The Fruit of the Spirit - Faithfulness

Everyone who believes in Jesus Christ has the Holy Spirit of God living inside them. 

The Holy Spirit is a powerful force.  It is the very power of God that was with God and was God creating the universe filled with trillions upon trillions of stars and planets and galaxies—so much that it would take you 27.4 billion years to travel from one side of it to the other if you could travel at the speed of light.

And when you have faith in Christ, the power of God’s Spirit takes up residence in your soul and begins to work His creative power in your life.  However, our powerful God is not a monster or a tyrant.  He will not force change upon you—even though He knows it’s for your own good.  He only grows change within you as you cooperate with His love and nurture the spiritual fruit He wishes to give you.  Like a garden—when tended and nurtured—the Fruit of the Spirit grows steadily within you until you reap a bountiful harvest.  The Apostle Paul wrote:

Galatians 5:22-23

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

Faithfulness

I want to talk to you about faithfulness today.  According to Wikipedia:  “Faithfulness is the concept of unfailingly remaining loyal to someone or something, and putting that loyalty into consistent practice regardless of extenuating circumstances.  It may be exhibited by a husband or wife who, in a sexually exclusive marriage, does not engage in sexual relationships outside of the marriage.”  However, when we speak of faithfulness—as a fruit of the Holy Spirit—we are speaking of faithfulness in a relationship that is even higher than that of marriage.  We are primarily focused on faithfulness to God through Jesus Christ.  Our faithfulness to God leads us also to be faithful in all our other relationships, because doing so is an expression of our faithfulness to the Highest Power.

Before we were ever faithful, God was faithful to us.  He created us with the purpose of sharing His love—of living a life in loving relationship with God and each other.  Boy have we messed that one up.  The history of humanity has been a continual history of turning our backs on God and each other.  Yet God has been faithful to us, even when we have been totally unfaithful to Him.  Ultimately, God sent His own Son, Jesus Christ, in love to reconcile us to Him.  Yet we were unfaithful and murdered the Son of God on a cross.  Yet still, God didn’t turn His back on us.  Christ rose on the third day and continues to offer God’s love and forgiveness to all who repent of their sin, turn to God, and trust in Christ.  Through faith we have eternal life—but we have something even greater; we have a living, loving relationship with the God of the universe who is always faithful and challenges us to be faithful.

Faithfulness in Uncertainty

God calls us to remain faithful even when we don’t understand.  Faith, almost by definition, implies a degree of uncertainty.  We sometimes use expressions like "taking a leap of faith" to describe faithful obedience.  We even use a simple exercise to demonstrate faith—a trust fall—where you close your eyes and fall backwards into the arms of a colleague you trust (it can be an unnerving experience).  Faith implies that we don’t have all the answers, that sometimes we are walking through life in the dark and cannot see the way, but we are trusting in God’s faithfulness to get us through.  Even when we hurt, even when losses come that are too deep to fathom, even when we don’t understand and just want to give up, faithfulness means we just keep trusting God and walking through the darkness towards His voice.

We don’t have all the answers, but we do have some; we have enough to get started and we will get enough as we walk to continue walking the road of faith.  There are many who read the Bible and lament, "I don’t understand it."  It is true that there are many things in God’s Word that are very hard to understand.  However, there are also many things we read that are very clear and it’s not the things I don’t understand about the Christian life that disturb me most.  I am far more disturbed by the things I do understand.  For then I feel the Holy Spirit convicting me:  “Will you be faithful?  Will you obey?  Will you do what you know you should do?"

The Faithfulness of a Church Member

In the United Methodist Church, we try to spell out the ways we promise to be faithful to God when someone decides to become a member of the church.  Many feel church membership is no longer important.  "Why should I join as a member of a church?" They say, "Isn't that like joining a club?  It sounds so exclusive!"  And our culture reflects this devaluing of church membership more and more.  It mirrors the general aversion to commitment that runs throughout our society.  People ask some of the same kinds of questions about marriage.  "Why should I get married?"  They ask.  And for all practical purposes, it seems they have a point.  In our times, an unmarried couple can do just about everything a married couple can.  They can fall in love, live together, have sex, have and raise children together.  So many ask, why should they bother with marriage?  I would argue marriage is essential.  Here's why.  Through marriage, a man and a woman stand before God and witnesses and promise to love each other for better or worse, in sickness and in health, for richer for poorer, until death.  And until you make those promises to each other, the relationship can only go so far.  Until your partner knows that you are all in, 100%, completely committed to the very end, your relationship cannot go to the deepest levels.

And much the same is true of church membership.  You can attend a church and never become a member.  For most practical purposes, you will look and act just like a member.  You can attend, worship, sing in the choir, volunteer, and even serve in some official positions.  However, your relationship with God and the other members of the church can only go so far until you fully commit.  Until you stand before God and the whole church and promise to be 100%, all in, sold out to the mission of the church, you can only go so deep.  And so, I encourage everyone who really wants to go to the deeper levels in their spiritual journey to prayerfully consider joining a church as a member.

The very first step to becoming a member of my church Pleasant Grove United Methodist church) is to become a Christian.  You cannot be a member of our Church unless you are a Christian—meaning you have repented of your sins and placed your whole faith Jesus Christ, the Son of God, for your salvation.  So we ask potential church members some questions in front of the whole church to help them profess their faith in Christ.  We ask:

• Do you renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness, reject the evil powers of this world, and repent of your sin?
• Do you accept the freedom and power God gives you to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves?
• Do you confess Jesus Christ as your Savior, put your whole trust in his grace, and promise to serve him as your Lord, in union with the church which Christ has opened to people of all ages, nations, and races?  

Local Church Membership

Having become a member of God’s “Holy Catholic” Church (that is the universal church that is made up of all believers in Christ from all places and in all times), now one makes a commitment to be faithful to a local congregation of the church.  So we ask potential members a few more questions about how they will be faithful to the local congregation.  We ask:  "As members of this congregation, will you faithfully participate in its ministries by your prayers, your presence, your gifts, your service, and your witness?"

Are you faithful to pray?  I recommend everyone should pray five times a day.  Say a prayer to start your day when you wake up and a prayer before you go to sleep.  That's two prayers.  Add to this a prayer to bless your food before every meal (which for most is three times a day) and you have five prayers.  But don't stop at just five prayers.  Live a live of prayer.  Throughout your day, say a breath prayer whenever you think about it (a breath prayer is a short prayer you can say in one breath).  So as you are sitting in traffic, aggravated by the person in front of you for going too slow, breathe out, "Lord Jesus help me to be patient."  As you pass an accident on the side of the road, pray, "Father, please help that person who is hurt."  When someone asks you to pray for their mother who is having surgery on Tuesday, right then as they are asking in your own mind pray "Holy Spirit, take care of their mother this Tuesday during her surgery."  In this way, you can be more faithful to pray.

Are you faithfully presence at church?  We need to be together with other Christians for worship, study, fellowship, and service.  This is best done in a local congregation.  Do you attend church weekly.  My own practice and what I encourage everyone to adopt is to miss no more than five Sundays of worship per year.  Does that seem excessive?  I don't think it is.  Last week I was talking with a South Korean pastor who explained that Christians in Korea have church 7 days a week.  On work days, thousands of Christians come in to the sanctuary as early as 5:00 AM for an hour long prayer service before they go to work.  It's no wonder that a great revival is taking place in South Korea, home of the largest Christian church in the world--Yoido Full Gospel Church--with 480,000 members.

Are you faithful in your giving?  The biblical standard is to offer 10% of your income God through the local church.  So if you earn $30,000 per year, you would give $3,000 to the church each year.  The church in America struggles to do all the good God calls us to do because we simply don't have the funding we need.  That problem would be instantly solved if every Christian would simply be faithful to give the tithe.  Maybe you are willing to jump straight into tithing.  But could you grow more faithful in your giving?  If you are only giving 1% right now, could you be more faithful to give 2-3%?  make it a goal to grow a little bit every year until you reach 10%.  And if you are already giving 10%, don't just sit back and fold your arms and say, "I've given all I need to give."  What was Jesus' standard for giving?  He said give it all.  Remember, he said if some ask you to carry their back for a mile, go an extra mile with them.  If someone demands your coat, give them your shirt also.  That sounds a lot like 100% giving to me.  Now, what you give is between you and God.  And no one at my church--me or anyone else--is going down the list checking to see who gives what or ranking people by their giving status.  That's between you and God and our church is all about grace.  Jesus doesn't want your money.  He wants your heart.  For where your heart is, there your treasure will be also.  I just want to encourage you to be faithful in your giving.

Are you faithful to serve.  Some people think, "Well I give a lot of money so I don't have to serve."  Members who join Pleasant Grove UMC promise to do both.  It's not either or; it's both and.  Faithful members give and serve.  So remember the words of Galatians 6:9, "So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up."

Are you a faithful witness?  A witness is simply someone who tells what Jesus has done for them.  A witness invites others to come and see what Jesus is doing in there church.  Are you a faithful witness?  How many people have you talked to about Jesus?  How many have you invited to church this year?  If you haven't invited anyone, what does that say about the faithfulness of your witness?

Repentance and Call to Faithfulness

If we are honest, we all see how we have fallen short in many of the areas in which we promise to be faithful.  It breaks my own heart to think of the ways I fall short and fail God who has been so faithful to me.  In particular, I struggle in the area of faithful prayer.  Don't get me wrong, I pray all the time, because I am a pastor.  I pray several times during the Sunday worship service.  I pray to open Bible studies, Sunday school classes, in prayer meetings, and with those who are sick or in the hospital.  Where I struggle is in praying when I am not operating as a pastor.  I think it's because I pray so much on other occasions.  I just get tired.  However, I have asked the Holy Spirit to help me be more faithful in this area of my life and I'm working on it.

How about you?  Can you be honest with yourself and God?  Can you confess where you have not been as faithful as you should?  Do you faithfully renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness, reject the evil powers of this world, and repent of your sin?  Do you faithfully accept the freedom and power God gives you every day to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves ?  Do you confess Jesus Christ as your Savior, put your whole trust in his grace, and serve him as your Lord? Are you faithful pray, be present at church, to give, serve, and be faithful witness?

Perhaps God is calling you repent today.  Maybe you need to commit your life to Christ and becoming a Christian for the very first time.  Maybe you need to find a local church where you can join and become a faithful member.  Maybe you need to admit that you have not been faithful to the membership promises you’ve already made.

Even when we are unfaithful, God is still faithful.  In 1 John 1:9 it says, “But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.”  Perhaps today, you would like to pray the following confession to God and ask the Holy Spirit to help you be more faithful.

Prayer of Confession

"Most merciful God, I confess that I have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what I have done, and by what I have left undone. I have not loved you with my whole heart; I have not loved my neighbors as myself. I am truly sorry and I humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on me and forgive me; that I may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your name. Amen."

And now, I offer this prayer on your behalf:

Almighty God have mercy on you, forgive all your sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen you in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep you in eternal life. Amen.

The Fruit of the Spirit - Goodness

Everyone who believes in Jesus Christ has the Holy Spirit of God living inside them. 

In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul said the Holy Spirit produces Christian virtues within everyone who trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and follows him day by day.  These fruits don’t appear overnight.  But like a garden—when tended and nurtured—they grow within us over time until we reap a bountiful harvest.

Galatians 5:22-23

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

I hope you will memorize these 9 fruits of the Spirit.  Better yet, I pray you will cooperate with the Holy Spirit that He may grow them more abundantly in your life.

Goodness

Today, I will discuss goodness.  We need more goodness in our world.  Galatians 6:9 says, "So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up."  Don't wear yourself out with all the volunteering, giving, and serving you do.  There is always more good to be done.  If you try to do good from your own limited supply of goodness, even the best will soon be exhausted.  However, God's goodness never runs dry.  We need to share goodness with others from the unlimited source of God's goodness.

Goodness is a fruit of the Spirit.  The Holy Spirit wants to grow more goodness in our lives.  And if we cooperate, the Spirit will.  Since you and I are in the world (though not of it), we can be and instrument of God to bring more goodness into our world.  Will you cooperate with the Spirit in this noble task?  Will you fertilize your spiritual garden with the Word of God and listen to the Holy Spirit so you will know how to be good and then do the right thing at the right time in the right way?

The great shepherd, king, and psalm writer—David—wrote that famous 23^rd Psalm that has brought comfort and hope to so many throughout the ages.  “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.  He makes me lie down in green pastures.  He leads me beside still waters…”  And he ends his beautiful passage with this promise of hope.  “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life…”  There’s one thing my faith has always helped me to believe:  God is good!   My faith helps me to believe that God is good even when things go badly.  I believe that God is on my side.  

God is good and He wants goodness for you and me.  A lot of people get Christianity all mixed up.  They think it's all about rules.  They say, "If you're a Christian, you can't do this and you can't do that and you have to do this."  That's not it at all.  There are rules, but the rules are there for our benefit because God is good and He wants good for us.  He knows that we can avoid so much trouble and suffering and that's why He gives us some rules to steer us in the best direction.

Our Good God Created a Good World

Genesis 1:31 says, "Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good!"  Created a good world.  Unfortunately, the world we see has a lot of sin and suffering and darkness.  A lot in this world is not good.  So what happened?  

It's not God's fault that the world is broken.  He didn't break it.  We did.  In the beginning, the world was perfect and people were perfect and our relationship with God was perfect.  In order to make love possible, God gave the first humans--Adam and Eve--a simple test of faithfulness.  He told them you can eat anything you want from the garden, but don't eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  Unfortunately, they chose to disobey God. Their sin violated love and broke their perfect relationship with their Creator.  The results were catastrophic.  Paradise fell apart and the world became a place were darkness and suffering and death are as much a part of our experience as goodness and love and light.  

The miracle is that God still didn't abandon us.  He has been working to clean up our mess since the very day humanity messed it all up.  We don't deserve it, but God has always been good to our world.  In the story, when Adam and Eve sinned, they realized they were naked and ashamed and afraid and vulnerable.  What did God do?  He could have abandoned them, but He didn't.  He protected them by making clothes for them--even though they didn't deserve it.  And throughout the ages since, God has been working out our salvation by:

• Saving Noah and the animals on the ark through the flood
• Calling Father Abraham to leave his homeland and go start a new people in the Promised land
• Paving a way to redemption through Moses, King David, and the prophets
• And He fulfilled His plan of salvation through His Son, Jesus

I don't just know God is good because of stories I've read in the Bible.  I know because God has been so good to me, personally.  He saved me at the age of 8; when I had no father in my home, God adopted me as His own son and He became my perfect Father.  He changed the course of my life from a very bad path to a path of light and love and eternal life.  He has been good to me by leading me down a path of life-long spiritual growth.  Thankfully, I am not the same immature Christian I was when I was 8 (or 16 or 25 or 35).  God was good to me by giving me a wonderful wife.  I don't know why Kelly agreed to marry me.  All I can say is it was the goodness of God that encouraged her to agree.  And God has given me three awesome children.  Each one is special in their own way.  And I cannot take credit for how good they are--I can only praise God for His goodness in the matter.  And God was so good to me to give me a gift for speaking and a love for serving in the church and the ability to make a living for myself and my family as a pastor.  I am blessed beyond all measure, because God has been good to me.  Has He been good to you?

God has Been Good to Us.  Let’s be Good to Him.  But How?

Micah 6:7-8 tells us how.  It says, "Should we offer him thousands of rams and ten thousand rivers of olive oil?  Should we sacrifice our firstborn children to pay for our sins?  No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you:  to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God."

So here we have in verse 8 a simple explanation of the good we are to do.   

First, It Says Do What is Right

The Word of God and the Holy Spirit work in concert to show you the right thing to do, at the right time, and in the right way.  It is not good to just following the shifting trends of a fickle society.  For in one decade they say one thing is bad and in the next they say, "Oh, that's okay now," and some other behavior becomes the unpardonable sin that will ruin  your career and make you an oucast from society.  Neither is it good to take the Bible out of context and use it as a tool to prove you are right (as many southerners did in the 1800s to prove that their slave trade was justifiable in the eyes of God).  The Bible is not a tool we use to justify our misbehavior.  The Bible is the Word of God the Holy Spirit uses to challenge us to be more like Christ.  Goodness is humbling yourself before God, listening obediently to His Word in Scripture, and relying on the Holy Spirit to lead you to do the right thing, at the right time, in the right way.

Second, It Says Love Mercy
God has been so merciful to you and to me. We also, ought to show mercy. Be merciful. No, that’s not enough! It say, love mercy. That's much stronger, isn't it? Look for ways to be merciful. Let your first thought not be how to punish or get back at soemone, but be: "How can I apply mercy in this circumstance?" Ere on the side of mercy. Now, I must say, mercy is not pretending there isn’t a fault. It means, there is a fault but you will forgive the fault anyway. In order for the to be real forgiveness and mercy, you must recognize that an offence has occurred--sometimes a very devastating and despicable sin--but you are going to show mercy and forgive anyway. So, do what is right, love mercy, and...

Walk Humbly with God

Remember who’s in charge. This life is not about you. You were created to worship God, not the other way around.  Society tells us in so many ways that this life is about us and our wants and our happiness.  But where did God ever say that in His Holy Bible?  Life is not about you.  We were made to worship God.  Also, if you are going to walk humbly with God, you need to stay close to Him. It says walk humbly with God. That means He isn’t standing still. He’s moving and you should be too. If you’re in the same spot spiritually you were five years ago, you might not be walking with God. Maybe you were five years ago, but He’s moved since then. Have you moved with Him? Maybe it’s time to catch up. The Good News is, the Holy Spirit can show you the way!  Devote yourself to prayer, which is rubbing up against God, and you will find you are walking humbly with Him day by day.

Sara Brooker’s Letter

I want to share a good word from a lady I know who is filled with incredible goodness.  She is a matriarch of my church and her godly reputation has spread throughout our community and far beyond by the many people who have come to know and love her.  At the age of 92, her health has declined until she is not able to attend church regularly anymore.  However, she is still a joy to visit and she blesses everyone she meets.  This letter is an open letter she wrote to her grandchildren (and she has more than I can list) to give them a good word of wisdom to bless their lives.  May these words she wrote to her grandchildren inspire you to goodness as well.

09/05/2018

Sara Brooker

My Dear Grandchildren 

As I reflect over the 92 plus years of my life, I vividly see God's hand shaping and guiding my life to the present day. All of you are gifts created by God and deeply loved by me. You are a constant in my prayers as you grow and assume responsibility for the decisions in your lives. My most fervent prayer is each will chose a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. This is the most important and wisest choice you can and will ever make in your lifetime. 

l Timothy- 1:19 

Cling tightly to your faith in Christ and keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences, as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked. 

A live and growing faith is the legacy I wish to leave you. A faith that grows through life, daily trials and struggles, with the knowledge that our God will never forsake us. His love is steadfast and everlasting. 

It is not only a Grandmother's love that I leave to you, but foremost the love of Jesus Christ. 

My prayer is each one of my beloved accepts "His" love personally and fully. That you live and grow in that love. For even before I knew or loved you, God did. 

Loving you always, 

Mammaw Sara

The Fruit of the Spirit - Kindness

Galatians 5:22-23

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

Everyone who believes in Jesus Christ has the Holy Spirit of God living inside them.  The Apostle Paul says the Spirit produces fruit—Christian virtues of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  I challenge you to memorize this list of virtues.  More importantly, I challenge you to seek to have them all more abundantly in your life.

Over the past several weeks, we have already studied:

• Love – the greatest Christian virtue. We are to love God and love others the way Jesus loves us (even gave His life for us).
• Joy – a good feeling in the soul, produced by the Holy Spirit, as he causes us to see the beauty of Christ in the word and in the world.”
• Peace – the wholeness that comes when we live in harmony with God
• Patience – persevering through whatever trials you face while you wait for God to set things right in His time according to His perfect will.
• Last week, my guest blogger David Crawford, shared a creative message about cooking with the fruit of the Spirit (i.e. tying all the virtues together in your life).
• Along the way, we have learned that you don’t grow the fruit of the Spirit yourself.  It is the work of the Holy Spirit.  We are called to cooperate with the Holy Spirit and nurture the fruit He produces in us—through worship, prayer, practice, and discipline.

Today we will consider another part of the fruit of the Spirit, which is kindness.

Kindness is simple. Give it a try.  The definition of kindness is:  the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate.  Kindness is so simple, even a child can understand it.  The challenge for this virtue is not in understanding, but in doing.

You may not know this, but I have trained in martial arts almost all my life.  I started out learning a Korean form of "karate" called Tang Soo Do when I was just a young kid. My instructor was very kind to me. He recognized my interest and encouraged me to take more classes, but I could only afford one class a week—and that just barely. So, in kindness, my Kyo Sa Nim (that’s the Korean term of respect we used for him) said I could take classes for free! In addition, he even drove to my house every day to give me a ride to class. I was ashamed that Kyo Sa Nim should be so kind to me when I could do nothing in return.  I offered to pay for his gas once and he simply said, “No, no, no. It’s my gift.”  

“But I feel so bad because you’re always paying my way.”

My instructor just looked at me and said, “Don’t worry about it. Somebody was kind to me once. One day, you can be kind to someone else. What you do for them, you’ll be doing for me.”

I think about his words quite often now that I’m older and can afford to pay for my own gas. I’m thankful every time I have the chance to be kind to someone and remember that I am only returning the kindness that was shown to me.  

Even more important, Jesus is infinitely kind to us.  He came to live with us, walk with us, teach us, empower us, live, die, and rise for us. We never deserved his kindness, but he was kind to us anyway.  Whenever we are kind to others, we are simply thanking Jesus for being kind to us. Pray that the Holy Spirit will cultivate the fruit of kindness in you more and more.

Don’t Just Act Kind; Be Kind

Jesus told a short parable in Matthew 21:28-31 that encourages us to follow through on kindness.

²⁸ “But what do you think about this? A man with two sons told the older boy, ‘Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.’ ²⁹ The son answered, ‘No, I won’t go,’ but later he changed his mind and went anyway. ³⁰ Then the father told the other son, ‘You go,’ and he said, ‘Yes, sir, I will.’ But he didn’t go.

³¹ “Which of the two obeyed his father?”
They replied, “The first.”

Then Jesus explained his meaning: “I tell you the truth, corrupt tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the Kingdom of God before you do.

Some people are polite and look or act kindly on the surface, but they aren't really kind.  They are like the one son in the parable who politely says "Yes sir", but doesn't really obey.  Others are like the other son who initially said "no", but eventually went and obeyed his father.  They are like some people you meet who look rough or speak rudely, but are truly kind down deep inside.  I would encourage you to do both--speak kindly and follow through by acting kindly.

Practical Steps to Nurture Kindness in Your Life

1. Make a commitment to be kind throughout your day.  Start your day off with a prayer that God would help you be kind throughout the day.  Keep your thoughts focused on it.  If you mess up (as we all do sometimes), just ask God for forgiveness and try again.  Focusing on kindness will help you remember to be more and practice will help you improve, with the Holy Spirit's help.
2. Genuinely care for others. When I was a young man, I was so overwhelmed with how kind Jesus was to me.  I wanted to see the world with more compassion like Christ sees us.  And so, I prayed that God would help me and fill me with more compassion like Christ.  Through the years, God has helped me become more compassionate, to truly care more about people. I still have a ways to go, but I am more caring today than I was twenty years ago.  How about you?  Ask God to help you genuinely care about others and you will start to be more kind.
3. Don't be kind for the sake of getting what you want.  There is a type of kindness that says, "I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine."  But that's not the type of kindness the Holy Spirit wants to grow within you.  Jesus specifically said to be kind to people who can’t do any for you.  For he said, "If you are kind to those who will be kind to you, you already have your reward.  However, if you are kind to those who cannot do anything for you, God will reward you." (At least, that's a loose paraphrasing of Luke 6:32-26.)
4. Be kind to yourself. Sometimes, we are our own harshest critics.  I am amazed sometimes at how hard I can be on myself.  My inner voice sometimes says things to criticize me that I would never in a million years say to someone else.  I have to stop myself and say, "Be nice!"  So don't be so hard on yourself.  Give yourself a break.  Cut yourself some slack.  Be kind to yourself.  If you mess up, ask forgiveness and forgive yourself! And remember, it's the Holy Spirit's job to grow fruit in your spirit; your job is just to nurture it with love and tenderness.  So be kind to yourself (and this may also help you be kind to others).

Spiritual Gardening

Throughout this series, I’ve tried to relate the Fruit of the Spirit to gardening.  You can’t make a garden grow.  Only God can make a garden grow.  However, there are some things you can do to help nurture the Holy Spirit's work--fertilize the soil, pull up some weeds, water the garden, protect it from pests, etc.  And of course, nothing is likely to grow in your garden if you don't plant some seeds.  Showing kindness it like planting seeds.  Kindness is often just a small thing, but it can grow into something beautiful and even reproduce and spread like wildflowers that color our world.  I challenge you to look for ways to color your world with kindness as much as you can.  Here's a video to inspire you.

Closing Prayer

"Father, thank you for being so kind to us through Jesus Christ.  Help us to focus on kindness throughout every day.  Fill us with Christ's compassion that we may truly care about people.  Help us to be kind to everyone--especially those who don't deserve it or can't do anything to return the favor.  Help us even to be kind to ourselves.  We ask in Jesus name.  Amen."

What is the Reading Level of My Bible?

In my morning study today, I came across this interesting information that indicated the reading level
of various versions of the Holy Bible.  I thought you might find this interesting too.  The Bible is a great book to read.  It is known as the bestselling book of all times.  Actually, I believe the Bible is more than a typical book.  It is a living word from God.  That is, it is sacred tool God uses to speak to us.  If you read the Bible prayerfully, God speaks to you.  Time in the Word is a conversation with God.  All books can speak to us in some sense, but God speaks to us in the Bible in a special way.  

However, can you understand your Bible?  Many people have expressed to me their difficulty in reading and understanding the Scripture.  I understand and have at time faced this difficulty too.  Today, I found some information on biblegateway.com that indicated the reading levels for various translations.  How difficult is it to understand your translation?  If you are having trouble understanding your Bible, maybe you should choose a translation that is easier to grasp.  Here is what biblegateway says about the reading level of the various Bible versions:

Not everyone agrees about the minimum grade level of every translation or the formulas used to calculate them. But we offer as general guidelines the following range of USA school grade levels (taken from information provided by the publishers of the various translations wherever possible) and age levels. The first number is the grade level for which the Bible is generally considered accessible; the number in parentheses is an estimated age at which a reader can fully read and understand it:
Mounce — 12+ (ages 17+)
KJV — 12+ (ages 17+)
RSV — 12+ (ages 17+)
Geneva — 12+ (ages 17+)
WEB — 12+ (ages 17+)
NRSV — 11+ (ages 16+)
NASB — 11+ (ages 16+)
Amplified — 11+ (ages 16+)
MEV — 11+ (ages 16+)
LEB — 11+ (ages 16+)
ESV — 10+ (ages 15+)
J.B. Phillips NT — 10+ (ages 15+)
NABRE — 9+ (ages 14+)
NIV — 7+ (ages 12+)
CEB — 7+ (ages 12+)
NET — 7+ (ages 12+)
GNT — 7+ (ages 12+)
ISV — 7+ (ages 12+)
NKJV — 7+ (ages 12+)
HCSB — 7+ (ages 12+)
The Voice — 6+ (ages 11+)
NLT — 6+ (ages 11+)
CEV — 5+ (ages 10+)
GW — 5+ (ages 10+)
The Message — 4+ (ages 9+)
Living — 4+ (ages 9+)
ERV — 4+ (ages 9+)
NCV — 3+ (ages 7+)
ICB — 3+ (ages 7+)
NIrV — 3+ (ages 7+)

Guest Blog - Cooking With Fruit

I would like to give a special thanks to David Crawford for preaching for me at Pleasant Grove UMC while I am away on study leave.  David serves as the music minister at my church.  In addition to being a wonderful husband, dad, gifted musician, and a really funny person, David is also an excellent speaker.  Most of all, David is a true disciple of Christ.  He serves with humility and caring and leads people--not only to accomplish great things, but--to know they are truly loved.  Thank you, David, for stepping out of your comfort zone to preach and for all that you do in the Kingdom of God.  I also want to thank you for allowing me to feature your message on my blog today while I'm out of town.

Cooking with Fruit, by David Crawford

...I thought I would share some of my reflections on the messages [Chris is preaching on the Fruit of the Spirit] and look at how they apply within the context of the scripture found in James 2 verse 26, which reads as follows: “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” Would you pray with me, “May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all of our hearts be acceptable to you, oh Lord, our strength and our redeemer.” What good is knowledge about the Fruit if we aren’t consuming it and using it to fuel our Christian walk?

Before we start cooking with the Fruit of the Spirit, we’re going to do a little prep work and review a

couple of items. First, while the Fruit of the Spirit grows within us, we cannot grow the Fruit of the Spirit. Only God as the Holy Spirit within us can grow the Fruit. We must accept Jesus as our Savior so the Holy Spirit may dwell within us so God can grow the Fruit. Second, we have to prepare the garden in which the Fruit may sprout, grow, ripen and be harvested. We do this by maintaining a relationship with God. We pray, ask for forgiveness, act on the prompts from the Holy Spirit, attend worship services, lift praise to God, and seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit. And third, the Fruit of the Spirit is a collective of all the fruits. Each of the fruits grows within each of us as the Fruit of the Spirit. To me it’s kinda like a sassafras tree. If you’ve ever noticed, the sassafras tree has different types of leaves, but each one, though shaped differently, is still a leaf from a sassafras tree. Each of us has the capacity for growing all of the fruits that make up the Fruit of the Spirit. So we don’t get to say things like, “Well, I reckon the soil in my garden just wasn’t rich enough to grow self control”, or “This has been a bad year for patience in the garden, it just didn’t take root.” The Holy Spirit is a master gardener, and will grow in abundance all the fruits that make up its Fruit when we do our part.

Now, if we are tending this garden well, the harvest will be abundant, and the next question must be,

what do we do with all this Fruit. When the fruit in our earthly gardens is ripe and heavy on the vines, bushes, or trees we usually keep some for ourselves, and give some away. It’s not that much different with the Fruit of the Spirit. I love going out to my blueberry bushes and looking for the most plump, sweet blueberries, picking them off, and slowly eating them one by one. They are warm from the sun, sometimes wet with dew or rain, firm enough to pop but soft enough to press them open on the roof of my mouth with my tongue, and sweet, oh so sweet. They are my blueberries, I planted them, watered them, mulched around them, placed a bird net over them, watched the stems bring forth leaves, then beautiful flowers, pale green berries and finally a deep blue covered by a light powder. Hmmm, mmm. If you can’t tell, I enjoy my fruit. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying the Fruit of the Holy Spirit, in fact it is intended to be a blessing for you as well as others. In this hectic world who doesn’t yearn for just a few moments of peace? A respite from your job, a retreat from your responsibilities, a moment to yourself not spent in the bathroom, which seems to be about the only place there’s at least a chance of peace and quiet. Peace is a fruit that is for you as well as others. The first time I filled in for our pastor and spoke before our congregation, I was extremely nervous. My hands were clammy with sweat, my heart was beating very quickly, I felt overwhelmed and wondered just how badly my voice would be shaking and whether my trembling hands would be noticed from the congregation. I sat there in that chair watching our choir walk past and take their seats in the pews, leaving me alone in the pulpit. I had never felt so exposed. And then, the Holy Spirit went into the garden, plucked a nice ripe fruit of Peace, and cut it open and fed it to my soul. Just as the nerves and fear had been monumentally intense, so was the Peace. Immediate relief and inexplicable calmness spread throughout my entire being. I hope you’ve had a chance to experience that Peace, as it works wonders for your faith, but if you haven’t, and you want to, just volunteer to speak for DJ one Sunday when he’s going to be gone, and maybe you’ll bless yourself as well as others. So what happens when we take a bite of peace? Amazingly, it’s almost the opposite of what we would think, but it causes us to be brave, courageous, and step outside our comfort zone because the Fruit of Peace reminds us that all is well when we are walking the walk and talking the talk for God. The Fruit of Peace is for you, but also for others, because when you are at peace, you are more able and willing to share some of the other Fruit of the Spirit; for example, The Fruit of Patience, which pairs quite well with the Fruit of Kindness and Gentleness. It is very difficult to show patience and kindness if you don’t have peace. As a matter of fact, dealing with people who try our patience is one of the main reasons we seek peace. Most of us have at least one family member, co-worker, member of the church, customer or someone from somewhere with whom we find it hard to be patient and kind, and though we might not like to admit it, chances are we are that someone for somebody else. But when we cook with the Fruit of Patience and Kindness, when we sprinkle them onto our interactions, the actions we take and the way we carry out those actions become a blessing for those with whom we are patient and kind, we are a witness to those around, and we increase our faith because we trust in the Holy Spirit and rely on God’s promises.

Now, if I went around the congregation, and asked you to name your favorite earthly fruit, I’m sure

I’d get a lot of different answers, and I also bet that at some point someone would name a fruit that another person didn’t really care for, or perhaps disliked entirely. Well, there is a Fruit of the Spirit that sometimes requires us to acquire a taste for it, and that is the Fruit of Self-Control. Food, video games, gossip, social media, news outlets, hobbies, Netflix binge watching, and the list goes on; but if I didn’t hit one of your vices, the next time you’re doing anything other than praying, reading the Bible, witnessing, or acting on the will of God, just ask yourself, how long have I been doing this, and should I be spending a little more time doing something else? We live in an era where there are more temptations than ever and I believe more are on the way. It is hard to eat just one Krispy Kreme donut, I don’t want to stop playing the video game until I reach the next level, sometimes we’re so eager to tell the latest gossip we don’t even give Self- Control a chance before we’re half-way through the story and realize it’s too late. Social media lets us hide behind our screens, phones, and tablets while we tweet and retweet, and post and share without giving much thought to our witness before we click that mouse or tap that phone. Our hobbies can pull us away and suck all the extra time out of the day, and if you really want to wonder where your weekend went, binge watch a series on Netflix. The Holy Spirit is in the kitchen, cooking up a nice dish that’s just loaded with self-control, but sometimes we’re like a toddler, with his lips pressed firmly shut as we try to push strained squash through. Self-control may not be the tastiest fruit in our garden, but if you want to grow spiritually and really see God at work in your life, start taking a daily dose. When you choose not to eat that donut, when you put down the video controller, when you keep your mouth closed, or stop working on that project, or don’t start the next episode in the Netflix series, then you are acquiring a taste for Fruit of Self-control. After a little while, it becomes easier and that Fruit becomes tastier, until one day you may find you actually enjoy it. There is immense satisfaction in resisting temptation, just remember, the power to say “no” comes from the Fruit Of the Holy Spirit, not our own strength, but the strength afforded to us because of God’s love and mercy.

James 2:26 - For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

The Fruit of Faithfulness is sometimes difficult to cook with, but it is so important because just as

faith without works is dead, so the fruit of faithfulness without action spoils quickly once ripe. The fruit of faithfulness requires self-control, and we know that self-control can be a bitter fruit to swallow. Faithfulness requires us to pray, to attend worship services, to interact with people we don’t know and witness to them, to read God’s word, to serve in God’s kingdom, and to be consistent in these actions is exactly what Faithfulness is. The Holy Spirit is faithful in it’s promise to grow the fruit of faithfulness. The Holy Spirit will convict us and guide us so we may be faithful in our service to God and His kingdom, but we must take actions, as led by the Holy Spirit, that draw us into a deeper relationship with God. Only through consuming the Fruit of Faithfulness can we have the relationship God seeks to have with us. God has always been and will always be faithful to us, so much that He gave His only Son as a living sacrifice for us, how can we turn up our nose at this fruit and pass the plate around the table.

My idea of cooking with Joy may seem a bit strange, because to me cooking with Joy looks like you

put a bunch of other fruits in a blender and made them into a delicious smoothie. When you are joyful, you act peacefully. Have you ever seen a joyful person engaging in road rage? Yeah, me neither. When you are joyful you act kindly. Have you ever seen a person full of joy take a lollipop from a small child? When you are joyful you are content, and when you are content it is easier to exercise self-control. Joyful people are energetic people, and energetic people have the stamina to be faithful to run the race, no matter how long and strenuous it becomes. Have you ever seen someone filled with joy enter a room? Sometimes they enter quietly and there is simply a warmth about them that spreads throughout the room as their smile settles in. Other times they bounce in with a radiance that dares you not to smile back. Joy is a blessing to you and others, it will grow within you just like the other fruits that make up the Fruit, and Joy is a fruit that others take note of, and ask themselves, “I wonder what that person has that I don’t, that makes them feel so good?”

Lastly, the Holy Spirit grows the Fruit of Love within us. Love is the ingredient whose flavor

permeates all the other ingredients and ties everything together. If you have patience, but are not patient because of love, you might as well not listen at all. If you exercise self-control, but do not do so out of love, you might as well give in. If you act on all the fruit of the spirit, but do not do so out love, you may as well let the fruit whither on the tree. We love because He first loved us. Our actions must be born out of this love in order for the Fruit of the Spirit to work through us and make us an outward and visible presence of God in this world.

So, cooking with the Fruit of the Holy Spirit is taking the blessings of the Holy Spirit and putting them into action in the world around you. I hope you’ll take time to see what is already ripe and ready for the picking, and also take note of what may need a little extra attention and fertilizing. Pray, actively seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and get into the kitchen and start cooking.

I'm Cool - The Truth As Far As I Can Tell...

1 Thessalonians 2:4 - For we speak as messengers approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News. Our purpose is to please God, not people. He alone examines the motives of our hearts.

It took me 44 years, but I've finally done it.  I’m cool.  I always wanted to be cool.  When I was a kid, I used to watch the TV show “Happy Days” and idolize the character Arthur Fonzarelli (AKA Fonzie or the Fonz).  I was only five or six-years-old, but I wanted to be like the Fonz.  Fonzie was the epitome of cool.  Looking back now, it seems silly.  He had greasy hair, wore a white undershirt and a black leather jacket, and his “office” was in the men’s bathroom of Arnold’s Diner.  How in the world would anyone in real life think that was cool?  But somehow Fonzie was cool.  He could start the jukebox with the bang of his fist and snap his fingers and two beautiful girls would magically appear beside him.  I wanted to be cool like Fonzie my whole life.

In high school, my friends and I tried to be cool.  We dressed the way we thought cool people should dress and tried to hang out with the cool crowd.  But deep inside, I knew we weren't cool.  I’ve never had fashion sense; I’m socially awkward and shy.  Cool didn’t working for me.  I needed a new plan.

I resigned myself to just being ordinary.  I focused on my school work and went on to college thinking, “I will get a good job and make lots of money and maybe that will make me cool.”  Then, God laughed and called me into what the world might say is the most “uncool” career possible (and certainly not very lucrative): Christian ministry as a pastor of a mainline church.  (As Fonzie would say, “Ayyyyyyyy!”)

Maybe it took parenting teenage children to make me cool.  It’s enlightening to listen to teenagers talk about cool fashions and say things like, “You're too old to wear those shoes.”  And it’s revealing to see some ridiculous fashions from yesteryear suddenly become cool again.  Last year, my family harassed me for being a lame dad who wore Crocs with socks.  Last week, I was in a trendy restaurant and the fashionable waiter was wearing Crocs with white socks.  I pointed it out to my wife and she said, “Yeah.  It’s the cool style now.”  Really?  Who decides this stuff?  

I’m didn't become cool because I took anyone’s fashion advice.  It happened because I finally realized I just don't care what people think about me anymore.  That’s actually the definition of cool.  I mean, look at the Fonz; he didn’t care.  He dressed how he wanted, talked how he wanted, lived how he wanted.  Nobody told him how to be cool.  Cool people don’t worry about all that lame stuff.  If they set any trends, it’s because they’re not trying.  They’re just living who they are.  That’s why people think they’re cool and try to copy them. (Ironically, trying to copy someone who's cool automatically make you uncool.)

So I guess I've just reached a point in my life where I really don't care what people think about me.  I care about the people, but not about their opinion of me.  I care what God thinks; I think it’s cool to walk with Him and seek His will for my life.  Now I'm not saying I don't care about people’s advice.  I want to be the best person I can be and sometimes feedback helps me be a better father, husband, pastor, or friend.  However, I'm not trying to make anyone think I'm cool.  

I've already spent too much time in my life trying to please people.  Walking with Jesus—the coolest person I’ve ever met—helps me worry less and less about pleasing people.  I'm 44-years-old and I feel pretty cool.  You might not think so, but I don't care.  Sorry, not sorry.  That's why I'm cool.  You can copy me if you want.  I don't care about that either.  I'm not trying to be like anyone or be different than anyone.  I'm an original creation by the One True God of the universe.  There’s no one else like me and that’s incredibly cool.  Guess what: you are too.  Of course, I’m no expert and I certainly don’t claim to know everything, but that’s the Truth as far as I can tell…

Remember, God loves you and so do I!

The Fruit of the Spirit - Patience

Galatians 5:22-23

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

Today, We Learn About Patience
As a pastor, I have done my share of funerals and been in many different funeral processions from the funeral service to the cemetery. However, I've never seen anything quite like I did this past weekend. As we were driving a few cars behind the hearse toward the seminary, our headlights were on and our hazard lights were flashing and we moved along in a solemn train toward the cemetery. Normally, cars will pull over to the side of the road as a sign of respect to the family of the deceased. But this weekend, so many people must have been in a real hurry. It seemed like at least have the cars we encountered did not pull over or slow down at all. I lost count of how many cars even sped up and passed our procession. At first, I thought they didn't realize we were conducting a funeral. Maybe when they see the hearse at the head of the parade, they will pull to the side. Nope. They just passed the hearse and kept right on going! I even had one car rudely squeeze in front of me in the middle of the funeral procession! Really? How impatient are you that you butt in on someone else's funeral train?

We are all guilty of being impatient at times. And when we are, I suspect we can be pretty rude too. We all need a little more patience. And that's what I want to talk about today.

What is Patience?
In a recent Bible study, I learned the Greek words commonly used in the New Testament for patience are Makrothymia and Hypomone. Makrothymia literally means long anger; i.e. it takes a long time for someone with patience to get angry. The other word for patience is hypomone which means to remain under; you get the image of a person carrying a heavy backpack, but they don't put it down; they patiently continue to carry it even though it's difficult. These two concepts together give us the picture of Christian patience--to persevere for a long time while carrying a heavy burden 

Longsuffering and perseverance are the two elements that bring balance to Christian patience. Some fear being patient means you must let people walk all over you. What keeps you from just being a doormat? It is the second element of perseverance. Perseverance means you aren’t just ignoring troubles or troublesome people. Perseverance means you’re going to keep a cool head methodically work your way through it.

There is a kind of patience that can just ignore trouble and tune it out, but this is not Christian

patience. That is escapism and it's not very healthy. People may turn to drugs or alcohol or other substances to help them cope and numb their discomfort. Others build an emotional wall or just run away. I can relate. I grew up in a turbulent home. I learned to cope by tuning out. Rather than boiling over with rage or acting out, I just shut down and ignored it all. I was just a kid, but that's the best thing I knew to do. People often thought I was being patient, because things just wouldn't bother me. But I eventually learned, that's not real Christian patience and it's not healthy. The problem for me--and for others who cope this way--is that people who bottle up their frustrations or who run away or tune out of conflict are like volcanoes. All that bottled up pressure is going to come spewing out somewhere eventually. They may remain dormant for a few days, weeks, months, or even years. However, the explosion is coming and you better watch out. Have you ever known someone who is always sweet and easy-going? It's like they never get upset. And then one day, some small irritation sets them off and they go into a rage. And you're thinking: "What's their problem? It's so unlike the, and they're getting upset over such a small thing." Well, they're erupting and it's not just the small thing that set them off they're spewing about. They're blasting out all the pent up emotions from from months or years of built up frustrations.

Christian patience means we can’t just tune out or bottle up or run away from your problems. Christians must endure their burdens and bear up under them. We must carry the load with patience. If our burden is dealing with a difficult or mean behavior, we deal with it. If it is physical suffering, we bear up under it. If it's deep grief, we go through the grieving process. We don’t ignore our troubles. We carry them patiently until God takes them away or shows us a way to eleviate them in a healthy way.

The perfect picture of patience is Jesus hanging on the cross. It was a terrible ordeal, but Jesus didn't cope by tuning it out. He experienced the full agony of it all because he knew it was God's plan. He didn't run away and try to avoid it. He prayed for a way out of it ("Father, if there's any other way, let this cup pass from me. However, not my will, but Your's be done."), but followed his Father's plan instead of running away. He could have called down an army of 10,000 angels to rescue him from the cross and destroy this evil world. Instead, he patiently endure the cross for our sake and salvation. That is the perfect picture of Christian patience.

Our Spiritual Garden
Gardening takes patience.  You can’t make the garden grow; only God can do that. You have to be patient, but that doesn’t mean you do nothing.  Right?  You have to be active in your patience to do what you can to create an environment for growth—fertilize your garden, water and weed it, get rid of pests, etc.  There’s a lot to do while you wait. 

Christian patience is a fruit of the Spirit.  You can’t make it grow. You have to trust God will make it grow in His timing, but that doesn’t mean you do nothing.  Maybe you have a situation that requires patience.  That doesn’t mean you do nothing.  You pray.  You prepare.  Maybe even prepare your own heart.  Then you will be ready when God reveals His plan. 

While You Wait… (How to Nurture Christian Patience)

So let me give you a few things to practice while you wait that help nurture a space where Christian patience can grow. 

First of all, be thankful. Don’t ignore your troubles, but don’t fixate on them either. When you give thanks for your blessings, it helps put your burdens in proper perspective. They are there and you have to carry them, but they are not as heavy as them seem if they are all you think about. When you are thankful and recall how God is walking with you and has blessed you, you're burdens seem lighter.

Breathe and Pray. Take some slow, deep breaths. This physically slows your heart rate and calms you down. It clears your thoughts and releases the stressful buildup of impatient pressure. Breath God's Spirit in, and breathe out the stress and toxic feeling bubbling up inside you. As you breath out, carry your burdens to God in prayer. He will help you carrying them or take them away completely.

Trust in God’s Timing. We don’t like to wait. We want to solve the problem (right now!); but do you realize, God may work out many of your issues all on His own without any help from you at all? When you jump ahead and force a solution on your own, in your own way, by your own impatient timeline, you usually end up making a huge mess. Galatians 5:17 reminds us that there’s a spiritual war going on inside us between God’s Spirit and our sinful nature. Our timeline seeks to do things to satisfy our sinful, selfish nature. God’s timing satisfies the Spirit. Which side do you want to support in this battle—the Spirit or the sinful nature? Every time you choose to do things your way on your timeline, you are just empowering your sinful nature. We have to let go and trust God.

Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff. People sometimes say with exasperation, “Yes. But this is really important. It can’t wait. It has to be settled right now!” Does it? I know there are some things that have to be attended to right now. (When your baby is screaming because it needs a diaper change, you need to settle that right away!) However, not everything we think fixate on is as important as we think it is. There are many things in life that seem urgent, but they are not that important. A simple example is when your cell phone rings. Do you really have to answer it every time? What about text messages, Facebook notifications, etc.? And their are many other things, situations, and people in life that beg us to attend to them right away that really are not that important. Meanwhile, there are many other things in life that aren't as urgent, but are very important--getting the oil changed in your car, annual checkups with your doctor, spending time with your spouse, taking time to regularly rest and pray and study your Bible and worship God at church. Neglect these unurgent things for too long and your will have a very urgent emergency before too long. So, don’t let the small stuff bother you. You’ll have more inner peace and you’ll have more time to focus on the important stuff. As you are being patient, walk closely with the Lord in prayer. Then you will know the Lord’s timing and you will know the difference between what really is important and what isn’t. And you will know when to wait and when to move forward. Walking daily in harmony with the Holy Spirit through prayer is the key.

Be Patient

Think about how patient people have been with you.  Think about how patient God has been with you (and is being with you even now).  Can’t you extend the same grace to others?

I will leave you with a story I heard at my Bible study last week.  A middle aged man took his aged mother in to live with him.  She was growing old and feeble and needed people to help look after her.  Every night, the mother and her son and his family would sit down at the table for a family dinner together.  But she was very feeble and clumsy and would often make a mess or spill her drink or drop a plate that was handed to her.  Over time, this frustrations began to irritate the son more and more.  One night, the mother dropped a dish of steak on the floor, ruining the meat and making a huge mess.  The impatient son angrily barked, "That it!  From now on, you are gong to have to eat at a table by yourself so we can enjoy our meal in peace!"  Sure enough, the next night, the son had setup a seperate card table for the mother in another room.  He sat her down there and brought her plate of food to eat by herself.  As the son returned to the family dinner table, his own son asked a question, "Dad, did you make grandma sit a table by herself because she made a mess last night?"  Stubbornly, the father replied, "Yes son.  I did.  Why do you ask?"  "Well," said his son, "I just want to know how I'm supposed to treat you when you're old and come to live with me."

Offer patience today so that you others will be patient with you tomorrow.