SELF-CONTROL
Self-control – the last virtue described in the Fruit of the Spirit. What could be the most definitive verse in the Bible on self-control says: “The grace of God has appeared, offering salvation to all people. It teaches us to say ‘NO’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age while we wait for the blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.” Titus 2:11
God’s grace teaches us to live self-controlled lives in this present age. Society teaches a very different message: Do what makes you feel good! Say yes to ungodliness and worldly passions, and in fact the lines are blurred so craftily that ungodliness is often, in this world’s vernacular, ‘righteous.’
Wikipedia, the online free encyclopedia, says it this way: “Self-control is the ability to control one’s emotions, behavior and desires in order to obtain some reward later, and is the capacity of efficient management to the future.” Wow! The capacity to efficiently manage the future! Self-indulgence offers immediate gratification, but it is momentary and fleeting satiation while self-control is tantamount to the shrewdest possible investing for the future.
Proverbs 16:32 says it is better to be a patient person than a warrior, and a person of self-control than one who conquers a whole city. Said the other way around, Proverbs 25:28 states that a person who lacks self-control is like a city whose walls have been broken through, or in other words one that has been conquered by the enemy. Oh how tempting this world makes it to be the conquering warrior at all costs, at any cost, but the investment of the future is best and most efficiently managed through the Spirit of self-control. Lack of self-control, in the end, is the depletion of integrity and the dissolution of every good thing.
This has got to be the most challenging of the Fruit of the Spirit, for it has the potential to adversely affect every other one. Love becomes lust and self-aggrandizement without self-control. Joy is misconstrued as pleasure in the absence of self-control, and death lies in its wake. Peace, well there really is no peace where self-control is not practiced, rather chaos ensues. Patience is not possible if self-control is a missing part of the equation, for people and circumstances will try our patience until anger gets the best of us. Kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness also require a measure of self-control. Sometimes it’s easy to exercise these virtues, but we are not always thrust into easy situations, and it is in the difficult ones that we are afforded the greatest opportunity to be the most effective servants.
Self-control is not part of our natural self. We teach the importance of self-control to our children from the earliest age, and Titus 2 tells us we never outgrow the need to learn it. “Keep teaching it to older men, older women, and to younger men as well so that in everything we set them an example by doing good . . . .then those who oppose you will be put to shame because they have nothing bad to say about you.” Out of this we glean two basic reasons to exercise self-control; first it sets a good example, and second we cannot be slandered by the opposition because they won’t be able to find anything bad to say about us. I see a third compelling reason -- self-control determines the effectiveness of every other Fruit of the Spirit when challenging circumstances and people cross our paths.
For the joy set before Him Christ endured the Cross, despising its shame, and then He sat down at the right hand of the throne of God where He is ever interceding for us as we serve our world a feast of His gracious love. That’s what Hebrews 12:2 reminds us, and if He had not exercised such self-control we would have no eternity to look forward to. Actually, the Fruit of the Spirit would be a null and void ideology, for ungodliness would then easily quash every good intention. Love, Joy and Peace would not fill our innermost being. But if I fix my eyes on Jesus, who though He despised the shame associated with the Cross, chose redemption for all of mankind over momentary gratification, then I will rock my world with His love, His joy, His peace and the real ‘circle of life’ has the opportunity to change people’s lives – to efficiently and effectively invest our lives today for the sake of the future – for the sake of His honor and glory.
May you walk in the full measure of God’s purpose for your life, so that you experience His Love, Joy, Peace, Provisions and Presence without limit and so you will experience and become what you are purposed to be - His Servant
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Friday, May 27, 2011
The Fruit of The Spirit ~ Faithfulness
FAITHFULNESS
“Trust in the Lord and do good. Dwell in the land and feed on His faithfulness.” Psalm 37:3
Whoever heard of feeding on faithfulness? In the natural, what we eat affects every part of us – our skin, our vital organs, our mind, even our attitudes! In my spirit this is true as well. A friend’s or loved one’s faithfulness feeds my soul, replenishes me, fills me up. I want this to be true for my friends, loved ones, the world at-large as well, and it will be so to the degree that I am feasting on God’s faithfulness. If I am depleted of His faithfulness, I have nothing to offer others for feasting on His faithfulness affects me every bit as much as physical food affects my carnal self. “Let your mind dwell on these things” and “out of your innermost being will flow rivers of Living Water.” My attitude about serving others changes dramatically when my serving is from the overflow of God’s own faithfulness towards me . . . my attitude changes, my heart changes, even the air I breathe seems to change!
“Like a tree planted by the water” comes to mind. In the natural trees are crucial to our environment for they transform the very air we breathe by consuming deadly carbon dioxide and transforming it into oxygen. Plants and trees consume light and water for their own energy and survival, and then as a natural by-product oxygen is emitted into the atmosphere. This natural cycle for trees has gone on from time immemorial, and it will continue on until there is a new heaven and a new earth where all God’s created order is transformed to His original design. Likewise, as God’s servant, I take in His light and living waters, and what pours forth is the pure oxygen of His love.
“I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart. I have declared Your faithfulness and Your salvation.” Psalm 40:10. Once transformed by God’s redeeming love, I cannot keep His faithfulness hidden. It must flow out of me as naturally as the oxygen flows out of a tree. If it were possible for a tree to NOT emit oxygen but just keep it stored within itself I am convinced it would be toxic to the tree. Likewise, feasting on the faithfulness of God and hording it would do the same to my spirit, for I am designed to be a refreshing, free-flowing wellspring of His faithfulness to others. He feeds my very soul with His faithfulness, and I have no choice but to send out this life-sustaining grace.
The Psalms are full of exaltations of God’s faithfulness. Psalm 89:1 says that all generations will know His faithfulness. In fact Psalm 89 mentions God’s faithfulness six different times. It declares that His faithfulness is established in the very heavens. We know this practically as we see the sun rise every morning and set every evening. Verse five says all of the heavens praise God’s faithfulness and verse 8 states that His faithfulness surrounds Him Verse 33 is God’s own declaration that He will not allow His faithfulness to fail.
The scriptures are also repleat with stories of His faithfulness – the Cross the most poignant of all. Even when we sin and suffer the consequences of our own sins, He remains faithful as He waits our return to His arms of love. Faithful to His own integrity, we are free to choose to dwell in His faithfulness, but should we choose otherwise He remains ready to welcome us home. He also, as is true of any faithful father, will discipline those whom He loves. The Psalmist, probably King David, says in Psalm 119:75, “I know, O Lord, that Your judgments are right, and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me” and Hebrews 12 reminds us God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in His own holiness, and that His discipline actually validates us as legitimate children.
Isaiah 11:5 says “faithfulness is the belt around His waist.” A belt is symbolic of that which holds everything together. Often translated ‘loins’ instead of waist implies that faithfulness drives every other grace God provides us, and if I am to be effective as His servant, it must be at the core of all I do for others. All the other fruit of the Spirit – patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, self-control would simply be a ruse otherwise, feeding my own carnal nature only which would ultimately suck the oxygen of His grace right out of me.
Revelation 19:11 declares the Name of Christ to be ‘faithful and true.’ Revelation 3:14 says He is known to His church (His followers) as “the AMEN, the FAITHFUL and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God.” And Revelation 17:14 says those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful. Out of Christ’s faithfulness, one day He will make all things new. Life on this planet earth will one day end; a new Heaven and a new Earth will come forth, but until that time I get to be God’s faithful servant, offering a feast of Christ’s own faithfulness to my world. I am human and I will fall short of such perfection, yet I am assured that even if I am faithless at times, “He remains faithful for He cannot deny Himself.” 2 Timothy 2:12-14. In other words, His very nature is faithfulness, and out of His Spirit, filling my innermost being, He will show forth His faithfulness until He comes to call us home.
The fruit of the Spirit is Faithfulness.
“Trust in the Lord and do good. Dwell in the land and feed on His faithfulness.” Psalm 37:3
Whoever heard of feeding on faithfulness? In the natural, what we eat affects every part of us – our skin, our vital organs, our mind, even our attitudes! In my spirit this is true as well. A friend’s or loved one’s faithfulness feeds my soul, replenishes me, fills me up. I want this to be true for my friends, loved ones, the world at-large as well, and it will be so to the degree that I am feasting on God’s faithfulness. If I am depleted of His faithfulness, I have nothing to offer others for feasting on His faithfulness affects me every bit as much as physical food affects my carnal self. “Let your mind dwell on these things” and “out of your innermost being will flow rivers of Living Water.” My attitude about serving others changes dramatically when my serving is from the overflow of God’s own faithfulness towards me . . . my attitude changes, my heart changes, even the air I breathe seems to change!
“Like a tree planted by the water” comes to mind. In the natural trees are crucial to our environment for they transform the very air we breathe by consuming deadly carbon dioxide and transforming it into oxygen. Plants and trees consume light and water for their own energy and survival, and then as a natural by-product oxygen is emitted into the atmosphere. This natural cycle for trees has gone on from time immemorial, and it will continue on until there is a new heaven and a new earth where all God’s created order is transformed to His original design. Likewise, as God’s servant, I take in His light and living waters, and what pours forth is the pure oxygen of His love.
“I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart. I have declared Your faithfulness and Your salvation.” Psalm 40:10. Once transformed by God’s redeeming love, I cannot keep His faithfulness hidden. It must flow out of me as naturally as the oxygen flows out of a tree. If it were possible for a tree to NOT emit oxygen but just keep it stored within itself I am convinced it would be toxic to the tree. Likewise, feasting on the faithfulness of God and hording it would do the same to my spirit, for I am designed to be a refreshing, free-flowing wellspring of His faithfulness to others. He feeds my very soul with His faithfulness, and I have no choice but to send out this life-sustaining grace.
The Psalms are full of exaltations of God’s faithfulness. Psalm 89:1 says that all generations will know His faithfulness. In fact Psalm 89 mentions God’s faithfulness six different times. It declares that His faithfulness is established in the very heavens. We know this practically as we see the sun rise every morning and set every evening. Verse five says all of the heavens praise God’s faithfulness and verse 8 states that His faithfulness surrounds Him Verse 33 is God’s own declaration that He will not allow His faithfulness to fail.
The scriptures are also repleat with stories of His faithfulness – the Cross the most poignant of all. Even when we sin and suffer the consequences of our own sins, He remains faithful as He waits our return to His arms of love. Faithful to His own integrity, we are free to choose to dwell in His faithfulness, but should we choose otherwise He remains ready to welcome us home. He also, as is true of any faithful father, will discipline those whom He loves. The Psalmist, probably King David, says in Psalm 119:75, “I know, O Lord, that Your judgments are right, and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me” and Hebrews 12 reminds us God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in His own holiness, and that His discipline actually validates us as legitimate children.
Isaiah 11:5 says “faithfulness is the belt around His waist.” A belt is symbolic of that which holds everything together. Often translated ‘loins’ instead of waist implies that faithfulness drives every other grace God provides us, and if I am to be effective as His servant, it must be at the core of all I do for others. All the other fruit of the Spirit – patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, self-control would simply be a ruse otherwise, feeding my own carnal nature only which would ultimately suck the oxygen of His grace right out of me.
Revelation 19:11 declares the Name of Christ to be ‘faithful and true.’ Revelation 3:14 says He is known to His church (His followers) as “the AMEN, the FAITHFUL and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God.” And Revelation 17:14 says those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful. Out of Christ’s faithfulness, one day He will make all things new. Life on this planet earth will one day end; a new Heaven and a new Earth will come forth, but until that time I get to be God’s faithful servant, offering a feast of Christ’s own faithfulness to my world. I am human and I will fall short of such perfection, yet I am assured that even if I am faithless at times, “He remains faithful for He cannot deny Himself.” 2 Timothy 2:12-14. In other words, His very nature is faithfulness, and out of His Spirit, filling my innermost being, He will show forth His faithfulness until He comes to call us home.
The fruit of the Spirit is Faithfulness.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
The Fruit of The Spirit ~ Gentleness
GENTLENESS
“Your gentleness has made me great” David said to God in 2 Samuel 22:36 and again in Psalm 18:35. It doesn’t say Your power or Your provisions or any other thing. It was God’s gentleness that made him great. David is called ‘a man after God’s own heart’ in 1 Samuel 13:13-14 and in Acts13:22. We don’t often hear that gentleness makes a great person, but consider one like Mother Theresa as she bends down in the gutter and lifts an abandoned, dying child into her arms and it is not hard to comprehend that gentleness indeed makes one great in the eyes of others, and in the eyes of God. We really cannot aspire to true greatness apart from an intimate acquaintance with the gentleness poured into us by our merciful Savior, and then it cannot help but flow into the lives of those Christ calls us to serve.
Paul exhorts the church at Corinth in 2 Corinthians 10 – “I am pleading with you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ” and he goes on to speak of the battle we are engaged in on this earth – “for we walk in the flesh but we do not wage war according to the flesh. For our weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and everything that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into obedience of Christ.” The weapons of our warfare, at the very core, are the fruit of His Spirit operating in and through us. The most effective strategy when facing flesh (carnal) induced battles is to do so out of a full measure of Christ’s own life as we yield ourselves to Him.
Do I plead with others out of the meekness and gentleness Christ has poured into me? Jesus turned the other cheek. Jesus loved the unlovable. Jesus touched the untouchable. Jesus honored the lowly. He offered such gentleness to the woman flung at his feet by a hostile mob. “Does anyone condemn you? No? Neither do I – go and sin no more” He said, releasing her to bear His gentleness to others she would encounter the rest of her life. Because the fruit of Christ’s Spirit fills me, this same Spirit is always here to lead me, to demonstrate His gentleness through me when another has lost their way. Colossians 3:12 says, “Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” The woman ‘caught in the very act of adultery’ saw her accusers walk away one by one, none of them casting ‘the first stone.’ I wonder how even their lives were affected by this uncommon outward expression of gentleness. Here was a teacher of the law who could easily have condoned the stoning, but instead proved His own greatness through His gentle spirit. The Spirit of Jesus compels me to do the same: “Let your gentleness be known to all. The Lord is at hand.” Philippians 4:5
Another woman, the one with the alabaster jar full of costly perfume used mostly for burials, likewise experienced the greatness of God as Christ defended her in the home of Simon the Leper. Though Simon had been healed by Jesus, he and the disciples reclining at the table that day attempted to put this woman in her place by reminding Jesus of her past life, and then “The disciples were indignant. Why waste this? It might have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor.” Jesus steps into her life with the true heart of a servant and blesses this woman with great gentleness of spirit: “Why do you bother this woman? She has done a good deed to Me . . . . truly I say to you, wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her.” Still today, when followers of Christ declare His goodness and gentleness this woman’s own spirit of gentleness is remembered. Matthew 26:6-13. “If one is overtaken in any sin, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness.” Galatians 6:1. Restoration, after all, is the objective of Christ’s love through in and through us.
One final story of greatness comes to mind. When the lawyer approached Jesus and asked what he must do to inherit eternal life, Jesus told a parable of one who, when others passed an injured man by, stopped and rendered aid and saw to it the man was given everything necessary for his healing and well-being. After finishing the story Jesus asked the lawyer, “So which of these three men was a true neighbor?” The lawyer prudently responded “The one who had mercy on him’ and Jesus replied ‘Go and do likewise’” Luke 10:37
Greatness is summed up by Jesus Himself in Mark 10:43-45 – “Whoever desires to become great among you shall be the servant of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Now, go and do likewise.
The fruit of the Spirit is Gentleness
“Your gentleness has made me great” David said to God in 2 Samuel 22:36 and again in Psalm 18:35. It doesn’t say Your power or Your provisions or any other thing. It was God’s gentleness that made him great. David is called ‘a man after God’s own heart’ in 1 Samuel 13:13-14 and in Acts13:22. We don’t often hear that gentleness makes a great person, but consider one like Mother Theresa as she bends down in the gutter and lifts an abandoned, dying child into her arms and it is not hard to comprehend that gentleness indeed makes one great in the eyes of others, and in the eyes of God. We really cannot aspire to true greatness apart from an intimate acquaintance with the gentleness poured into us by our merciful Savior, and then it cannot help but flow into the lives of those Christ calls us to serve.
Paul exhorts the church at Corinth in 2 Corinthians 10 – “I am pleading with you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ” and he goes on to speak of the battle we are engaged in on this earth – “for we walk in the flesh but we do not wage war according to the flesh. For our weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and everything that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into obedience of Christ.” The weapons of our warfare, at the very core, are the fruit of His Spirit operating in and through us. The most effective strategy when facing flesh (carnal) induced battles is to do so out of a full measure of Christ’s own life as we yield ourselves to Him.
Do I plead with others out of the meekness and gentleness Christ has poured into me? Jesus turned the other cheek. Jesus loved the unlovable. Jesus touched the untouchable. Jesus honored the lowly. He offered such gentleness to the woman flung at his feet by a hostile mob. “Does anyone condemn you? No? Neither do I – go and sin no more” He said, releasing her to bear His gentleness to others she would encounter the rest of her life. Because the fruit of Christ’s Spirit fills me, this same Spirit is always here to lead me, to demonstrate His gentleness through me when another has lost their way. Colossians 3:12 says, “Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” The woman ‘caught in the very act of adultery’ saw her accusers walk away one by one, none of them casting ‘the first stone.’ I wonder how even their lives were affected by this uncommon outward expression of gentleness. Here was a teacher of the law who could easily have condoned the stoning, but instead proved His own greatness through His gentle spirit. The Spirit of Jesus compels me to do the same: “Let your gentleness be known to all. The Lord is at hand.” Philippians 4:5
Another woman, the one with the alabaster jar full of costly perfume used mostly for burials, likewise experienced the greatness of God as Christ defended her in the home of Simon the Leper. Though Simon had been healed by Jesus, he and the disciples reclining at the table that day attempted to put this woman in her place by reminding Jesus of her past life, and then “The disciples were indignant. Why waste this? It might have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor.” Jesus steps into her life with the true heart of a servant and blesses this woman with great gentleness of spirit: “Why do you bother this woman? She has done a good deed to Me . . . . truly I say to you, wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her.” Still today, when followers of Christ declare His goodness and gentleness this woman’s own spirit of gentleness is remembered. Matthew 26:6-13. “If one is overtaken in any sin, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness.” Galatians 6:1. Restoration, after all, is the objective of Christ’s love through in and through us.
One final story of greatness comes to mind. When the lawyer approached Jesus and asked what he must do to inherit eternal life, Jesus told a parable of one who, when others passed an injured man by, stopped and rendered aid and saw to it the man was given everything necessary for his healing and well-being. After finishing the story Jesus asked the lawyer, “So which of these three men was a true neighbor?” The lawyer prudently responded “The one who had mercy on him’ and Jesus replied ‘Go and do likewise’” Luke 10:37
Greatness is summed up by Jesus Himself in Mark 10:43-45 – “Whoever desires to become great among you shall be the servant of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Now, go and do likewise.
The fruit of the Spirit is Gentleness
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
The Fruit of The Spirit ~ Goodness
GOODNESS
The first time ‘goodness’ shows up in Scripture is when Moses pleads with God: “Please, show me Your Glory” and God replies: “I will make all My GOODNESS pass before you.” Exodus 33:18-18
So much is said today about living for God’s Glory so it’s compelling to me that God equates His Glory with His Goodness. As I live each day if others are to experience His Glory I must be a vessel filled and overflowing with His goodness. People understand goodness towards them and so for me to serve Him effectively the fruit of His goodness must pour forth.
Moses could not see the face of God, but as the Lord passed by him, he proclaimed: “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, patient and abounding in goodness and truth.” Exodus 34:6
He could not see the ‘face’ of God, yet he came face to face with the fullness of God. That will be the experience of others I meet each day as His goodness pours forth through me. They may not see God’s actual face, but through me they should come face to face His goodness.
David said in Psalm 16:2: “O my soul, you have said to the Lord, 'You are my LORD. My goodness is nothing apart from You.'” And so it is with me. My goodness dissipates in my fleshly attitudes and actions, but IN HIM, I live; IN HIM, I move; IN HIM I exist. It is out of this relationship with my Creator and Savor that His Goodness is known to me, and His Glory is visible through me.
Psalm 33:5 says “The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.” How is this possible, except His servants live in such a way that His goodness is seen and experienced by others.
Psalm 65:4 declares “We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, of Your holy temple.” And Psalm 107:9 assures us that “He satisfies the longing soul and fills the hungry soul with goodness.” Ephesians 5:8-10 reminds me “you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of Light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness and truth) finding out what is acceptable to the Lord.”
2 Thessalonians 1:11 exhorts us: “We pray for you that God would count you worthy of His calling, and fulfill the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power, so that the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the lord Jesus Christ.”
As I demonstrate goodness toward others, they experience the fruit of God’s own divine Glory. It is His heart that all walk as children of Light and not darkness. Through His servants, God will quench the thirst and hunger in me and in others because of, and by, and for the sake of His goodness. The outcome – that His Name is made glorious.
May your goodness, Lord, be evident through me today. May my life be a living testimony, an overflowing vessel of Your goodness so that those I come in contact with experience, as Moses did, the full measure of Your Glory.
The fruit of the Spirit is Goodness
The first time ‘goodness’ shows up in Scripture is when Moses pleads with God: “Please, show me Your Glory” and God replies: “I will make all My GOODNESS pass before you.” Exodus 33:18-18
So much is said today about living for God’s Glory so it’s compelling to me that God equates His Glory with His Goodness. As I live each day if others are to experience His Glory I must be a vessel filled and overflowing with His goodness. People understand goodness towards them and so for me to serve Him effectively the fruit of His goodness must pour forth.
Moses could not see the face of God, but as the Lord passed by him, he proclaimed: “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, patient and abounding in goodness and truth.” Exodus 34:6
He could not see the ‘face’ of God, yet he came face to face with the fullness of God. That will be the experience of others I meet each day as His goodness pours forth through me. They may not see God’s actual face, but through me they should come face to face His goodness.
David said in Psalm 16:2: “O my soul, you have said to the Lord, 'You are my LORD. My goodness is nothing apart from You.'” And so it is with me. My goodness dissipates in my fleshly attitudes and actions, but IN HIM, I live; IN HIM, I move; IN HIM I exist. It is out of this relationship with my Creator and Savor that His Goodness is known to me, and His Glory is visible through me.
Psalm 33:5 says “The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.” How is this possible, except His servants live in such a way that His goodness is seen and experienced by others.
Psalm 65:4 declares “We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, of Your holy temple.” And Psalm 107:9 assures us that “He satisfies the longing soul and fills the hungry soul with goodness.” Ephesians 5:8-10 reminds me “you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of Light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness and truth) finding out what is acceptable to the Lord.”
2 Thessalonians 1:11 exhorts us: “We pray for you that God would count you worthy of His calling, and fulfill the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power, so that the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the lord Jesus Christ.”
As I demonstrate goodness toward others, they experience the fruit of God’s own divine Glory. It is His heart that all walk as children of Light and not darkness. Through His servants, God will quench the thirst and hunger in me and in others because of, and by, and for the sake of His goodness. The outcome – that His Name is made glorious.
May your goodness, Lord, be evident through me today. May my life be a living testimony, an overflowing vessel of Your goodness so that those I come in contact with experience, as Moses did, the full measure of Your Glory.
The fruit of the Spirit is Goodness
Monday, May 23, 2011
Fruit of The Spirit - Kindness
KINDNESS
“Don’t you know that it is His kindness that leads us to repentance?” Romans 2:4
I hadn’t considered Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross as being an act of kindness, but it is the ultimate gift, isn’t it. It was His Spirit of Kindness which rose up within Him as He walked that Via Dolorosa and as He said with His dying breaths “Father, forgive them for they don’t know what they are doing.” This act of unselfish love, when fully contemplated, cannot help but compel one to embrace such kindness.
David declared it was God’s kindness that caused him to stand victorious against the enemy that had come against the people of God: “Blessed be the Lord, for He has shown me His marvelous kindness in a city under siege.” Psalm 31:21 God’s kindness is demonstrated still today when we are able to stand against the onslaught of the enemy.
The Psalmist also declares that God’s kindness is a truth we can always rely on: “His merciful kindness is great towards us; the truth of the Lord endures forever.” Is this fruit of His Spirit evident through me? When I know someone is battling, does the spirit of kindness well up within me and cause me to stand in their defense, or in the gap for them in prayer? Is His kindness operating through me something others can count on? It should be, for the fruit of God’s Spirit is demonstrated by kindness.
“Let Your merciful kindness comfort me, according to Your word.” Psalm 119:76. Am I comforting others with the merciful kindness of my Savior? Am I the Proverbs 31 woman – “She opens her mouth in skillful and godly wisdom, and on her tongue is the law of kindness (giving counsel and instruction)” (vs 26 Amplified Bible). Is the law of kindness written on my own heart? Is it Christ’s own kindness, or do I offer it out of legalistic obligation? If the former, oh what joy floods my own soul. If the latter selfish gain will ruin any opportunity for others to know the kindness of my Savior, and such legally-induced ‘kindness’ is really self-deception for in the end it demands reciprocity. Such is not ‘the fruit of The Spirit’.
Jesus ate with ‘sinners’, He welcomed the lavish wastefulness of the woman who anointed Him with costly perfume, He died for sinners like me. It was and is His M.O. Is it mine?
1 Corinthians, chapter 6 says that living out the kindness of the Lord is the way to prove I am His servants: “Laboring together with Him, we beg you not to receive such merciful kindness in vain. We should not put any obstacle in anybody’s way so that His ministry is not discredited. We prove ourselves to be true servants of God . . . . in (our display of) His kindness.” (vss 1-6) Interjected among the list of virtues we are given the keys to how it is even possible for us to operate like Him in this world – by the Holy Spirit, by Genuine Love, by the Word of Truth, by the Power of God. These are intrinsically not of ourselves. God is, as Romans 11:36 says, working in us so that we comprehend and are empowered by the truth that it is FROM HIM, and THROUGH HIM and TO HIM. “Everything comes from Him, and exists by His power, and is intended for His Glory” As I live in Him and through Him towards others on this earth, He is glorified.
Finally, on the subject of kindness found in the incredibly descriptive King James language, we are to “put on, as the holy and beloved elect of God, bowels of . . . . kindness.” Colossians 3:12
Two truths can be gleaned from this verse. First, I am to ‘put on’ kindness, as I would put on a coat to shield myself from the cold, or as I put on shoes to protect and strengthen my feet – purposefully thoughtfully, intentionally. Second, kindness should dwell within my innermost being and be so much a part of me that it simply cannot be negated by my fleshly appetite. Emerging from my ‘bowels’, the seat of emotions according to Greek and Hebrew tradition, kindness is both a choice and an impossibility to deny for I cannot deny my true emotions. Either it is Christ’s kindness or my flesh at work in and through me – both cannot co-exist. I cannot serve two masters.
“Put aside all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy and slander. Like newborn babies, crave the pure milk of the Word . . . . if indeed you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.” 1 Peter 2:1-2
“By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know Him, the one who called us to Himself by means of His marvelous glory and excellence . . . . In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with kindness, and kindness with love for everyone.” 2 Peter 1:3-8
It is His kindness, through me, that leads others to know His marvelous glory and excellence.
The fruit of the Spirit is kindness.
“Don’t you know that it is His kindness that leads us to repentance?” Romans 2:4
I hadn’t considered Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross as being an act of kindness, but it is the ultimate gift, isn’t it. It was His Spirit of Kindness which rose up within Him as He walked that Via Dolorosa and as He said with His dying breaths “Father, forgive them for they don’t know what they are doing.” This act of unselfish love, when fully contemplated, cannot help but compel one to embrace such kindness.
David declared it was God’s kindness that caused him to stand victorious against the enemy that had come against the people of God: “Blessed be the Lord, for He has shown me His marvelous kindness in a city under siege.” Psalm 31:21 God’s kindness is demonstrated still today when we are able to stand against the onslaught of the enemy.
The Psalmist also declares that God’s kindness is a truth we can always rely on: “His merciful kindness is great towards us; the truth of the Lord endures forever.” Is this fruit of His Spirit evident through me? When I know someone is battling, does the spirit of kindness well up within me and cause me to stand in their defense, or in the gap for them in prayer? Is His kindness operating through me something others can count on? It should be, for the fruit of God’s Spirit is demonstrated by kindness.
“Let Your merciful kindness comfort me, according to Your word.” Psalm 119:76. Am I comforting others with the merciful kindness of my Savior? Am I the Proverbs 31 woman – “She opens her mouth in skillful and godly wisdom, and on her tongue is the law of kindness (giving counsel and instruction)” (vs 26 Amplified Bible). Is the law of kindness written on my own heart? Is it Christ’s own kindness, or do I offer it out of legalistic obligation? If the former, oh what joy floods my own soul. If the latter selfish gain will ruin any opportunity for others to know the kindness of my Savior, and such legally-induced ‘kindness’ is really self-deception for in the end it demands reciprocity. Such is not ‘the fruit of The Spirit’.
Jesus ate with ‘sinners’, He welcomed the lavish wastefulness of the woman who anointed Him with costly perfume, He died for sinners like me. It was and is His M.O. Is it mine?
1 Corinthians, chapter 6 says that living out the kindness of the Lord is the way to prove I am His servants: “Laboring together with Him, we beg you not to receive such merciful kindness in vain. We should not put any obstacle in anybody’s way so that His ministry is not discredited. We prove ourselves to be true servants of God . . . . in (our display of) His kindness.” (vss 1-6) Interjected among the list of virtues we are given the keys to how it is even possible for us to operate like Him in this world – by the Holy Spirit, by Genuine Love, by the Word of Truth, by the Power of God. These are intrinsically not of ourselves. God is, as Romans 11:36 says, working in us so that we comprehend and are empowered by the truth that it is FROM HIM, and THROUGH HIM and TO HIM. “Everything comes from Him, and exists by His power, and is intended for His Glory” As I live in Him and through Him towards others on this earth, He is glorified.
Finally, on the subject of kindness found in the incredibly descriptive King James language, we are to “put on, as the holy and beloved elect of God, bowels of . . . . kindness.” Colossians 3:12
Two truths can be gleaned from this verse. First, I am to ‘put on’ kindness, as I would put on a coat to shield myself from the cold, or as I put on shoes to protect and strengthen my feet – purposefully thoughtfully, intentionally. Second, kindness should dwell within my innermost being and be so much a part of me that it simply cannot be negated by my fleshly appetite. Emerging from my ‘bowels’, the seat of emotions according to Greek and Hebrew tradition, kindness is both a choice and an impossibility to deny for I cannot deny my true emotions. Either it is Christ’s kindness or my flesh at work in and through me – both cannot co-exist. I cannot serve two masters.
“Put aside all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy and slander. Like newborn babies, crave the pure milk of the Word . . . . if indeed you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.” 1 Peter 2:1-2
“By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know Him, the one who called us to Himself by means of His marvelous glory and excellence . . . . In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with kindness, and kindness with love for everyone.” 2 Peter 1:3-8
It is His kindness, through me, that leads others to know His marvelous glory and excellence.
The fruit of the Spirit is kindness.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
A Servant: The Fruit Of The Spirit ~ Patience
Now the fruit of the Spirit is
LOVE, JOY, PEACE
These 3 are what God wants to do IN US
so that He can accomplish all the others THROUGH us
PATIENCE, KINDNESS, GENTLENESS, GOODNESS
FAITHFULNESS, SELF CONTROL
LOVE, JOY, PEACE
These 3 are what God wants to do IN US
so that He can accomplish all the others THROUGH us
PATIENCE, KINDNESS, GENTLENESS, GOODNESS
FAITHFULNESS, SELF CONTROL
In a message on 4/27 by Pastor Alex Michelle at New Hope midweek service, he spoke on the difference between SERVING and BEING A SERVANT. Serving can come from a place of self motivation: I need to do this, I like to do this, I’m gifted to do this, others will think well of me if I do this, if I don’t do it no one else will, it makes me feel good to do it, etc. But being a servant is ‘others’ directed, and a servant of God is the vessel through which others see and experience and learn to emulate the patience of Jesus, the kindness of Jesus, the gentleness of Jesus, the faithfulness of Jesus and Jesus’ self control which we witnessed as He chose to go to the Cross for our sake, rather than walking away from the hard choice being a servant required of Him. Being a servant does not come from a work’s ideology, it comes from a heart that sees the needs of others and chooses, out of the overflow of His love, His joy, His peace that fills them, to extend God’s grace. In the spirit of God’s grace I offer meditations, over the next 6 days, on these six Fruit Of The Spirit.
“When you walk in the created purpose of God for your life, you will experience increasing degrees of Shalom – completeness, harmony, fulfillment.”
Pastor Alex Michelle
Pastor Alex Michelle
PATIENCEMark 14:32-41: “Then they came to a place which was named Gethsemane; and He said to His disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” And He took Peter, James, and John with Him, and He began to be troubled and deeply distressed. Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch.” He went a little farther, and fell on the ground, and prayed that if it were possible, the hour might pass from Him. And He said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.” Then He came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “Simon, are you sleeping? Could you not watch one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Again He went away and prayed, and spoke the same words. And when He returned, He found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy; and they did not know what to answer Him. Then He came the third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting?”
Three times Jesus came to find His closest friends sleeping. He’d encouraged them to watch and pray, but they slept. He didn’t lecture them, or preach to them about fidelity to the cause. He didn’t say, “Don’t you know what I’ve been through? Don’t you know how much I’ve endured and will endure for you? Don’ t you know I am about to die for you, and all you can do is sleep!!” No, he simply found them sleeping and only kept encouraging them to pray lest they enter into temptation -- and then went back to praying for them.
Jesus knows our weaknesses and is patient towards us for our own sake. As 2 Peter 2:9 so succinctly states: “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance."
“Whoever is patient has great understanding, but one who is quick-tempered displays folly.” Proverbs 14:29
"A hot-tempered person stirs up conflict, but the one who is patient calms a quarrel.”Proverbs 15:18
“Love is patient.” 1 Corinthians 13:4
“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” Ephesians 4:2
Developing this spirit of patience causes us to stay calm under pressure, thus creating calm all around us. Because of Christ’s great love for us, because He humbled Himself and became a servant for our sake, we are exhorted to exercise such humility, gentleness and patience toward others. No one sees God in our anger, in our false-humility, in our hot-tempers; they see Him as the fruit of His Spirit is on display through us. Through our own patience others see love in its purest form.
“The Lord is not slow about keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. Instead He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”2 Peter 3:9
When we serve others out of the abundance of this truth, that God is patient towards us, they in turn experience His amazing patience too as He pursues them with His great love.
The fruit of the Spirit is . . . Patience
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