PERSISTING IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD

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.

Kindness, next up on our fruit of the Spirit march.  The fruit of Kindness.  Are we Kind?  It’s a little bit of an old-fashioned word, isn’t it?  We don’t use it much or hear it much these days.  But it’s really a cool word.  I’ve always thought it was like the ultimate compliment, you know, they’re so Kind.  It just has a celestial ring to me.  Kind.  Being Kind.  Kindness.

So, what is Kind, exactly?  Kind tends to get lumped in with good and while trying to separate their meanings seems like splitting hairs, they are listed as separate fruit – there must be a difference, even if very subtle.  The dictionary defines Kind as “a good or benevolent nature or disposition.”  We understand good to mean praiseworthy character, virtuous, righteous, the opposite of bad.  Look at the next word.  Benevolent.  What’s that? It’s compassionate, a helper, charitable, the opposite of selfish, mean, stingy, unkind.  Look at the next words, nature or disposition.  That’s our character, our attitude, our inclination, what we’re partial to.  A word that we’ve experienced that is closely related to Kindness is merciful.  Hmmm… The Lord has certainly been Kind to us, hasn’t He?

If I had to pick characters in the Bible that best describe Kindness, today I think I’d have to pick the folks in the Book of Ruth.  We might also be able to call it the Book of Kindness.  The three main characters, Naomi, Ruth and Boaz, all displayed immeasurable Kindness.  So, we head there, grab your Bible.

We’re going to learn this week how both of Naomi’s sons married Moabite women.  How Naomi thought both her daughters-in-law treated her sons with Kindness – how many mothers-in-law would say that?  Just kidding guys… We’ll see how Naomi’s Kindness opened the eyes of one of her daughters-in-law to worship God.  We’ll see how that daughter-in-law, Ruth, showed Kindness to Naomi and Boaz.  We’ll see how Boaz showed Kindness to Naomi and Ruth.  It’s like one big Kindnessfest!  But keep in mind where this Kindness came from  –  Kindness means a good or benevolent nature or disposition.  Remember what we read last week in Colossians?  We must put on a new nature, we must strip off our old evil nature and put on some new clothes – a brand-new nature that is continually being renewed as we learn more about Christ, as we keep in step with the Spirit’s call to know and be in the will of God.  Kindness does not come naturally, we’re not born Kind – we’re reborn Kind – we put on the Kindness of Christ.

Wednesday
Read the Book of Ruth.  It’s four short chapters.  As you read, write down the names of the people in the story.  Look up the meanings of the names of these people.  See anything interesting?

Thursday
Review the Book of Ruth.  Write down how many times the word Kind or Kindness is used.

Write down each act of Kindness that you see. 

Friday
Study Ruth 1:16-17.  What caused Ruth to be so loyal to Naomi?  In what way did Ruth declare her loyalty?  Read 2 Samuel 15.  Note the similarities between Ruth and Ittai and Naomi and King David.  What’s the common denominator?

Saturday
Just as Ruth is the heroine of the Book of Ruth, Boaz is introduced as the hero of the Book of Ruth in Chapter 2.  Look at Boaz’s character, his words, his actions.  What kind of person was Boaz?  What was Naomi’s response when she learned of Boaz? 

Sunday
Look at Chapter 3.  What’s happening here?  What is Ruth asking?  How does she ask it?  What is Boaz’s response?  What is Boaz’s promise to Ruth.  How does he guarantee that promise?

Monday
Read Chapter 4:13-22 and  Matthew 1:5.  Who was Boaz?  Who were his parents?  Who were his children?  What was his heritage?   Would the family line have looked different if Boaz had not displayed Kindness to Ruth and Naomi?  How so?

Tuesday
The Kindnesses of Naomi, Ruth and Boaz, along with their faithfulness, obedience, and the Lord’s blessings resulted in God’s will being done.  Naomi, Ruth and Boaz moving forward without Kindness would have changed the outcome of their story.  Reread the Book of Ruth and be reminded of the Kindnesses displayed and the results of those Kindnesses.  Just like the players in the Book of Ruth, we must too be charitable, benevolent, compassionate, merciful to others, no matter how difficult.  Naomi, Ruth and Boaz all had difficult life circumstances to overcome.  Pray today that the Holy Spirit would take over your heart and enable you to change your story, to exude Kindness even in difficult times, something that cannot be done without the indwelling of the Spirit.  Sweet Holy Spirit, Sweet Heavenly Dove, stay right here with us filling us with your Kindness.

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?