9 Fruits Alive

   9 Fruits Alive¹  is a book I discovered after having grandchildren. I love children's books and this book caught my eye because I wanted to start talking about the fruit of the Spirit with them even at the young ages they were. Well, especially at the young ages they were. There is just no substance in teaching children, or adults, something unless their is life in it. I love that. You share something that God says, and you don't need to be Bible thumping ~ preachy about it, and the Holy Spirit takes it from there.

   In the 1990's I worked for both a library and then a lovely family owned Christian book store.  It was then I discovered Multnomah Publishers in Sisters, Oregon. I believe they are now WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group, a division of Random House.  This children's board book published by their KIDZ division is one of their books I really like. I bought copies of this book for my grandchildren years ago when it first came out. It quickly became my grandson's favorite book. He is now twelve years old and still likes it.

Mindy MacDonald wrote this book. It is one of four in her series of God Counts books. The other three are Jesus and the 12 Dudes Who Did, Noah's Crew Came 2 by 2, and 7 Days of Creation. At the end of the book there is more to share and discuss with your child, grandchild, niece, nephew.... or just to ponder yourself. Here are the delightful stanza's Mindy uses. The illustrations by David Austin Clar are equally lovely!

Charlie P. Cooper, don’t you know?

You need some fruit to help you grow.

Apples, bananas and

grapes are yummy,

but fruit of the Spirit is for

more than your tummy.

Love is a fruit that is good for your heart.

Giving dad hugs is a good place to start.

Joy is a fruit you can pass along,

by singing your favorite silly song.

Peace is meant for you to share,

with friends who are fighting and need some care.

Patience is a fruit you can bring outside,

to have while you wait for your turn on the slide.

Kindness is sharing your best bouncy ball,

or helping someone up after they fall.

Goodness is a fruit you should have each day,

by helping your mom put your toys away.

Faithfulness is being a friend to the end,

playing together till you’re 110!

Gentleness is caring for friends who are sad.

Soft words and smiles will help them feel glad.

Self~control is something you can show,

by not getting angry when parents say no.

Fruit doesn’t just grow on a tree.

It also grows in you and me.

When you love God with all your heart,

His Spirit makes the growing start.

   We have three fruit left to talk about next week. There are so many facets of each fruit that it is hard to keep posts short. I will finish up the nine fruit, and then from time to time revisit them in future posts. For now, it is  Friday and I have homework assignments to review and have done by Sunday evening, and my husband and I have fun planned for the weekend.

 Enjoy your weekend!

¹ MacDonald, Mindy, and David Austin. Clar. 9 Fruits Alive: Discover the Fruit of the Spirit. Sisters, Or.: Multnomah, 2004. Print.

Kindness and Goodness

  Yesterday we took a look at patience. You can hardly talk about any of the fruit of the Spirit without mentioning one or more of the other eight. These are the characteristics of God’s nature and you just can not separate them. In talking about patience we came across kindness. You really can’t say much about kindness without mentioning goodness. So let’s take a look at kindness and goodness today.

  Certainly there are many reasons and benefits for developing the fruit of the Spirit of God in our lives. To do so we must spend time with God and spend time in His Word. We get to know God that way. We learn what His voice sounds like when He talks to us. We grow in our relationship with Him and feel free to share our hearts with Him. We get answers to those things we are searching for. Getting to know God takes our relationship from His being our “Father”, to walking closely with Him as “Abba”, our Dad. We are meant to be conformed into the image of God's Son, and getting to know God better does just that. Also, the fruit of the Spirit are not just nine little personality traits that if developed will make you a more pleasant person. They are powerful forces that when developed, and used, bring victory to the Christian. Think about it. Love never fails. Joy brings us strength to overcome anything. Patience carries faith to the finish line for what you are believing God for, and kindness gives strength to patience. When we are meek, humble, God exalts us. The list of reasons and benefits for developing the fruit of the Spirit in our lives goes on, and on. What I want to bring out and look at here though is the aspect of glorifying God. 

   When we are disciples that means we are a student of Jesus Christ. Strong's Concordance says, "A disciple is a learner, one who follows both the teaching and the teacher." When we are just that disciple, we bear the fruit of the Spirit we are following. When we do that, we are glorifying, God.

“By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.” John 15:8

In glorifying God, we are honoring Him, worshipping Him and praising Him. That is what we are created to do. God created us so we could be in an intimate relationship with Him. Having said that let's move on to what we are called to do with that relationship where mankind is concerned. Our primary purpose is to walk with God, not evangelize. God enjoyed His relationship with us before we sinned. God had to go to plan B to reconcile us back, and now we have the opportunity to share that with others.

   In Psalm 34:4, David says, Oh, magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt His name together. When we are worshipping and praising God we are exalting His name. Since it is not likely that we are ever going to make God any bigger than He already is, we magnify Him like David did ~ by singing so others hear of His goodness and greatness. Magnify means to lift up, to increase, to boast of, to make larger. How do we do that? We show others the kind nature of God by being good to them. Our goodness toward others shows them the kindness of the God we love and serve. 

...for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. James 1:20

   You know the old saying, "You can catch more flies with honey than vinegar." It is true. When goodness is developed in us and kindness is shown out of us it often looks like forgiveness.

And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:32 

   Strong's Concordance says that kindness is, "Love for mankind, hospitality, human friendship and taking thought of others. Gentleness in dealing with others, benevolence. The word describes the ability to act for the welfare of those taxing your patience." It defines goodness as, "Beneficence, kindness in actual manifestation, virtue equipped for action, a bountiful propensity both to will and to do what is good, intrinsic goodness producing a generosity and a Godlike state or being." Kindness must be developed in us before goodness is shown out of us. Kindness always puts the welfare of others at an utmost priority, and goodness is the generosity shown that benefits them.

   In 2 Samuel 7:27-29 we read where Samuel is praising God for His goodness to David in the covenant God made with David. "For You, O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, have revealed this to Your servant, saying, ‘I will build you a house.’ Therefore Your servant has found it in his heart to pray this prayer to You. “And now, O Lord God, You are God, and Your words are true, and You have promised this goodness to Your servant. Now therefore, let it please You to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue before You forever; for You, O Lord God, have spoken it, and with Your blessing let the house of Your servant be blessed forever.” David had done things that you would think would negate the covenant God made with Him, but God's Words are true and established. He continued to be kind and did so through what Samuel calls goodness. This is probably one of the reasons David  said, Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever. Psalm 23:6

   In Isaiah 54:8 we read, "With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment; But with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you,” Says the Lord, your Redeemer.” Kindness is the characteristic, the virtue, the nature of God that produces His goodness.

  1 Thessalonians is the earliest letter we know of that Paul wrote.  Paul with Timothy and Silas, had ministered to the Thessalonians for only three Sundays, (Sabbaths), but planted a church there and grounded them deeply in faith. There was much political unrest and hostility toward Paul at that time and persecution was imminent. Being concerned for this young church he wanted to return to them. That was not possible so Paul sent, Timothy. Timothy did come back with a good report of the church and their faith. They in fact were concerned for Paul. In this letter we see a wonderful message of the time Paul ministered to them and the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. For our purposes here I want to look at three little verses tucked up in chapter 2.

7 But we proved to be gentle among you, as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children. 8 Having so fond an affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us. 9 For you recall, brethren, our labor and hardship, how working night and day so as not to be a burden to any of you, we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. 1 Thessalonians 2:7-9

Remember, Paul is speaking to the church there at Thessalonica and is concerned about the state they may be in given the political climate against believers. In those verses he is referring to the time he spent with them and though it was hard to come up against the evil around them, he was trying to encourage them to be strong in the might of the Lord. For our purposes regarding kindness producing goodness, lets take a closer look at those three verses. In verse seven Paul talks about how he, Timothy and Silas ministered to them with hearts that were tender, some versions say gentle. He was telling them of the kindness they felt toward those at Thessalonica, Jew and Gentile. In verse eight he goes on to talk about the kindness (affection) they had for them and that they wanted to "impart" the gospel to them. That word "impart" there is the same word used in Luke 3:11 where it says, "give".  Strong's Concordance says, to give, share, impart, distribute, grant. The word implies liberality or generosity, to give with cheerful outflow. Paul goes on to say they devoted, gave, imparted their lives to those at Thessalonica. And in verse 9 he shares the cost of laboring for the gospel. So again we see where kindness preempts goodness shown.

 In the fruit of the Spirit kindness comes before goodness. God is a God of order and I think there is some deliberate placement of how the fruit of the Spirit are listed. We will get to that next week.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.  

Galatians 5:22-23

   Developing the kindness of God in our life makes way for His goodness to show out through us. Jesus is the Light that lives in us, and His nature is kind. Our good works are the goodness the world sees that draws them to Jesus. In this, we glorify God!

“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lamp stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven”.  Matthew 5:14-16

Patience

   God is so good, and patient. And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering [patient], and abounding in goodness and truth...  Exodus 34:6-7. From the beginning of time all He has wanted to do was have people to bless and love on. His mercy, patience and love toward us is everlasting, and it is not contingent on us. He made a covenant with Abraham when he was still Abram, He made a covenant with David that insured his seed, descendent, would be on the throne of Israel and that came to pass even though David messed up badly. And though we sin we remain the righteousness of God through Jesus and all of the covenant, Old and New is ours. We can have faith in God because His Word to us is true.  Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him. Proverbs 30:5 God and His Word are unchangeable.

His word endures forever.

1 Peter 1:25

But the word of the Lord endures forever.” Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.

In Psalm 136 it says God’s mercy endures forever twenty~six times alone, and there are at least twenty~one more times that is mentioned in the Old Testament alone. 

1 Chronicles 16:34

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.

His righteousness endures forever.

Psalm 112:19

He has dispersed abroad, He has given to the poor; His righteousness endures forever; His horn will be exalted with honor. 

   His covenant with Abraham, Noah, David and through Jesus are all everlasting. And He will never leave or forsake us. God had to deal with nearly 4,000 years of stiff necked and rebellious people in the Old Testament. He sent prophets and mighty men of God to try and get them to be in a relationship with Him. Finally, after Malachi we see 400 years of silence. The next thing we see is Matthew, and God sent Jesus. God waited 30 years before He had Jesus step out into official ministry. The we see rebellion and religion at its worst through the leaders of Israel, the scribes, Sadducees and Pharisees. Even that does not stop God. He made a covenant with man and his longsuffering was going to remain, and prevail. He pays the price for all the people in the world that He loved so dearly with His own Son, Jesus. Since the resurrection of Jesus we still see rebellion, religion, stiff necks and hard hearts. And yet in His longsuffering for us He has given us the Holy Spirit for our comfort and guidance. God is patient. 

   I know there are a number of definitions out there for the word "patience", but I have one I live by and think it is accurate and powerful. Being patient does not mean gritting our teeth, holding our tongue and white knuckling it through a situation. But it absolutely has do with how we conduct ourselves while we go through something. Here is my very simple definition, Patience is behaving the same in bad times as we do in the good times. There is only one way to do that and certainly only one way to do that through any situation for a length of time. The only way to do that is to constantly cultivate patience in our life and do so with the deliberate guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Let’s take a look at 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.
Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. That happens to be from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible. If I had chosen the Amplified version you would have seen that passage begin in verse 4 with,  Love endures long and  is patient and kind;. The last words in verse 7 would have been, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening]. God is love and later in Chapter 13 of Corinthians you see that love never fails. God being love will always be longsuffering and patient with us!

   When you take iron you should take vitamin C with it because the C causes the iron to assimilate in our bodies so much better. Faith and patience are much the same. We can know God's Word, know how to pray in the Spirit, know how to watch what we say with out mouths ~ watching to not speak contrary to God's Word, but if we want results, patience needs to be present. Faith is a powerful force but when an answer is not coming as quickly as we would like, and natural circumstances start dictating defeat, often people start talking negatively against the very Word of God and the promise(s) they started standing on in the beginning. Next thing you know their actions follow and they give up. Patience is what supports, reinforces and sustains our faith for the long haul. Our patience holds our faith up when when our flesh goes to war with us, and our soul becomes weak and wants to let go of our faith. Hebrews tells us that those who trust in God with faith and patience, inherit the promises. And James brings it home for us when he says in James 1:4, But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. There it is, the promise that tells us if we will let patience be fully developed in us and do the work of endurance in us, we will be without defect and so be perfect, and lack nothing. Patience is a very powerful force that we need to give attention to.

   I knew as a young girl God wanted to use me in a way that was going to require devotion to Him and honestly was the only thing that would bring me peace and fulfillment. I will leave all the details out of this post that took me off track. I will start up in my twenties when I was ready to be serious with God. I was in my living room, children napping, and reading my Bible. I came across this verse.

And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient,  2 Timothy 2:24 

   Not being given to process but being a goal oriented person, some of the clauses in that verse presented me with.... um challenges.  But I had made God's Word the final authority in my life, and whatever it said, I had committed to do. So I had to do some DNA surgery on myself, and renew my mind with God's Word in those areas, and then let the Holy Spirit mold me. That was one of the best things I have ever done for myself. I learned so much about prioritizing, simplifying things and taking my hands off of situations. Oh... this took a few years so you know. Praise God He is patient. But at the end of that season God had me where I needed to be to get through things that were coming in my life and to be the handmaiden in His Kingdom I wanted to be.

   One of the many things that were to come along was going to be a season with one of my daughters. Being able to minister the Word of God and my family are the two most important things to me. So, I guess it is no surprise that through them I learn so well. She was and adult, over eighteen, nearly done with her post secondary education and doing things that were concerning me right into a horrible state. I had faith in God to fulfill all the promises in His Word regarding children that I was standing on, but I knew she had her own free will. Those days were some of the darkest of my life. I was at a five point intersection when God dropped the verse in James 1:4 into my heart. I had to go to the grocery parking lot on the other side of the intersection because that verse flooded my heart with hope and washed over me in such a powerful way I did not want to drive for a few minutes. I knew God was telling me if I would just keep standing on His Word and trust Him, I would see those promises come true. It got better soon after that and though there were years of her not being just where I wanted see her, :-) , she is now, and has been for some time, in a great church with her children and husband. I am always amazed at how God has redeemed the years in her life. Her love for God and amount of revelation knowledge is nothing short of amazing. I lack nothing where she is concerned! She did come back to her borders, God did teach her and great is her peace. She is such an amazing woman. I am blessed that God allowed me to call her daughter.

   I have cultivated God's Word in my life, and I have purposefully worked at developing the Fruit of the Spirit of God into who I am. I can tell you there is nothing that compares to that kind of walk with our Father.

Is there an area in your life that could use a little more patience? Patience is not that dreaded thing people say to never pray for. That is so like the enemy to try to shove that show off on God's people. Colossians 3:12 says, So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.... Paul tells us to "put on" patience. Patience is something we must deliberately and on purpose choose to do. Remember, patience is acting the same in bad times as we do in good times. Is there something in your life right now that you could take advantage of by using it as an opportunity to act in a kind and gentle manner, even when you feel like turning your emotions loose?

And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through

 faith and patience inherit the promises.

Hebrews 6:11-12

Rejoice and just keep Rejoicing!

   Rejoice, and again I say rejoice is exactly what we will look at here. We are going to take a look at another two roles of joy in our life. On Wednesday we took a quick glance at how our joy of the Lord is our strength. You know, Satan is a miserable creature and he is so because He wants to be God, the Most High. Since that did not work out for him he tries his best to make all the rest of God’s creation miserable. His plan is to rob, kill and destroy those of us that do love Go, and worship Him. So it only stands to reason, and there are supporting scriptures, that he absolutely hates it when we find joy in the Lord. He just does not stick around for the joy fest when God is the festival Honoree.

   Throughout Deuteronomy, Moses is preparing the Israelites to enter Canann, the land God promised them. He repeatedly exhorts them to obey God. Let’s face it, they had done 400 years of slavery in captivity. Disobedience, particularly grumbling and complaining ~lack of joy, got them there and would put them right back in bondage. Not to mention it had just taken them 40 years to make this eleven day journey to Canaan because of grumbling, complaining and disobedience.

   In Deuteronomy 12 Moses begins to talk to the Israelites about obeying God in regard to where and how God would have them worship Him. God has things he wants them to do like destroy all of the idols and places of pagan idol worship when they get to Canaan. God wants His people to be set apart and enjoy the blessings that only He can give. In 12:7 it says, And there you shall eat before the Lord your God, and you shall rejoice in all to which you have put your hand, you and your households, in which the Lord your God has blessed you. For that, all they had to do was obey and do so with a joyful heart.

   Wednesday we talked about how our joy of the Lord is our strength. We looked at these verses.

Deuteronomy 28:47-48     47 “Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and gladness of heart, for the abundance of everything, 48 therefore you shall serve your enemies, whom the Lord will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in need of everything; and He will put a yoke of iron on your neck until He has destroyed you.

   We are going to dive a little deeper here today and grab some pearls. The next role joy plays in the life of a believer is that it will produce all things needed for living the life of abundance Jesus promised. Take a look at verse 47. So what about that abundance of everything?  Let’s start by refreshing out memory on this verse.

"The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."  John 10:10  

   God created the earth and when finished He said, "it was very good." He created earth and all in it for man to have dominion over and to enjoy. We handed that all over to Satan for a snack. From that moment on God had Jesus on the way to earth to get it all back to us. Jesus declares that in the verse above. Jesus did not come so we could eek through this life with meager means and poor health and emotional anguish. NO! 

Surely He has borne our griefs (sicknesses, weaknesses, and distresses) and carried our sorrows and pains [of punishment], yet we [ignorantly] considered Him stricken, smitten, and afflicted by God [as if with leprosy].

But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our guilt and iniquities; the chastisement [needful to obtain] peace and well-being for us was upon Him, and with the stripes [that wounded] Him we are healed and made whole. 

Isaiah 53:4-5 AMP

   Jesus took everything that came with the curse and paid for it, for us, in full! If we accept Jesus as our Savior that is our inheritance ~ ALL of it and in abundance. It breaks my heart when people think God just meagerly hands out some things for some people and when He holds back it is to "teach" us something. That is such a lie from the pit of Hell, and completely contrary to our covenant and what Jesus said in John 10:10. Trials are one of the enemy's strategies to steal from us, kill and if not that at least destroy us, and keep us from those good things God intended for us. How we handle those trials determine the outcome. So let’s wrap this up with some wisdom from the book of James.

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. James 1:2-4

   In those verses we have three powerful promises. When we allow that patience to be fully developed in us we will 1. be fully developed, mature, perfect. 2. we will be complete and 3. we will lack nothing. There is a catch though. Our attitude while in trials must be joy! I am sure you have heard it said that when are we are tested our faith gets stronger. That is nonsense. Our faith is built up by the taking in of God’s Word. When we face trials without joy, we are ultimately defeated like we saw in Deuteronomy 28:47-48. When our faith is tested in the trials we face, and we walk through them with joy, patience is produced in us.  That word patience in verse three means; cheerful or hopeful endurance, constancy ~ enduring, patient continuance (waiting).¹ Patience is cheerful endurance. That simply means we behave the same in a trial as we do when everything is going well. Walking in joy while we face trials will develop that cheerful endurance, patience, in us. When we walk in joy we are operating in faith because to have joy regardless of circumstances means we are trusting and believing God. Hebrews 6:11-12 says, And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. There it is. When we have joy, which is birthed out of faith in God and His promises, we develop patience in the trials and that is the way we inherit the promises. That developed patience gives us the spiritual maturity to never lack anything we believe God and Word for.

   I will just briefly mention the second role of joy I referred to. In Deuteronomy 28:48 we see where bondage is result of not having the joy of the Lord. That is precisely what got the Israelites in slavery and bondage. The joy of the the Lord will free you from anything that tries to discourage, dissuade or depress you. Look at how God brought the Israelites out of bondage and blessed them, and their oppressors were glad they were leaving!

He also brought them out with silver and gold,

And there was none feeble among His tribes.

Egypt was glad when they departed,

For the fear of them had fallen upon them.

He spread a cloud for a covering,

And fire to give light in the night.

The people asked, and He brought quail,

And satisfied them with the bread of heaven.

He opened the rock, and water gushed out;

It ran in the dry places like a river.

For He remembered His holy promise,

And Abraham His servant.

He brought out His people with joy,

His chosen ones with gladness.

He gave them the lands of the Gentiles,

And they inherited the labor of the nations,

That they might observe His statutes

And keep His laws.

Praise the Lord!

Psalm 105 :37-45

   There are other important roles joy has in our life but I think next time we will move on to that little nugget that came up in this post. Guess what it is? Yep! Patience. 

   Later we will explore how to develop these fruit in our lives. Spending time with God and developing our relationship with Him around His Word is where it all starts. What do you enjoy when you are spending time with our Father?

¹Strong, J. (1986). Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible  (p. 75 Greek Dictionary).   Peabody: Hendrickson.
Picture provided by KCM.org

Joy

   I thought this little Mary Englebreit drawing was a good one for the what I wanted to share today. Last time I shared about peace and that Romans 15:13 mentioned in believing and trusting God we would have joy and peace, and could count on the Holy Spirit to fill us with a bold hope. God is a God of unity. There is so much in scripture that talks about the body of Christ walking in unity and the power of it in our lives. The fruit of the Spirit is singular. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23  The word is “fruit”, not “fruits”. Just like the ingredients in those cookies the adorable red haired girl in this drawing is baking, we can not separate the nine fruit of the Spirit. (Please notice the ingredients in her little jars :-) When we are born again the Holy Spirit takes up residence in us and all of the character and nature of God comes in with the Holy Spirit. Our spirit now has life in it, the life of God. To walk in the life God has for us we need to understand how each of the nine fruit of the Spirit are developed in us, and how they look when they are manifested. God intends for His people to walk in His love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness gentleness and self control ~ all of them, together. Those are His nature and they are foreign to the world. When the world sees those characteristics in us, they see God. Therein is true evangelism. The world can argue our words, but not our actions. To be able to develop the fruit, or the character and nature of God in our life we must know God. We must spend time seeking Him.We must spend time reading His Word and make it the final authority in our lives. We must spend time quietly before Him just listening to what He wants to show us. Have you ever noticed how when people spend a lot of time around someone they begin to talk, sound and act like them? You can especially see that in children. Well, if we are spending quality time with God, we will imitate Him. Since God is love, what we do will be motivated by love. At that point we will truly be ambassadors for Christ.

   So let’s take a look at that fruit of joy that was mentioned with peace earlier. Since we just talked about spending time with God, this fruit has a special significance here.

You will show me the path of life;

In Your presence is fullness of joy;
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Psalm 16:11 

Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

Nehemiah 8:10

   Joy is not just a feel good fruit that has a status slightly more elevated than being happy. Joy is the strength of the Christian, and a very powerful force. W. Phillip Keller wrote, “Joy is a divine dimension of living not shacked by circumstances. This joy springs from the presence of God in a person’s life.” Happiness is contingent on that which is happening around us. Happiness has to do with what others do and those things that we experience, it is all circumstance. Happiness is about the world around you and can change drastically and quickly.  Joy on the other hand is on the inside of us and if we develop it, it will be the constant, unchanging force that causes us to be more than conquerors, overcomers! 

   Deuteronomy 28:47-48 tells us that since the Israelites did not serve the Lord with joy they did not enjoy the abundance he had for them. They experienced lack and wanting for all things including food and water, they had to serve the enemy and were in bondage to him.  2 Peter 2:19 tells us that those without the strength of joy in their life will serve whomever or that which overcomes them. The joy of the Lord that we develop in our time spent with him will prevent that. Joy has several roles, but its greatest is to give strength to us to overcome ~ anything.

   Because of the joy set before Him, Jesus endured the cross. Remember how Jesus did nothing and said nothing but what His Father told him to do? How did Jesus know what the Father wanted Him to do? The same reason He had the joy to endure the cross! He spent time with Him.

...looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2

   I have had a number of things in my life that sent me running for time in the throne room of God. I have found though, the best thing to do is be there everyday getting to know Him and just soaking in His love and giving Him praise for it.

    Is there something in your life you need to be strengthened for? Or, do you just feel you aren’t living quite the quality of life God has for you, maybe just weary?  Spend quality time with Him everyday and see how that love~joy connection will strengthen you. I would love to hear about how God met you in that time!

Keep Calm and Carry On

   

   George Alexander Louis, HRH Prince of Cambridge and his parents the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are quite the big media item just now so I thought I would jump in and do something a little British.

   This bold colored poster with simple font was created and designed to boost morale of the British people in late 1939 after World War ll broke out. This typically British stiff upper lipped slogan was developed by civil servants, it was designed by the British Ministry of Information and produced by King George VI’s HMSO, His Majesty’s Stationery Office.  This was done to raise the morale and keep the British public positive and peacefully focused in the event of massive air attacks on Britain by Germany, which were expected at the outbreak of this war. Over 2.5 million posters were printed. Fortunately, since the war ended without such attacks few were distributed for the public to actually see. This was the third and last poster in a series of three. Most of the original Keep Calm and Carry On posters were destroyed. What precious few that were left, possibly only 15, began emerging around the turn of the 21st century, circa 2,000 A.D. The emergence of these rare posters has unveiled an interest in the message therein. Crown Copyright expires after fifty years on artistic workmanship making this piece now public domain and we are seeing the vast interest appeased with mugs, T~Shirts, mouse pads, books such as Keep Calm for Mums, Keep Calm for Chaps, Keep Calm and Cuddle Up, tote bags and biscuit tins just to name a few available for purchase.

   Public domain, what an interesting and legally binding, or freeing term. I love God’s Word! Public Domain has never been, nor will it ever be an issue for God’s Word. Can we use that verse? Is it plagiarism to use a certain version or translation? Thankfully, no. God’s Word is timeless, eternal, and freely (well except for that payment Jesus made that bankrupt Heaven to get it here for us) given to all men that will receive it. So, that brings me to something I was studying this week and thought that beautiful British poster was perfect for this post.

   In the gospels we see what Jesus came to do; in Acts we see what was to continue being done by the original disciples and is now to be carried out by us. The gospels give us the teaching of Jesus, in Acts we see how that teaching works through the apostles. Jesus told His disciples that He was leaving and that He would leave His peace and they were not to be afraid. Jesus spoke peace to a raging storm and all was calmed, including the fearful disciples.  In John 14:27 the word “leave” means “bequeath”.  Jesus was leaving and going to be in Heaven with our Father, and at His right hand. It is there that His enemies are being made His footstool. Jesus took back the devil’s authority over earth and gave it back to us. While here on earth it is the body of Christ that has been given that authority and the responsibility to be more than conqueror’s, making the enemies of Jesus His footstool.  What a person “bequeath’s” to another is something of value to them. Jesus bequeathed us His peace because He knew we were going to need it to be victorious.

   Paul demonstrates that beautifully and with victory.  Paul kept His peace by keeping his focus on, Jesus Christ. Take a look at the book of Philippians and see how many times Paul mentions Jesus Christ. Then take notice of how many times he mentions joy, or rejoicing, or thankfulness. This focus on Jesus in the midst of living through tribulation, persecution and horror we will most likely never  know, is Paul’s book on joy. Keeping his mind fixed on Jesus was how he stayed full of peace and joy. And Paul was very victorious in his walk with the Lord here on earth!

   Anyone that has accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior has the peace of God in them. Peace is one of the fruit of the Spirit and is given to the new believer when the Holy Spirit enters them. The same way we trusted Jesus for our salvation; we must trust and allow the Holy Spirit to work and flow in our lives. He is the one ministering to us and in believing God for that, and for peace through the power of the Holy Spirit we will have the victorious lives God intended for us. Also, as Romans 15:13 says, we will abound in hope which is a precursor to victory.

   I think King George VI was onto something, something quite powerful.

   Stop and think for a moment about a time that you stayed calm, held on to your peace, and then enjoyed a victory because of it. You can put that on your “Count Your Many Blessings” list and name it among all the others.  God is so good ~ all the time.

Okay, it's not the motivational King George VI red, but don't you agree the pretty pink just promotes peace?

You will keep him in perfect peace,

Whose mind is stayed on You,

Because he trusts in You.  

Isaiah 26:3

Humility is the Power Fruit!

   

   Yesterday we looked at how true humility is not the opposite of confidence and it is not low self~esteem or any other self depreciating behavior. We saw how just the opposite is true. Genuine humility is when we walk in complete confidence that through the work Jesus finished on the cross we are the righteousness of God and nothing less! We do that because we have abandoned ourself and bowed our knee under His mighty hand. We choose to let God be God, therein is where we humble ourselves, and then He exalts us.

  
   Humility is a word that typically brings about a negative response in people.  People tend to think it connotes weakness or means they must abandon what they want and selflessly sacrifice for others. Humility as it relates to being humble in that we put others first is not a chore we must finish on our  “to do" list when we are enjoying the fullness of God’s love. When we are spending time with God and walking in His love, kindness and goodness toward others will roll out of us quite easily and in abundance.

   Jesus made Himself low for us and God exalted Him. Saul was brought out of his lowliness and God made him the first king of Israel. He became prideful and was destroyed.  Should we play nice so we can attempt to be lifted up or to get things? No! I am not talking about religious works to appease or attempt to please God. I am talking about the outflow of God’s goodness that is developed in us. God is love and everything in our Spirit is birthed out of love. If we are spending time with God, reading His Word and allowing Him to speak to us, we will experience and develop that love relationship. That time in the Word will renew our mind. That time of fellowship spent with our Father will cause His love in our spirit to beautifully infuse our souls with itself. That love is what will pour out of us and onto others. Putting others first will come naturally, well supernaturally ~ but it will be effortless for us. God loves to shine through us! I am always amazed when I realize He is using me. That is another post though.
   
   When watered and given sunlight fruit will effortlessly grow on a tree. Meekness is a fruit of the Spirit, but there is no real definition for the Greek word in English. The Greek word “meek” in Matthew 5:5 and the word “meekness” in Galatians 5:23 both are “praus” or “praos”. This Greek word is not easily defined in English but the words gentleness, mild and humility or humble are what best translate. One thing Vine’s Dictionary says is that this can be translated as “It [meekness~humility] is not occupied with self at all but with what can benefit others. Another definition is “to be totally dependent upon God.” True humility begins when we embrace John 15:5, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing."  When we do that we empty ourselves of ourselves and God can fill that empty vessel with the kind of love that expresses itself to others with their benefit as its goal. That is where "meekness ~ humility" which are most often named "gentleness" in the fruit of the Spirit, shines out as the fruit of the Spirit with great power. If you read on down to John 15:7-8 you will see the power of that humility, “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples”. And then again in Philippians 4:13 we see what happens when we humble ourselves and let God take over, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. And it will be as effortless as grapes growing on a vine.
 
   The world is looking for real love and if we have the real deal in our relationship with God and freely give it to others, they will recognize it and receive it. If we teach children young how to develop their relationship with God, really show them how to spend time with their Abba~Daddy, we will not have to explain the importance of being a kind person because the love they are receiving and experiencing from their Heavenly Father will flow out of them. Imagine the ripple effect of that!

Is there an area of your life that spending more time just enjoying your Heavenly Father's company would be of help and an encouragement to you?

“So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven."

 Matthew 18:4