I'm giving away a FREE e-book bundle!! The winner of the drawing will receive two e-books of their choice! They can choose between: Apples of Gold (poetry) The Pen of the Writer (poetry) Sweet Meditation (poetry) A Higher Ransom (novel, book one) A Dim Reflection (novel, book two) Hidden Treasures (devotional) ALL you have to do to enter, is subscribe to my friends blog below! (And trust me, she has the BEST blog on the planet, so you won't be disappointed!) If you subscribe RIGHT NOW, then my friend will also send you an e-book of her novella when she's finished writing it! Oh, and don't forget to let me know that you subscribed in the comments, so that I can enter you in the drawing!! Thanks, friends!! (This drawing ends on the 23rd of Jan.)
14 Comments
2017 was an amazing year! We’d be here all day if I started telling you about all the blessings the Lord bestowed on us, and on my writing life. So, I’m boiling it all down to a few fantastic findings that the Lord led me to in 2017. Beware, once you discover these amazing resources there’s no going back! So, buckle up and get ready for the ride! 1. The Young Writers Workshop Again, we’d be here all day if I began to even scratch the surface of how absolutely phenomenal this writing workshop is for young writers! If you’re under 30 and you’re looking to get serious about your writing, check out this site below. (Or if you’ve been looking to encourage your son or daughter in their writing, then look no further!) There’s a free Facebook community and the paid program is also getting ready to open for registration again. In my words, it’s a community of encouraging writers where you can learn, grow, and celebrate your achievements together. Not only that, but there’s a full content library decked out with just about everything you can think of! If you’re struggling with motivation and writers block, check out the motivation section. If you need to brush up on your “show vs. tell,” knowledge, then there’s that too. And the list goes on! Top all that off with the fact that you get access to some pretty amazing instructors! Instructors that will do their best to help you reach your dream of getting traditionally published, which is the best part of all! Really, this was my highlight of 2017. I’m not sure where I’d be in my writing if it weren’t for this program! I went from having no email list, to over 200 subscribers. And from less than 200 site views a month, to over 2,000! My progress since joining this program has reached places I never knew I could reach. So if you’re looking to bring your writing to the next level, check out the website below and think about signing up for the paid program when it opens again soon! =) Check out The Young Writer Community! 2. TheRebelution So, apparently this site has been around for just a little while. And so have the founders, Brett and Alex Harris. BUT, I just happened to be falling behind a little and only discovered it last year. =( This is a site for teens and young adults, but I think people even older than that can benefit from reading some of these posts! Something they speak a lot on is “a rebellion against low expectations.” Because, people just don’t expect much out of teens in our day and age. And that really needs to stop. Because young people can do SO much! Yesterday, I came across the scripture in Jeremiah, where it says, “don’t say I am only a youth, for you shall go to all to whom I shall send you, and whatever I command you, you shall speak.” And then a quote by Wilberforce that I heard this morning, “We are too young to realize that certain things are impossible... So we will do them anyway.” There is SO much that young people can do in our society today. They just need encouragement, resources, and faith in God to do them. TheRebelution also publishes articles by young writers. This is a really big focus at TheRebelution and getting an article published here isn’t as hard as you might think! I’ve personally never submitted an article (which is still on my list of things to do)but I have a bunch of friends who have. Their articles, and other ones as well, have been such a source of inspiration and knowledge! Check out TheRebelution! 3. Google Docs This is my more practical find of 2017. And it’s possible that most people already know about this, but I’ll include it anyway! =) Google docs is a fantastic way to write, organize, share and edit documents. And what I love about it is that everyone is working on the same document, not separate ones. This has been such a time saver for my writing life this year! Check out Google Docs! 4. Wonder Bible , There’s a reason we don’t own a TV. (The reason is because my brother accidently broke it.) And there’s a reason that when we did own a TV, we kept it in the closet and only pulled it out to watch family movies every once in a while. But, we won’t get into all that! When we were staying with our grandparents for Christmas, we watched a good bit of TV. (Thankfully, no one went through withdrawal symptoms when we got back home from vacation.) During all our TV watching, a commercial kept coming on advertising for a device called “Wonder Bible.” In short, it’s an audio bible on a small device that can easily be carried around the house. It also has a few songs on it, too. Well, my nine-year-old sister kept seeing the commercial. Finally, she asked if she could spend her Christmas money to buy this device. And since there was a deal going on, you guessed it, I decided to buy one too. =) We didn’t know what to expect and so we eagerly awaited its coming. And, we weren’t disappointed! This is definitely the best money I spent in 2017. You won’t even believe how many chapters of the Bible you can listen to while you sweep the house! This is definitely a fantastic thing to spend your money on! Check out the Wonder Bible! Well folks, as we say with our good friend, Porky: Do you have a favorite find from 2017? Let me know in the comments, I’d LOVE to hear it!
One of my absolute favorite poems comes from the pen of C.T. Studd. This poem rings truth in every sentence and conviction can come easily as you read the words! Our church put this poem to the tune of “Faith of Our Fathers,” (and it works really nicely!) This week as I was reading, “Don’t Waste Your Life” by John Piper, he quoted a few verses of the poem because it falls so perfectly in line with the message of his book. That prompted me to share this poem with you! If you haven’t heard it before, I pray that once you do, you’ll never forget it! And I hope that you’ll embrace the words of this poem and keep them close to your heart and mind. Are we living our lives for Christ? This morning I received an email. The email presented a question that completely impacted me. The question was, “If my life was the only evidence that Christ was alive, would anyone be convinced?” It wasn’t just the question that impacted me, but the fact that it was exactly along the lines of this post I had already planned! It’s so important we understand that we only have ONE life to live. We don’t have any second chances. If we keep this in the forefront of our minds, I guarantee you we’ll spend less time on frivolous things. We’ll start thinking about how we can better serve others and wonder if the things we're doing will matter for eternity. We only have one life; how then shall we live it? As we go about our week, let’s remember something really important; we do only have one life, one chance to live for Christ. And only what’s done for Him shall last. Only One Life Two little lines I heard one day, Traveling along life’s busy way; Bringing conviction to my heart, And from my mind would not depart; Only one life, twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last. Only one life, yes only one, Soon will its fleeting hours be done; Then, in ‘that day’ my Lord to meet, And stand before His Judgement seat; Only one life,’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last. Only one life, the still small voice, Gently pleads for a better choice Bidding me selfish aims to leave, And to God’s holy will to cleave; Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last. Only one life, a few brief years, Each with its burdens, hopes, and fears; Each with its clays I must fulfill, living for self or in His will; Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last. When this bright world would tempt me sore, When Satan would a victory score; When self would seek to have its way, Then help me Lord with joy to say; Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last. Give me Father, a purpose deep, In joy or sorrow Thy word to keep; Faithful and true what e’er the strife, Pleasing Thee in my daily life; Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last. Oh let my love with fervor burn, And from the world now let me turn; Living for Thee, and Thee alone, Bringing Thee pleasure on Thy throne; Only one life, “twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last. Only one life, yes only one, Now let me say,”Thy will be done”; And when at last I’ll hear the call, I know I’ll say “twas worth it all”; Only one life,’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last. ” I believe in aliens. Phew, there, I said it! I’ve been needing to get that off my chest for quite a while now. No really, seriously. For weeks, I’ve been looking forward to writing this post, but only now got the courage to sit down and write it. Why? Because WHO in their right mind would stay subscribed to my blog posts after hearing me utter such a phrase?! Now, before you do something drastic and book me a room at an asylum, just let me explain…. I believe in aliens, because I am one. Okay goodness, I guess that didn’t help my case out much at all, did it? Well, if you’ve stuck with me this far, then you might as well stick with me to the end, right? I can just hear the phone call now, “Hello, this is Central State Hospital, how may I help you today?” “Um, yes, I’d like to book a room for two, please.” Okay, all kidding aside, I really do want to explain to you why I can claim the title of “alien,” and how at the end of this post, you’ll probably never look at yourself and your “home” the same way again! Because, uh, yeah, sorry to break it to you, but if you’re a Christian, you’re in alien too!! But, what is the definition of alien? According to Oxford, the word alien has a few different definitions, but we’re only going to be dwelling on the first one this morning. And that one describes alien as, “Belonging to a foreign country.” Now, if someone who lived outside the USA came to the USA, then it’s safe to call them an alien, right? Because, they don’t belong here, they belong somewhere else. The USA is not their home. We, as Christians, don’t belong here on earth. We belong in Heaven. We’re only camping here until the Lord sees fit to take us home. And our home in heaven? That’s where we belong. That’s where we’ll live with Him for eternity, surrounded by fellow believers, worshiping our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We’re constantly reminded in scripture that this world is not our home (Hebrews 13:14, 1 Peter 2:11-12). And get ready for this, Peter says in 1 Peter 2:11-25 that we’re strangers and pilgrims, and in some versions of the Bible it even uses the word, “aliens.” Are you convinced yet? I hope you are, because we’re now leaving the “convincing stage” and going on to the application. And that would be, “how should we conduct ourselves as aliens?” By reading 1 Peter 2, we get a lot of insight into how we should act here on earth. It’s broken down into three key parts. And they all have to do with submission. And we know that submission comes from humility towards others. So let’s look at those points together!
Peter is telling us how we should behave as aliens. =) He’s making it quite easy and clear. He says we should withhold from indulging our flesh and giving into fleshly lusts and desires. He says that our works should glorify God. Why? Because this world is not our home. Since that’s the case, it’s going to be easy to want to “fit in,” while we’re here. I mean, who wants to stick out? But that’s exactly what we should be doing! We should be sticking out and our lives should be so different than those of the world, sharing His light with everyone we see, and making it evidently clear that we don’t belong here. And then people might ask what makes us so different and we’ll be able to give an answer for the hope that lies within us (1 Peter 3:15). 2. Submit to government“Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men—as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.” (1 Peter 2: 13-17) Peter says here, that we must submit ourselves to local, state, and national authorities. Benjamin Franklin once said, “The longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth, that God governs in the affairs of man; and if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid?” That’s true on so many levels. The lack of respect for our president, local and state authorities are truly saddening. We don’t have to agree with the president on every topic in order to show him respect. We don’t have to even like the work he’s doing in order to submit ourselves to his authority. These men and woman were put into office because God wanted them to be. They were selected because God wanted to raise them up. We don’t have know why, or question God’s reasoning, all we have to do is trust Him and know that His ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts higher than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8). So let’s do something. Let’s endeavor to show the utmost respect to the authorities the Lord puts into our lives. Let’s not mock, or make fun of them, but give them the respect the Lord commands. He put them in our lives for a reason, and that reason is ultimately for our good. 3. Submit to masters“Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh. For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully. For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: “Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth”; who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” (1 Peter 2:18-25) The key point in these verses aren’t speaking primarily on submitting to masters. Rather, it’s speaking on being wrongly accused and suffering needlessly. It’s talking about submitting to those higher than you, even if that means you’re being wrongly accused. I’m sure we can all think of at least one scenario where we were wrongly accused. It probably seemed like the end of the world, and this is especially the case among children. But all we have to do during these times is think about the One who was wrongly accused to the point of death. And so we’re given the wise advice to give these matters to the most righteous Judge that ever lived. So let’s try something this week. If we find ourselves in a situation and we’re being wrongly accused, let’s just give it to Jesus and let him deal with it for us. Isn’t that nice that we have our own personal lawyer? He’s the judge, lawyer and jury all wrapped into one, and we know that no matter what, He’ll always rule in our favor. He knows whats best for us and His plans are perfect, far more perfect than we will ever be able to fully imagine. As we go about our day, in a home that really isn’t our home, and a world that really is just a camping ground until we get to our real home, let’s remember one thing; Let’s remember to try and make the best of our stay here. Let’s light the world on fire for Christ. Let’s give a good name for Him and do our best to glorify His name. This isn’t our home. We don’t belong here. We’re aliens until the day the Lord sees fit to take us home. I don’t know about you, but I’m proud to be an alien. I’m happy that this isn’t my home and that I won’t be living here for eternity. I can hardly wait for the day when we’ll be with Him forever, In a place with no more sorrow and no more pain. Where no one dies and no one is cries. A place that’s built with love and laughter as we worship our King together in perfect harmony. I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to finally be home. When you think of the word, “self-control,” what comes to mind? For some people, it’s having self-control over food, or indulging in certain pleasures or hobbies. But when we look deeper into the meaning of this word, we realize that it’s not just talking about one certain thing. It can be referring to many things. The word “self-control" literally means just what it says, “having control over one’s self." Self-control is a widely talked about fruit of the spirit. Self-control from food, self-control from anger, self-control from harmful substances and addictions like drugs, alcohol, and choosing bad options on the internet. All those things are really important, but today we’re only going to talk about one of these categories. Today we’re going to talk about the power of the tongue. We’re going to talk about having control over our emotions and how words can destroy a relationship, crumbling right before our eyes. That’s not a pretty picture, but it’s even more devastating when it happens to you, so let’s see how we can have self-control over our tongues and keep this from happening. Let’s pretend we take ten people and put them into a room. These ten people all have something in common. None of them like each other. None of them can get along nicely. And it’s not because they leave their things laying around, or they take their shoes off and walk on the new clean carpet. It’s not because they take more than they give, or forget to buy gifts on special occasions. No, the true reason they can’t get along is because each of them have hard feelings against the other. They’ve built a brick wall around their hearts. And the reason? It’s because of the power of the tongue. Imagine a heart. This heart belongs to Cindy, a young woman with bright eyes and a bubbly personality. This isn’t your typical heart, mind you. It’s a heart that’s never been hurt, it’s never been harmed in any way. It’s soft and tender, loving and kind. That is, until Allie comes into the picture. Allie is Cindy’s older sister, and up until now, they’ve gotten along quite well. But something changed inside Allie, and not for the better. It all began by a simple negative comment. “You’re cake looks awful, Cindy,” Allie laughed at her sister's first attempts in baking. Cindy laughed along, but it was more to keep from crying than anything. Almost without even acknowledging it, a thin layer of bricks surrounded Cindy’s heart. But it was such a slight change, the layer of bricks so tiny, that Cindy didn’t even notice. But the comments continued. “You’re always bugging me, Cindy.” “Can’t you ever think on your own, Cindy?” “Cindy,your voice sounds awful! Don’t ever try out for the local talent show.” Layer by layer, brick by brick, a wall surrounded Cindy’s heart until there wasn’t even a single spot left uncovered. We can take that entire story and go in so many directions. We could talk about the importance of guarding our hearts to keep from building those walls. We could talk about not keeping a record of wrongs, or being stuck in our past. We could talk about not letting these things define us. But today we're going to address the one thing that started this. The tongue. The tongue is a very powerful weapon. It’s referred to time and again as “fiery darts,” or “sharp as a two-edged sword.” So, how can we have self-control over our tongues? First, we need to look at a few scriptures that speak on this topic: 1 Peter 3:10 “For, Whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech.” Colossians 4:6 “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” Ephesians 4: 29 “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” Proverbs 15:4 “The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.” Given those scriptures, what are some ways we can control our tongue? 1. Think before you speak This might be the most obvious one, and it’s because you’ve probably heard it a lot during your life. If we think before we speak, then it would really cut down on the negative comments. But how do we do this? If you’re the kind of person who speaks hastily without thinking most of the time, then count to five whenever someone asks you a question. And count to five especially before you make a comment towards someone. You’d be surprised at how much negativity this cuts down! 2. Meditate on good things They say, “what you put in your mind will come out through your words and actions.” And it’s true. So let’s fill our mind with godly things. Let’s read our Bibles every day, meditating on His words. Let’s listen to hymns and read wholesome books that will edify us, strengthen us in our spiritual walk, and bring us closer to the Lord. Let’s make sure that what we’re putting in, is worth sharing with others. 3. Pray We must pray every single day that the Lord will give us a loving spirit and a kind tongue. We must pray that He will help us have control over our tongues, because, we can’t succeed in this alone. He is the only one who can help us do it. Do you have difficulty having control over your tongue? You’re not alone, trust me on that! Have you found certain ways to help you in this? Comment below and let me know what they are. I’d love to hear them! Let’s strive to make sure that EVERYTHING we do is bringing glory to His name! With humble hearts, let’s all strive to become more like Christ and take these things to heart. Let's all be joyful, willing, servants of our King. I hope everyone had a blessed Christmas! Do you have a favorite memory from the holidays? Our family went Christmas caroling with our grandparents and that was so much fun! Let me know what you did in the comments, I’d love to hear about it! Imagine being able to go back in time and follow Jesus around every day. What characteristics would you see? Today’s fruit of the spirit is gentleness, and I think I can say without a doubt, it would be on the top of the list of attributes you’d find in Jesus. But thanks to the Bible, we don’t have to go back in time to see Him in action. We can read about his encounters right here in our own homes. And when we read them, one certain word keeps coming to mind on how He treats others. Gentleness. He treats them with gentleness. He treats them with kindness, love, humility, tenderness. Gentleness is a form of kindness, and we know that we will never learn to love others if we don’t demonstrate kindness. Jesus didn’t just go around talking about the many ways to love others. He showed us. And He ended up showing us the greatest act of kindness there is, by dying on the cross in our place, taking the punishment that we deserved. Paul gives us a glimpse of the way he treated others in Thessalonians 2:7. He says: "We were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children.” Some scriptures to think on: Philippians 4:5 "Let your gentleness be evident to all." Matthew 11:29 "I am gentle and humble in heart" Matthew 11:29 "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.” Proverbs 15:1 “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” The act of showing gentleness stops a lot of potential arguments and anger between children. If your child asked another child gently for a toy, instead of grabbing it, there would be a completely different outcome. Even babies can be taught to be gentle. Once they're old enough to grab your hair, you take it from their grasp saying, “be gentle.” If you have multiple children, you’ve probably told the older sibling on occasion, ‘be gentle with your baby sister.” Boys especially, can benefit from the act of gentleness. But in truth, we can all use more of this fruit of the spirit, whether we’re one, or ninety-one. What are some ways we can show gentleness to others? 1. Slow down Sometimes the easiest way to show gentleness is to just slow down. At times, we go so quickly that we end up harming other people with our actions or words, not even noticing that we’re doing it. Slowing down can fix a lot of our problems in this regard. Slow down, take a deep breath, and go about your task with a gentle state of mind. 2. Think about it If someone hurts us, is our first inclination to strike back? Or is it to stop, (count to ten if you need to) and respond with gentleness to the situation. Sometimes a good way to do this, is just by saying nothing at all! 3. Apologize Gentleness can go a long way with just the simple act of an apology. If you mess up, or even if you’re wrongly accused, have a word of apology ready at once. You’ll be amazed how quickly it can diffuse the situation. Wrong accusations can be tough to deal with, especially among children. But like I remind my siblings when situations like these arise, “Jesus was wrongly accused to the point that they killed Him. If He can take being wrongly accused and dying on a cross, and still respond in gentleness, then you can take the wrong accusations, (usually just words) and respond with a gentle tongue." Is there someone in your life that can use a gentle word today? Did a certain person come to mind while you were reading this? If so, make it your goal today to say at least one kind thing to that person. And let’s try our hardest to respond with gentleness in every situation. Let’s strive to make sure that EVERYTHING we do is bringing glory to His name! With humble hearts, let’s all strive to become more like Christ and take these things to heart. Let's all be joyful, willing, servants of our King. "Abby Johnson thought she was helping women in crisis. She was about to learn the truth . . . And facing the secrets of her own painful past would be the toughest truth of all. In this documentary based on the book Unplanned, learn how Abby Johnson went from Planned Parenthood clinic director to leading voice for life and women in crisis." This book was SO eye-opening! It gave me such a vivid look into the lives of the workers on “the other side of the fence.” Abby’s story was precious, a priceless example of the fact that we’re NEVER too far to be brought into the arms of Christ and forgiven and cleansed by His grace and mercy. “unPLANNED” is definitely one to add to your collection! What book are you currently reading? How has it impacted your life? I'd love to hear about it! I can’t believe that we only have two more fruits of the spirit to cover after this one! It seems like yesterday when I started on the journey to deepen my own understanding of these fruits, and I hope that we’ve learned some things together! Today’s fruit of the spirit is faithfulness. Faithfulness can, and should, be directed towards many different people. Your children, your spouse, your siblings, your boss. But today, we’re going to talk about our faithfulness to the most important Person of all, Christ. If you want to learn about faith and some of the Biblical people who had it, Hebrews 11 is a wonderful chapter to read. The entire chapter is about faith, and the heading describes it splendidly; “By FAITH we understand.” I’m not going to list the chapter today, but I encourage you to read it on your own. And maybe you might want to do what I’ve done and underline the phrase, “by faith,” every time it appears in that chapter! =) Do you find it hard to have faith at times? Can you relate to the disciples when they say, “Lord save us! We shall perish!” And then Jesus’ gentle rebuke, “Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?” You see, the disciples had been following Jesus around for how long? They had seen miracles first hand and watched as Jesus cared for others. Yet, when faced with a trial, their faith diminished. How can we make sure we’re staying faithful to Christ? How can we make sure that our faith stands strong in the times that matter most? For starters, staying close in your relationship with Christ is a must. And as the ever-familiar scripture in James goes, “draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” What are some ways we can do this?
2. Don’t let them in! Just like remaining faithful in a marriage, it’s the same with Christ. Don’t let worldly thoughts and temptations stray you away from your relationship with Him. If you ask yourself, “is this glorying God? Is this showing my faithfulness to Him? and you come away with the answer, “no,” then put it out. There’s no room for it in your relationship with Christ. What are some scriptures that talk about our faith with Him? Psalm 37:28 - “For the LORD loves the just and will not forsake his faithful ones.” Proverbs 3:12 - “My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring your prosperity.” Proverbs 16:6-7 - “Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for; through the fear of the LORD a man avoids evil. When a man’s ways are pleasing to the LORD, he makes even his enemies live at peace with him.” Proverbs 28:20a - “A faithful man will be richly blessed, but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished.” Revelation 2:10 - (NKJV) “Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested and will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.” Our faithfulness in Christ is one of biggest things we can count on in this day and age. The Lord has promised to provide for us and keep us safe, but we need to trust Him and have faith that He will do what He says. And here’s a humbling thought; when we’re not having faith in Christ and trusting Him to take care of us, we might as well say, “I want to believe what You’re saying is true, but I just can’t trust that You’ll keep Your promises.” Ouch. Because when has He ever broken a promise? Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m positively sure the answer is ZERO. So is our relationship and faithfulness to Christ important? I’d say yes, absolutely. This is perhaps one of the most important fruits of the spirit that we’ve covered so far. So let’s try something this week, let’s give a thorough look into our relationship and faithfulness with Christ. Let’s endeavor to strengthen it and make sure we’re growing stronger in our faith every day. Let’s strive to make sure that EVERYTHING we do is bringing glory to His name! With humble hearts, let’s all strive to become more like Christ and take these things to heart. Let's all be joyful, willing, servants of our King. The fruit of the spirit for this week is Goodness. When thinking about this post a few days ago, I stood silent a moment, too shocked to speak. In Romans, it clearly states that NO ONE is good no not one! So why would Goodness be one of the fruits of the spirit? Why demand something you know the person can’t give? Was there a typo in the Bible?! The reason, I soon discovered, is because I wasn’t thinking from the right perspective. I was looking in the wrong place! If you define the word goodness, you get this: But if you define the word good? You get a TOTALLY different definition! And I think this one is exactly what we’re looking for! You see, we should seek God’s approval and earnestly desire to please Him. If we’re doing this and succeeding, then we’re being good, like the definition says above. The problem? We can’t succeed. It’s utterly impossible! We can’t please God to the extent that He deserves. Nothing we do can reach the point where God looks at us and says, “Well done my faithful servant, you are GOOD.” As it says in Isaiah 64:6 “But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags…” So, that was the bad news. The good news? We can’t succeed in fulfilling ANY of the fruits of the spirit to the extent that we should! Now, I know that sounds like bad news too, but stick with me. If we’re striving to please God and do our very best, that’s all we CAN do. God understands that, and He knew that we would never be able to reach His standards. That's why He sent His Son to be the perfect sacrifice that we could never be. The reason this is good news, is because we don’t have to be GOOD in order to fulfill that fruit of the spirit. We just need to strive towards that goal with the best of our ability, just like we strive to be faithful, loving, kind, patient, gentle, etc. And how do we do that? By doing things that please the Lord and bring glory to His name. A couple of scriptures to think about: “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Romans 12:2 “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15 What are some ways we can do things for the glory of God? I received a certain email right before I sat down to write this post. I don’t think it was ironic that the sermon excerpt attached was pretty much on the topic of goodness. I think it was the Lord’s timing! So instead of listing ways we can please the Lord, I’ll leave you with a single thought, along with the link to this 6-minute, 14-second episode by John Piper. (Trust me, your life won’t be the same after you listen to it!) As you do every task, pleasurable activity, etc. this week. Think of these four words as you do so, “Is this glorifying God?” Because if the answer is “no,” I urge you to stop doing it. Don’t go a step further before you figure out why it isn’t glorifying Him. Then, endeavor to either put it aside if it’s overtly wrong, or change your attitude and motive so that it’s pleasing to the Lord. Let’s strive to make sure that EVERYTHING we do is bringing glory to His name! With humble hearts, let’s all strive to become more like Christ and take these things to heart. Let's all be joyful, willing, servants of our King. PLEASE don’t miss this short excerpt of Piper’s sermon! It will completely revolutionize your thinking process on this topic! https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/holiness-is-a-race-not-a-prohibition “Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering…” ~Colossians 3:12 The word kindness is described in many ways. Affection, generosity, gentleness, concern. These are just a few definitions of kindness, yet they all seem to be saying a different thing. Generosity is completely different than concern, so how can they both tie into the meaning of kindness? I think this has a lot to do with the reason that kindness can be shown in SO many ways. And many people accept kindness differently. For instance, one person would see a gift as an act of kindness, while another might be more apt to accept kindness in the form of affection or a gentle word of exhortation. What are some scriptures that speak on this topic? “Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” Ephesians 4:32 “Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?” Romans 2:4 “Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant.” 1 Corinthians 13:4 “So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience;” Colossians 3:12 Jesus was our perfect example of kindness. Everywhere throughout the Bible we read how He felt compassion for the poor, sick, and widowed. How He showed tenderness to countless people with a heart spilling over with kindness. He had compassion and mercy on us, taking our place on the cross, the tree that we should have been crucified on. What are some ways that we can show kindness to others? As you read these, try to think of a special person in your life that would benefit from one of these acts of kindness. Remember that some people accept affectionate and personable kindness better than gifts and acts of serving. 1. A smile or a hug Yes! Even something as small as a smile can show such a great act of kindness and brighten their day so much. 2. Serving opportunities Washing the dishes, making your sister’s (or brother’s) bed, cleaning the house, sweeping the floor…the possibilities are endless! All these things are great acts of kindness that will really bless someone’s heart! 3. Prayer Charles Spurgeon, as you read above, believes that the greatest act of kindness for him, is somebody’s prayers. There’s a lot of truth in that. It takes only a few moments to pray for someone, and you never know, your prayers may have been just the thing to help that person through their day. 4. A gift Even something small, like a bouquet of flowers or a plate of homemade cookies can be used as an act of kindness. Because, who doesn’t enjoy a plate of warm chocolate chip cookies?! Did you happen to make some today? If you have a few extra lying around (though if you’re anything like us there is no such thing as “extra cookies lying around”) then you could put some on a plate and take them to the neighbors. You showed an act of kindness right there, and it didn’t even take much effort on your part! But imagine what a blessing it could be to others! You see, acts of kindness don’t have to take a lot of time or effort on our part. There are so many simple ways to bestow kindness to someone, it just takes thinking about it. Let’s all try something this week. Let’s determine to make a conscience effort to show kindness to at least one person. With humble hearts, let’s all strive to become more like Christ and take these things to heart. Let's all be joyful, willing, servants of our King. |
Hi!
|