PERSISTING IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD

So, I was reading a book the other day and the author was relating how she had been struggling with something (she didn’t even remember the details of what it was) she went to a Christian counselor to help her sort things out.  After relating whatever it was that was bothering her, the Christian counselor said “Grow Up!”  Ouch!  Doesn’t seem like something you’d hear from a professional counselor, does it?  I mean after all, she’s paying for this advice.  Now she didn’t say, oh grow up, like we would say when we’re impatient or frustrated with someone.  It was said with the kindest intentions – with the intent to encourage someone to, well…grow up, move on, get over it, rise above.  I don’t know about you, but when I read that, I thought to myself, yep I could use me some growing up.  You too?

How do we grow up from the many things that bother us in a day that we can’t even remember the next day, but we spent so much time and energy on the previous day?  How do we mature ourselves?  We get into the Word of God.  Therein lies the secret to growing up.  Getting into the Word of God and then applying the Word of God to our lives.  I know this is a common theme, imagine that, a Jesus blog that encourages spending most of your life in the Word of God, but that’s how growing up is done.   Without food there is no growth.

Spending time in the Word is not an exercise in self-improvement.  The Word of God was not written about us, it was written about God.  The Word was not written so we can be better people, it was written so that we may become Godly people.  Spending time in the Word is really about growing up.  Growing up is completely dependent on Whose you are, not who you are.

Spending time in the Word of God leads to the adoration of God.  If it doesn’t, it is pointless.  Growing up, maturing, is a process of development.  Growing is about becoming.  If we are not growing we are declining.  If we aren’t knowing more, we are knowing less.  Why so?  Because the world is constantly moving, life is constantly changing, we grow or we are left behind.  Grow we must in love, in the Spirit, in knowledge, in Christ.

The world we live in right now is crazy.  Our daily lives look different than they did a month ago.  But, Praise God for the amazing blessing – more time on our hands.  For those of us who have always said if I had more time I’d read my Bible more, you’ve got it!  No excuses.  Here’s the thing, take just a minute to imagine what the world would look like in 30 days if we all committed to reading the Word of God daily.  What would our lives look like if we shifted our focus from self adoration to God adoration?  What if we allowed our love for God to change our lives? Sometimes our life circumstances require us to grow up faster than we expected or even wanted.  Maybe now.

So, with the kindest intentions and the intent to encourage you, I say  (and I hope you say to me) grow up, move on, get over it, rise above, no more excuses.

Wednesday – Matthew 26:1-13.  You think Jesus ever wanted to say to people, grow up?  Those who knew Him, had heard His teachings, had witnessed His healings and still needed growing up, didn’t they?  From Caiaphas to the disciples.

Thursday – Passover ends this evening.  Read Matthew 26:14-30.  Although the disciples may not have realized it, this was no ordinary Passover meal.  How would this Passover meal look different than those celebrations in the past?  How did the disciples prepare for Passover?  What is communion?

Friday – Read Matthew 26:31-35.  Look through the scriptures and right down each instance of Peter’s denial of Jesus.  Peter’s story is a beautiful story of love, forgiveness and growth.  It’s also our story, right?  Peter was not perfect, neither are we; however, Peter grew up because His faith was tested.  Look at Peter’s life.  Look at our lives.  Have we grown?  Are we growing in Christ?

Saturday – Read Matthew 26:36-46.  I can so relate to Peter, James and John.  How so, you say?  Hasn’t your faith ever fallen asleep?  Jesus told Peter to keep alert and pray or temptation will overpower.  Isn’t that the same for us?  Growing up means being alert, keeping our eyes open for overpowering temptations.

Sunday – Read Luke 2:21-40.  Simeon and Anna.  They had been waiting for the promised King.  Jesus was brought to the Temple in Jerusalem as an eight-day-old to be circumcised.  In an instant they recognized Jesus, at eight-days-old.    Simeon prophesied that Jesus would  be the light of the world.  Anna told everyone the King had come.  Simeon and Anna were grown up, mature in the faith, folks who were unusually close to God.  Where did they spend their time?  What did they spend their time doing?  How else did they know that Jesus was the Messiah?

Monday – Read Luke 21:41-52.  These last thirty one verses (including yesterday’s) take us from an eight-day-old Jesus in the Temple, to a 12 year old Jesus, to an adult Jesus.  Where was Jesus found?  In the Temple.  Sitting among the religious teachers, discussing deep questions with them., growing up – trying to grow them up.  What were Jesus’s practices?  Spending time with the Father.

Tuesday – Read Hebrews 4:12-6:12.  What do these verses say about growing up?  Are we reluctant to move beyond the basics?  What’s holding us back?  Growing up is the process of obedience, even when it’s hard. Jesus was obedient unto death.  His death for our life.

Now I’m not an English major, that’s probably more than obvious if you’ve read any of this stuff. I stink at the rules of grammar and punctuation. I don’t use commas well (should that be good?) – way too many. I’m one big run on sentence – that’s why I use so many commas. I love dashes – they separate my thoughts. I just can’t stand quotes – where do they begin? where do they end? one mark or two? punctuation inside or outside the quote mark? – that rule seems to be ever changing. I do love me some dot-dot-dots…because many times my thoughts are left hanging because I’ve moved on to my next thought already and just don’t have time to complete the last thought…What brought up this subject? Sinclair Ferguson:

In the grammar of faith, all the imperatives in God’s word (commands: “this is what you are to do”) are rooted in indicatives (statements of fact: “this is what God has done, or will do, for you and in you”). Gospel grammar works like this: it is because of what God has done that, therefore, you are to be this or do that.

I read this the other day and immediately thought about my own use of grammar and punctuation. Of course, I was looking at his quote and thought he may have broken a few of the rules too. But the two things that jumped out at me were the words indicatives and imperatives. It’s good for us to learn new words once in a while and today’s the day.

Imperative means absolutely necessary. I think we can all agree that God’s Word is filled with imperatives. Things we must absolutely do. Things that are absolutely necessary. Requirements. Commands. Indicatives are demonstrations, indications, to point out, to show. Sinclair explains it perfectly – because of what God has done we are to be this or do that.

Sinclair calls these words the logic of the gospel. Each command given by God has reasons. So how does the logic of the gospel work? I think it goes something like this:

Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”
Luke 6:37-38

Imperatives – what we must do – NOT JUDGE, NOT CONDEMN, FORGIVE. Indicatives – what God has done – He has not judged, not condemned, He has forgiven us.

Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.
Luke 23:34

That’s logical, right? Let’s try another…

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
John 3:16-17

Imperatives – what we must do – BELIEVE. Indicatives – what God has done – LOVED, GAVE, SAVED. God has demonstrated His love for us by sending His Son to save us. The logic: We Believe because God says His Son will save us and we will not be condemned. We can see that in Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection on the cross. That’s logical, right?

Wednesday
What must we do because of what God has done?
Read 1 Peter 1:13-21
What must we do? What has God done?

Thursday
What must we do because of what God has done?
Read Romans 5:1-11
What must we do? What has God done?

Friday
What must we do because of what God has done?
Read Isaiah 53
What must we do? What has God done?

Saturday
What must we do because of what God has done?
Read Hebrews 13:15
What must we do? What has God done?

Sunday
Pray the Lord will open your mind to the Word of God. Pray that He will give you understanding of His Word so that you can apply the Word to your life.

Monday
What must we do because of what God has done?
Read Romans 12:1-2
What must we do? What has God done?

Tuesday
Read Matthew Chapters 5 and 6. Pick two logic lessons and write down what must we do and what has God done?

I love that term, don’t you? A baker’s dozen. Who doesn’t want a baker’s dozen of anything, especially donuts, homemade rolls, loaves of bread, you know, bakery stuff. I’m a lover of all things carb and when I’m given a baker’s dozen, I feel compelled to indulge – I must eat it! All 13. I was interested in where that term came from after my prayer time the other day.

So what exactly is a baker’s dozen other than yummy? In medieval times, bread was sold by weight. Just like today many of our foods are sold by weight. A stroll around the grocery store proves it. Farmers’ Markets affirm it. Meat is priced per pound. Fruits and vegetables are priced per pound. Canned food is sold by ounces. Dried foods like spaghetti and rice are sold by pound. Ice cream used to be sold by the gallon – there are some tricksters out there though who have kept the gallon price but not the gallon size – check it out. Anyway, you get my drift.

The best things in life are sold by the dozen! The most precious things in the world, think about it, it’s downright true, are sold by the dozen. Donuts – by the dozen. Breads – by the dozen. Cookies – by the dozen. Muffins – by the dozen. Nowadays you only occasionally stumble across a baker’s dozen – 13 of something! When bread was sold by weight, bakers used to throw in an extra to be sure they complied with the weight standards. You see, a baker could be fined or flogged for cheating customers out of their fair share. In those medieval times, it was a little more difficult to be precise. Temperature control, air flow, baking conditions, yeast quality, moisture control (especially in England), etc. made it difficult to make sure that a roll was a roll was a roll. Size and density varied. No two rolls were alike – I’ll take the big one! In order to avoid the harsh penalties, a baker would throw in an extra just in case there was shortage.

So, what’s all that rambling got to do with my prayer list? You know how my mind works, it makes weird connections and here’s another. I have a baker’s dozen on my prayer list – oh, it’s not a written list, it’s a mental list. A list of 13 people, my baker’s dozen, that I love who either don’t know Jesus, outright reject Jesus, or are just dabbling in Jesus. Not a criticism, just an observation. Thirteen precious people! Thirteen sweet, wonderful people who I want to meet in Heaven – no time soon mind you. Now, don’t get me wrong, there are tons of folks I want to see in Heaven, but the Lord has imprinted these people on my heart for some reason for right now. You see it’s personal for me – these are the people Jesus has entrusted to my prayer care. Sure, there may be other pray-ers praying for my baker’s dozen, and sure there are others that I am praying for outside my baker’s dozen. The point is the prayer.

And remember, the Lord is waiting so that people have time to be saved.
2 Peters 3:15

Just think what the world would be like if every believer committed to adopting a baker’s dozen. You’re thinking great, add one more thing to my to-do list, add 13 more things to my prayer list that I can’t get through already. Why yes, yes I am. You see the most important thing we can ever do for someone is to pray for their salvation. Sure there are many things on earth to pray for, but everything here on earth is temporary – everything. Everything here on earth can be taken care of by Heaven. Salvation. Every hurt on earth can be healed by Heaven. It sounds too good to be true, but it’s not. So, how am I going to find time to do this, you say? Easy, I say. We waste away how many hours a day with mindless mind-chatter. You know, those conversations we have in our heads – I’d say this, I’d do that, I’m gonna – Preparing for this, preparing for that. Those moments of wasted time and energy can be captured. Thirty sincere seconds without the radio or TV, or whatever else it is that pulls us away from presenting someone to God for eternal life.

Here’s the thing, our prayers for others don’t have to be novel sized. A thought, a whispered prayer, a moment. Lord, turn their hearts to you. Lord, fan the flame. Lord, open their eyes to you. Lord, draw them close to you. Just…Lord.

Praying for others sometimes seems like a daunting task – just be honest. That’s because when we pray, we try to tell the Lord all the things wrong that need fixed. Oh yeah, then we try to tell Him how to fix them in the way we want, or in the way we think would be best for them. Who are we? Our job is simply to present them to Jesus and allow Him to work it out with them. We cannot save people, only Jesus can. We cannot heal people, only Jesus can. That takes the daunt out doesn’t it? We offer them up to Him, The One, The Way, The Only.

Look at it exponentially. My baker’s dozen, if even one of them eventually has a baker’s dozen, and then even one of their baker’s dozen has a baker’s dozen. Think about it. That’s how the Good News is spread, one person at a time.

Wednesday
Read 2 Peter Chapter 3. Peter notes how we should live each day until Christ returns. Write down what Peter says about how we should be living. Let’s compare that with how we are truly living. What are we doing while we are waiting?

Thursday
Read 2 Peter 3:13-15. Read Romans 2:4. Both passages talk about God giving us time. List the reasons in those passages.

Friday
Read Ephesians 3:-1-13. What is the secret plan revealed. Write it down. As Followers of Christ, we have been given the responsibility, the task, the honor, the joy, the courage, the power to spread the Good News. How are we doing?

Saturday
Read Ephesians 3:14-21. Paul’s prayer. Could this be a prayer for our baker’s dozen? Are there folks for whom we would fall to our knees on a regular basis petitioning the Lord to open their hearts to Him?

Sunday
Think about the folks around you. If you were to commit to praying for a baker’s dozen, who has the Lord laid on your heart? Children, parents, friends, coworkers, neighbors, family, folks you may not yet know? We have an opportunity to be part of God’s divine plan for others – Salvation.

Monday
Read Ephesians 2:8-10. We were not saved for our own benefit. We were saved to glorify God and bring others to Him.

Tuesday
Read Ezekiel 12:19-20. Read Jeremiah 29:11-14. Read 2 Corinthians 5:15-21. Use these verses as the base for our prayers for our baker’s dozen. Search for more scriptures to use as prayers.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

We’ve been working on the fruits 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 fruits is that none of them cost us a penny, they cost much more, our hearts. All these fruits reflect the character of God, all things we could not be without Him. None of these fruits 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 fruits 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, you know the feathers we drop, 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.  Hang in there, I’m getting to the point, I promise.  Agathos 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 fruits 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 fruits 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 fruits of goodness, the feathers of goodness to drop along the way, 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 dropping feathers of Kindness? 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 fruits – 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 daughter-in-laws treated her sons with Kindness – how many mother-in-laws would say that? Just kidding guys… We’ll see how Naomi’s Kindness opened the eyes of one of her daughter-in-laws 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 fruits of the Spirit journey. I thought about combining some of the fruits 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 been wrestling with this word for a few days 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 fruits of the Spirit on our own. Only God can produce in us those fruits 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 reasons 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 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 our mark of Patience on our path. 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!