Governing Through the Fruit of the Spirit
I have always thought of the fruit of the Spirit as byproducts of a life lived in concert with God’s will. A healthy tree produces healthy fruit, an unhealthy tree produces bitter or shriveled fruit, or none at all. A dead tree is dead and a dying one is in the process of approaching death rather than growing and maturing into fullness of life.
We Are Responsible for What We Believe
Too many believers accept anything they hear from the pulpit, see on YouTube, or read in the latest popular book. Abandoning our responsibility to test and prove what we are taught is risky business, leaving us open to being influenced incorrectly, or adopting false teaching and doctrine.
Reading the Bible Through in One Year
2019 is the first year of my life that I’ve managed to read the entire Bible through in one year. I made this a goal at the start of the year and managed to complete the reading in early December, even though there were several periods where I did not read for days (illness, travel, the occasional too busy day, etc.).
Knowing We Do Not Understand – The Hardness of Our Hearts
Jesus’ disciples, His most intimate relationships and those closest to him, did not understand. In this they are like us.
Evil Must Bow to God
As sons of God we are joint heirs with Christ. What attends the throne for him attends for us as well, but we must be righteous and holy (sanctified) in our own position in order to exercise the full measure of our status as sons.
His Presence is Never Ending
The Word is full of reminders that God is with us all the time. He chooses to live in us and allows us to exist in Him at the same time. Sometimes that can be a bit much to wrap one’s head around.
Take the Land!
The Israelite’s have conquered the land but must now possess it. In this they failed, leaving Jebusites and Canaanites to live among them. This is a perfect analogy for us today. We must “fully possess” what God has given us.
Whose Breath Are You Breathing?
To whom have you told [new] words? Whose breath has gone out from you? Will the dead spirits, who are underneath the water, be stirred, or those who dwell there? (Job 26:4,5 Artscroll Stone Edition Tanach)
Here Job retorts to Bilad (after his third speech in which he belittles Job) by asking him whose breath he speaks with. Certainly, it cannot be God’s, for neither the living nor the dead are stirred by Bilad’s wisdom. In essence, Job is telling Bilad that he is unqualified to judge because he lacks the wisdom and yieldedness to do so. He speaks from the heart of man, not as from God.
The lesson for us today is the same as in ancient times. Man’s wisdom is folly in God’s eyes and lacks the authority needed to change what is wrong with our condition. The power is in God’s breath, not our own. What He says sets creation in motion, what we say is carried away by the winds. The difference is in the spirit that blows the breath, ours or God’s.