Fruit of the Spirit-Peace (Part 4)

 He will keep you in perfect peace whose mind is stayed upon the Lord. Isaiah 26:3

Peace: freedom from disturbance; quiet and tranquility.

freedom from or the cessation of war or violence.

How can we be free from the fear and violence that this world sometimes offers us? How can we live here peacefully? To be sure, it is not easy and it is not fun. And yet that is the next fruit of the Spirit. And so because of that truth, there has to be a way. Right? Because if not, why else would it be included?

 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Romans 12:18

We are to live as peacefully as we possibly can with everyone. With our friends, our neighbors and yes even our families. Sometimes living peaceably with our families is harder than with anyone else. But it is something we need to strive for. 

Jesus is called the Prince of Peace in the bible. God sent him here to bring us a relationship of love and restoration. But it cost him his life. And in so doing, he did not have a peaceful death, he gave his life so that you and I could attain it. 

We cannot force others to live in peace with us, but neither does Jesus try to force us to accept his terms for peace. There is none of us that come into this world righteous. We are born selfish and hopeless apart from God our creator. And at some point in our lives, in order to meet his terms must accept what he did on the cross. Only then, can real peace truly come to us.  

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 5:1

And the Holy Spirit can work in us to produce the fruit of peace to be able to live as much as we can with others. Sometimes it is not easy. But then, what in life does come easy at times. If everything came easy to us, we would probably not depend on God. However, he does give us the help we need when we ask him.

Living with all the fear of war and violence every day can be scary. We see all that goes on in the world and it can be very dishearting. But as Christians, we have the assurance that God is in control of our lives and we can rest in him that all things work together for those of us that love him. But there again, in so doing, we need to keep our minds stayed upon him. That is what makes his peace work in us.

 Are you living as peacefully as you can with those around you?  If not, ask the Holy Spirit to give you a willing spirit and then let him guide you towards that goal. He will do it for sure.

Thanks again for joining me today Friends. I pray for you a peaceful Lord's Day!

Fruit of the Spirit-JOY (Part 3)

The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.  Psalm 28:7

How do we define joy? How do you define it in your own life? We can say it is being happy. We can say it means we are delighted or blissful? There are many other words we could use for the word joy, but are they what the bible defines it as?

We may think of joy as cheating on our taxes. Or sleeping with someone else's' spouse. But is that joy? No, that is sin. The joy one gets from sin lasts only for a season. It is temporary and it is a symptom for serious problems within the person that is sinning.

We may think of joy as perhaps getting a good return on our taxes. Or finding a mate that really loves God. Is that joy? Surely, those kinds of things are good and they do make us happy. To an extent. But, are they the kind of joy that the bible speaks of?

The real joy is in knowing that God has revealed to us his perfect plan for us. The hope of eternal life. The expectations of his coming kingdom. The knowledge that deep down inside us that we will one day go to be with him in paradise.

It is (or should be) displayed for people to see that God within us can penetrate the darkness that surrounds them and therefore they want what we already have.

If we let it come forth in us. What was that? If we are grouchy as Christians and do not allow the joy of the Lord to come through, why would anyone want to have what we have? There is enough of that without being a Christian.

However, if no matter what we go through, we can let it come through us, people will see that and they will want to find out how we can go through the things we are and still be joyful.

Yes, even in times when sadness hits us. Through an illness, either of a loved one or maybe ourselves. A death or some other crisis. We can still emulate the real fruit of joy in our lives because it comes through the Holy Spirit.

I know of a man in church a few years ago, that got cancer. The pastor asked him how he wanted the church to pray for him. Did he want them to pray for healing or to pray God's will? He said, "I have had a good life. I am ready to go to be with God if that is his will for me. If he wants to heal me, I am happy to be here until he does take me home." What a testimony. This man was joyful either way. He was leaving the decision up to God.

Not long after that, God did take him home.

That is what true happiness, true joy is. Being joyful no matter what we are going through in our earthly circumstances and letting it shine through us. That is what the joy of the bible means.

Nehemiah 8:10 says: The joy of the Lord is my strength. Even in sorrow, God gives us strength through our joy. Are you joyful today of what God has done in your life? If not, maybe you haven't quite connected to the Holy Spirit. Get into his word. Ask him to give you his joy. If you are honestly seeking it, he will give it to you.



Thanks so much for coming today folks. Have a wonderful weekend and I hope you will join me again tomorrow for the next Fruit of the Spirit-Peace. God bless!

Fruits of the Spirit-LOVE (Part 2)

Mathew 22:37-39  Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

38 This is the first and great commandment.39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

Love is ________to me. Fill in the blank. What is love to you? Is it your home? The car you drive? Your job? Is it a love for money? Is it your family? Is it God? We can all have a god whether it be the God of the Bible or a material thing or people. Even those that say they do not believe in God, have some type of god. 

Love is a universal language Understood by people all over the globe. And guess what. It is the language given by who other than God himself. 

Is it any wonder why it is the first fruit on our list of spirits that God wants us to pursue?

And loving God is the first commandment. Everything else comes after that. And if we truly love God, those things do follow. 

God is many things to us. He is our Savior, Deliverer, Provider, Peace, Healer, Light, and our Shepard. The list goes on and on. 

But above all: God is Love.  And because he first loved us, he sent his son Jesus into the world to save us from sin. (John 3:16)

To understand the fruit of love in its fullness is we need to first put our faith in him, accept his gift of salvation and learn what it is to first truly love him and then and only then can we love the gifts that he has given us.

Have you trusted God? Are you following him? Do you truly love him? If not, I pray that you will accept him and allow him to begin to work his fruit of love into your life. There is no greater love for us then God! For God is love. 

A kindergarten teacher was walking around observing her classroom of children while they were drawing pictures. As she got to one girl who was working diligently, she asked what the drawing was.       The girl replied, "I'm drawing God."       The teacher paused and said, "But no one knows what God looks like."       Without looking up from her drawing, the girl replied, "They will in a minute."

Thanks for stopping in today Friends. I pray you will go bless someone today and share your fruit of Love with someone that needs it! Have a great day!

Fruits of the Spirit (Part one)

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.Galatians 5:22-23

This week I am going to try to touch on the qualities of the Holy Spirit and the work he wants to do and does do in our lives as we let him.

Just like God and Jesus, he is the 3rd person in the Trinity and has specific work that he does in us. As Christians, we should develop these qualities as we grow in Christ.

John 16:8 tells us that he convicts us of sin.

At the moment we ask Jesus to come into our lives, the Holy Spirit comes in and gives us new lives-a new meaning to life. We have a whole new direction to life. He changes us from the inside out and that is when these qualities can really take hold in us.

In and of ourselves, we do not have the power to bear the fruits of love, joy peace and so on because our flesh wants to control us. However, as a Christian, we can let the Holy Spirit do the work in us to produce the fruit.

But we do have a choice. We can be carnal. Having time for everything else and none for God. We can allow ourselves to be envious of others. We can lust after things, whether it be money, power or someone. We can be hateful and cause strife in our lives or someone else's life. Or any number of other sins.

What kind of person are you?  Have you accepted Christ as your personal Savior? If so, that is the first step in developing the fruits of the Holy Spirit.

I hope you will join me for the next few days in a look into these qualities of the Holly Spirit starting tomorrow.

Thanks for sharing this time with me folks. Have a blessed day!

Truth or Consequences? Or Maybe Even Truth or Dare?

Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. 1 John 3:18

Have you ever known anyone to not tell you the truth about something? Have you ever lied to anyone about something?

Sure you have.On both accounts. We all have lied about things at times. To get our way. To cover something up so as not to get us in trouble. 

When I retired a few years ago, I had been working in a group home that housed 4 women, all in their late 40s. They were mentally challenged due to some damage to their chromosomes before birth. The things they had had to endure due to their disease was sad to be sure, but these ladies were no dummies. They felt like they had been cheated in life because they weren't "normal" like other people and through their life had learned to manipulate people and circumstances to get what they wanted. The lady that started this particular program they were in, made up the daily schedules that included activities for each day and they were rewarded if they participated in each one. But there were consequences for actions that did not comply with the rules of the house.Their awards were recorded at the end of each day. And one of the ways they could get one was to "not tell an untruth." Staff thought that one was worded the wrong way. It should have been for " not lying" or "not telling the truth." Because they know the difference between right and wrong, the truth from a lie. And just because they had the disease they did, it was like that rule was just a soft way of dealing with it, instead of calling it like it was.It was lying and manipulating something to get what they wanted. And to be sure, it was not tolerated, so it should have been called what it really was, so the staff felt. 

But isn't that what people do? No matter who they are and what walk of life. From small children that have learned how to get their way by telling fibs to the richest people in government, we have learned ways to get things by deceit

Lying started from the very beginning of the world with satan in the Garden of Eden. The 9th Commandment in Exodus 20:16 tells us not to bear false witness against our neighbor. Does the fact that it does not say anything about not bearing it to others mean it is ok to do so? Of course not.  And yet we do it. From what we try to say are little white lies, to the really big ones and everything in between. Lies are lies and it doesn't matter how little they are. 

And lying, of course, is a sin. And we know what the consequences of sin are. The wages of sin is death. But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 6:23. 

Thank God that we have Jesus as our advocate that when we sin, no matter what kind it is we can be forgiven. 

The ladies in the group home knew Jesus as their savior as well. They came from Christian families. But they felt like they were owed something because they were not like everyone else. They are not any different than any of us really. We all sometimes feel we are owed something for the hard things we have or are going through. And yet, it does not matter to God who we are or what our obstacles in life are. He loves us and forgives us when we ask him. Lying does hurt us, and can destroy our lives if we let it. But Jesus can put back the broken pieces so that our end is not death but eternal life. 

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Thanks for your visit today. God bless and keep you in the palm of his hand.

Blessed Are the Persecuted For Righteousness Sake-Theirs is the Kindgom of Heaven (part 9)

Mathew 5:10-12 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Down through the ages, Christians have been persecuted for their beliefs and preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. I read something just this morning that said this:" People will question your Christian beliefs but believe every negative thing they hear about you." And how true that is.

Christian persecution has and is happening all over the world.And isn't it sad that in this century, in this country it happens every day? From our own families that do not accept that we have become Christians and ridiculing us to someone going into a church and killing whoever they can until they are stopped. It goes on and on. 

Many Christians have paid the ultimate price, with their lives. But persecution is the price we must all pay to enter God's Kingdom. We have only 2 choices in life. They are found in John 3:20-21.

For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. 21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

Why then does Jesus require us to suffer the injustice that is brought upon us for loving him and doing what he asks of us?

I believe it is to help keep our hearts and minds on heaven.(Colossians 3:2 ) It says to keep our minds centered on things in heaven, not things on the earth. Our life here is just a wisp. A vapor to what our next life will be. Whether we spend it in heaven. Or we spend it in hell. Nothing we go through now will compare to what we experience in either place. 

With just those thoughts in mind, that is why I can honestly say, "Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice." Philippians 4:4  and Rejoice and celebrate, for great is your reward in heaven for in the same way they persecuted the prohets before you. Mathew 5:12.

Jesus went to the cross. Reviled, rejected, beaten, whipped, spit on and then they hung him on the cross. Sometimes we look at the things just said about our Christian way of life. Our love of God. And we think we are so prosecuted and we get offended.  What makes us think we have so much to complain about when he did that for us?

The thing is if we truly love God, and people know it, they are going to try to intimidate us and put us down. They are going to try to make us look like fools.

Instead, we should rejoice for our reward is in heaven. Not necessarily on earth for it, but in heaven. So the next time someone tries to put you down for your beliefs, remember what Jesus did for you and rejoice in what is to come. 

Thanks for coming by today. I know your time is important so it blesses me that you viist. As always, I will be here again tomorrow to share and hope that you will be back. Take care and be blessed. 

Lessons From the Teachings of Jesus -Blessed Are the Peacemakers (part 8)

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God. According to John 1:12,  to all of us that receive and believe in his name, he gives us the right to be called God's children.

God is peace. Hebrews 13:20
Heaven is a place of peace. Luke 19:38

And because God is a God of peace, those that are led by his spirit are peacemakers and are his son's. Romans 8:14. If we do not hold that characteristic of God, we don't have his spirit.

So then, what does being a peacemaker mean for us?

Romans 12:18  If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

That should be our goal. To be at peace with everyone. And yet, sometimes with other people, this may not be possible. And so while keeping that as our goal, we need to pray for our enemies, for those that persecute us, and getting right down to it, pray for those in our own relationships that have for whatever reason have been broken up. 

Humanly speaking we can just do the best we can within those relationships. And there are going to be circumstances that just cannot be rectified. However,  
God knows our hearts and if we are working at living in peace with those people, that is what he asks. Is it easy? Probably not. But if we want to be called Gods children or his sons, it is a requirement, and then we can be blessed due to it. 

Are you living life as peaceably as you can with those around you? Or are you adamant that life just has to go your way, that it causes division in those relationships?  Are you praying about it, or are you apart of the strife? Life is not easy. And sometimes things are not always our faults. Those are the times we need to be on our knees asking God what we should be doing and to help us work things out with whoever it is. God knows our hearts and as long as we are trying, he will bless us. He can heal our relationships but it starts with us.




How sad that this has and is becoming the norm in our world today. Instead of moving ahead in the cause of Jesus Christ, so much of it is going backward. God forbid. God help us.

Thanks again for your visit today Friends. I pray your week gets off to a great start and you are blessed beyond measure!