Month: March 2020

I read a verse the other day that made me look at the bottom of my purse. You see, as a woman, I’ve always been on the quest for the perfect purse. Ladies, I know you know what I’m talking about here. You know, the perfect bag to carry all my stuff in. (Guys, you too may identify – a comfy money belt, the perfect wallet, bifold, trifold, or a rubberband?) I’ve always sought the perfect design. One that’s not too big or too small. One that’s not too heavy but has substance. One with two straps or one with handles? A backpack or a purse on wheels? Cloth, pleather or leather? As I age, I’m not opposed to one that has built in pockets to keep my stuff organized like you see on those infomercials. It’s funny that the definition of purse is really a “small” bag, pouch or case for carrying money. We use them as small suitcases. Anyhow, regardless of how much I search for the perfect purse (I’ve stopped looking by the way) there’s just not one out there. The problem? No matter how big, small, etc., everything always falls to the bottom. When you reach for something in your purse it’s like diving into the bottomless pit, right? Sometimes it’s two arms, your head and a flashlight in to find those coins in the bottom. Since everything goes to the bottom, what happens if your purse is worn out and has a hole in the bottom?

Sell all your belongings and give the money to the poor.
Provide for yourselves purses that don’t wear out,
and save your riches in heaven,
where they will never decrease, because no thief can get to them,
and no moth can destroy them.
Luke 12:33-34

This made me think that for many years, I had been searching for the wrong purse and the wrong design. I’d been looking for a purse to carry all my earthly junk in, my treasures, my money. You see most, many, all of my earthly treasures, junk, mean nothing if they are not used for Kingdom purposes. As believers everything we do, say, have, have not, should be about the work of the Kingdom. We may say we’ve worked hard and we deserve this trinket, this new outfit, this new car, this vacation, this whatever, but that’s a huge lie that we have been told by the evil one and we have bought it hook, line, and sinker. If we look at who God is and then look at who we are, if we’re honest, we will begin to see that everything we are, everything we have is a gift from Him. We deserve nothing and can earn nothing. If it’s from Him, it should be used for Him. Should everything then not be used for the furtherance of His Kingdom?

So, are our investments in this world or in the Kingdom? We need to look at those worldly investments – time, money, junk, treasurers. I think the world (us) should shop for a new purse with a very different design. The one we have has a massive hole in it. Many things we had stored in that purse have fallen through the holes. It just might be time to change purses. It just might be time to sell our worldly stock and invest in the Kingdom.

Wednesday
Read the Book of Haggai. All two chapters. How we use our resources – time, money, treasures – reflects our priorities. List your top five priorities – be honest! Look at your list again and see if those priorities are in the right order. Do you need to reorder your priorities?

Thursday
Back to Haggai. Haggai was calling for the rebuilding of the Temple of the Lord. What seemed to be the problem with the rebuilding? (vs. 3-6) Are we putting our resources in pockets or purses that have holes in them? (vs. 6) Like the Jews, have we started out with the right priorities and then all of a sudden our list has been reordered and we don’t even know how? Has work somehow moved into first position? Has family somehow moved into first position? Has money somehow moved into first position? We must constantly evaluate the order of our priorities.

Friday
Look at Haggai Chapter 2. Are we sometimes afraid to move forward with God’s priorities because of the “dangers” of the world? “Dangers” being persecution, loss of friends, loss of worldly possessions. But look what God says in verse 4. What is His promise if we put Him first?

Saturday
Look at Haggai 2:6-9. More promises! What are the promises? Who is the Promise?

Sunday
Reread Haggai today. All two chapters. Write down two things you didn’t notice on your first read through on Wednesday. Spend time in prayer today specifically concerning priorities. Do we need to confess the wrong order of our priorities? Do we need to ask for forgiveness? Do we need to ask for God’s help in setting priorities? Do we need to ask God’s help in making Him first in our lives? How about we praise Him for being the One the only one to help us reorder our lives? How about we praise Him for choosing us to help Him fulfill His plans?

Monday
Look at Haggai Chapter 2 verses 10-19. Will our Kingdom work take care of our sin? What can wash away our sin? Only the blood of Jesus. How does His blood wash away our sin? Through our repentance and obedience. When we are obedient to His Word, what happens? See verse 19. While the seed is in the barn – before it’s even planted – His promise is to bless us when we are obedient to Him. The Lord has a way of blessing us even before we know we need a blessing.

Tuesday
Reread Haggai 2:20-23. What is the significance of a signet ring – look it up. What was God promising? Look at Matthew 1:12. The Book of Haggai is a lesson in getting our priorities straight. Are we providing for ourselves purses that don’t have holes? If we give God first place in our life, if we’re more concerned with His work and with worshiping Him, He will bless, guide and protect us. God is a promise keeper!

It’s a Great Day to be a Mountaineer! As I write the Covid-19 virus has not yet invaded the Great Mountain State. We are a hardy folk. No one ever wants to come to West Virginia, until now!!! Something very strange, or should I say stranger than usual, has just happened to the world in which we live. We’ve been hit with a healthcare crisis for which some think the cure for is toilet paper! I think we have just lost our collective minds. It’s really a very strange feeling, isn’t it, to lose one’s mind? We here in the U.S. are boundless folks. We’re used to having everything we want, when we want it, let alone everything we need and suddenly the jokes on us, right? If you’re looking for toilet paper, you’re just plain out of luck. The toilet paper is gone. It’s quite a mystery. Do you have a square to spare?

So I went to the grocery store Saturday morning at 6:00 a.m. Me and a bunch of other folks. I was doing a weekly shopping, having been completely oblivious to the run on sundries – toilet paper, milk, bread, frozen vegetables. It was an odd feeling to walk through the grocery store and see bare shelves. That’s not something I had experienced before even in the best of snowstorms. It was surreal – kind of an out of body experience. Creepy. I got my groceries and traveled to my parents’ house. As I unload the bags from the trunk, I turn and see the picture above. As I looked at the sky I could feel the ominousness of the grocery store falling away. As I looked at the sky I was reminded that God was in complete control of everything going on in the world today. I didn’t have to worry about it, He could handle it. Thank you, God!

In the midst of this turmoil, some may ask where is God. God was on the throne yesterday. God is on the throne today. God will be on the throne tomorrow. God will reign eternally. God keeps His promises.

But the LORD will save the people of Israel
with eternal salvation.
Throughout everlasting ages,
they will never again be humiliated and disgraced.
For the LORD is God,
and he created the heavens and earth
and put everything in place.
He made the world to be lived in,
not to be a place of empty chaos.
“I am the LORD,” he says,
“and there is no other.
I publicly proclaim bold promises.
I do not whisper obscurities in some dark corner.
I would not have told the people of Israel to seek me
if I could not be found.
I, the LORD, speak only what is true
and declare only what is right.
Isaiah 45:15-19

Well, what should we being doing amid the craziness of the world today? The same thing we did before the craziness of the world today, if there ever was a before. Seek God. Praise God. Proclaim God. Exhort God. Stand on His promises.

We don’t really understand what in the world’s going on, but we are assured of Who is going on in the world. Amidst the chaos and turmoil of our new lives, we need to turn our focus to the One who brings everything into perfect focus. Jesus.

Wednesday
Have you wondered this past week about whether or not you have everything you need? Read Luke 12:22-34. Write down all the promises that Jesus makes in these verses. Does this change our list of everything we need? What should be our primary concern? Don’t allow the world to make you panic. Stand on the promises of God.

Thursday
Read Psalm 46. Write down all the promises that God has made. What will be our response to His promises?

Friday
Read Matthew 6:25-34. What do we do with worry? It’s a creeper.  It seems to creep up on us and before we know it we’re full on worrying. But, what does Jesus say about worry? What are the truths Jesus speaks of in verses 32-33? Many things we do not know, but constantly reminding ourselves of what we do know, like Who is in control, can help push worry down. Carry this hymn with you today and when you feel worry creeping in, sing at the top of your lungs!

Many things about tomorrow
I don’t seem to understand
But I know who holds tomorrow
And I know who holds my hand

Saturday
Dig through the Psalms and find one that speaks to your heart. Memorize it. Hold it. Pray it. Post it. Share it. A verse spoken to a friend. A verse texted to a friend. A verse written in a note. Make sure that there is not a shortage of the Word of God in our minds and hearts. Cling to the Word.

Sunday
Read Philippians Chapter 4. Reread verses 4-7. During this time of turmoil, where do we find peace? In prayer. Take your worries to Jesus, you can’t handle them, but He definitely can.

Monday
Read Deuteronomy 33:26-27. There is no one like our God! Sing this song as your morning Praise and then write your own morning Praise. List all the promises found in this song.

What a fellowship, what a joy divine,
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms!
What a blessedness, what a peace is mine,
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms!

Leaning, leaning,
Safe and secure from all alarms;
Leaning, leaning,
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms.

What have I to dread, what have I to fear,
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms!
I have peace complete with my Lord so near,
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms!

Tuesday
Read 2 Timothy Chapter 1. Study verses 7-8. Do you know of anyone having a difficult time with the world’s crisis? Is there someone you could talk to about Jesus? Is there someone who needs to hear His promises? Is there someone who needs to lean on Him, but doesn’t know who He is? What have you to dread? What have you to fear? Speak life to those around you who need Life.

There she is, the Worst-Best, the complete opposite of what we’re talking about today…

The final fruits 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 studied the last two fruits listed, the relationship between these two characteristics was so 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 I’m not so different than the Worst-Best.

In addition to the direct relationship between the last two fruits of the Spirit, another interesting point is the verse referencing of these last two fruits. 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 fruits are set out separately. Is there a reason. Does it matter? Well, Brother Paul did not separate the fruits. 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 sometimes 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 fruits 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 fruits of the Spirit. Only God does. We can only display these fruits, 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 fruits of the Spirit existing within, we are reborn so the fruits 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.  Surprise, surprise.

I love the definition of the Greek word for self-control – egkráteia. Two words put together that mean true mastery within.  In other words 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 fruits 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?  Martha, Martha…

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 the journey through the fruits of the Spirit. We next stop at 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 feathers?

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 fruits produced. We’ve talked through the fruits about the necessity of the Holy Spirit to work the fruits 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 fruits 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 of His faithfulness.

“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.