Fruit of the Spirit - The Love Podcast

I am enamored at the gift of the Holy Spirit and the gift of Jesus. That God has given us new life and rewritten old laws is incredible. Today I’ll read from Matthew 12:1-21 from the New International Version, you can read along at BibleGateway.com if you’d like.

Fruit of the Spirit - The Love Podcast
To read along…

Matthew 12:18 from the NIV

Here is my servant whom I have chosen,
the one I love, in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him,
and he will proclaim justice to the nations.

That is my favorite verse. God gave this gift to Jesus and he in turn gave it to us. How incredible is that. He gave it to “the one I love.” Does that not speak volumes about love? We can empower good through loving others.

Is there someone you can love where you think love could make a real impact on another’s life?

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Matthew 22:37-39 (NIV)

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

Love was the first fruit listed in Galatians 5:22. Why? Because it is the most important. We have to love God with all our heart, love ourselves and love our neighbor. Without this love it seems hard to accomplish any of the fruit of the Spirit.

How should we love? As God loves us.

I hope you all found something meaningful in this week’s topic of patience. If not, be patient with me because God isn’t finished with me yet…I couldn’t resist.

I thank Mikey the Rhino from Election-Coverage.com for his post, Dear Christian and hope that we all learned how Christians are perceived. Hopefully we are exercising the first Fruit of the Spirit and remembering to love others that do not have the Spirit of God present in their lives and we hope that we have patience with God because saving people is on His timeline, not ours.

If you have any thoughts on patience please let us know. We’ll be patient and wait for your comments. Enjoy your weekend and God Bless!

Patience and Perseverance one in the same?

Consider the book of James 1:2-4

NIV

2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

and

NKJV

2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

Much like the saying “God helps those who help themselves,” it is quite possible that being patient is more akin to persevering. Not necessarily suffering needlessly but more just being a strong and faithful believer without a doubt.

At gotQuestions.org their article “What does the Bible say about patience?” tells us the following:

“Although most people consider patience to be a passive waiting or gentle tolerance, most of the Greek words translated “patience” in the New Testament (KJV) are active, robust words. Consider, for example, Hebrews 12:1: “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.”

Does one run a race by passively waiting for slow-pokes or gently tolerating cheaters? Certainly not! The word translated patience in this verse means endurance. A Christian runs the race patiently by persevering through difficulties in hope of heaven. In the Bible, patience is persevering towards a goal, enduring trials, or expectantly waiting for a promise to be fulfilled.”

Next time you tell someone they are trying your patience then perhaps you are complimenting you both. With maturity we strengthen our patience. We persevere, we endure and through it all we have faith and are rewarded for not doubting.

With this new perspective do you find that perhaps where you thought you were failing as being patient, that now perhaps you were actually succeeding as a persevering Christian?

When you consider being patient what first comes to mind? Are you waiting for something? Are you wanting and actively going after something?

Philippians 4:4-7

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say Rejoice.
Let your gentleness be known to everyone.
The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything,
but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving
let your requests be made known to God.
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,
will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

And the peace of God…we jump right from joy to peace. It says while we are celebrating in Him, He is near.

Near, close to me. When I talked about the birth of my daughter in last week’s podcast I can tell you that I still remember how near He was. While I should have followed my instincts and told my husband to stay I let the nurse dictate otherwise and when he left there was no one but me.

I wasn’t going to have that, no, I prayed and so wanted things to turn out right, and please make sure my husband comes back in time and please make sure those doctors and nurses are right…and please don’t leave me alone…I need peace.

That fruit of the Spirit, peace is so important. Look at that, it made the top three, Love, Joy, Peace…what do you know about that? As if connected by twine to gently gather together. We love, we rejoice, we find peace.

We have it on good authority where to find peace. Isaiah 9:6-7…

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulder. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.

And with that we can remember that “Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other.” Psalm 85:10

Do you know where to find Peace? Have you found it in the Lord?

We are on to JOY! Is Pentecost still in your heart? It is still in mine and so is the spirit of Joy!

Phil. 4:4 says “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again – Rejoice!” There, it had to be said twice. REJOICE! Where does our joy come from? The Lord!

Surely we don’t need only the Lord for our happiness. Do we not know how to find happiness in our lives without the Lord? Maybe not, we aren’t finding joy in the grocery store, mall or work place…and we won’t find it easily on the internet either unless we are interested in Christian Joy the fashion designer. Well I did find some inspiration regarding Joy today despite that almost failed search.

At the blog Hem of His Garment Bible Study, I find a wonderful piece of scripture from Nehemiah in the Old Testament.

Then [Ezra] told them, Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet drink, and send portions to him for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. And be not grieved and depressed, for the joy of the Lord is your strength and stronghold. Nehemiah 8:10

So, the joy of the Lord is more than joy itself, or being happy, it is about Him making us strong. That should be very important to us as the second fruit of the Spirit. We need to be filled with love and we need to be strong.

And I couldn’t have said it any better than Sonya Triggs at Urban Christianz Blogspot when she says:

“So, apparently, our joy is not be based on our circumstances, our outlook, our paycheck or our mindset. But on our relationship with Jesus Christ - and our abiding in him. And it can never be taken away or meddled with by man - it is durable, permanent - built rock-solid on Jesus’s gift of atonement to us. And, finally, that joy is found within the Holy Spirit - it shows up and is manifested as a result of His presence within us.”

Have you been confused with the whole joy thing? Did you think you had to be happy for the sake of happiness? Are you relieved that Joy is something we reach on a deeper spiritual level and it has nothing to do with our outward appearance to our friends as Christians?

Time and time again in the bible we are told He loves us and He will provide for us. If He cares for the birds, He will take care of us as well. Think of Job, he lost it all, but God gave him back even more.

He has given us Jesus, the Holy Spirit and blessings too numerous to count when we recognize them. We must remember how He will always love us. We must also remember how he calls us to do the same.

To close the week of love and the fruit of the Spirit, I thought I’d add a little family fun to the mix. Enjoy this video from GodTube.

Do you think love is the most important fruit of the Spirit? Do you think it adds something important to all the other fruits?

You will see the Lord save you today.
— Exodus 14:13a

If one were to look for something the Lord has done in one’s life everyday, it is amazing how many blessings there are from Him to us. Whether it is the life of a new baby, the kisses and hugs of a three year old who is too young to think more than one kiss and hug is enough, the compassion of a friend when in need, or the direction that all children need from their Father, no life is more blessed than the one who lives for God through Christ.

Many look for the meaning of life. I don’t know that life itself has a meaning to us outside perhaps the meaning we give it. The gift of life is complicated and while we don’t think about it everyday we may have our moments when we reach out and wonder, “Why?”

Someone thought getting a degree would make them happy, another married and had children. They both proclaim happiness but in a sense, it is not what they imagined. It wasn’t true happiness. Have they missed true happiness or did they just misunderstand it? Maybe true happiness is just being happy in whatever we find in our life, whatever hand we’ve been dealt.

We can find something important and find meaning in it. One thing that is important to me is the Bible. His greatest gift after Christ is the Bible. I find a few minutes everyday can bring one the greatest peace of mind. Everyday, you can visit with a good friend, be reminded of grace and mercy. Some days I might not be able to see what God has done in my life, but it is comforting enough to be reminded that He is doing something. While I may not find true happiness in everything, moments reflecting on the word and remembering what Christ has sacrificed for us brings peace of mind that I can be happy in all I am given.

May God continue to bless us all through His word.

Is there such a thing as true happiness? Do we give life meaning? What’s your favorite Bible? What time of day do you set aside to study or just read and reflect?

Are Christian marriages in trouble? No more so than a secular marriage. In 2004, The Barna Research Group found the divorce rate nearly equal between born-again Christians and the general public.

Getting married is a big job. Working at a Christian marriage should be an easier job. If a Christian marriage isn’t working what can you and your spouse do?

Determine why the marriage is in trouble. Christians and the secular population get divorced for different reasons. While seculars divorce for incompatibility, Christian marriages usually fail for one of three reasons; adultery, abuse and abandonment.

If you have a Christian marriage in trouble, and are a devout Christian, you can consider Christian counseling. Please take the time to recognize if you are in a bad situation, suffering from physical or emotional abuse. If so, make sure that you (and your children) are safe from harm.

What makes Christian counseling different from secular counseling when trying to save a Christian marriage? The Bible.

The Bible is recognized as the authority, the final word, on many issues. Scripture will be a part of the counseling process along with traditional psychology. Be prepared to look into yourself to address your obedience to God and his will. To make a sincere attempt to save your Christian marriage you have to be open to God’s word.

To read more about the Barna Research Group and the dilemma in Christian divorce rates, visit Christians Divorce at Same Rate as Others But for Different Reasons at John Mark Ministries. You’ll find a great list of reading resources on the topic which you can find from Zondervan.

It is interesting to note that the number one Christian book sold on the market today is Gary Chapman’s The Five Love Languages. If you are having some problems, and maybe are not feeling quite ready for counseling, consider reading this book or another that you would feel more comfortable with.

The Five Love Languages was first published in 1992 and to be the number one best seller on the Christian book list says a lot. Perhaps some new strategies can shake up a stagnant Christian marriage and offer you new hope for the future.

Does the Barna report equate to Christian marriages having failed? What can we do to save a Christian marriage? Are there some Christian marriages that should not be saved?

Welcome to the June 15, 2008 edition of Her Christian Blog Carnival.

And what better way to start off our carnival on The Fruit of the Spirit then with a few messages sending us out as God did the disciples at Pentecost. Here are those messages from Crystal Nichols posted at Christian in the Corporate World.

Read Go! The Lord has gone ahead of you! Crystal says, “In Judges 4, Deborah was having a busy day. As the judge-prophetess for Israel, she was busy solving disputes for the people when God spoke to her.”

And in her message Faith in the Workplace: Planting Seeds she says, “One of the reasons I started this blog was because I have lot of trouble expressing my faith, especially at the office. The idea of “planting seeds” gives me a lot of encouragement and also scares me a little too! Make that a lot.”

Kathleen Gage presents A life can be changed by a few simple words posted at Daily Awareness, saying, “Words have power. How often have you heard this and yet, how true is it? Learn how one affirmation can change your life forever.”

Claudia Riley presents The Greatest Joy posted at Standing Straight.

Julie presents Living Green - Dominion and Stewardship of God’s Creation posted at M4K Parenting & Family Life.

Christopher Johnson with a wonderful idea to bring Christian’s together presents a message about a new site called His-Friends posted at christopheraaronjohnson.net, saying, “I need your help to build a Christian community where everyone can come to make friends, keep in contact with friends and family, and give and receive support and encouragement.”

Theresa L. Twogood at OLIN e-Book e-Publishing presents three reads for us with Turn Back Because, Big Picture Progressive Exposure and Daily Prayer Journal.

We also welcome our friends who would like to share their messages on Business, Finance, Politics and Other:

Big Larry presents Dealing with Debt Biblically posted at Holy Cash Cow, saying, “Being overwhelmed by debt doesn’t just exact a financial toll, but an emotional and spiritual one as well. Churches are rapidly becoming a crucial support system for those that find themselves financially over their heads.” This is a GREAT site, I hope you can check it out.

J. Karlin presents The Best Fundraising Idea posted at Marketing & Fundraising Ideas.

Michael Snyder presents The Picture Of The Hindu God That Barack Obama Carries For Good Luck posted at Shattered Paradigm.

Recoil presents Pavlina Says Jesus was a Fictional Character posted at Double Barreled Opinions.

That concludes this edition. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.