Fruit of the Spirit

a verse or two

“ 8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth).” Ephesians 5:8-9

Spiritual Walk and Musings: Fruit of the Spirit - LOVE

The following is William Barclay’s comments on the fruit of the Spirit—Love.

The New Testament word for love is agape. This is not a word which classical Greek uses commonly. In Greek there are four words for love. (a) Eros means the love of a man for a maid; it is the love which has passion in it. It is never used in the New Testament at all. (b) Philia is the warm love which we feel for our nearest and our dearest; it is a thing of the heart. (c) Storge rather means affection and is specially used of the love of parents and children. (d) Agape, the Christian word, means unconquerable benevolence. It means that no matter what a [person] may do to us by way of insult or injury or humiliation we will never seek anything else but [their] highest good. It is therefore a feeling of the mind as much as of the heart; it concerns the will as much as the emotions. It describes the deliberate effort—which we can make only with the help of God—never to seek anything but the best even for those who seek the worst for us.

To Pray and Ponder:

FRUITFULNESS:

The fruit of the Spirit is the spontaneous work of the Holy Spirit in us. The Spirit produces the fruit of the Spirit character traits that are found in the nature of Christ. They are the by products of Christ's control; we can't obtain them by trying to get them without his help. If we want the fruit of the Spirit to grow in us, we must join our lives to his (see John 15:4-5). We must know him, love him, remember him, and imitate him. As a result, we will fulfil the intended purpose of the law: to love God and our neighbours. Which of these qualities do you want the Spirit to produce in you? [From the Life Application Bible Commentary]

GARDEN:
To understand the fruit of the Spirit, we must see ourselves, not as individual trees, but as an entire garden under the cultivation of God's Spirit. His purpose involves not simply the production of a single kind of fruit but all the fruit, each becoming ripe as it is needed. No one person can perfectly exemplify all the fruit all the time. We are all needed to produce God's harvest of virtue. We must not be discouraged if our love or patience is not perfect. It is the constant flow of the Spirit in all of us that produces all the fruit. Don't let your lack of fruitfulness in some areas destroy what the Holy Spirit is trying to do in you today. [From the Life Application Bible Commentary]

an Encounter with Martin Luther

a verse or two

^“4 And if you try to please God by obeying the Law, you have cut yourself off from Christ and his wonderful kindness. ⁵ But the Spirit makes us sure that God will accept us because of our faith in Christ.” Galatians 5:4-5 (CEV)

Spiritual Walk and Musings: Luther, Martin (1483-1546)

info for this blog is from http://www.hollywoodjesus.com/ 

The “Father of the Protestant Reformation.” Luther was a monk in Germany who became convinced that the doctrines of the church were not consistent with the Bible. In particular, he felt that the church ignored the biblical teaching of justification through faith by grace. In 1517 he posted his 95 Theses on the door of the Wittenberg church. In this document he set forth his disagreements with the Roman authorities in the church, particularly with regard to the sale of Indulgences. His rallying cries became ‘by faith alone’, ‘by grace alone’, and ‘only the Scriptures’. By ‘by faith alone’ he meant that a person could be saved only through faith, not by indulgences granted by the church. In 1520 he was excommunicated by Pope Leo X, and in 1521 he received a hearing before an imperial diet in Worms. He was asked to recant his teachings, but he refused, saying, “Here I stand, I can do no other. God help me. Amen.” 

Luther’s ‘by faith alone’ effected all of society. What is it today in our society that needs reform? And what is the churches role in this?

To Pray and Ponder: ON FAITH - here are a few of quotes on faith.

“Faith can put a candle in the darkest night” Margaret Sangster (1838–1912) 

“Faith does not mean believing without evidence. It means believing in realities that go beyond sense and sight—for which a totally different sort of evidence is required.” John Baillie (1741–1806) 

“A Christian who walks by faith accepts all circumstances from God. He thanks God when everything goes good, when everything goes bad, and for the “blues” somewhere in-between. He thanks God whether he feels like it or not.” Erwin W. Lutzer (1941– ) 

What do you think about the quotes – do you agree? Disagree? Why? 

God Bless, Jon

An encounter with God

a verse or two

For in Christ, neither our most conscientious religion nor disregard of religion amounts to anything. What matters is something far more interior: faith expressed in love. Galatians 5:6 [The Message]

Spiritual Walk and Musings: An encounter with God.

How are we to behave during the long wait for God to speak and act in response to the world's injustice? In parts of the book Habakkuk, the prophet talks about those who try to seal themselves off from noticing the distress of the world by accumulating so much personal gain that they never need to come into contact with suffering. And for others escapism is the only way of avoiding the issues (alcohol is the method he mentions). He also talks of those who, having made a fortune at the expense of others, rejoice in the system that allows it to happen (he compares them with fishermen who pillage the sea of every last fish and then worship their nets). 

In these verses Habakkuk warns that some will give up waiting for God and turn their worship to other things - inanimate things that shimmer with gold and silver (or bleep or speed or flash lights or gather dust in a hundred ways). 

Objects that humans have created can be valuable in the quest to alleviate poverty. But in the end only a change of heart can bring lasting justice, not a change of technology. And it is an encounter with the holy God which changes hearts. 

Why not today seek out silence. Try to find a place without the clamour of human voices or the buzz of machines. In the silence, remind yourself of the size and power of the holy God. Then tell him what your hopes, fears and priorities are at the moment. [adapted from www.surefish.co.uk]

To Pray and Ponder: The ancient 'Liturgy of St James' translated by Gerard Moultrie.

Let all mortal flesh keep silence, 
and with fear and trembling stand; 
Ponder nothing earthly-minded, 
for with blessing in his hand 
Christ our God on earth descendeth, 
our full homage to demand. 
Amen 

A short reading from Habakkuk 2:18-20 

“What use is an idol once its maker has shaped it - a cast image, a teacher of lies? For its maker trusts in what has been made, though the product is only an idol that cannot speak! Alas for you who say to the wood, 'Wake up!' to silent stone, 'Rouse yourself!' Can it teach? See, it is gold and silver plated, and there is no breath in it at all. But the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him!”

God Bless, Jon

Union in Christ

a verse or two

So there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles, between slaves and free people, between men and women; you are all one in union with Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:28

Spiritual Walk and Musings: Come to Me and Rest. 

The words of Jesus when he says “come to me...and I will give you rest” tie in so much with placing faith in Christ and being in union with Him. As we spend time exploring Galatians, one thing pointed out is how the purpose of the law was to show what wrong is (Gal 3:19), yet the law was also burdensome creating divisions (some people could fulfil certain parts of the law and others not and so the law separated people). Those unable to fulfil the law ended up exasperated, weighed down and disenfranchised. But union in Christ changes everything—when coming to Jesus and placing faith in him the law is dealt to. Trying to fulfil the law is no longer required and the result is there is no longer difference between anyone – all who come to him are one in union with Christ Jesus and there is rest in him. 

Have you taken on Christ’s yoke? Have you found him gentle and not harsh? If harsh maybe you have not found the real Jesus. Jesus is humble in spirit and not lofty or religious. Jesus said... 

“My Father has given me all things. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 28 Come to me, all of you who are tired from carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke and put it on you, and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in spirit; and you will find rest.30 For the yoke I will give you is easy, and the load I will put on you is light. (Matthew 11:27 – 30)

To Pray and Ponder: UNITY 

Always pray for us to love one another and live in unity. “Christians do not have permission to discriminate against other believers. The emphasis must always be, not on unity for unity's sake, but on unity in Christ. Where Christ is not recognized as Lord, all unity will be superficial, if present at all. But remarkably divergent people who recognize in Jesus their common life will find deep unity and fellowship. 

Those who seek unity as their only goal will find their objective elusive. Those who seek others who also name Jesus as Lord will find themselves yoked with any number of unusual characters. Unity flows out of being "in Christ," not the other way around. Where do you tend to discriminate (culture, background, gender, racial issues)?”  [from LABC-Galatians]

God Bless, Jon

The Need for labourers

a verse or two

"...then [Jesus] said to his disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest. Matthew 9:35-38 (NRSV).

Spiritual Walk and Musings: The Need for labourers.

Sheep without a shepherd behave in a curious way. They follow a 'leader' from among themselves in what appears to be an orderly and purposeful way. The only snag is that their leader does not know which way to go and is as likely to lead them to disaster as to security. Do you ever think of Jesus' description of his society as 'harassed and helpless' when looking at our own. How did we get to a state where we take moral advice from a runner-up on Big Brother, or emotional advice from an astrologer on the back page of a TV guide? G K Chesterton, the 20th century novelist, wrote: 'When people stop believing in God, they do not come to believe in nothing; they start believing in anything.' 

Meanwhile intractable problems - injustice, illness, violence, pollution - continue to blight our world out of sight (or perhaps out of mind). No wonder Jesus urged us to pray for people who will approach this world with the priorities of God, the 'Lord of the harvest'. He was looking for people who would engage with the world's needs not with the attitude of a leader, but with the attitude of a labourer. That is what distinguishes the way a celebrity operates from the way a mission worker operates. And it applies whether you find yourself in a school, in an office, in the National Health Service, or in a developing world country. 

Can you see yourself as a 'labourer in the harvest'? Why not chat with other St. David’s folk and suss what kind of work can be done in the interests of Richmond’s (and beyond) poorest people. Why not consider the opportunities by visiting local volunteer organisations. Also, the PCANZ Global Mission Office help NZ church groups visit 3rd world churches to help and encourage them – why not bite the bullet and go? If you left Richmond at 6am you could be in a remote 3rd world village by 6pm that same day. [adapted from http://www.surefish.co.uk/faith/daily_readings/]

To Pray and Ponder: Pray for mission workers 

Send people who are passionate, O Lord, 
to right what is unjust, 
until your kingdom come; 
Send people who are compassionate, O Lord, 
to stand alongside those who are in pain, 
until your will is done; 
Send people who are humble, O Lord, 
to make known the Saviour, 
until the world is won. Amen.

The Good News

a verse or two

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel” Gal 1: 6

Spiritual Walk and Musings:The Good News:

The gospel of Jesus Christ is good news because it gives us the true life-changing message of hope from God. The world today is flooded with different "gospels," each claiming to offer an easier, better, more meaningful, more effective plan than God's original version. Not only do these "gospels" abound in the world; sadly, they even invade the church. 

The fatal flaw in every different gospel lies in ignoring or trying to bypass grace. These gospels develop their "hope" from the wisdom of humans (technology, education, science). They assign divine value to ideas and principles limited to this present physical world (humanism, materialism, determinism, scientism), and they glorify self-effort (design-your-own-spirituality, moral progress, self-perfection through some program, or even reincarnation). 

We must analyze ourselves and our faith in light of biblical truth. Helpful questions include: Is my life squarely founded on Christ's gospel? Have I been taking grace for granted? Have I allowed other "requirements" to take their place alongside faith in Christ in my understanding of salvation? Am I living by "another gospel"? [from LABC—section on Galatians 1] 

To Pray and Ponder: To follow Truth 

Bonhoeffer wrote that “to deviate from the truth for the sake of some prospect of hope of our own can never be wise, however slight that deviation may be. It is not our judgement of the situation which can show us what is wise, but only the truth of the Word of God. Here alone lies the promise of God’s faithfulness and help. It will always be truth that the wisest course for the disciple is always to abide solely by the Word of God in all simplicity.” 

Pray we do not become so ’clever’ we think we know more about God than God does. 
Pray we stick to the truth 
Pray we have enough simple trust in God who loves us enough, 
enough to ensure His word is understandable and available and true. 

duh 

God would not be God if it were not so

God Bless, Jon

Refugee Sunday 2009

a verse or two

"Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me " Matthew 25:40

Spiritual Walk and Musings: Refugee Sunday 2009:

We’ve all heard people around us take stock of the global suffering and ask: “Where is God in the midst of this pain?”Certainly many refugees would be asking this question. Perhaps God is speaking a direct response to that question in Matthew chapter twenty-five? God's plan for justice, mercy and compassion is “just us”. It is us who are called to help feed the poor. It is us who are called to help heal the sick, to make time for the lonely, to show hospitality to the stranger, to advocate for the downtrodden. None of these things are always easy, it can get messy, it can be inconvenient, it might never end – but in serving the least of these we are serving Christ. 

To Pray and Ponder: The Refugee Prayer [by Faith Asylum Refuge] 

O Lord, 
  we, people of faith and people from various walks of life, 
  have known you through your various channels
as the One who provides 
  food for the hungry, clothes for the naked, 
  shelter for the unsheltered, home for the homeless, 
  freedom for the oppressed, respect for the unrespected 
  and dignity for the downtrodden.

We pray to you to give us the courage 
  to employ ourselves to be of help and support 
  to all refugees and asylum seekers who are suffering 
  because of terror and turmoil in various parts of the world

O Lord, 
  we pray to you that through your grace 
  we are encouraged to honour this commitment 
  which we share for the world.

Amen. 

God Bless, Jon