Patience. Something I have very little of. How about you? Well patience is up next on our Fruit of the Spirit journey. I thought about combining some of the fruit to move this study along but decided to do so would be reacting to my impatience. You know, my eagerness to move to the next lesson without living in and learning in the current lesson. So, Patience it is.
What is Patience? I’ve wrestled with this word a bit trying to figure out what it really means and what it looks like applied. I went backwards, you know, figure out what something isn’t in order to figure out what something is? I know that what it is not is some of the things I am. I’m anything but patient. I’m impatient. I’m eager. I’m anxious.
We think patience is inaction, but can it not be the highest form of action?
Waiting seems to cause much impatience. Why so? For me it’s because I’m a zoomer. I zoom from this to that. You know, room to room, task to task, thought to thought, fix to fix, control to control (ugh!!!). The problem with being a zoomer is that it is reactionary. Reacting can cause anger, frustration, anxiety, obstinance, insistence, impatience! You can probably name a few of your own reactions. Unfortunately for us, all of those reactions are wrong, and if acted on, sinful – ouch — I’m sinful on a daily basis. Let’s see what our Creator has to say about patience:
Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Colossians 3:12
Clears it right up, doesn’t it? Anybody else feel like they need some new clothes? Sometimes His commands are just so simple that they are hard. We know what patience is not, but what is it? The word patience in this text comes from two words – long (makros) and suffering (thumos) – makrothumia. It is what it says – long-suffering – waiting – forebearance – putting up with without reaction. How many times does the Apostle Paul tell us to endure? We are to endure in patience.
Have you noticed a pattern in our study of Galatians? We cannot produce any of the Fruit of the Spirit on our own. Only God can produce in us the Fruit of the Spirit, including true patience, long-suffering.
Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us. Colossians 3:10-11
Put on your new nature – put on – that’s an action, not a reaction. Act before you have to react. How so? Get to know Jesus (action), He’s really all that matters (action), and become like Him (action). Only in becoming like Him can we then put on patience, or any other fruit for that matter, and ensure that that is what we’re leaving on our path. We don’t want our paths to be marked by reactions, the opposite of patience – angry, short-tempered, anxious, frustrated, reactors. New life in Christ – that’s the only way!
Wednesday Read Colossians 3:1-17. Patience is action and impatience is reaction. Are you an actor or a reactor? Write a strategic plan for yourself that will enable you to be an actor instead of a reactor. Are we continually being renewed as we learn more and more about Christ? Have we even changed our clothes? How do we change our clothes? Chew on verse 11 – is that true for you?
Thursday Read Psalm 40. Write down the benefits of waiting for the Lord. Would we have those benefits if we didn’t have those trials? Memorize verse 17 to act upon patience in our waiting.
Friday Read James 5:7-12. What are we to do while we patiently wait? In addition to Job, what other prophets endured suffering and hardship and waited patiently on the Lord to deliver them? Write down a couple.
Saturday Read 2 Peter 3. Does life sometimes cause us to say – Even so come, Lord Jesus, come? What is the reason Peter gives that the Lord is waiting to return? How should we be living while we wait?
Sunday Read Romans 2:1-16. What reason do the scriptures give us for the Lord’s patience? How are we using the time God has given us? Is there sin in our lives we need to turn from?
Monday Read Psalm 27. The Psalms are beautiful songs of encouragement and instruction. David was a master songwriter. Search your Bible for more Psalms that that affirm God’s patience with us, for us, and through us.
Tuesday Spend time today in prayer asking the Holy Spirit to fan the flames of the spirit of Patience. Ask the Lord to teach you the patience He has mirrored for us. Is there unconfessed sin in our lives? Take an opportunity to confess those things that may get in the way of Patience. Do we need to confess impatience, anger, self-controllessness? Pray God’s great strength in our lives to be able to forebear, to endure, to wait patiently, to long-suffer, just as He has done for us to come to Him. Praise Him!
That was Freckles. Wasn’t she cute? She was such a cool cat – a weird cat – aren’t they all, but cool. Freckles showed up at our house years ago with a too tight collar around her neck. It took weeks to coax her to come close enough so we could grab her and cut the collar off. It then took more weeks and free food to get her to let us get close to her again.
She was a very loving cat, as far as cats go, but she was the most skittish cat we’d ever met. One minute she was on the porch eating and the next thing you know she was running like a mad-cat because we opened the door, because a car drove by, because we spoke in too loud a voice, because we looked at her. She was the most jittery cat, you know, afraid of her own shadow, a true scaredy cat. I felt bad for her. When she was not sleeping, she was apprehensive, anxious and, yep you guessed it, nervous as a cat. You wouldn’t know from that peaceful position what was really going on inside that tiny cat brain. I’ve said before people are a lot like chickens, we’re a lot like horses, we’re a lot like the worst-best, and I’ve decided people are a lot like Freckles. We’re skittish, fearful, anxious, apprehensive, nervous-nellies, all the while our façade, our outward appearance, is confident, calm, peaceful.
Peace is not the outward opposite of the inward anxiety.
Next on our journey through the fruit of the Spirit is Peace. Do we have a Spirit of Peace or a Spirit of Frantic, a Spirit of Turmoil, a Spirit of Anxiousness, a Spirit of Unrest? This one is a toughy. Let’s explore. What does peace mean, what is peace, what does peace look like, where do we get us some of that? We know the answer to that, right? The only right answer when you don’t know the answer and even when you do – Jesus! Let’s check out the red letters.
I am leaving you with a gift – peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give isn’t like the peace the world gives. So don’t be troubled or afraid. John 14:27
Well, there’s the answer to all those questions, right? Isn’t it funny sometimes when we get answers to our questions and we still don’t understand the answer? We don’t quite grasp the idea? We have trouble envisioning it much less obtaining it, right? We all want to be peace-filled and feel peaceful, right? So much so that we try a zillion different things to obtain it. We’re anxious, we buy. We’re anxious, we eat. We’re anxious, we over schedule. We’re anxious, we talk too much. We’re anxious, we spend too much. We’re anxious, we over habit. We’re anxious, we over hobby. We’re anxious, we overindulge. Here’s our problem – us! We think peace is something we can obtain, we can make happen, we can think positive enough about and it comes into being, and we just can’t. There’s only one place to get peace – Jesus – always the right answer. Look at John 14:26.
…the Holy Spirit – he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I myself have told you.
That’s what Paul was talking about in Galatians 5:22 – when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, the fruit of peace is produced. Peace can only be produced by the Holy Spirit living within us. Any attempt by us to try to satisfy our overwhelming desire for peace is futile, temporary and sinful. When we try to satisfy our own aching desires for peace, we’re relying on self and not on God. Peace can only come from Jesus.
Wednesday Read Matthew 28:9 from the Good News. Spend time today in peaceful prayer at the feet of Jesus. Confess to God the ways you’ve been trying to obtain peace on your own. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you and teach you and fill you with the full measure of God’s peace.
Thursday Read Philippians 4:6-7. What is Paul’s solution for worrying less? Write down ways to stop the worry before it starts. Write down a description of the kind of peace that God gives. What does transcend mean?
Friday Read Isaiah 55. What is the theme of this Chapter? What does the Word of the Lord produce? Look at the figurative reaction of creation. What do the mountains and the fields do?
Saturday Read Isaiah 48:17-18. Peace and righteousness are linked together in these verses. Do we have peace like a river? Living in a right relationship with Jesus produces peace. How so? Look for scriptures that describe the results of a right relationship with Jesus.
Sunday Read 1 Peter 5:7. We carry so many things around in our backpacks that weigh us down and prevent us from the peace that can only come from the Spirit. What are we carrying around that prevent us from having the complete peace that God intends for us? What do we need to get rid of – confess, forgive, move on, let go, let God?
Monday Read 2 Corinthians 4. List some of the ways we are pressed, we are knocked down, and we suffer, Check out verse 18, specifically. What are we to fix our eyes on? What are we to focus on? How is our desire for peace satisfied? A beautiful reminder on how to never lose focus.
Tuesday Read Psalm 29:11. Where does our strength come from? Where do we get Peace?
That’s our doormat. It’s a reminder to those of us who live there, and a message for those who visit of what the expectation is for all who gather inside. I love it. I need reminders. Reminders of the marks I’m making, those fruit that are produced inside me by Him.
So, next on our path of the fruit of the Spirit, markers in our lives, you’ve guessed it, is Joy. When our lives are controlled by the Holy Spirit, He will produce Joy. Do you have the Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy, down in your heart-where? You know, Spirit-producing, life-changing, situation-defying, down in your heart to stay kind of Joy. We’re talking Joy, pure Joy. The kind of Joy that can only come when our lives are controlled by the Holy Spirit. So, who’s controlling me(you)? I know, ouch, sorry!
You might be athinkin’, what? I’m happy, so very happy. Well, most of the time. Well, when things go the way I think they should. Well, I will be when I get that promotion. Well, when my kids visit I’m happy. Well, when people aren’t arguing I’m happy. Well, I will be happy when I go on vacation. You might be happy, for a while. But do you have Joy?
Ooooh-oh-ooooh I’m so happy, mmm-hmmm I’m just as happy as I can be-ee-ee Hey, hey, I stay so happy, mmm-hmmm Since you gave your sweet Sweet love to me-ee-ee
Hank Ballard (The Twist guy) sang about being happy. Sounds a little like a praise song, and it is. A praise song to his gal. The ecstatic happiness in this song is all because his woman loved him. He might be singing a different song if she took her sweet love from him, right? This happiness is circumstantial. It depends on what’s happening in our lives. You know – good day, I’m happy. Bad day, I’m unhappy. Happiness depends on the external, the world. Joy depends on the internal, Who lives within us. Our Joy can be expressed in happiness, but our Joy is not dependent on happiness. You can have Joy without happiness, but you can’t have true, real, lasting happiness without Joy.
You love justice and hate evil. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you, pouring out the oil of joy on you more than on anyone else. Psalm 45:7
I stumbled across this verse a while back and have been chewing on it. The imagery is beautiful, isn’t it? The anointing by the pouring out of the oil of Joy. What is the oil of Joy? If we have accepted Christ, if the Holy Spirit lives within us, we have been anointed with the Holy Spirit, it is the Spirit of Joy. I love the thought of that. Anointing with oil was common on joyous occasions in the Bible. In the Old Testament twice, Jacob poured oil over a stone as an honor to God. My mind compares the hardness of a stone to the hardness of my heart. Without the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Joy poured over my heart of stone, I am completely Joyless, not just unhappy, Joyless.
Wednesday Read Exodus 30:22-33. Whatever the anointing oil touched would be most holy. Read 2 Corinthians 1:21-22 – Believers have been anointed with the blood of Christ. This cleansing blood has been poured over us, consecrated us, and replaced the hardness in our hearts with the Holy Spirit. Close your eyes and visualize those two scenes. The preparation of the holy anointing oils, the smell of the oils, the touching of the oils. Now close your eyes and visualize the Cross and Christ’s blood being poured over our hearts, the holy anointing oil. The seal of ownership. The deposit of the Spirit in our hearts. The result of the Spirit in our lives.
Thursday Read Isaiah 61:10. Do we delight in the Lord? Why should we be overwhelmed with Joy? Spend time in prayer thanking Him.
Friday Read John 15:1-17. Make a list of all the words that describe the kind of relationship we are to have with Jesus. What will this relationship produce? Are we producing much or little? Why? What must we do to be filled with the Joy of the Lord? Do we leave Joy marks on the path of our lives?
Saturday Read John 17:6-19. This beautiful prayer of Jesus for His disciples (then and now). What is the key to the immeasurable Joy Jesus talks about in verse 13?
Sunday Read Nehemiah 8:1-12. Where does our strength come from? What does that mean? Write it out. In verse 12 how did they celebrate and why did they celebrate? Are we Joyful because we hear God’s word and we understand it? Do God’s words give us life? Do God’s words give us Joy?
Monday Read Romans 15:13. Look inside today. Spend time in prayer and reflection regarding the fruit of Joy. Ask the Lord to reveal to you what kind of mark your life is making with regard to the fruit of Joy. Ask the Lord to open your mind to the true understanding of the fruit of the Spirit. Pray the power of the Holy Spirit will produce in you the fruit of Joy.
Tuesday Read Galatians 5:22-23. Work on memorizing this verse today. Not just the fruit, but both verses. You cannot produce these fruit without the Holy Spirit controlling your life.
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. Galatians 5:22-25
We are all making our mark in this world, one way or another – good or bad, favorable or unfavorable. What kind of mark are we making? Are we making a good impression, an imprint, a favorable feel, a proudly signed signature with a heart emoji, or are we leaving a spot, a blotch, a smudge, a scar, or even a stain? We get to choose how we will live here on earth, and our heritage, our legacy when we’re gone. As children of God, it only seems right to follow the example of our Father. When Jesus set out to make His mark, He went to the producer of the mark. He went to the Mark-Maker, the Holy Spirit, the One who produces fruit that is mark-worthy.
When Jesus sought to enrich others, He mined in the quarry of Holy Spirit. Charles Spurgeon
Isn’t that cool? Mining is something we know just a little about in West Virginia, even if we’re not miners. The quarry of the Holy Spirit holds deep veins of Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-Control. Close your eyes and picture that. Priceless fruit. When I read those, I wondered why they were listed in that particular order or was it even a particular order? Are they listed in order of importance? Are they listed in sequential order? Definitely not alphabetical order. But, the order is intriguing to me. Can we have any of them without the other? You know, joy without love? Gentleness without self-control? Faithfulness without peace or peace without faithfulness? Do you see what I’m saying? Each fruit is independent of the other fruit but each fruit is interdependent on the other fruit. Each fruit and all fruit is a resource or deposit to be extracted and refined in the quarry of Holy Spirit.
Let’s look at Love, it is a pretty loose word these days, isn’t it? It flows so easily from our lips. We exclaim love about everything from ice cream flavors, to lipstick shades, to clothing styles, to jobs, to vehicles, to sports teams, etc. Do we even know what it really means? We throw the word around to the point that it has lost its meaning. In fact, we have to say I love, love, love… in order to make sure others believe us! You know what they say, loose love lips sink ships?
We need to get back to the basics of love. We need to reclaim the true meaning of God’s love. Love is not up to man’s interpretation, love is exactly what God says it is. The Word tells us on nearly every page what love is and just how much God loves us. God did not place conditions on His love for us. God’s love is not a feeling, it’s an action. God’s love makes its mark on our lives. In that same way, as His children, we too are to make our mark on others with God’s love. What kind of mark will we make with our love? A beautiful mark, or a bruise? What’s our love mark look like to others?
Wednesday There are four types of love in the Bible. The first mention of the word love in the Bible is found in Genesis 22:2. This type of love is called storge. The love of a father for a son. Dig in your Bible and find two other examples of storge love.
Thursday The second type of love noted in the Bible is philios. Read Romans 12:10. Read John 13:35. Read John 15:13. Based on these scriptures, what is the definition of philios love?
Friday Next we explore eros. Read Song of Solomon. The greatest example of romantic love in the Bible. We’ve allowed our world today to completely denigrate and redefine the meaning of this love. Do we eros our spouses in a Biblical way?
Saturday Meditate on the three types of love we’ve just explored, storge, philos, eros. Pray the Holy Spirit’s guidance and direction in enacting those loves to others. Pray that the Spirit opens your heart to be able to express family love, brotherly love and romantic love so that the recipients of those expressions will understand how much you love them.
Sunday Read Ephesians 5:1-2. Read John 13:34. Read Matthew 5:46-47. Who are we to imitate? How are we to imitate? How did Jesus love the world?
Monday And finally, agape. Study Ephesians 2:4-10. God loved us so much that He… In these verses is love expressed in a feeling or an action? God said I Love You in these verses by giving the greatest gift of all, grace. God’s grace is an act of love. We are to imitate this kind of unconditional love. How do we put this kind of love into action? What does that look like?
Tuesday Read John 3:16-17. We probably know these verses by heart, God’s ultimate act of love, to die for sinners, to die for us, so that we would have eternal life. Chew on that a little. The ultimate self-sacrifice. Do we love others like that? Do we love others enough? Enough to risk positions, friends, reputations, condemnation, to lay down our lives for others – to do love?
Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord. Psalm 150:6
Psalm 150 is the last in the Book of Psalms. How fitting to end with praise.
It’s a familiar one, isn’t it? The thing that made me go hmmm when I reread it lately was imagining what the writer of this Psalm meant:
Imagine every single one of God’s creations praising Him for His goodness.
Ponder that for a minute. What would it look like if every living thing in heaven and on earth praised God for His goodness. Here’s my vision of every living thing praising the Lord.
The trees of the fields and the mountains are stretching to heaven, swaying and bending low then rising high and tall their trunks to heaven again and again, their creaking songs of praise to God.
Imagine the leaves of the trees whirling through the air, lifted up, up, up and then gently drifting down only to be lifted up again. Their rustling songs of praise and adoration.
The flowers of the earth dancing on their stems, colors brilliant having been kissed by the sun. Petals stirring in royal wave expressing their praise. The sweet-fragrance wafting on the air rising high as an incense of praise to our God.
Imagine the birds of the air swooping and sweeping in joyful chase and song, beaks pointed to glory offering hymns of praise to God that combine for a heavenly symphony.
The fish in the sea gliding and dipping, the whales leaping in praise high above the surface, their powerful splash forcing droplets of water to meet the heavens like tears of joy.
Think about the animals of the earth in obedient reverence lifting their praise. Running, leaping and jumping in praise. Their praise-filled frolicking sweet to heaven’s eyes.
Picture the stars in the heavens sparkling and twinkling, glowing and shining bright in praise to our Lord.
Then think about every human being on this earth, faces turned upwards, hands lifted high reaching to touch heaven, knees bent humbling bowing before the King, bodies swaying in worship joining the praises of the angels in heaven singing Holy! Holy! Holy!
Now I want you to close your eyes and envision the trees, the fields, the mountains, the leaves, the birds, the fish, the animals of the earth, the stars in the sky, and all God’s children united with the angels in Heaven, with one anthem raised in adoration to the Most High God.
God’s creation praises Him everywhere in every way. We should join this rejoicing song of praise.
Oh Lord, my God When I, in awesome wonder Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder Thy power throughout the universe displayed
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee How great Thou art, how great Thou art Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee How great Thou art, how great Thou art
And when I think that God, His Son not sparing Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing He bled and died to take away my sin
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee How great Thou art, how great Thou art Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee How great Thou art, how great Thou art
When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart Then I shall bow, in humble adoration And then proclaim, my God, how great Thou art
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee How great Thou art, how great Thou art Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee How great Thou art, how great Thou art How great Thou art, how great Thou art
Let everything that lives sing praises to the Lord! Praise the Lord!
The Sovereign Lord is my strength! He will make me as surefooted as a deer and bring me safely over the mountains. Habakkuk 3:19
This, my friends, is one of my very favorite verses. In fact, when I was working outside the home, this verse was posted on my computer screen. Even when I had to go outside the office for work conferences or court, this verse was on a post-it on my laptop as well. It always brought me such comfort to know that no matter what situation I was in, the Lord was right there with me, strengthening me, making sure my steps were firm and solid and working me up and over the mountain I was climbing.
I have learned that although I have to make the actual climb, His promises that He will strengthen me for the climb and then bring me safely to the other side have always been kept, no matter what the “bring” looked like.
Verses 17 and 18 of Habakkuk actually give us an even greater perspective of verse 19:
Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vine; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation. Habakkuk 3:17-18
Talk about some difficult times, this is a little more devastating than our day-to-day life glitches. We’re talking the potential starvation and death of a nation. This would be terrifying, and is, to any nation. But Habakkuk would not be controlled by his feelings or the events going on around him. Even though the troubles were seemingly insurmountable, Habakkuk looked to the strength of the God of his salvation! In fact, he didn’t just have faith in the God of his salvation, He rejoiced in the God of his salvation! Wow!
Do we rejoice in the God of our salvation during difficult times, during trying times, during scarry times, during stormy times? We should. Human nature (sinful nature) is to get bogged down in the difficulties, the trying and the scarry. But, we need to take our eyes off of the difficulties, the trying and the scarry and look to God. Boy oh boy is that hard halfway up the mountain. But when we do, He will give us strength in those difficult times. He will make us sure-footed, He will give us hind’s feet, so that we can safely navigate the rough terrain we must travel, with Joy!
Isn’t it easy to know what we should do and harder to put into action what we know we should do? Yes! We’ve been through some of those difficulties and scarry times lately. Times when we didn’t even know where our feet were let alone how to put one in front of the other. But each time we experience difficult times in our life — just to remind you, if you are a child of God, you will absolutely, definitely, no doubt, experience difficulties — and arrive on the other side of what seemed like an insurmountable mountain, we can have Joy, from start to finish. Maybe not feel Joy in the climb, but know Joy, real Joy. Remember, Joy is not happiness. Happiness is completely dependent on our happenings, on our circumstances.
But the kind of Joy that comes from believing in our Deliverer, however He chooses to deliver us. Trust is grown and our faith in God is securely grounded on the mountains. If we didn’t need his strength, his help in getting over the mountain, we would not need God. But we do.
Bringing us safely over the mountain doesn’t mean that the terrain is not dangerous, that the terrain is not steep, it means exactly what it says, He’ll bring us safely over the mountain. Having faith in the God of our salvation that He will do what He says He will do should cause us to rejoice, regardless of the terrain we traverse. Rejoice!
Sidlow Baxter said the literal definition of verses 18-19 is:
“I will jump for joy in the Lord; I will spin around for delight in God.”
Here is the hilarity of faith!—Joy is at its best when circumstances are at their worst! Whatever trials may come, and they will, we must rejoice in the Lord and Joy in the God of our salvation.
So may you twirl with absolute Joy in the God of your salvation as His strength brings you safely over the mountains, little and big!
Awhile back I stuck a note on my spindle. A pointy thing that holds some of my thoughts I want to hang on to. I can only hang on to them if I write them down. If I come across a thought, I write it in my journal and then I write it on a scrap paper and jab it onto a pointy thing. There’s something satisfying about the jab. Periodically, I’ll go through the spindle and be reminded of why something was meaningful to me and sometimes I toss them thinking, why in the world did I write that down.
Anyway, at the end of last year a thought made the spindle and it’s staying there. It is a reminder that is pertinent to my life.
If I trust God with my eternity, why don’t I trust Him with my nows?
This thought comes up nearly every day, for me. When I’m thinking about circumstances or situations in my life or the lives of others and I see no way out, I dwell on this thought. It gives me perspective. The perspective is that if I trust God to keep His promises that I will go live with Him forever, no more tears, no more sorrow, no more pain, etc., and to be honest, I don’t doubt that one bit, then why don’t I trust Him to keep His promises in my right nows? If I trust Him in death why don’t I trust Him in life? Maybe because I’m not afraid to die, but I just might be afraid to live. Hmmm. Chew on that a bit.
It’s a matter of trust. Trust is not always the flip of a switch – click, I trust. Living grows trust. Living through hard stuff grows trust. When we do not trust God’s handling, God’s timing, God’s love for us, we take matters into our own hands and oh boy, what a mess we make. Right?
Am I more determined to navigate my own course than leaving it to Him?
I read something similar to this a while back and it gave me pause. After careful consideration, I’d have to say a lot of times, yes. I know, that shouldn’t be the case. I should be relying on God to steer me through life’s happenings instead of trying to pilot my own course and trying to control the outcomes. And when I’m piloting the course and trying to control the outcomes, which by-the-way I can’t do anyhow, that means I have a trust problem.
If I’m navigating my own course, or some might say trying anxiously to control, it means I do not trust Him. Plain and simple. Wait! No, I do trust Him, but… We either trust Him or we don’t. Granted, there is a disconnect sometimes between our minds and our hearts, sometimes we don’t always line up, remember the hind’s feet? It is perilous when our back feet (heart and mind) don’t land in the front feet (soul and strength) steps? We risk falling on the treacherous terrain.
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. Luke 10:27
Trust. Reliance. Confidence. Hope. Faith. We cannot stumble through life with half-trust, picking and choosing the situations that God is capable of handling and those that we must handle for Him. This creates so many bad decisions on our part and frankly, just a miserable existence.
Trust is a tricky thing, though. We may feel it with our minds, but don’t know it with our hearts. Or, we may feel it with our hearts, but don’t know it in our minds. Trust is getting it all to line up and that’s a process.
If I am more determined to navigate my own course, my life will be a constant battle, kind of like a Pushmi-Pullyu. My head and my heart are connected to one body but constantly battling for control. Visualize that. Only when we give up control are we given freedom from the tug of war. Freedom to trust. Freedom to allow Him to navigate our lives. If we are constantly trying to control the outcomes of life, we will never have freedom.
When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea, so that the boat was engulfed by the waves; but Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!”
“You of little faith,” Jesus replied, “why are you so afraid?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it was perfectly calm.
The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the sea obey Him!” Matthew 8:23-27
Do we think that the One that controls the oceans cannot control the seas of our lives? We are so like the Disciples charting our own course and then being engulfed by the waves. Here’s the thing I love about this passage. He rebuked the winds and the waves, but He did not rebuke the Disciples for their little faith. I can’t imagine that the Disciples were not trying to control their boat during this storm. I can’t imagine that they were not trying to navigate the waters, control the sails and bailing the water out of the boat. Only when they saw they were not able to manage the crisis did they cry out to Him. And He answered.
Freedom comes when we cry out to Him. Our freedom comes when we trust Him enough to take control. It is a process. But just like the Disciples, we can breathe a sigh of relief when we see He is true to His promises and trust Him more.
Only when we cry out to Him will we begin to believe that we can trust God with our eternity and our nows. Then we can really start living. Living in hope. Living without fear. Living in His promises. Living in His Light. Spreading His Light.
Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning; Give me oil in my lamp, I pray. Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning; Keep me burning till the break of day.
Many of you may remember singing that chorus in church years ago. Maybe it was a Sunday evening fellowship service or weeknight revival. This song was a staple in our chorus booklet in the church where I grew up. I can still hear the joyful refrain –
Sing Hosanna – Sing Hosanna – Sing Hosanna to the King of Kings!
The ladies with the higher voices would hold onto each “Sing” and climb the scale as all others chimed in with the rest of the words. Those were happy times many moons ago. I never really asked what it meant, but I have to admit I didn’t understand the song much. What was this oil and lamp? Why was it so important for me to keep it burning?
As one of the teachers in our church, a few weeks ago I had the opportunity to teach on the Parable of the Ten Virgins. For those who don’t know, this is one of the parables Jesus told to His followers to illustrate how to spiritually prepare for His Second Coming. Found in Matthew 25, the parable tells of an imaginary wedding where ten virgins, or bridesmaids, are awaiting the arrival of the bridegroom. Five are wise, and five are foolish. Their job is to wait for the bridegroom to arrive and then use their lamps to light the way for him as he enters the wedding banquet. No one knows when he will arrive. The wise bring extra oil with them just in case the bridegroom is delayed, which, of course, is what happens. The five foolish are not prepared for his delay and have no extra oil to keep their lamps lit. As a result, they are locked out of the wedding feast.
Such a sad ending to the story for those who weren’t prepared. The moral of the story is to always be prepared because we do not know the day or hour that the Lord will return.
But, again, that story doesn’t answer my question – what is this lamp and oil?
The idea of the lamp and oil goes back to the Old Testament. In the book of Exodus, we are told of the lamp at the Tabernacle and how God instructed the Israelites to make it.
Exodus 25: 31 – 40 “Make a lamp stand of pure gold. Hammer out its base and shaft and make its flowerlike cups, buds and blossoms, of one piece with them. Six branches are to extend from the sides of the lamp stand – three on one side and three on the other. Three cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms are to be on one branch, three on the next branch, and the same for all six branches extending from the lamp stand. And on the lamp stand there are to be four cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms. One bud shall be under the first pair of branches extending from the lamp stand, a second bud under the second pair, and a third bud under the third pair – six branches in all. The buds and branches shall all be of one piece with the lamp stand, hammered out of pure gold. Then make its seven lamps and set them up on it so that they light the space in front of it. Its wick trimmers and trays are to be of pure gold. A talent of pure gold is to be used for the lamp stand and all these accessories. See that you make them according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”
This passage gives us detailed instructions for creating the golden lamp stand – the menorah. Think of the beauty of this lamp and the care that God took in describing the intricacies. It was made of pure gold shaped to look like an almond tree – another of God’s creations. And it was filled with pure olive oil. In Leviticus 24: 1 – 4, The Lord said to Moses, “Command the Israelites to bring you clear oil of pressed olives for the light so that the lamps may be kept burning continually. Outside the curtain that shields the ark of the covenant law in the tent of meeting, Aaron is to tend the lamps before the Lord from evening till morning, continually. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. The lamps on the pure gold lamp stand before the Lord must be tended continually.”
Why was the light so important? If we jump to the New Testament we learn more about the light.
Jesus was speaking to the people around him in John 8:12 when he said, “I am the light of the world; whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”
He also said in John 12:46, “I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.”
Jesus is the Light of the World, and His Light continually burns for all to be led to Him. His Light continually burns!
That brings to mind another old hymn:
The whole world was lost in the darkness of sin; The Light of World is Jesus. Like sunshine at noonday, His glory shone in; The Light of the World is Jesus. Come to the Light, ’tis shining for thee, Sweetly the Light has dawned upon me. Once I was blind, but now I can see. The Light of the World is Jesus.
How blessed we are to have these reminders that He is the Light of the World!
But then in Matthew 5:14 – 16, Jesus turns it around on us and tells us, “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand and it gives light to shine before others that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven.”
Jesus knew that He would return to the Father in Heaven after His death and resurrection. He knew that His followers would have to continue on without Him. For all people, we need to believe that His Light is going to continue to burn.
In I Thessalonians 5:5 Paul tells the Gentiles, “For you are all children of light and children of the day and you are not children of the night, neither children of darkness.”
Not only was the Light being passed on to the Jews but also to the Gentiles. Jews and Gentiles alike are the Light of the world. And if we are to be Light for all others we must keep that Light burning continually.
“This little light of mine – I’m gonna light it shine!”
This question that remains is how? How do we keep it burning – shining?
We have to keep its vessel filled – not with olive oil – but with what the olive oil represents – the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is what keeps our light going – The Holy Spirit keeps our lamp lit.
Remember those ten virgins. Five brought plenty of oil with them so they would be prepared in case the bridegroom was delayed. The other five did not prepare for His delay, and they were left out. What a terrible shame!
Why is the oil so important? For several reasons –
In the Old Testament, we see that the oil was used for anointing. Aaron and his sons were anointed and consecrated so they could serve as priests. We are told in Exodus 30: 30 -32, “This shall be my anointing oil throughout your generations. It shall not be poured on the body of an ordinary person, and you shall make no other like it in composition. It is holy, and it shall be holy to you.”
The oil represented something very special – but what?
In 1 Samuel 16: 13, we see that kings were anointed with the oil. “Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward.”
Wait a minute – the Spirit of the Lord – was that in the oil?
Again, digging a little deeper, we learn that Prophets were anointed with oil.
2 Kings 2:9 – “When they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Ask what I shall do for you before I am taken from you.’ And Elisha said, ‘Please, let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.’”
A double portion – of the Holy Spirit. How cool would that be!
Where did they get the idea that the oil represented the Holy Spirit?
The name Messiah in Hebrew means – the Anointed One. In Luke 4: 18 Jesus said, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me because He has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Whenever the person was anointed, the Holy Spirit came upon that person.
But this was for the Jewish people. What about us, the Gentiles?
The Apostle Paul wrote to the people of Galatia who were primarily Gentiles. In Galatians 3:14 he wrote, “He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.”
Those, who are not Jewish, were promised the Holy Spirit as well.
Paul also wrote to the Ephesians. They were also made up of Jewish and Gentiles, but the majority of the people were Gentiles. He said to them in Ephesians 1: 13 – 14, “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession — to the praise of His glory.”
God promised to pour out His Spirit on ALL people. And on the day of Pentecost that’s exactly what happened. The power of the Holy Spirit is displayed throughout the Bible and that power comes to ALL who believe in Jesus Christ.
So what’s the connection? With the Holy Spirit, each one receives specials gifts.
1 Corinthians 12: 7-11 says, “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.”
There is also Fruit of the Spirit.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22-23).
You see, when we keep our lamps burning, we are keeping them filled with the Holy Spirit. Just like the lamp is the vessel that contains the oil, our body is the vessel that contains the Holy Spirit.
How do we keep our lamp burning?
We keep it filled with the oil of the Holy Spirit. We do the deeds and the work of the Holy Spirit. Walking and living in the Spirit keeps that oil burning, but when we don’t live by the Spirit or walk in His ways the oil stops flowing and the light goes out. When we keep our lamps burning we receive eternal life – we get to enter into the banquet with the bridegroom.
Galatians 6:8, “Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.”
So, how about you? Is your lamp filled with oil?
No one knows when the Bridegroom will come. If He came today, even right now, would your lamp be burning bright for Him to see? He has given us the Holy Spirit to guide and direct us. Why not fill up your lamp?
Fill-a me up, Come-a Holy Spirit Fill-a me up to the top-a my soul. Fill-a me up, Come-a Holy Spirit Fill-a me up now and take control.
It’s that time of year when the deer have just started moving a little more. The oppressive heat of the summer has faded and the cool mornings and evenings of fall and shorter days cause them to stir a bit more in the open. We watch the parades from inside darting from living room to dining room to kitchen to gaze on their beauty. Man, there are some magnificent creatures moving about out there. It reminded me of a blog I’d posted several years ago about the hind. Every time I watch the parades from the windows, I think of Hind’s Feet.
Hind’s Feet, Repost July 21, 2021
I’m reading this book, I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes, by Glenn Clark, published in 1937. It was in a box of books our mom had, I’m not sure where she got it. In the front is stamped “Springfield Lutheran Church, Pleasant Valley, Penna.”
I just love this book. It is old. The pages are super thick, super yellow and the edges rigid as if hand cut. It is handtied and the needlework is visible at each turn. The cover is green cloth, you know that really thin linen-like stuff they used to cover books with. This book just makes you want to touch it, to hold it, and sometimes I just do. One would think with the age of the book, nearly 85 years, that the book would be brittle, pages chipping, maybe even a little fragile, but it’s not. This book and its message were made to last. The books of new with their precisely cut, glued pages and glossy cardboard covers aren’t made to last and sometimes neither is their message.
And that is why I have written this book, to help you be that man for your home, your community, your neighborhood. Glenn Clark
In this wonderful book written specifically for men, the spiritual leaders of their homes, I’ve learned enduring lessons about the hind.
The red deer is Europe’s largest deer. Although the red deer is one of the Scottish Highlands most iconic sights, they originally hail from the Turkey-Persia area and are actually the only deer species to inhabit all of Africa. The male red deer is called the hart and the female red deer is called the hind.
The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. Habakkuk 3:19
So what makes the hind creature so spectacular? The hart is also a magnificent creature, but there’s something special about the gal – and it’s her feet. The hind is known to be the most surefooted animal. Why is that? Because of the way her feet work together. When climbing craggy, rugged mountainous areas, the hind’s back feet land exactly where her front feet have just left. As she moves through, her front feet test the dangerous terrain and when she finds safe footing, her back feet then land right in that spot. Her front feet and her back feet line up in perfect correlation in order for her to traverse the terrain and reach the mountaintop safely. It’s precision tracking.
And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. Luke 10:27
In order to reach the heights of life, we too must have precision tracking. Our feet must perfectly correlate. Our hearts and our minds must line up. There’s a reason it is called the Greatest Commandment. When our hearts and our minds are in perfect alignment, nothing is impossible.
And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Mark 11:22-23
Our hearts and our minds must completely align with Him in order to scale the mountains of this world. All four feet (heart, soul, strength, mind) must be coordinated to safely climb the mountain. In the mountainous regions where the hinds travel, those back feet not landing perfectly in the front feet footsteps, even by a fraction of an inch, can be deadly. One misstep by our back feet can cause the mountain to crumble starting an avalanche of boulders and we find ourselves laying at the bottom with rocks piled on. But, each step taken toward the top of the mountain, feet-in-feet, opens a more spectacular view than the last step. Ascending the mountain Jesus’s way – without doubt in our heart and believing with our minds — opens up the most panoramic vistas ever imagined!
True vision can only be found when we convert our feet to hind’s feet. It is a lifelong process. Sometimes we do misstep. Sometimes we are off by a fraction of an inch and we suffer devastating consequences. But as we work at having hind’s feet, aligning our back feet to our front feet, our hearts with our minds, the Lord will encourage us along the way and we will safely reach new heights which open to glimpses of Heaven. Praise the Lord of the Mountain!
I was walking the other morning in the predawn and it was a little warmer morning than some of late. As My Gal and I move steadily up and down the road that cuts the fields, a shiver ran through me. We’d hit a cold pocket. You know what I mean, you’re moving along and all at once the air suddenly turns cold. It’s the gentlest of breezes. The moving of the air is so subtle it’s almost imperceptible. But it’s just enough to usher in a chill pocket. We kept moving and as quickly as it came, the cold pocket was gone. That’s happened to you before, right? We notice those cold pockets particularly this time of year. But when we emerge from the cold pocket, we recognize it, don’t we? We notice when we travel through different temperatures, from hot to cold, or from cold to hot and we almost always comment on it and ask our companion, did you feel that? You see, we’re feeling people, right?
As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night shall never cease. Genesis 8:22
We’re told that as long as the earth endures we’re going to have cold and heat. We may walk through those cold pockets many times a day. It may even feel like we’re living in a cold pocket and the warmth will never come. Or that we’re stuck in a hot pocket and praying for a cold spell with every step. On the inside and outside. This reminds me of my deep need for Jesus. When I hit a cold spot and I need Him so desperately or, when I hit a hot spot and need Him so desperately. He knows what I need in the cold and the heat of life. Just maybe those little pockets were put there to remind me of that.
Because it was cold, the servants and officers were standing around a charcoal fire they had made to keep warm. And Peter was also standing with them, warming himself. John 18:18
We’re just like Peter who hit those spots more than once. Those spots where we have been made cold by our denial, our pain, our loss, our hurt, our sin. Those spots where parts of our hearts are just frozen solid. Hard. But what does Jesus do in those places?
“The Lord has really risen! He appeared to Peter!” Luke 24:34
In those cold spots of life when we need Him so much, Jesus is there. He thaws our frozen hearts, with His presence.
Likewise, with those hot spots of life, you know the ones where we’re tested by the fiery flames of the world – mistreatment, oppression, persecution – followers of Christ have been, will be, or should be in those spots. Hot spots where our faith is challenged, our beliefs are questioned, our convictions tried. He protects us from the heat with His presence.
But suddenly, Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in amazement and exclaimed to his advisers, “Didn’t we tie up three men and throw them into the furnace?” “Yes, Your Majesty, we certainly did,” they replied. “Look!” Nebuchadnezzar shouted. “I see four men, unbound, walking around in the fire unharmed! And the fourth looks like a divine being!”
Then Nebuchadnezzar came as close as he could to the door of the flaming furnace and shouted: “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!”
So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stepped out of the fire. Then the high officers, officials, governors, and advisers crowded around them and saw that the fire had not touched them. Not a hair on their heads was singed, and their clothing was not scorched. They didn’t even smell of smoke! Daniel 3:24-25
His presence calls us beyond the cold spots and hot spots of this life. Being rescued and protected by His presence then requires us to live our lives as rescued and protected people. If we know Jesus, the cold and hot spots of life are tempered by the presence of the Spirit living inside us and we will emerge warmed and untouched by the flames. The Lord has really risen!
Are you walking through a cold spot or a hot spot? You are not alone, Jesus is there.
