Who poked the bear?

Written by Fiona Monaghan We like to think we have all kinds of self control, but what happens when someone ‘pokes the bear’ or ‘pushes your buttons’? That is when we find out just how much self-control we really have. Now we have come to the last of the nine fruit of the spirit and this one is probably the toughest one to live with or without.

The only way to develop self control is to continually work at it. When stress or temptation comes into our lives and we can remember to take a moment before responding. Trying to ‘count to 10’ or take a deep breath, will give us a better chance of not doing or saying something we will have to fix later.

Choosing a correct response to things that come at us in life requires taking time to sort through and determine an appropriate response. Many of us don’t do that. We have that “quick trigger finger.”

The good thing about this is that we can ask for help. God does provide the power behind the doing. We just have to be willing to ask for the help.

Then, of course, we have to put into action self-control when opportunity is presented. To stop and think, to weigh the outcomes of a certain response and the more we can practice the more it should become easier…

This week pay attention to those times you are called on to exercise self-control: in traffic, with children or spouse, with co- workers. Be willing to ask God for help in becoming better self-controlled.

Photo credit: Never & Proverbs

Are you True Blue?

Written by Fiona Monaghan I wonder if we might get a better idea of what faithfulness is if we looked at what it is not?

Someone who is not faithful is one who can be swayed to do mean things. Who can feel ok with letting people down, not living up to promises, not staying true to a loved one but will sell them out for a price.

“…Faithfulness has two different meanings. If we mean the faithfulness of God or Jesus, it refers to steadfastness, honesty, firmness, and God's utter dependability based on His unchanging character. If we mean human faithfulness, it refers to our steady allegiance to God and our trust in Him. A "faithful" man is "full of faith"; he believes in the reality of God as revealed in Scripture…”  compellingtruth.org 

I think I have learned more about God’s personal faithfulness toward me since losing my hearing. I saw things line up to provide me with hearing aids from an unlikely source, was able to get in to see the best surgeon in Seattle to do the implant, to funds being available to pay for it. I could see his promises coming true right before my eyes.

Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track. Proverbs 3:5-6 - (The Message)

This fruit is a result from when we put into action our trust and loyalty in God. We want to live our lives to please Him. We won’t be looking to find a way out of things, or being disloyal to others or trying not to commit to something that requires effort on our part. We will discover that we are becoming people of faithfulness:

“Doing what is needed to take good care of what is entrusted to us”

I would suggest a word study on this one. We think we know what it means, but when you look it up in the dictionary or online, there is so much more to this word. You might be surprised…

Photo Credit: Faithfulness & Lucado

Strong Gentleness

Written by Pastor Rex Hamilton A couple years back, I read a fascinating book by Dr. Henry Cloud called, Changes That Heal. In it, he speaks to the notion that one cannot be a healthy person without the presence of both Truth and Grace. He states that without truth and grace being lived out on a daily basis a person cannot be emotionally healthy.

When it comes following Jesus, the same can be said about Strength and Gentleness. Both work together to help form our faith and trust in Jesus, they drive our ability to be a credible witness in our world.

Look at the life of Jesus. Countless times people confronted him and every single time he exhibits strength through his gentleness. He never backed down from people, but he never pointed a finger in their face. I wish I could say that about myself!

Today, as you read this- ask yourself if your thoughts, actions or words have been marked with strong gentleness. Be truthful with yourself. And then show yourself some grace. I know Jesus will...

A Fruitful Effort

Written by Fiona Monaghan Gentleness is a trait, I think, that we would like more of. It paints a picture of someone who is careful with other’s feelings, who can soothe with their words and be mindful of other people that share their lives. It is not a place of weakness, but of great strength. For someone to be gentle requires effort. To be mindful of how our words come across to another, requires effort, and to be careful toward people in our lives, requires effort.

Picture a small child who has been given a kitten to hold. We tell them “be gentle” as their tendency would be to squeeze and maybe get scratched in the process. It is by extra effort that gentleness is managed.

Jesus was portrayed as a gentle man. But no one would call him a weakling or someone who was easily pushed around. He showed gentleness to people caught in bad circumstances by extending kind words and gentle commands. ‘…neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more…” He came along side people at their most vulnerable and never seemed to be at a loss of words. He just knew the right things to say.

If we are to grow in this fruit I believe it requires effort on our part. The other fruit we have looked at previously result from a trusting place - trusting God with our lives and circumstances. This one has us making the effort to think about what we say, how we say it and what action we use around people who share our lives. The better we can do this requires us to know the one who showed how to live it. As we study Jesus’ life and the way he treated people we would feel encouraged to do likewise.

Try asking the people in your life if they see you as a gentle person and then act upon that.

Photo Credit

What has its hold on you?

Written by Fiona Monaghan We looked at what living a life attached to the True Vine or Jesus would like versus living attached to things of this world and looking for them to satisfy and provide for us.

If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. ⁸ By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. John 15:7-8

I heard a pastor use a visual for the word ‘abide’ that has really stuck with me. He showed a little kid’s toy, this little man inside a gargantuan robot body. When the little man wasn’t inside (or abiding) in the robot he was in his own power and susceptible to all kinds of trouble and problems. But when he climbed inside the robot body, he was able to use all the power available to him in that robots power. That is what abiding in Christ looks like. We climb into Jesus and let Him ‘live out’ in us, He is also the Power behind the work.

“The disciple who abides (is at home) in Jesus is in the will of God, and what appears to be his free choices are actually God’s foreordained decrees…” Oswald Chambers

To live within His will and plan for our lives then frees us from all sorts of things. We take steps daily toward our future knowing He’s got it all mapped out. If we turn our concerns over others into prayers for them, it accomplishes things for the Kingdom far better than worrying will do. To do this we need to trust God with every aspect of life with the confidence of a little child who is totally focused and accepting that our Father would never do anything to hurt or disappoint. He loves us and wants only the best for us in order to grow and strengthen us to be useful in our time here.

Are there some things that have got you ‘hooked’ - things that have too strong a hold on you that need to be cut away so you are free to live your life fully and healthily getting your sustenance from the True Vine?

Photo Credit

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdgaO37W2Fs

Joy comes from within

Written by Fiona Monaghan But the fruit the Holy Spirit produces is love, joy and peace. It is being patient, kind and good. It is being faithful and gentle and having control of oneself. There is no law against things of that kind. Galatians 5:22-23

Many think of joy as a happy emotion. An emotion one feels when something really, really good happens. When in all actuality, it is a deep sense of well-being and contentment no matter what the circumstances are around you.

James uses joy in this verse … Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.  For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.  So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. James 1:2-4

Joy is something that comes from within, not subject to circumstances being all lined up in your favor and looking good on the outside.

Joy is distinctly a Christian word and a Christian thing. It is the reverse of happiness. Happiness is the result of what happens of an agreeable sort. Joy has its springs deep down inside. And that spring never runs dry, no matter what happens. Only Jesus gives that joy. He had joy, singing its music within, even under the shadow of the cross.   - S.D. Gordon

As I came to understand what joy is and what it is not, it became much clearer to me that it isn’t a character trait we can formulate. It seems to flow out of other things. Gratitude (as mentioned above); gratefulness, knowing that this life as we know it is not all there is; that there is something better coming. It is putting our faith and trust in God no matter what may be happening in our lives whether good or bad. Knowing He is still in control and it will work out in the end, even if not how we expected it. Then, from that choice of behavior joy flows.

This week’s challenge: Do your own word study on JOY. See how many quotes and verses you can come up with and see if your understanding of the word will change.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKdpSqHBzuA

What are you growing in your spiritual garden?

Written by Fiona Monaghan This weekend I was working in my garden planting vegetables. While I was working, a talk I had heard came to mind. In the talk, the teacher painted a picture with words that have stuck with me throughout the year and I wanted to share with you.

A gardener is planting his seeds into the soil and then attaches a picture of what that plant will look like when it comes to maturity; usually the package that the seeds came is attached to a stick at the end of the row.

Imagine the seed is in the ground and wonders what it will look like when it matures. He pokes his head out every once in awhile to look at the picture of the mature plant. “Oh yes! That is what I will look like when I am done growing!”

Even though just a tiny seed with little evidence showing of what he will become, it doesn’t have to do much more than just wait, be patient and become like that picture.

This is much like Jesus’ encouragement to us to abide in the vine making sure we stay attached and in time we shall become mature branches and produce fruit. He used gardening metaphor because he was speaking to agrarian culture where they knew planting, reaping, and harvesting terms. We are encouraged to produce Fruit of the Spirit which are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self control.

This fruit or character traits don’t come easy to us. We experience a tug of war from all the opposite traits. But, the promises are there for us -“Christ in you, the hope of Glory” “Abide in me and I will abide in you …^{” “} Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives…” We are asked to join God in the work that he is already accomplishing all around us, and how best to be of help but to exhibit the fruit we are asked to exhibit.

Jesus is our model. He is the picture on the seed packet. He lived the character we are asked to exhibit. Not only that, he promises to empower us with his Spirit, to become all that we can be.

Take a moment and write a down a couple verses of Jesus’ words (ex: “If God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and gone tomorrow, won’t he more surely care for you?” Matthew 6:30; “Anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes my Father who sent me” Mark 9:37;“I say, love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. Pray for the happiness of those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you” Luke 6:27-28). Spend a week looking at them, soaking them in, activity applying them to your life. Jesus challenges us to grow and by continually looking to him and his lessons we will keep our eyes focused on him.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDFfF31Z6kg