The Natural, The Spiritual

"For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.  All things were created through Him and for Him."  Col 1:16

I have just been thinking about creation (as I often do) and the vastness and variety of everything Jesus created, and realised afresh that all was created for us.  God's abundance is seen in creation.  Not only did He create on a practical level, for He gave man dominion over the work of His Hands, He also created it to be pleasing to our eyes, to surround us with beauty and to capture our inquisitiveness and imagination.

The works of the LORD are great, studied by all who have pleasure in them. Psa 111:2 

When I see the blue skies, the canvas of God's Hand, on which He hung the sun and paints the most incredible and awesome sunsets, I'm reminded of His goodness, His glory and His incredible order of things. 

God gave Adam the job of tending His garden.  He created us to do.  We have a great sense of achievement when we accomplish something and bring order too.  Work is a God given gift which gives us a sense of self worth and success.  Our Father works and we are made in His image.  He runs the universe for us, upholding all by the power of His Word.  Jesus told us that He only did the works He saw the Father doing, and the works He does are good and benefit society.

Creation should lead us to God as the natural often gives us clues into the spiritual.  When we look into creation, we see God's amazing wisdom and power.  Even Job encouraged us to:-

"Just ask the animals, and they will teach you. Ask the birds of the sky, and they will tell you. Speak to the earth, and it will instruct you. Let the fish in the sea speak to you." Job 12:7 -8

When we study the how and why of creation, the order of the universe, the incredible information stored in the DNA, these things should point us back in reverence and awe to a Holy God from whom all good gifts flow.  When we see the rain bring a drought-dry landscape back to life, we should equally see how much we need the rain of the Spirit upon us, the presence of God, to stay "green" and alive, flourishing under His care.

Jesus often used the natural in parables to bring out a spiritual truth.  He is the vine, we the branches and even as a branch is cut away from the vine it perishes. So it is imperative that we remain in Him.  Yet if a branch is pruned it brings forth more fruit.  We need to allow Him to prune us and to cut out all the things that damage our relationship with Him.

He is the Shepherd, we the sheep.  If we go astray, He'll look for us, He'll tend to us and feed us.  Spiritually we need to cling to Him as the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls, knowing that we can trust Him to take care of us through any and all situations.

I challenge you, when you gaze upon the nature around us, to think about God's abundant Hand and love for us that He would create such beauty and colour for our enjoyment and pleasure.  A gift from the Creator's Hand for us to unwrap each and every day!

 

 

Eternal Purpose

"...according to the eternal purpose He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord" Eph 3:11

God has never had a short-sighted plan for humankind.  He has never had a short-sighted plan for any of us on a personal basis either.  He is from everlasting to everlasting and lives in the eternities of the eternities. (Ps 90:2)

Christ's death and resurrection had eternal consequences for us and for as many as God will call.  The act of the cross and His resurrection has lost no power in the time that has passed by.  The healing Christ paid for 2000 years ago,  the redemption and the forgiveness of our sins, are all recorded in the eternal realm of the Kingdom of God, and will facilitate healing and salvation as long as the sun shall rise and set on humanity.  The bible teaches us that Jesus Christ was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

 

All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Rev 13:8 

It blows my mind and is beyond my finite thinking that God planned things before He actually created them and the effectiveness of His plan will go on to the eternal realm. 

Amazingly, before the world was created, He knew us and He already had a plan and work for us to do. (Eph 2:10)  If any of us thought we were a mistake – we were wrong.  Ps 139 teaches us that all our days are already "fashioned" for us.  And God gave us gifts and talents so that we, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, will complete all He has called us to do.  These works have eternal value and eternal consequences.   I wonder if we live our lives with the eternal purpose in mind.  Jesus was very clear in His teaching that the fruit we produce on earth will result in our eternal destiny as to whether we live with Him or have to depart from Him.

Therefore by their fruits you will know them. "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!' Mat 7:20 - 23

God's plan for us is two-fold.  We were created to love Him and we are to love others and so reach them for eternity.  Each and every one of us is a minister of reconciliation and this is the "will of the Father", the eternal work that will bring the most reward.

 
And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to Himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to Him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, no longer counting people's sins against them. And He gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.  So we are Christ's ambassadors; God is making His appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, "Come back to God!" 2Co 5:18-20

 Jesus lived His life with eternal purpose and focus.  And His focus was purely on people.  He went to the cross to give us eternal life and to reconcile us to Father to whom we now have access to the very throne room as children of God.  Let us live our lives with an eternity focus for His glory and bring as many as He will call through us into the eternal realm.

Stepping out - walking on water

There are many stories in the bible that inspire and challenge us, and none other greater than Peter walking on water in Matthew 14.  I was listening to a song by Casting Crowns called "The Voice of Truth" and the revelation from the Holy Spirit really got me chewing on this.

                "To step out of my comfort zone

                Into the realm of the unknown

                Where Jesus is and He is holding out His hand".

Wow, what faith Peter had, leaving the comfort and others in the boat to step out onto the waves.  Generally we are so self focused, and look out for our self comfort and self preservation.  Yet in that frightening experience, even for skilled fishermen, in the dark of night, Peter calls out to the Lord and on His invitation, sets his eyes on Jesus and steps over the side of the boat.

Faith steps out.  Faith conquers fear.  And faith is what pleases God.

Heb 11:6  But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Yet faith is not a "leap in the dark" because faith is founded securely in Him.  Jesus is found and reigns in the supernatural realm where He is seated next to the throne of God.  This is where He is found, not on the avenue of doubt and unbelief.  His glory is found on the treacherous mountain pass of our faith.  Someone once said, "Faith begins where possibilities end. If it's possible, then there's no glory for God in it."  Jesus is found in the call and faith of His Bride and in every step of faith taken in obedience.  It never ceases to amaze me, when I have gone on mission trips and out of my comfort zone, God always meets me there, and every trip is a blessing beyond my expectations.

He is found in our giving.  Often people do not want to give their tithes or support the work of God because they are tied to money and possessions and lack the faith to give generously and with cheerful abandonment.  But if we don't give, we don't sow the seed, we don't get the harvest.  When we give, God is responsible for the harvest.  His laws of nature show us quite clearly that if you plant a seed, for example a tomato seed, you harvest much fruit from the one plant.  No matter what we sow, whether love, time or funds, harvest comes.  Ask anyone who faithfully gives and you will find out that God is true to His Word and as Jesus said:-

Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you." Luk 6:38 

God loves us and does meet us in the comfort zone but we won't see His glory there.  But so often, God forgive us, we have a fear of man and our own pride (what if God doesn't come through and I get egg on my face).  God's glory does not manifest in fear but in the faith that moves mountains.

So how do we get to this mountain moving faith?  Believe.  If God has said it, that should be enough for us.  Jesus said to Martha when she protested in the removal of the grave stone before Jesus raised Lazarus from the tomb:-

Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?" Joh 11:40

   
Jesus commended those who had great faith and rebuked those who had little faith.  Therefore faith can grow from small to great. 

So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Rom 10:17 

We hear.  We actually hear the Word of God and we can only do this by studying and meditating upon the scriptures.  We mutter and consider the Word of the Lord and that seed will drop down into our hearts, become ours and produce a harvest.  We understand it and believe it and act upon it.  Hence our faith grows as we test the faithfulness of the Word and the faithfulness and love of our Father in Heaven and see His power contained within His Word to change our lives and the lives of others.

Let me leave you with this precious portion of scripture to hear and think upon and make yours:-

Eph 3:16  that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man,

Eph 3:17  that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

Eph 3:18  may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—

Eph 3:19  to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Eph 3:20  Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,

Eph 3:21  to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Lord of the Dance

Psa 149:3  Let them praise His name with the dance; Let them sing praises to Him with the timbrel and harp.

 

Having just returned from a missions trip to Fiji, I thought I would write down some of the thoughts I believe that the Holy Spirit gave me.  At one home church in Ba, the youth did a dance for us that really touched me.  I was brought to tears as the Holy Spirit was ushered in and the word I was given was "delight".  I could sense His delight in what the youth were doing, glorifying Him in the dance.

 

It really got me thinking.  Jesus is the Lord of the Dance and we are to follow, step by step, giving Him the lead in our lives.  In ballroom dancing, the man takes the lead and guides the woman in the dance.  This is a principle to adhere to with Christ our Lord and us, the church, His Bride. 

 

Jesus called all His disciples with "follow me and I will make you fishers of men". (Mat 4:19)  It is in following Him that we find our identity and destiny.  He makes us.  He leads us.  He tests us.  He gives us a choice.  When He calls, we either respond positively or we can respond negatively.  This tests our true commitment and our heart.  The disciples, on His invitation, immediately left all, laying down their careers instantly and went after him.

 

There is a cost in following the leading of Jesus.

 

Mat 8:19  Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, "Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go."

Mat 8:20  And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."

Mat 8:21  Then another of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father."

Mat 8:22  But Jesus said to him, "Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead."

 

The scribe was making a declaration that he would follow Jesus but Jesus warned Him that in following Him, earthly comforts may have to be put aside if we truly prioritise Kingdom business.  We even need to be prepared to put our grief and emotions aside if Kingdom business calls first.

 

Mat 16:24  Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.

 

We need to be prepared to give up all we own if God calls us to; forsaking our pleasures, our needs, denying all of these earthly pursuits and coming against the "what about me?" for the sake of the Kingdom.

 

Jesus didn't promise that following Him would be a bed of roses which is why He told us to count the cost.  But the rewards in following Him are worth everything and the blessings that come in being obedient far outweigh anything that this world can offer.  His grace is sufficient for us and the Holy Spirit helps us to walk in righteousness when we lean on Him, trusting Him to overcome battles of temptation.  We will have an eternal reward too.

 

 

Rev 19:7  Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready."

Rev 19:8  And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

Rev 19:9  Then he said to me, "Write: 'Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!' " And he said to me, "These are the true sayings of God."

 

The "wife" has made herself ready!  How?  "...by the righteous acts".  These righteous acts are those that are spirit led and acted upon with the love of God.  The Word tells us that our righteous acts are as "filthy rags" (Is 64:6) because, especially pre-salvation, we have the wrong motive – to show how good we are.  All things we do, prompted by the Holy Spirit of God and done with the pure motive of bringing glory to God, will have its reward in heaven. 

 

Rom 8:14  For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

Gal 5:18  But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

 

It is being led by the Spirit that helps us grow up into the things of God because the Spirit may lead us where we really don't want to be taken.  Obedience to His voice always brings the blessing of God and spiritual change.

 

Mat 4:1  Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

 

I can't image that Jesus was totally delighted to be led into the wilderness to be tempted and tested by the devil for 40 days and 40 nights but He was obedient to the call and after His time in the wilderness came out ready to minister, full of Holy Ghost power.  This is the power of obedience.

 

Jesus is ready to dance with you.  He wants to take the lead and tango you into an exciting and fulfilling ministry directed by His footsteps with you leaning on His arm.  There may be times He will waltz you onto the dance floor just to be intimate with you and gaze into your eyes.  When He directs, and we follow, there is safety and excitement in His arms as we move to the melody of His music.

 

 

 

 

 

Overcoming Faith

"These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." Joh 16:33

Jesus had overcoming faith and He calls us to overcoming faith too.  Like a boxer in the ring, the game is not over until one of the opponents doesn't get up anymore.  Jesus understood that trials and tribulations, that left hook, would come as we do have an opponent (adversary)( 1 Pet 5:8) who wants to defeat us, discourage us or disappoint us.  Jesus, Himself, had some bouts with the enemy in the ring but remained always the Victor.  We may take a blow, but we need to get up again and again.

Luke 4 tells us Jesus was "full of and controlled by the Holy Spirit".  This is one key for us to have overcoming faith as scripture admonishes us to be continually filled.  (Eph 5:18)  We need to walk in the Spirit so we won't fulfil the lusts of the flesh, leaning on the Holy Spirit's power within us. (Gal 5:16)  Lust is very destructive and totally opposed to the desires of the Holy Spirit.  Lust is idolatry, desiring something so much we place it in front of God, forsaking His desire for us.  The devil tempted Jesus with the lust of the eyes by showing Him, in a moment of time, all the Kingdoms of the earth.  "Come on Jesus, look at all this magnificent beauty you can rule over, all of it yours, if you bow down before me."  If, that's the operative word! The "if" promises much but delivers nothing. Just once, do it just once.  Fleeting pleasures, the stolen moment! It satisfies temporarily but then brings pain and broken relationship, guilt and shame.  How many illicit love affairs have opened up a wave of untold misery and widespread hurt?  It shakes the very core of a family unit and its destruction is long-lived unless healing comes through the mercy of God's Hand.

The Amplified version of Luke 4 says that Jesus was tried, tested exceedingly. For forty days He ate nothing and was hungry.  satan challenged Jesus "if you are the Son of  God command this stone to turn into bread."  satan challenged Christ's identity.  He knew who Jesus was, but at a time of great physical discomfort and need questioned Him in an effort to force evidence, proof of who He was.  I believe that this is another key to overcoming faith, our identity, who we are in Christ.  If we know we are children of God, we are more likely to act like children of God.  Knowing the price God and Jesus paid for us to be adopted into the Kingdom as children keeps us in love with the Saviour and humble.  Being rooted and grounded in His Love compels us to want to please Him and love others.  Meditating on His Love helps us respond to Him more and more.  But as Jesus said, "Man cannot live on bread alone but by every word of God."(Luke 4:4)  The key to finding our identity is in the Word of God, which is another one of the keys to overcoming faith.  We must study God's word to know how to overcome.  Even as Jesus brought the Word of God, the sword of the Spirit" against satan's accusations and demands, so must we.  "This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith." (1 Jn 5:4) 

Faith is built on the promises of God's Word and the knowledge of His character.  This is how God reveals Himself to us, through His Word.  It is no wonder that satan attacks the Word with everything he can.  No wonder over the course of history, the bible has been banned, burnt and attacked and branded as only a bunch of stories.  Jesus used the Word against all the wiles of the devil.  The Word is our offensive weapon against the kingdom of darkness and it is the revealer of the wickedness that rules in our flesh.  The Bible shows us what in our hearts – gets to the very core of our motives.  When we see ourselves in the "mirror" of the Word we will repent.  When we understand how God sees us "pre-conversion", evil, wicked, sons of the devil, sinners and yet still in this state, He came to die for us, we can understand the depth of His Mercy and unconditional Love for us.  That He desired relationship with us is phenomenal.  That God gave His only begotten Son for us, has to be the greatest love story of all time.  Jesus said that "those who mourn will be comforted."  When we understand the truth and repent, He comforts us with restoration, forgiveness, mercy and puts us in the right relationship with Himself.  WOW!  That is life changing Truth.  The devil has no defence against the truth, so he, being the father of lies, deceives us into believing the opposite of what God has said.  We are defeated when we choose to believe a lie over the Truth.  This also affects our worship, which is another key to overcoming faith.

satan wanted Christ's worship.  God deserves our worship but will not force any to worship Him. satan wants worship because he wants to be God.  This is the pride that led to his eviction from heaven, wanting to be exulted over God.  satan promises fame, fortune and power to those who will give him worship but he delivers a death sting instead.  Reminds me of Nebuchadnezzar who demanded Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to worship his statute or be thrown into the fiery furnace.   Forced worship never works.

God is the One and Only God and there is none like Him.  God desires our voluntary worship in response to His Love and to who He is and what He has done for us.  Those who worship Him become more like Him.  This is the principle laid out in Ps 135:6 that those who worship false idols become like their idols.

Yes, we can have overcoming faith even amidst the trials and tribulations that come our way.  As one translation of the opening scripture says, cheer up! Cheer up!  Just found another key.  Cheer up!

 

Love the Sinner, Hate the Sin

Recently I have been very challenged about my love walk.  God is Love and Jesus showed us the most amazing picture of what love is and what love does.  We are told that love:-

·         Covers a multitude of sins (James 5:20)

·         love sacrifices and gives (Jn 3:16)

·         love is not selfish, Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; (1 Cor 13:4)

·         love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; (1 Cor 13:4)

·         does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; (1 Cor 13:5)

·         does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; (1 Cor 13:6)

·         bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (1 Cor 13:7)

·         Love never fails (1 Cor 13:8)

I’m already in trouble! We so easily and so quickly stereotype people and in our presuppositions judge and cast them off.  Man looks at the outward appearance but God looks at the heart. (1 Sam 16:7).  This is very challenging to me.

I looked with fresh eyes at the woman caught in “the very act” of adultery in John 8.  She was thrown by the Pharisees in front of Jesus as a trap to catch him out.  The Law of Moses was very clear.  Adultery was a punishable crime – death by stoning.  The smug Pharisees, well and truly aware of Christ’s compassion, were standing there demanding a verdict on this woman, or at least give his position on this sin.  Jesus stoops to write, not saying anything, so they keep on demanding.  He writes some more and then says the most profound thing – “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first."  (Jn 8:7)  The Law comes up headlong against grace.  The letter of the Law had no mercy, no compassion but Jesus was love, grace and truth.  His love covered her sin in that moment and His love in action was so stark and striking against the accusation of the sinners who wanted to uphold that Law.  They quietly left, one after another, being convicted that they too were sinners.  Their knowledge of the scripture didn’t help their self-righteous spirit, or they conveniently forgot King David’s lament, “But no, all have turned away; all have become corrupt. No one does good, not a single one!”( Psa 14:3)  Their pride-filled hypocrisy only saw what she was and what she had done.  Jesus, the sinless one, saw beyond that, recognising the brokenness within her heart and His love and compassion met her amidst the accusations of the “righteous”.  His love extended mercy but his love didn’t excuse the behaviour either.  His love freed her but His love commanded that she go and sin no more.  Even still His love allowed her the freedom to make a choice but His Love would also grieve deeply if she returned to her adulterous lifestyle.  For His Love would want to lift her out of that miry clay to a better life free of guilt and condemnation and as a child of grace reconciled to her Creator.

For me the challenge is in knowing where the balance is.  We are to uphold righteousness and not allow the ancient boundaries to be moved as there is a dreadful and terrible consequence to living a sinful life.  When we speak the truth, even when we do so in love, we will offend.  When we say we cannot accept certain life-styles we offend and are called bigots, narrow-minded and judgemental.  Yet love desires something better which is why Jesus died for us even while we were still sinners (Roms 5:8) to lift us up, from sinners to saints.

We are called to love people.   All people!  Not those we choose who fit our comfortable little box.  The unlovely, the sinful!  We once were sinners too but we have been saved by grace and are in the life-long process of being made holy.  God saved us and is cleaning us up.  It was the touch of His Love that brought me to repentance.  Maybe it will be the touch of His love flowing through me that will help bring others to repentance too.  Hmmm! Thought-provoking!

Oh Father, may your perfect Love flow through me.  Help me see others through your eyes and believe the best for them.  Help me see beyond their physical appearance and beyond their sinful lifestyle to the man, woman or child created in your image, marred by hurts and brokenness, but able to be fully restored into your love and life in Jesus name.

Offences - too hard to carry

"A good person who gives into evil is like a muddy spring or a dirty well" Prov 25:26 (NCV)

 Like a muddied fountain and a polluted spring is a righteous man who yields, falls down, and compromises his integrity before the wicked. (AMP) 

It is so easy to take up offences, and once again, I was reminded over a recent incident when an unfounded accusation was hurled my way.  I immediately retaliated with a wall and stalked off.  It troubled me.  I had no peace.  The gramophone repeat was on and I began to entertain it by replaying it in my mind over and over.  However, it wasn't very funny.  It really was a poor imitation of entertainment.  It definitely was trashy!  I asked God why? Why did I react this way? Was there some past memory contained in my soul area that was wounded and caused so childish a reaction?

 

As with God, when He so graciously teaches us, I "happened" to read the above scripture and the Word became so clear, so confronting, so releasing as I repented before the Lord.  This was exactly how I was feeling, muddied, dirty, the swirling waters of restlessness mocking and churning up dis-ease in my mind and emotions.

 

Jesus has called us to a higher law of love.  Yet, here I was quick to take up an offence and not allow that law of love to rule and reign in me.  What a can of worms this opened up for me and the ensuing struggle between good and evil.  I can really understand the Apostle Paul's lament, "For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish." Gal 5:17 

The scripture in Proverbs brought to my remembrance another so well known:-

Anyone who believes in Me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, 'Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.'" Joh 7:38 

Wow, "rivers of living water"!  I wasn't exactly flowing with those at this moment of time.  How could I, with the river muddied from the waste water of pride-filled irritation, bring refreshing or life to any situation or person, in this present state.  I mean, they say that "Rome wasn't built in a day", yet the wall I put up was so instantaneous it would have made your head spin.  I reckon I built Rome in that split second but the trouble with walls that go up so quick is that they really look ugly especially from the inside.

   
It is obvious.  I had a choice to make.  Was I going to drop the offence as quickly as a kid caught stealing the candy, or hang on to it, and miss out on the promise of God that "living water" would flow out of my belly to bring the sweet, refreshing flow of the Spirit of Life to others instead of the carnal bondage of the flesh?  If our waters are muddied, how can we minister to others?  How can the Spirit move through us and out of us if the flow is blocked by the deeds of the flesh, "For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption." (Gal 6:8a)
   
Gal 5:19  Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,

Gal 5:20  idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies,

Gal 5:21  envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

These are the choices that we make which bring us into great bondage.  Satan's kingdom is a hard task-master, especially on our soul area where wounds are deep (and often of our own making in carrying an offence) and in our mind where restlessness reigns.  It is no wonder that the bible encourages us to choose "life" over "death".  Yet how we struggle to choose and maintain the peace that is available to us through being Spirit-led.  The fruit that the spirit yields in us, "is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law." (Gal 5:22-23)

I heard it preached that the fruit "love and self-control" are the book ends of this cluster of spiritual fruit.  Without the "love" we are not motivated to show any of this fruit to others but when we do "love" we need the self-control to operate the fruit.  It is hard when the fruit is "squeezed" and I guess when we are squeezed we see what is really in our hearts.

I was squeezed.  Severely squeezed!  And as you can see stinking pride, instead of longsuffering, kindness, goodness and gentleness, reared its ugly head, so there was no instant reconciliation but a breached friendship at that moment in time.  It wasn't a whale of a time which I would have preferred!

Hmmmm!  Reminds me that, "A little leaven leavens the whole lump". (Gal 5:9)  It was definitely a "lumpy" situation.  You know the one.  The atmosphere is so thick you need a bread knife with a sharp serrated edge to cut the lumps, especially the lump in your soul. That sneaky little temptation of holding onto an offence was reaping havoc and was becoming a crushing weight to snuff out my joy and peace.

I suppose I did show the fruit of the Spirit in my self control by not snapping back and using that knife to advantage, but my frosty reaction could have taken care of a nuclear reactor melt down.  I don't know which was worse. Somehow it didn't seem to help my dis-ease.  I wish I could have remembered at that time that "he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life".

Seriously though, I am sorry.  Really sorry that this happened and really sorry that I reacted in so childish a way!  I have repented before the Lord because I so desire that He will be able to use me.  I so desire that His power will be evident in my life.   I long to have His resurrection power, that dunamis power that is available in the Holy Spirit, change me, heal me and help me act like Jesus would act. 

Yes, the attack may not have been deserved but that is no reason to pick it up and have it wound me and allow death instead of life to reign in me.  I alone am responsible for my reaction to any offence that comes my way.  It is no wonder it is called an "of" "fence" because it truly is "off" and "of" the kingdom of darkness and has no place for children who walk in the light.

Gal 5:16  I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

I believe in transparency before God.  What we leave in the dark, because of shame, can only grow stronger (and musty smelling too) but what we bring to the search light of the Holy Spirit can be broken and its power nullified.  I believe that we should bring things to God quickly and ask for His help in whatever area we are struggling and be quick to repent.  We are quick to take offence.  You may say, "Not me" but mediate on it.  What if a driver cuts you off in traffic?  Do you take an offence at him or her?  What if someone at the checkout is showing an "off" attitude, or you are waiting for service and the store attendant is having a good chat on the mobile phone?  Our pride quickly takes offence because we expect better service.  Oh yes.  Some offences come through the back door like the smell of freshly laid manure and are gone before we even have gone into damage control.  Our mind quickly moves on, yet unkind thoughts we have just had, or voiced, hang in the air as we breeze on to the next little offence that sparkles and tempts us to pick it up.

I love this little gem in Isa 44:22  of what Abba has done for us. "I have swept away your sins like a cloud. I have scattered your offenses like the morning mist. Oh, return to Me, for I have paid the price to set you free."

He has paid the price to set us free.  Hallelujah.  He has taken care of our offences toward Him, the sins that have wounded our souls on the cross.  Shouldn't we too, discard offences and be thankful that the Lord has forgiven us and we can forgive others?  His grace will enable us.

Gal 5:1  Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.

   
Jesus, in the gospel of John after His resurrection, visited the apostles in a closed room.   He had some great advice to give them after breathing the Holy Spirit upon them.  He said:

Whosoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whosoever sins ye retain, they are retained.(Jn 20:23) (KJV)

Quite honestly, this scripture has really bothered me, because the only person who can forgive sins is our Heavenly Father.  We can forgive offences or sins that are committed against us but if the person repents to the Father, his/her sins will be forgiven. I looked up the meaning of whosoever and it referred to a person or object. I looked at this scripture from a different slant.  Maybe Jesus wasn't referring to a persons sin, but the sin which causes offence and which we can choose to let go (remit - to forgive, forsake, lay aside,(send) away) or we can, by our own choice, hold on to them (retain - use strength, that is, seize or retain, to keep).  If we retain the offences, as the translation says, seize them, the ill-effects of that offence will harbour great dis-ease in us.  If we do not choose to forgive, the root of bitterness will destroy our relationships and make our bodies/minds sick too.  We know that forgiveness releases the offender into God's hands and the one offended into peace.

Yes, it is hard to forgive and hard not to pick up offences, but the fruit of letting go is ample reward in following in our Saviour's footsteps and being used in the Kingdom for His purposes.

So an encouragement would be to not "grow weary in doing good, for in due time we will reap, if we do not lose heart" (Gal 6:9).  Reaping righteousness, that's what I want.

Pro 10:12  Hatred stirs up quarrels, but love makes up for all offences.