(A simple series highlighting verses from each chapter of the book of Proverbs)
Fear impacts our lives in astounding ways. These two verses teach that by choosing the right place of fear we can avoid the foolish choices of misplaced fear.
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and discipline…But whoever listens to me (wisdom) will live securely and be free from the fear of danger.” Proverbs 1:7, 33 HCSB
“I thought about my ways and turned my steps back to your decrees. I hurried, not hesitating to keep your commands.” Psalms 119:59-60 CSB
1) Turning starts by taking the time to think about our ways
The more often this time is taken the less time will be spent on our ways
2) Turning moves forward by getting back in step with God’s ways
Moving forward and growing in life is best found in step with God
3) Turning is completed in haste
Hesitation is a sign our heart hasn’t turned
(A series on the Fruit of the Spirit, Galatians 5)
I was driving down 26th St. W. in morning traffic. A car pulled out into traffic. A garbage bag fell off the top of the car and rested in the opposite lane of oncoming traffic. What to do? Was it garbage or might it have something valuable in it? The driver didn’t seem to notice they lost the bag. What to do?
I could have said, “Not my problem. Besides, there are plenty of other drivers who could deal with this. I have an appointment.”
I decided to ask God what to do. More specifically, I asked him to have the driver give me some kind of indication that I could tell them and still get to my appointment on time. Within two blocks of my turning off 26th, the driver turned on their blinker to turn into a business. I said, “Thanks for the sign,” and followed.
Before the driver opened the car door, I was at the window. She rolled down the window, and I said, “I was behind you when you pulled into traffic, and it looked like a garbage bag fell off the top of your car. I wanted to let you know in case it had something valuable in it.”
She was embarrassed. “I didn’t even notice. It was my garbage. I forgot to put it in the dumpster. Thank you so much.”
I got back in my car and headed to my appointment. I don’t know if she did anything about her garbage. I do know that I resisted the flesh and followed the Spirit to show kindness to a stranger. I don’t always choose kindness, but when I do it results in…
When someone is attacking us, our tendency is to focus on them and their actions, even in our prayers. It is fair to say in some cases we take the actions of an enemy and make them an idol. “Look at me. Poor me.” Our prayers become all about them vs. me. With that kind of mindset, who is really God here?
Consider what David had to say about this in Psalm 5:
But let all who take refuge in You rejoice; let them shout for joy forever. May You shelter them, and may those who love Your name boast about You. For You, Lord, bless the righteous one; You surround him with favor like a shield. Psalms 5:11-12 HCSB
David is suggesting that, because of the refuge God offers to those seeking righteousness, there should be rejoicing. Rather than focus on the enemy’s actions or words, David says boast about God. Rather than focus on the wrong thing, the wrong person, even the results of their actions, we can live in peace under the shield and favor that comes from the God of the Righteous. We must check our idol making by asking who is really God here.
Reading this quote from The Critical Journey posed another question:
Usually people at this stage have been given a personal creed from God that guides their lives…a daily empowerment at a practical spiritual level…simple, intimate, and can extend to all people. Examples include: All will be well; God is enough; Love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind; Be still and know that I am God; All is gift. (p. 210)
The question to me then was, what is my personal creed? My answer came quickly. My creed is an adaptation to the end of the Lord’s Prayer that I gleaned from reading a book on prayer. The creed is “Your will be done in my life as it is in heaven.”
Reading this quote again and writing down my creed, another thought occurred to me. Creeds certainly can come from Scripture, but it seems they could also come from songs that are scripture based. Lyrics are powerful and certainly can carry a person through a stage of life. So to further exemplify creeds, here are some of my “lyric creeds”:
What are your scripture and/or lyric creeds?
(A series about the Fruit of the Spirit, Galatians 5)
post by Eric Vorhies
Kindness is something I struggle with.
I am not saying that I am inherently mean. It’s just that I have a very matter of fact way of dealing with people. I chalk it up to being a task-oriented person.
I like tasks. They are simple. They generally have a beginning and an ending…They can be completed.
People and their feelings are not so nice and easy. They are complicated. And sometimes, we, ourselves, don’t even know why we feel one way or choose to do a certain thing. How do two people, who are uncertain about how things should be done or even how they feel about it, come together on common ground? In a world where people are hurt because someone didn’t like their Instagram post, I am lost on how to validate some people’s thoughts, opinions, actions, and feelings…but…then there is kindness.
The power of kindness is that it bridges my humanity to that of another person.
The only way I know this is by trying to look at the Bible through the lens of modern times. If Jesus were walking with us today as he did back then, Jesus would be at the bar hanging out with drunks, hookers, and IRS agents. He wouldn’t be doing anything wrong, but we would still wonder why he was there when he could be hanging out with us. He would also make time in his busy schedule to stop and hang out with kids and to visit people at the hospital. The more I think about it the more I realize that kindness bridges two people that are different.
It is easy to see and accept us and them — Christians and non-Christians, Americans and everyone else, Republican and Democrats. But kindness gives us the opportunity to see more than that…to see people as…you know, people. That’s what Jesus was doing his entire ministry. He marginalized the difference between His divinity and our sinfulness by being kind.
I will never say it is easy. Remember, I am a task-oriented person. But when I catch myself missing a moment to show kindness, I try to imitate Christ by loving first and in truth and action. Because despite any apparent differences, I am just like every other person — a human in need of the Gospel — and by showing kindness, I can show others who Christ is.
“Know that the Lord has set apart the faithful for Himself; the Lord will hear when I call to Him. Be angry and do not sin; on your bed, reflect in your heart and be still. Selah” Psalms 4:3-4 HCSB
Often people tell me they aren’t getting good sleep. Just yesterday two people talked to me about their sleep. One of them “couldn’t sleep” the night before. The other one said they used to have to take pills to sleep, but since they’ve started addressing things in their life they are at more peace and don’t rely on pills anymore to sleep.
Learning to be still with God in the darkness of night or the early hours of morning is a sign of the faithful. These verses give three things that should keep one from needing drugs to sleep:
1) Know who the Lord honors and values, know he hears when you call on Him.
2) Be angry but don’t sin. It’s normal to have anger. It’s also human to sin. Sleep is lost when anger is allowed to harbor sin, not confess it, or keep you enslaved to it.
3) Reflect in your heart and be still. Recently when I’ve woken up either from a dream or earlier than the alarm, I’ve practiced being still and talking with God about whatever He’s bringing to my mind. Sleep, peace and rest are the result of bed stillness.
(A series about the Fruit of the Spirit, Galatians 5)
by Jeremy Nixon
An elderly man, almost empty on life, walked up and said, “Excuse me, sir.”
At this point most people would dash for the car and duck into their comfy lifestyle of “I’m better than that person. I sure wouldn’t be caught talking to him!” The young man, though, without hesitation said, “Hey, how are you?”
The feeble old man, with one eye wired shut, said, “I was wondering if you could feed me?” He ducked his head. You could see the disappointment and sadness that had overcome him, and he couldn’t believe that he was actually having to do this. Tears ran out of his left eye.
Let’s face it. We drive by people like this all the time. What do you honestly think when you drive past someone like this? Do you see Christ in them, or do you just pass by and be happy with yourself and what you think you’ve accomplished in life? In Colossians 3:12, Paul says, “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves in compassion, KINDNESS, humility, gentleness and patience.” When confronted with situations like this…do you show kindness or do you just ignore them? You see, when you set your eyes on the kingdom, God changes how you live on this earth. And I’ll be honest, this hits home and has me trying to figure out what my eyes are fixed on. Your love for God pushes you to love others, and when you do this you “clothe” yourself in kindness.
Back to the story.
“Where do you want to eat?” asked the young man. He had just finished eating.
The older gentleman said, “White Castle.”
“White Castle it is!” the young man shouted. They walked across a busy intersection, dodging cars…all the while people staring and poking fun. The two men talked, and they ordered food…a lot of food for the older gentleman. They talked more, then the older man was on his way, the young man was on his way.
Before you believe, you see kindness…you see love. Luke 19:10 says, “Christ came to seek and save those who are lost.” That’s it. Period. We are to be like Christ in everything; every aspect of our lives is supposed to look like Him and point to Him. Luke 19:10 was Christ’s mission; in turn it’s the least we can do, right? Seek and save the lost. In easier terms, share the love of Christ. How do we do that? Show the kindness that God has placed in our life. Our lives change as we grow in Christ. Kindness is the product of this change. If we are going to love God and love people, then kindness has to be evident in our lives.
Is it easy? This road less traveled? No. The road is dirty, sometimes you can hardly see it; it’s covered with leaves. Sometimes there is no help, and you can’t see the end. At times it’s down right disgusting, sleeping on the dirty ground with people driving by not paying any attention to you. And I believe this is where our love for Christ has to step in, and kindness is produced so others can meet Christ, possibly, for the first time. You never know who needs Jesus, and the person right in front of you may need to see Him through you.
My prayer is this: God help me to respond to people and love people the way you would. Help me to be kind and show the kindness that my love for you produces.
By the way, the old man’s name is Delbert. He’s 59, been shot in the eye…and lived! He knows that God has a purpose for him; he’s not sure what it is, but he is keeping on. What will you do with the kindness that God calls us to live out?
“How happy is the man who does not follow the advice of the wicked or take the path of sinners or join a group of mockers! Instead, his delight is in the Lord’s instruction, and he meditates on it day and night. He is like a tree planted beside streams of water that bears its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.” Psalms 1:1-3 HCSB
The symbolism of the tree brings deeper understanding to truths about happiness.
(A series about the Fruit of the Spirit, Galatians 5)
Last Fruity Friday, Jeremy noted that patience is defined as “the capacity to accept…” So I’ve been thinking about the acceptances of patience. Here are three truths to accept that should deepen patience.
Accept the truth that God gave us all a purpose
That person’s personality that is so not yours has a God-given purpose. And it just might be to help you view a bigger picture of God. For example, you might be a planner like God, but that doesn’t mean that God can’t roll with your coworker who best creates under pressure.
Accept the truth that we all have flaws
If God realizes this about us humans, why do we have such a problem with this truth? Could it be that we’ve grown so comfortable in our flaws that we don’t see them anymore? That we think we’re okay and everyone else is the problem? Just reading that sounds ridiculous, right? But yet, it’s the stuff of impatience. Patience is accepting and loving people with all their flaws.
Accept the truth that everyone is on a journey
These journeys include emotional intelligence, relationship maturity, spiritual growth, financial responsibility, character development, leadership aptitude, among others. These days this seems to be even more challenging as the widening of generational journeys continues. Boomer, recognize the journey location of the millennial, and vice versa. One step toward patience could be simply pausing to consider the location of the other person’s journey. It’s okay that the two of you are not at the same place in your journeys.
You’ve probably been told to be cautious about praying for patience. Here’s a thought: the next time you sense the impatience rising, instead of asking God for patience ask God what truth he wants you to accept. May you see your journey move forward. Happy Accepting!
John Gregory 