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Living by Faith
“God makes a promise.Faith believes it.Hope anticipates it.Patience quietly awaits it.” D. L. Moody What is faith? It is the seventh fruit of the Spirit in our series. Hebrews chapter 11 known as the “Hall of Faith” gives a list of men and women from the Old Testament who lived by faith despite obstacles or the unknown or other things that would normally make a person doubt. The chapter opens in verse one with a definition or description of faith. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). Faith and hope go together; when we have faith in God, we have…
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Being Good Isn’t Good Enough
You may have heard the phrase “a good man” or “a good woman” as I have. When you think of a good person, what qualities do you think of? As a believer of Jesus Christ, we are to have the quality of “goodness” which is the sixth fruit of the Spirit in our series (Galatians 5:22-23). As I mentioned before, I think the order of the characteristics in this list are important. The characteristics listed in the fruit of the Spirit cannot be achieved until we are growing the first in the list – love. We can do good works such as serve at church or a local charity, but…
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Consider Your Ways
Lessons Learned from Haggai When reading through the Bible you will get to books you normally may not have chosen to read, but as you do, the Lord encourages, convicts, and opens your eyes to truths you never saw before. The book of the minor prophet Haggai is a short two chapters, but several truths were brought out in my reading last week. The book begins in the year of 520 BC when the Israelites, God’s chosen people, were released from captivity and allowed to go back to their homeland which still lay in ruin from the many years of invasions. Those who returned begin to rebuild (Ezra 1-6), and…
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Be Gentle!
When I gave birth to my son, Andrew, Elizabeth was only 18 months old so when my parents brought her to the hospital to meet her new brother, she thought he was a baby doll. She sat on the hospital bed beside me while I held my sleeping newborn. We told her to “Be gentle!” as she carefully patted his head. Her idea that he was a baby doll was soon to change. 😉 “Be gentle!” is a phrase you often hear around young children when they are “petting” a dog or “loving” on a new baby. We want them to contain their uninhibited energy. While growing up, our neighbor…
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What Is Enough?
After a year of being married, Wade and I bought our first house. It was fifteen years older than I was and life hadn’t been as kind to it. But we had plans and a little bit of money plus support from family to pull down wallpaper, paneling, carpet, and paint and refinish hardwood floors. Even after all our work, there were areas we couldn’t afford to fix such as the kitchen and the one bathroom. We didn’t have money for furniture either so we had one sofa which seated three and a glider rocker. If we brought the four squeaky, old antique caned chairs from the kitchen table into…
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Longsuffering – Suffering Long
Ah, longsuffering. I might describe it as patience on steroids. Crummy steroids. However, it is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), and unfortunately, one which grows only under trial. Let me remind us all that because it is a fruit of the Spirit, it is not a suggestion but a command and something we are to strive to achieve. Longsuffering is when whatever trial we are going through we have faith that the Lord is going to keep His promises and see us through it. We have a holy confidence, fully trusting His sovereignty. We are patiently enduring with great faith. Has there ever come a time when you…
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All That Labor
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28 In the late 1800s the average American worked 12 hours a day, seven days a week to attempt a basic living. It was an era of United States history when even children as young as 5-6 years old were working in mills to help support their families. Tensions were high across the country. On June 28, 1894, Congress passed an act making Labor Day a holiday. (link to more history on Labor Day) While many Americans still work long hours, fair pay, safety regulations, and scheduled work breaks have definitely turned…
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Peace is a Person
In ourselves there’s no way we can naturally live in peace each and every day. Yet it is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) and something as believers we are to strive to obtain. The Apostle Paul locked in a horrific prison in Rome wrote in Philippians 4:11, “I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” Can we say the same about our lives? Let us look at the different kinds of peace we can have when we are filled with the Holy Spirit. Peace with God First, to even attain peace, we must accept Jesus Christ’s free gift. Once we put our faith in…
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A Bridled Tongue
“I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me.” Psalm 39:1 Studies show men and women speak around 15,000 words a day depending on how talkative you are. (And let me point out recent studies have shown men and women say about the same amount of words a day!) That is almost 5.5 million words a year which is a lot of opportunities to say the wrong thing! However, that is also a lot of chances to speak words of love and encouragement. There are well over 300 verses…