Galatians 5:22-23

5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 5:23 gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Of course these are the fruits that are produced by the Holy Spirit as He guides a person who is committed to following Jesus.  I wonder, however, if we should look closely at these attributes and try to teach our children these things from the earliest age?  Are these attributes not being taught to children because we as parents and grandparents do not exhibit them ourselves?  Can we expect children to learn these things without our guidance? 

Does our home and family life exist as an environment without love; a place of negative talk with condemning neighbors, friends and other family members for the wrong things we see in them?  Do we ourselves see things that are not going right, things that are out of place, messed up or dirty? 

Is our home a battleground of fighting, misbehaving, slinging mud at each other, anger or rage where we talk about getting even with someone who has done us a wrong?  Are we looking for revenge for every ruffled feather?  Do we plot to make sure that someone we don't like will befall some calamity that will cause them embarrassment or harm?  Do we have to constantly look over our shoulder to be on the lookout for someone whom we think might ambush us because of a skirmish in which we have been involved?

Do we have a short fuse that causes us to explode all over a person who says or does the "wrong" thing?  Do we emulate the cartoon figure who laments, "I have one more nerve, and you are about to step on it?  Are we immediately upset because our child, or someone else has spilled milk, made a mess, left the bed unmade or failed to complete a chore?  Do we spit out words of disgust or profanity when we are interrupted from something requiring our attention?

Do we belittle others and repay good deeds with harsh words?  Do we make fun of others and seek to embarrass them publically "just to teach them a lesson"?  Do we turn away from those who are in need of our help by being unsympathetic and less compassionate?  Do our actions demonstrate an obvious lack of consideration and caring to others in our family or circle of friends?

Have we blotted out that part of ourselves that sees the good in others?  Have we bathed ourselves in our own selfishness to the point that our usefulness to others has diminished?  Is that quality part of our character missing as we engage in tearing others down just to try to build ourselves up?

Have we become so unreliable that we have lost our credibility in following through with promises we have made?  Do others just take it for granted we will not deliver when the going gets rough?  Have we used up all of our strength and lost our will to continue on long before the task is completed?  Are we the first to leave when the heavy obligation is taken up by the strength of others?

Has a harshness of character become the primary attribute that others first think about when our name is mentioned?  Are we the first to condemn a bruised, hurting soul with gruff exhortation to stand up and endure the weight of a situation by their own power?  Do we become annoyed easily when others approach us with some request?

Finally, have we fallen into a habit of responding immediately to some perceived infraction from others by using anger or rage as a means of control?  Are we unable to hold our words aimed at others that are intended to "break their bones" with force and hatred?  Have we sunk into a dismal practice of tearing up things around us physically and figuratively? 

If any of the questions about the attributes mentioned above can be answered in the affirmative, there is a tremendous need for the Spirit of Christ to indwell our soul.    "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 5:23 gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law."  (Galatians 5:22-23)  Are these the attributes we want our children to live by, or those things that oppose these attributes?  As parents and grandparents it is our responsibility to decide and act.

Jim Killebrew

                                                        



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God's reminder

 

I have always found it amazing that anywhere you open to in the Bible and start reading I can always see Jesus in any of those passages because we are this side of the cross.

Just now to test this hypothesis I picked up a Bible at my desk and randomly opened it to 1 Chronicles 4:27: "Shimei had sixteen sons and six daughters, but his brothers did not have many children; so their entire clan did not become as numerous as the people of Judah."

Then I thought, Judah was the clan from which Jesus was born years later.

I then tried again and this time randomly landed on Proverbs 22:17-18: "Pay attention and listen to the sayings of the wise; apply your heart to what I teach, for it is pleasing when you keep them in your heart and have all of them ready for your lips."

Then I thought that Jesus is the wisest Teacher of all, and He promised to put His "Law" in my heart.

My friend sent me a story form Joni Eareckson that reminds me of the example like the one I just mentioned about the Bible. As a Christian I believe God has given us the ability to look at any experience we have and see the presence of Jesus in it. All we have to do is yield ourselves to His Will and He allows us to see that everything we experience is somehow related to Him and His provision for us.

"The Wall Won't Hurt You"

Joni Eareckson

"For by You I can run against a troop, by my God I can leap over a wall. Psalm 18:29, NKJV"

"Corie is 19 years old, a little under five feet tall, has one of the most winsome smiles I've ever encountered, and has Down Syndrome. Corie's speech is a little slurred and her nouns and verbs don't always match. But that just adds to her charm. One summer at a Family Retreat she asked me excitedly, "Are you going rock wall and come down and watching me climb it all the way to the top and back down okay?" I replied, 'You bet!'"

"I watched the conference staff workers strap my new friend into her helmet and climbing harness. Corie was ready! She gave me a happy 'thumbs up,' turned to the wall, grabbed a rock, and away she went. She was so fast! This girl had no fear! After she had conquered her goal and scooted back down the wall, everyone cheered."

"But Heather, who was next, was too nervous to cheer. It was her very first climb... and she has Down syndrome, too. "Are you ready?" the staff worker asked her. She could only stare at him with a blank expression. But then Corie stepped in. "Headder, you are going, too, up?" she said. Slipping an arm around her friend, Corie said softly, "Okay it is, Headder. The wall won't hurt you." That was all Heather needed to hear. In the next instant she was scrambling up the wall. Halfway up, she meekly called down, 'It doesn't hurt!'"

"Are you facing an intimidating wall right now... a medical problem, an unexpected bill, a strained relationship, or a wrestling match with temptation? God has a purpose, and knows all about what you're facing. Look up, take heart and say, "I can do everything through him who gives me strength" (Philippians 4:13)."

Ms. Eareckson's  thoughts help us to understand that sometimes we face "walls" of discouragement and pain.  Our experiences may seem far away from what God is doing in our lives.  However, during good times, or not so good times, every experience for the Christian is a reminder that God has shed His Grace on each of us.  We can see Him and His working in and through us as we yield ourselves to Him and allow His Spirit to work through us. 

Sometimes it may seem that he is far away and there seems to be no purpose in what we are going through, but with His Grace, the shadows are dispelled, the curtain is drawn and we see clearly how an event has given us strength to grow in Him.  It is like the famous poem, "Footprints" when there was only one set of footprints in the sand and Jesus says, "It was then when I carried you."

   

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One in Christ

When we look at the seventeenth chapter of John in the New Testament we see a prayer that Jesus prayed.  The prayer is so intimate as He involves Himself with His Father in Heaven and asks that He might be glorified and allowed to give eternal life to all who are in Him.  Jesus prays for His Disciples as well; but not only them, for each of us who have committed ourselves to Him as well.

Picking up with verse twenty in chapter seventeen, Jesus says, "I am not praying only on their [His Disciples] behalf, but also on behalf of those who believe in me through their testimony, 17:21 that they will all be one, just as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. I pray that they will be in us, so that the world will believe that you sent me. 17:22 The glory you gave to me I have given to them, that they may be one just as we are one – 17:23 I in them and you in me – that they may be completely one, so that the world will know that you sent me, and you have loved them just as you have loved me."  (John 17:20-23)

Imagine, Jesus was actually praying for us.  He looked from His vantage point from the Alpha to the Omega, the Beginning to the End, and saw us who needed redemption, atonement and justification.  Through the testimony for the first Disciples and their position of being in Jesus Who was in His Father, we believe, and because of it have been given the glory the Father gave the Son, so we can be one with the Father and the Son.

With the shed blood of Jesus wrapped around us who believe, it hides our nakedness in much the same way as the animal skins hid the nakedness of Adam and Eve.  Our sin is hidden from God because He chooses to offer His Grace and forgiveness because of what the Son has done once, for all, on the cross.  Finally, through His work we are loved by the Father just as He loved the Son.

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Transformed by Christmas

Christmas has been described as a unique holiday. Through the years its celebration has taken many forms. With humble, yet majestic beginnings, it moved from Shepherds from the field bowing in wonderment after listening to a celestial choir announce His birth, to the Wise Men from the East bearing valuable gifts to confirm his Kingship. Through the years traditions have been added that increases the merriment of the Season.

Its unique quality has been manifested in several ways. Perhaps one way is the ability it has to transform. Even though the other months of the year have special holiday events and specific celebrations, Christmas seems to turn the page on so many things.


Certainly the economic world is transformed from a watchful eye of the bottom line to a kick-off of intense anticipation of higher profits beginning with the very next day after Thanksgiving.


The big-screen world is transformed from giant blockbusters of intrigue, drama and comedy through the year, to one of sentiment, hope and happy endings during the last days of the year. But more than that, the transformation of lives is evident more than ever.


For those who have experienced the grief of loss and are lonely and depressed through the Season can be transformed to peace and joy as they submit to the real meaning of the Season and submit to the One in Whose birth we celebrate.

For those whose lives are filled with embitterment at other times are sometimes transformed into kinder, gentler experiences as they are bathed in the outgoing peace and contagious happiness of those who have caught the Spirit of the Season.


And for anyone who cares to submit to the real reason for Christmas by embracing the peace and goodwill of the baby who was born to completely transform the world, each will be transformed into one whose heart is filled with joy and contentment at the knowledge of knowing that baby provided Himself a sacrifice for all to experience a “new birth.” Ushered in with that new birth is a transformation that provides freedom and hope without equal.

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