~Fresh Fruit: Peace~

 ^"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."~Galatians 5:22-23

Peace:
Peace is a state of harmony characterized by the lack of violent conflict. Commonly understood as the absence of hostility, peace also suggests the existence of healthy or newly healed interpersonal or international relationships, prosperity in matters of social or economic welfare, the establishment of equality, and a working political order that serves the true interests of all. In international relations, peacetime is not only the absence of war or conflict, but also the presence of cultural and economic understanding and unity.(from Wikipedia.com)

Question To Consider: Does being a peacemaker, working for peace, mean avoiding conflicts and tough people to "keep the peace"? Is avoidance of hard things in life the peaceful way? 

When we think of Peace, we often times think of the absence of violence, conflict , and war. But , while Peace is those things, it is also healthy or healed relationships, equality, prosperity in social or economic matters. Harmony in many areas of life. But the basic idea of peace , no matter the exact definition, is harmony and the lack of conflict , whether personal or on the larger scale of warfare in the world.

Christ was a peacemaker. Was he always happy with what was going on? No, he got upset in the temple and turned tables when they were using his father's house as a market place. He would be righteously upset but he was the prime example of a peacemaker. He did not avoid issues as to "keep the peace" he dealt with them head on in the most mature , loving, and peaceful way anyone ever has. We see so many situations throughout God's word where Christ could have easily gotten upset, angry, gave a flip comment or short remark or even yelled at someone. He chose peace and He always answered calmly and patiently. And He never ran from problems. Being a peacemaker is an important thing to God.
"God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God."~ Matthew 5:9 (NIV)

The peacemakers will be called sons of God. Working for peace, is a very respectable and good thing. And it is a Fruit Of The Spirit. It is a natural side effect that will result when we are one with Christ. I'm certain not every trail that arises will be an easy one to work for peace...but I am also certain that when we walk in Christ and Christ in us, when we are one with Him, then there will be a desire to have peace in our lives.

For some of us, peacemaker is an easy calling. We don't like arguing, conflict, or anything that disrupts happiness and harmony. For others , this is  not so easy. Maybe we like peace, but it's not an easy thing perhaps due to our environment and people around us, or maybe there is just something within ourselves that refuses peace and is drawn to conflict. Either way, working for peace is something we should do. For some it comes easy. When a situation comes up, they are the ones to mediate. They jump at the chance to find a solution, common ground, figure this thing out and move on. They don't run from it, they face it -but they are committed to working through it in a peaceful loving way. They won't argue, fight or yell, they will debate calmly and work to the finish in love. Others, like myself, we love peace, we hate conflict, but dealing with conflict is not easy. I would rather, walk away or run away if I can, then sometimes deal with something or someone difficult. That isn't good. That does not create peace in myself and it doesn't solve the issue. While I would say that peace comes easy to me, I like it, I would also say I have a ways to grow  in learning how to peacefully deal with a tough situation. I had a situation come up recently and I wanted to run. Flee as fast as I could. But with the help of Godly friends and God speaking to me through them I realized what I was doing is the opposite of peace. I had to face the fire. And in doing so, I can learn how to love and work for peace, truly. It wasn't easy and I did  not like one minute of it. However,  I think I understand what "working for peace" means now. If you live on a zen island with sunny skies and warm breezes all the time with no storms or rain or trials, it may feel peaceful but is this truly peace? A peaceMAKER is someone that confronts these trials head on, like it or not, and tries to solve them in a peaceful way. The opposite of a peacemaker would be one who confronts trials in voilence or yelling and arguing. I sure have a long way to go but after I peacefully confronted the issue (and person) before me, something in me changed a little. I felt like I understood. Working for peace takes effort, takes sacrifice, it's about dealing with hard people and situations in a calm , mature, and loving manner.

All my life, I was labeled the "peacemaker " of the family and even picked on about it. In one way, I would always cherish this remark about me. I felt that, it was what God wanted, a peacemaker and if I was the only one in the family then I take that title in fondness and love. Also, if I was to be labeled something, that would be a very good label to have! On the other hand, was I really a peacemaker? Sure, I tried to keep peace and avoid arguing, that is part of it-but when issues came up, I ran away. I think I am seeing now what a peacemaker is really about. 

Be blessed and renewed as you work for peace ~for you are a son & daughter of God!


~In Christ's Love & Peace~

*M*

~Fresh Fruit: Joy~

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."~Galatians 5:22-23


Joy: Happiness, an emotion.

Today we are exploring the fruit of the spirit, Joy.  We should  not only love others and God deeply, but have joy. What does this mean? This one is a tough one for me. Don't get me wrong, I am a happy /joyful person most times! But, it's the finding joy in trials that is perplexing. Will it be just a natural side effect of walking hand in hand through this life with Jesus? Is joy just something that will come forth from us easily, or do we at times have to choose joy even when we don't feel like it?

I think it's a mix of both. I do think that as we have Christ living in us and we follow the Holy Spirit's leading through our life, there will be times when we are even amazed that we "feel" joy in a situation that otherwise we would not feel joyful about. As we grow in our relationship and maturity of faith, we will have joy in tough times. Or be joyful more often then we used to be. Joy means, happy. It is an emotion. So, it's not always a negative thing to be emotional and have feelings! Faith and feelings do go together because Joy is a feeling. It's happiness.

However, there may also be times when we don't "feel" joyful but, we choose to deal with the situation in Joy, happiness. We choose to be happy despite whats going on. Now, some issues in life, this would take time and not be instant. But in time, God will help us have His joy even in the darkest of circumstances. James talks about choosing joy or considering it to be joy....

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,  because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."~ James 1:2-4


Consider trials JOY?? This has always been an amazing concept to me. Sure, it's easy to be joyful when life is going well. But, James is challenging us to consider it PURE JOY/Happiness when we face job loss, a loved one dies, we face losing a home, face hunger, have issues with family and friends, face an illness.....we are to consider it pure joy. How? Why?


I don't think James is saying we should be happy WHEN these things strike us, we are going to feel normal human emotions of sadness, despair, fear, worry...but I do think he encourages  us to think differently of our situation. Maybe not just see what happened or is in front of us.He tells us to rethink the situation because the testing of our faith produces perseverance. And if we let that complete then we will mature and not lack anything. So, though at the time something is really hard ....and we may not FEEL joy....we can choose joy or at least consider it a good thing because as we persevere through it...in the end we are going to come out more mature and complete in our faith, we will be better off in the end. WoW!


So, choose joy as you go through life. And be amazed at the change in you as you walk closer in love and obedience to the Lord. Thank Him each time you realize "Wow, I am much  more joyful then I used to be" or" I can't believe I'm handling this situation so well" Thank Jesus for that gift. It's his likeness developing in you!!


Have a JOY FILLED day friends!


~In Christ~


M & M

~Fresh Fruit: Love~

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.  Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. ²⁶ Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. - Galatians  5 :22-26

As the writer of Galatians prepares to explain what the fruit of the spirit is , he begins by urging us to live by the spirit and we "will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit , you are not under law" ~Galatians 5: 16-18

It seems that when we are walking closely with God, we are keeping in touch with His Spirit, Holy Spirit, and so we are living by the Spirit. Holy Spirit lives in us once we accept Jesus into our lives...God sends the "Helper" which is Holy Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is what we should see most times in someone who is walking in a close relationship with God/Jesus simply because Holy Spirit lives in us.  The opposite behaviors and actions of the Spirit are those of the sinful nature. Are we always going to perfectly show fruit of the spirit...even the most holy person alive probably does not 100% of the time. For only Jesus is perfect. However, if we are truly walking with God, obeying and following Him, desiring to love and honor Him first in our lives, then these fruits will as a result show themselves at some point. It is  sort of a natural thing that happens as a result of this close walk with the Lord. I like what this  note in my bible says about this topic " Christian Character is produced by the Holy Spirit, not by the mere moral discipline of trying to live by the law. The indwelling Holy Spirit produces Christian virtues in the believers life".



The first fruit we will explore today is Love. Really, I believe that LOVE doesn't need much of an exploration. We can simply observe the life of Jesus to see how we should live in love.. God is love. He loves all at all times without conditions. He is unconditional love and He even loves the wicked, those that reject Him. Even the most evil person to us is loved deeply by God. Jesus walked , talked and ate with "sinners". Those scorned and mocked by society. Those thought to be unloved by God. Not worthy. Jesus loved these people very much. If we are serious about our faith in Jesus , then we should strive to love in this same way. Will we "like" or agree with their actions , choices, behaviors. Not we do not have to agree with those things, but we must love the person. "Hate the sin, love the sinner" type of mindset. Have compassion and mercy on them, realize they need Jesus just as much as you do. But, we cannot love like this on our own, Holy Spirit will help us to love in this way as we continue to deepen our walk with the Lord, God will change our character to be like Him. He will give us the mind and heart of Jesus Christ.

God, thank you so much for sending Holy Spirit to help us in this life. Thank you for your amazing gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.Thank you that you do not just leave us to figure out this life on our own but that you give us Holy Spirit to guide us through. Thank you for your love for us that never fades and is unconditional. Help us Lord, through Holy Spirit, to love others, love ourselves, and love you the way you want us too.

In Jesus Holy Name,

Amen


Be blessed and changed as you choose love!!

In Christ,

~M~

~Fresh Fruit (Of The Spirit!)~

Hello friends and fellow readers...

The next few weeks, hopefully each day , I want to explore a little deeper through studying God's word, reflection and prayer ....the fruits of the spirit. I hope you enjoy this exploration with me and please feel free to comment any additional thoughts and ideas.  I LOVE discussion!

I am calling this blog series "Fresh Fruit" and I will title each one like this "Fresh Fruit: Joy" etc. Fresh Fruit seems fitting since Fruit of the Spirit is indeed "fresh" fruit from God. It is the freshest of fruits and all of us know how tasty and amazing FRESH fruit is. Same goes for the fruit developed in us by the spirit as followers of Christ. It's fresh, pure, and amazing. 

So join with me as I dive into these fresh fruits of the spirit : Love, Joy, Peace, Patience(Forbearance) , Kindness , Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self Control.

 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."-Galatians 5:22-23

God Bless You!

~M~

~Hate The Sin, Love The Sinner~

It is so easy to be angry at someone when they "sin" or do something that we don't approve of. Maybe our kids get into drugs and alcohol. Maybe a brother or sister or friend was unfaithful in their marriage and caused great devastation to their family. Perhaps you know someone that physically hurt someone you love, or even murdered them. Maybe, your own parents abused you. Or, perhaps , like me, a parent killed  themselves due to desperation and unhappiness. Whatever it may be, when sin comes into the lives of loved ones or into our lives, it's so easy to "hate" the person who did it. I mean, after all, they are the ones who did it. This is a challenge to us all....to hate the sin committed, but to love the person (or the sinner) still. Did Jesus actually say the words "hate the sin but love the sinner"? No, he did not say that exact thing. But if you study his life and other things he said and the way he treated sinners, you can conclude safely that Jesus was saying that...through his actions and love. I found this quote recently concerning this idea and thought it summarized my thoughts as well.

"Your friend is correct, Jesus never said hate the sin, love the sinner. But he needs to spend more time studying the life of Jesus because that’s the way He lived. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus re-defined sin to a previously unheard of level, sayng that thinking about sinning is as bad as doing it, but He was frequently accused of fraternizing with sinners, and in fact spent most of His time with them. With the woman caught in the act of adultery, He refused to condemn her but told her to stop sinning. (John 8:11) Same with the crippled man the He healed. (John 5:14) He never condoned the sin, but He never condemned the sinner. His goal in dealing with them was always reconciliation"

We can clearly see that Jesus always showed love or loved a person despite their sin, and he would help a person and tell them to "sin no more". I think we can do the same. Love someone despite their "sin" or what they say or do. Does this mean we are agreeing with what they say or do. Nope. We may actually hate what they say, do, or do not do. But we have to learn to seperate what their actions are we don't like...and them as a person. When we say we don't like someone...we really do not like what they do or say. Can we learn to still love the person and not like their actions? I think this is possible. We just have to seperate it and only God can help us do that. As we draw nearer to God through prayer and spending time with him, through fellowship/church which helps us grow and learn to deal with peoples faults....and through reading his word...He will teach us and help us do this.

One final thought, and I go to this verse when I struggle with this very thing.
"But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you..." Jesus goes further to say to do good to those that harm us and bless those that do evil to us.

It's a challenge but it's possible to Love someone but not like what they do!

Be Blessed Today as you learn to love more!

In Christ's Amazing Love,

~M~

~ Guard Your Heart ~

"Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life."-Proverbs 4:23 

Guarding your heart...what does that mean exactly? How do we do this? I like to pick apart and explore scripture so lets check out what it means to Guard something :

 
Guard: "A person who keeps watch, esp. a soldier or other person formally assigned to protect a person or to control access to a place.

Verb: Watch over to keep safe. "

So it appears to  me , to Guard Your Heart is no small task. It means to keep watch over , to keep safe, your heart.  God asks us to do this because our hearts are the wellspring of life. All of life, stems from and flows from our hearts. Specifically , our emotions, feelings, love, concern , care, everything good...flows from our hearts. We even see that what we say comes from what is in our hearts. The heart is a big deal to God.  He wants us to Guard it. Not just, watch it...but to guard it as a soldier would keep watch over someone to protect them. We are to watch over and keep safe, our hearts. 

 

This can be done in a million different ways really. But, to spare a long post again I will just pick a few ways we can do this. First and foremost perhaps this would be protecting your heart from falling in love with too many people who only will hurt you and leave your heart broken. Choose who you give your affections, your heart too, wisely. After one too many heartbreaks your heart may turn bitter, resentful, unforgiving and unloving.  Also, maybe just guard it from others who are trying to put hurtful and hateful things into it. Just be careful of who you get close too. Love others but maybe some, just should not be your closest friends or even maybe keep your heart protected from certain family members. Whatever goes into your ears and eyes, you have to filter it out before it gets to your heart. Lastly, God cares about your heart. He made it, and He created all of your emotions and designed you exactly as you are. If He gave you a very soft and loving heart that burdens for others easily, this is so precious to Him. How do I know? Because that is HIS heart.  He made you the way you are and He wants you to take seriously protecting your heart from the world changing it and stealing what He put into you...which is LOVE and care and concern. 

 

Be who you are, who God made you to be, and honor Him by loving other people and giving back to Him what He put in your heart. Guard your heart so you can protect the Heart God made in you from turning cold and bitter. 

Keep on loving and stand Guard!

 

In Christ's Love,

~M~

~The Hope of Spring~

This is such a beautiful time of year for so many reasons.  We went through the cold , cruel and "dead" winter months. Long and gloomy days bundled up inside the house. Now, the weather is warming up, we are shedding the winter clothes and getting outdoors more to take in the refreshing spring air! People walk their dogs more, ride bikes with their kids, tend to their yards and gardens, talk to neighbors, take walks as a family and play at the playground. Everyone seems to have a bit of a "spring" in their step. I know that our family tries to get outside as much as possible on these gorgeous days. One advantage of home schooling is that we can put school off until later and just enjoy every sunny beautiful day together as a family! Before the weather turns too hot and it's almost too much to stay outdoors for more then a few hours. I thank God so much for Spring!

Jesus' death and His resurrection are also something we Christians celebrate this time of year. This is perhaps the most important holiday followers of Jesus celebrate because it is the entire message and reason of our hope and belief in Him. And it is so very fitting that it is celebrated in the season of Spring. Christ's death for those 3 days was like the winter months. Dark, sad, lonely, gloomy.....a period of mourning and loss and staying "inside". Similar feelings to what winter can bring to many. His death, was a barren time for those that loved him. But then, in just a few days....He rose to life once again!  And not the same life He had before..but a "new" life! Those that saw Him , that spent that time with Him  before he ascended to heaven, I am sure that was a Spring like season for them. And it is for us!  When we celebrate not only His dying on the cross for us, for our sins, but also and  most importantly His resurrection....we are entering into the Spring season with Him. New  life, refreshing warmth and hope as the winter fades and the sun shines more and more. And refreshing warmth and hope at His rising to life that He truly IS the Messiah , God's Son, sent to save the world from sin and bring us into an everlasting relationship with Him. The fact that He not only died (winter) but then God rose Him in 3 days (spring) proves He is who He said He is....and that there is a glorious hope for us in following, loving and believing in Yeshua. He ascended into heaven and He said he would make a place for us in His Fathers house and He would come back one day to get us and take us home with Him....this is the essence of EASTER and the message of Spring! As you walk outside with your family, as you tend to your garden and observe the beautiful new flowers pushing through the dirt...and all the green that is coming back to this "dead, cold" world blossoming from winter...think of Jesus. Think about His sacrifice for you and me on the cross...and then His resurrection 3 short days later that gives us a new life, new hope, warmth and refreshment! The new flowers coming through...like Jesus rising from the dead and giving us a hope, a hope that there is more to this life and that there is beauty after the long , cold, dreary days of "winter". There is hope....thank you Jesus!

Happy Spring Everyone!!!