stand before God and receive what we deserve for the good or evil we have done here on earth.  Truth.  Eternal life is a free gift but it doesn’t free us “to” it frees us “from” which frees us “to.”  Huh?  Eternal life frees us to do good because we have been freed from evil to do good.  Get it?  We will all stand before Christ but free will allows us to choose how it’s going to go down.  We cannot talk about God’s goodness without also acknowledging our evilness and our need to change clothes.

Friday
Read Psalm 86.  God’s goodness is not dependent on circumstance.  God is just not good in good circumstances, God is good all the time.  God is not just present when things are going good.  God is present all the time showing us His goodness in our bad circumstances.

Saturday
Read 2 Corinthians 3:18.  More talk of change.  More and more like Him.  More and more fruit to live – more and more good within so that there can be goodness without.  Proverbs 27:19 is a great reminder – memorize it.

Sunday
Read Romans 12.  Verse 2 tells us by changing the way we think that we will know what God wants us to do.  We will see how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is.  We will see how good God is.  A changed mind will mirror God’s image. 

Monday
Study Romans 12.  Make a list from these verses of ways we can reflect God’s goodness.  You know the “dos” and the “bes.”

Tuesday
Pray today that God will open up opportunities for you to reflect his image to others.  Pray that God shows you ways today to leave on your life’s path the fruit of goodness, the outward signs of your inward heart.  A heart for good.  A heart for God.