The Fruit of the Spirit
Galatians 5:22-26 (NRSV) 22 By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.
Who doesn’t like fruit? Well, Marie Romano from the popular “Everybody Loves Raymond” sitcom from the ‘80’s. Ray decided a nice gift would be a year’s worth of fruit of the month.
After Marie received the first delivery she tried to be gracious but became increasingly agitated as she realized she would get a different fruit each month. “What are you doing to me? No one can eat this much fruit! It’s too much pressure!”
I may not have the dialogue exactly right, but you get the idea. As Christians we should be eager to allow this fruit to grow and develop in our daily lives. Yet, I fear many Christians are not even aware of these attributes of discipleship. Or if they are, their response is, “It’s too much pressure!”
As we grow in our faith, we should necessarily grow in our likeness of Christ. I think the more we choose love over hate, joy over sadness, kindness over bitterness, the more we will be molded into the likeness of our Savior. It is not an overnight process. Fruit trees take years to bear fruit, and as Christ followers we, too, can take years to reflect the image of Jesus. But as the Scripture says, “If we live by the Spirit let us also be guided by the Spirit.”
May we each take inventory of ourselves and if we are lacking these fruits of the Spirit, ask God to grow them in us so that we will be more like Him.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Peace
Philippians 4:4-7 (NRSV) 4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6 Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Can I tell you there is nothing that compares to the peace of God? When I had my first heart attack I was at peace. Sixteen years later when I underwent open heart surgery I was at peace. The world is missing something, and they don’t even know what it is. People call for peace, but they really just want an absence of conflict.
May I tell you the only true peace comes from a relationship with Jesus Christ. Until we come to know Jesus in His saving power, we will never know peace. The dictionary defines peace as a state of tranquility. But the peace of God is so much more.
I want to encourage anyone in chronic pain, or those who have deep disappointment in people or your job situation or whatever, to dive into the Scripture each morning. Let God’s Word give you the peace that nothing else can offer. And if you need a prayer partner, text me. As soon as I see your text I will stop what I am doing and pray. Are my prayers more effective than anyone else’s? No, but we are not meant to bear our burdens alone.
May the peace of God that passes all understanding be in your heart and mind today.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Rejoice in the Lord
Psalms 33:1-3 (NRSV) 1 Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous.
Praise befits the upright.
2 Praise the LORD with the lyre;
make melody to him with the harp of ten strings.
3 Sing to him a new song;
play skillfully on the strings, with loud
Philippians 4:4-7 (NRSV) 4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6 Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Sometimes you just have to praise!
Don’t you love knowing that we are praising God in the same way as David and Paul? Continuity—tradition—with Jesus in our hearts how can we do anything other than praise?
Each Sunday our services begin with praise music. I am so thankful for the people God has brought to our church who have not only lovely voices but are clearly worshipping as they sing. I sing with them as I am able, but the remainder of the time I pray—thanking God for his great mercy and love.
Do I miss the hymns and the choir? Of courses I do, but my love of the old ways we did church in no way diminishes my joy in church today.
May we spend a portion of each day in praise, knowing that God desires the praise of His people.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
It’s Testimony Time
Psalms 9:1-2 (NIV) 1 I will give thanks to you, LORD, with all my heart;
I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.
2 I will be glad and rejoice in you;
I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High.
David’s psalms take on many forms, and in this one David not only praises God, but he also recognizes the need to tell others of God’s wondrous works. Growing up in church, we sometimes had entire services dedicated to sharing God’s blessings. These were called testimony services.
As 21st century Christians, it is important for us to remember that telling others about the gospel of Jesus Christ should not be considered optional. Instead, giving our testimony should be a vital part of our Christian walk. As Disciples, we should be dedicated not only to following Christ but inviting others to join us.
Even as I write today’s devotional I am aware of more violence in our country. Let’s take a moment to pray. Father God, as always we praise You for who you are. As Habakkuk said, if there are no figs on the tree, nor sheep in the pens nor cattle in the stalls, yet I will praise You. We recognize that you are the sovereign God who created us, and you had a plan for our salvation before we even sinned. We come to you today asking you to pour out your supernatural peace upon those closely affected by this most recent display of violence. We pray you will give us a boldness to reach out to a lost world, that the Holy Spirit will soften hearts so that they will hear about Jesus and turn to Him. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
May we always have praise for our God upon our lips, and may we see, really see those in need of a Savior and be willing to share the gospel message with them. Take the name of Jesus and share Him with all you meet.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
So, what prevents us from sharing Christ with others? Worried about what they will think or how they will respond? Guess what—that burden is not ours to carry. The Holy Spirit prepares hearts to receive and helps us to deliver the life-giving message of salvation.
May we begin and end each day Sc
Hope Does Not Disappoint
(NRSV) Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
I just read the first five chapters of Romans and am reminded once again of God’s great love for us. Paul says in Romans 5:8 that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. He did not wait for us to recognize our need for a savior, for how could we? Those dead in their sins do not have the eyes to see nor the ears to hear. But when Christ enters our hearts, everything changes! Suddenly the hope of salvation is ours.
I was once chastised for speaking of hope. The person with whom I was talking said if I had faith I would not need hope. I am so thankful that one does not preclude the other.
There are times when our faith grows weak, and it is then we must cling to the hope of our salvation. What is that hope? That we will live eternally with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And that is the hope that does not fail.
I would close today with a poem I wrote not long after my first heart attack. May we never abandon our hope, even as we embrace our faith.
HOPE
Hope drifts in on angel’s wings, barely
disturbing the air, the room, we
hardly know it’s there.
Yet, it arrives, unhurried, but
not unwanted.
We see it in the
face of a friend, the
trace of a smile, or simply
a kind word.
It is the promise
of good things to come, the
assurance that we are not alone. It is
what gets us through another day
when we think we cannot go on.
2008 Carol J. Grace All Rights Reserved
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Seeking Holiness 