Fruit of the Spirit Day #10

William Hendriksen says that the Syriac New Testament translates the word gentle as "restful"; accordingly, Jesus' expression is, "Come to me...and I will rest you...for I am restful...and you shall find rest for yourselves."

This is the day that the Lord has made! What comes next? .....Let us rejoice and be glad in it! Sometimes I wake up with the lies of Satan so incredibly heavy ... so I'm just openly admitting today girls that today is going to be a CHOICE and HARD WORK to keep my eyes focused on Christ and not my failures!

So Today I will be praying through Psalm 63. Just take a little listen... 
"O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water."

Here is today's devotional on Gentleness

Let's pray. Jesus, thank you for your goodness. Thank you for your faithfulness. Thank you for your love and your kindness. Thank you for the joy you give and thank you so much for your gentleness! Thank you for your promises of dealing with those weak gently. Thank you that your power is made perfect in our weakness. We are so desperately in need of you Lord...help us to see that daily and make that choice to seek you earnestly.

" Both gentleness and meekness are born of power, not weakness."

Listen to Isaiah 40 which describes the power of God but also the gentleness.

"See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power." (verse 10)

"Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are regarded as dust on the scales; he weighs the islands as though they were fin dust." (verse 15)

"To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?" says the Holy One. Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing." (verse 25-26)

"Tucked in the middle of this description of God's power are these words: 

He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young." (verse 11)

"The same passage that stresses the infiniteness of God's power also beautifully portrays His gentleness. We should never be afraid that the gentleness of the Spirit means weakness of character. It takes strength, God's strength, to be truly gentle."

Questions:
1. To what degree do you see gentleness as weakness or timidity?
2. In what ways is God gentle?
3. What aspects of gentleness would you like to develop in yourself?
4. Why does it take strength to be gentle?

Take a self test here: On a scale of 0 to 5 (0 = this is not at all true of you and 5= this is strongly true of you), rate yourself on the following qualities. Then ask a friend to rate you.
I am sensitive to other peoples rights and feelings

People relax in my presence. They don't have to worry about being looked down on or criticized

I don't condemn other people for their weakness. I speak the truth gently until their true need is exposed and they are open to my help

I am sensitive to others' opinions and ideas

I don't make people feel guilty for being less serious about their faith than I am.

I seek to change someone's wrong opinion or attitude by persuasion and kindness, not by domination or intimidation

I don't threaten people, either directly or indirectly

I avoid blunt speech and an abrupt manner

I talk to people with sensitivity and respect

I'm not threatened by opposition. I don't resent those who oppose me.

I don't degrade or belittle or gossip about someone who falls into sin. Instead I will grieve and pray for the person.

I am fair, considerate, and generous rather than rigid or exacting.

I listen to reason.

Fruit of the Spirit Study Day #9

Let's pray! Jesus thank you for your faithfulness! Even when we are faithless you remain faithful. While we were still sinners...you died for us. YOU.DIED.FOR.US....sometimes I lack the realization of just how big that is. Thank you for loving us. Help us take the faith given to us and remain in you...remain faithful to you and abide in you!

Here is the devotional for the day at www.shereadstruth.com

"If we are faithless he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself." 2 Timothy 2:13

Consider for a moment the absolute necessity of the faithfulness of God. We are dependent upon His faithfulness for our final salvation (1 Corinthians 1:8-9), for deliverance from temptation (1 Corinthians 10:13), for ultimate sanctification (1 Thessalonians 5:23), for the forgiveness of our sins (1 John 1:9), for deliverance through times of suffering (1 Peter 4:19), and for the fulfillment of our ultimate hope of eternal life (Hebrews 10:23).

This fruit is not only remaining faithful to God but remaining faithful as a Christian to others. The dictionary defines faithful as "firm in adherence to promises or in observance of duty." Some common synonyms are dependable, reliable, trustworthy and loyal. The word also has the connotation of absolute honesty or integrity.

Are you completely honest?

Are you completely dependable?

Are you loyal? 

Are you trustworthy?

We have all want to hear those words, "Well done good and faithful servant!"

Consider the reward for faithfulness. In the parable of the talents, the master replied, "Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!" (Matthew 25:21). It may be argued that the faithfulness here is in relation to God rather than to one another. That is indeed true. But faithfulness to God includes faithfulness to one another. That is the ultimate point of each of the Scripture passages we have considered. It is God who requires that we be faithful in all of our earthly relationships. So only if we seek to grow in the grace of faithfulness toward one another will we have any hope of hearing Him say, "Well done, good and faithful servant."

Good Morning Girls! Just a quick note...tomorrows devotional is a "re-cap" I believe. I think that is what they do on Sundays. I have to be to church super early so I won't be able to do this tomorrow but if we all just spend the day praying we will pick up again on Monday smile emoticon

Speaking of...let's pray! Jesus, you are so good. You are so kind and gracious. We are learning that you are so patient with us even when we are not patient with you. We are learning that because of your great love for us and your patience that we can have a deep, meaningful, intimate peace with you, ourselves and others and because of that peace we have no excuse to not joyfully serve you! Teach us Lord about kindness. True, loving kindness. Not kindness to get ahead or to gain for ourselves but Kindness to grow your kingdom! May we practice that Lord...giving ALL glory and honor to you! We love you Jesus, Amen!

Today's devotional is on Kindness over at She Reads Truth

Galations 6:10 says this, "Therefore, as we have opportunity, Let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers."

We learned about peace that few things are as dishonoring to Christ as Christians quarreling among each other. I often ask myself this question...."what if when we see someone...we put away all measuring sticks. This means, no pre-judgment, race, background, etc. and we just looked at them as our brother or sister in Christ dearly loved and created by God? Wouldn't we be different if we truly loved and feared God?"

Kindness is the sincere desire for the happiness of others.

Listen to this... "Our natural inclination is to show kindness to ONLY those for whom we have some natural affinity; family, friends, likable neighbors. But God shows kindness to those who are most despicable: the ungrateful and wicked. Have you ever tried to be kind to someone who was ungrateful? God doesn't turn His back on the ungrateful, and so Jesus says to us, "Love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back" (Luke 6:35)"

1. Why should we be kind to the ungrateful?

2. How has God been kind to you?

Meditate on Matthew 25:31-46

If you have some extra time I highly encourage this blog post by my pastor.

I think it has some great insight on to when your kindness may be taken advantage of and some warning signs to watch out for.

Happy Weekend all!!!!

I hope everyone has a chance to really read todays devotional! I say it'd almost be worth it to search a dissertation on Jerry Bridges chapter on Patience! Incredible!

Here is day #5 of the Fruit of the Spirit Study at She Reads Truth.

Let's Pray! Jesus this fruit is a hard one. But we thank you for it! We thank you for your Word and the truth it speaks. Jesus I pray that you allow your Holy Spirit to really REALLY work out this fruit in each of us. Everyday you patiently bear with us, and everyday we are tempted to become impatient with our friends, neighbors and loved ones. Help us in not seeking to remove the speck of sawdust from our brothers eye but to remove the plank from our own eye. That plank of a poor attitude towards one another, the plank of irritation, pride, or a critical or disdainful attitude. Help us Lord. We love you Jesus! Amen!

Read these verse on patience and just pray through them: 2 Corinthians 1:3-4; Ephesians 3:16-19; Ephesians 4:2-3; Colossians 3:12-13

I do feel like there is so much i could write on this...but I want to leave you with this quote from the devotional...and ask you if you are/were there...

"You could say I was the opposite of longsuffering. I was short-suffering, tiny-suffering, microscopic-suffering. I realized in those few months that my pain threshold is nearly nonexistent and, even still, I know most of you reading this have weathered much worse. My life was not bearing the fruit of patience because somewhere deep down inside of me I didn’t trust my God. And somewhere even deeper inside of me, I had lost hope and convinced myself I was alone."

1. How would you define Biblical patience?

2.  What do you need to know about God's justice and faithfulness to endure mistreatment patiently, perhaps in a current situation?

3.  Are you waiting for God to do something? If so, what? Specifically, how do you think God wants you to pray and act during this time of waiting? 

4.  Digging Deeper: Scripture Meditation

Matthew 18:23-35 (A story that shows God's great patience with us)

1 Peter 2:23 and surrounding verses (Jesus' patience when mistreated)

Hebrews 6:10-12 (on endurance)

Fruit of the Spirit Study Day #4

Good Morning Girls! Day #4.....on peace.....yeah I have a feeling this WHOLE study is going hurt...but discipline is good right? 

wink emoticon

Here is your devotional!

Jesus, thank you for this morning. Here the birds are chirping and the sun is out! Thank you for these girls and their desire to grow in their faith. Thank you for your Word. Thank you that it is alive....living and it speaks straight to us! WE love you Jesus! Amen.

Pray through Psalm 119 today!

This resonated with me huge! "It’s hard for me to admit my version of peace isn’t actually real peace. My version of peace is everything under control, my control—books alphabetized and noses wiped. True peace is a soul rightly aligned with the way of Christ."

Peace is actually threefold. To obtain peace we must have all of the following: Peace with God, Peace within ourselves and Peace with other people.

Peace with God: We cannot have peace within ourselves or peace with others until we have peace with God. What does that look like? Prior to our salvation, because we were born in sin, our relationship with God was characterized by alienation and enmity (colossians 1:21). But upon entering a personal relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ, however, all this changes. Instead of being opposed to us, God is now for us. WE must pursue what makes for peace, both within and without, in dependence upon the Holy Spirit, realizing that the fruit of peace is His fruit, not ours.

Personal Peace: Christians are not exempt from this turmoil of a sinful world. We, too, experience the anxiety of disquieting circumstances and the anguish of broken relationships. But peace should be a hallmark of the godly person, first because it is a godlike trait and second because God has promised His peace. Your responsibility is to not listen to the lies of Satan telling you that if God loved you he wouldn't let you go through this trying situation. If God was great he would take your loved one and make him miraculously healthy again. If God was loving he wouldn't let cancer overcome people. Persevere to hear God's truth!

Peace with Men: Just listen to these "Blessed are the peacemakers" (Matthew 5:9); "As far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone." (Romans 12:18); "Make every effort to do what leads to peace." (Romans 14:19); "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace." (Colossians 3:15); "Make every effort to live in peace with all men." (Hebrews 12:14); It's not an option for those of us who proclaim Christianity. It's commanded. Few things are as dishonoring to the cause of Christ as Christians quarreling among themselves. Let's face it...quarreling almost always stems from sinful behavior and almost always it's sinful behavior in both parties.

Questions:

1. On a scale of 0 to 5, how would you assess your...

peace with God? peace within yourself? peace with others?

2. What, if anything, is currently disturbing your peace?

3. How does the Devil slander God to you? If it applies to you, complete this sentence: "If God really loved me...."

4. If you have wronged someone or have been wronged by someone, what can you do to restore peace? What attitudes do you need to cultivate through prayer?

Fruit of the Spirit study Day #3

Good morning girls! This devotion hurt a little this morning and I'll explain why but let's pray!

Jesus, thank you for life. Thank you for the undeserving breathe in our lungs that give us another day. Your mercy is so great. Help us with this particular fruit Lord. It's a hard one to grasp and a hard one to obtain. I pray that the Holy Spirit reveals to us what is hindering us from being joyful in Christ and that we make the individual decision to fight against that hindrance and work to find that joy! We love you Jesus and we thank you for your great mercy! Amen!

Pray through Psalm 16 today!

Read your devotion right here at www.shereadstruth.com

I always picture a joyful woman as someone who joyfully sang around the house as she did another load of dishes, wiped pee of another toilet seat or cleaned another "accident" in the middle of the night. Doing another load of laundry while singing and praising God. But my question is this....is it still considered joyful praise IF even while we are weeping in doing these things we utter with all of our strength praise and thanks to God for these mundane, overlooked, unappreciated jobs? Because the Bible tells us to Rejoice always (Philippians 4:4) but then it also says "blessed are those who mourn" during the Sermon on the Mount! My answer to this is always what is in your heart. Do you have a joyful/thankful heart or is joy/thanks impossible to find?

Joy is always possible with thanks! (Ann Voskamp 1,000 gifts)

Here is a quote from the Fruitful Life by Jerry Bridges, "It is a contradiction for a Christian who professes to be a child of the one and only God - who created the universe and who governs it for His glory and the good of His people - to wear a gloomy countenance. John W. Sanderson says, "it's practical atheism, for it ignores God and his attributes."

Look at these practical hindrances to joy.

1. Sin in our lives or sinful attitudes of the HEART. Christian joy is essentially the enjoyment of God, the fruit of communion with Him. Sin obviously breaks that communion and the enjoyment of His presence. All sin, be it attitude or action, must be dealt with if we are to display the virtue of joy in our lives.

2. Misplaced confidence. Paul told the Philippian Christians to "rejoice in the Lord" (3:1). He then made it clear that the opposite of rejoicing in the Lord is to put confidence in the flesh - in our good works or religious attainment. If the source of our confidence is anything other than Jesus Christ and His grace, it is a false and oft-interrupted joy.

3. Chastening or discipline that God often administers to His children. Discipline is never a joyful experience; it is not meant to be, else it would not accomplish its intended results.

4. Experiencing trials of faith. Trials differ from discipline in that their purpose is to exercise faith, not deal with sin in our lives. In His infinite wisdom, God allows trials in order to develop perseverance in us and cause us to fix our hopes on the glory that is yet to be revealed!

Questions: answer all or pick and choose which one really challenges you!

1. How are you currently up against one or more of these hindrances to joy? Sin, Discipline from God, Trials, A melancholy temperament

2. What is an area in your life that you are struggling to find joy in? 

3. What reasons do you have to be joyful/thankful?

Listen to this last quote! I LOVE it!

"Perhaps you don't feel you have much to show for your life. Maybe you haven't written a book, or seen scores come to Christ through your witness, or done anything else that seems significant. But is your name written in heaven? If it is, you have as much reasons to rejoice as the most well-known and "successful" Christian. Nothing you or I will ever do can possibly compare with having our names written in heaven. The most humble Christian as well as the most famous Christian stand together on that common ground." YES!

Again....would LOVE some discussion!!!!!

Fruit of the Spirit Study Day #2

I am a part of a small group study.  It is small and personal and intimate for a reason but I wanted to share the amazing study and the possibility of discussion! So if you read this and love it and have an opinion or questions feel free to do this study with me! I'll post them daily.  

Make sure you start off here at www.shereadstruth.com . 

Colossians 3:14 "And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity."

From the book I read The Fruitful Life by Jerry Bridges I love this insight on love. "Our devotion to God is validated by our love for other people. We cannot truly love God without loving one another. To recognize that there is someone i do not love is to say to God, 'I do not love you enough to love that person.'"

This is referring to the attitude of not even wanting to love the person, of being content to allow a lack of love for someone reside in my heart unchecked and unchallenged.

"Love inclines us and directs us to be kind, to forgive, to give of ourselves to one another."

Questions:
1. What opportunities do you have to give of yourself to others, even at considerable cost?
2. What hinders you from loving?
3. Who do you need to forgive? If you find this person hard to forgive, you might meditate on 1 John 4:7-11. Ask God to help you forgive as He has forgiven you. Ask God to help you trust that His justice toward this person has be satisfied, even if you don't have the justice you'd like to see.
4. Consider these loving motivations and pray through them

I am patient with you because I love you and want to forgive you
I am kind to you because I love you and want to help you.
I do not envy your possessions or your gifts because I love you and want you to have the best
I do not boast about my attainments because I love you and want to hear about yours
I am not proud because I love you and want to esteem you before myself.
I am not rude because I love you and care about your feelings
I am not self seeking because I love you and want to meet your needs
I am not easily angered by you because I love you and want to overlook your offenses
I do not keep a record of your wrongs because I love you and "love covers over a multitude of sins" (1 Peter 4:8)