Write down the revelation...

I struggle with self control. I can fake the other aspects of the fruit of the Spirit until they actually become part of my DNA but I can’t fake self control. It’s hard to turn down dessert (or a second piece of dessert). It’s hard not to purchase more than what I have on my shopping list at Costco. It’s hard to stay sexually pure until marriage. It’s hard not to share information about someone when others around you are gossiping. It’s hard to be self controlled. All summer long, I’ve been dreading writing about self control. I considered aborting the Fruit of the Spirit series because I didn’t have anything to write – at least not by experience. In hindsight, it seems crazy how I let my thoughts go wild and draw me downward. I have personal testimony of the other aspects of the fruit of the Spirit, I know I’ve developed and matured. In fact, this week a high school friend texted me, “you are probably one of the most changed person since high school and now probably one of t...

We’ve had a golden Labrador since my Boy was a toddler; the dog is as gentle as the sun is warm. When the time comes, I wouldn’t hesitate to replace her with another Labrador. She’s our second dog, the first is a Jack Russell, who in contrast is harsh, ornery and grumpy (but we love her anyway because she’s spunky, brazen and fearless). You can do almost anything to the Labrador and she’ll stay relaxed and at peace. My Boy used to climb all over her; when we watch movies, she lays at our feet, content to be used as a foot stool. You can pull her lips, flap her ears or use her as a puppet. She is gentle but when she’s defending our property, she can be a beast to the one who is a threat. Her bark is loud and deep, and she doesn’t back down. When my Boy was younger, we’d send him outside to play but always sent the dog with him knowing she would defend the Boy if necessary but otherwise would remain a gentle companion at his side, playing hockey or soccer with him (she makes a ...

Faithfulness is your history with God. It works both ways – his faithfulness to you and your faithfulness to Him. Without God initiating and proving his faithfulness towards us, we would have no obligation to be faithful but because he is faithful, we can be faithful. This summer I’ve done a lot of tent ministry. I’ve interacted with many people from strong believers to nominal Christians to practicing wiccans (professing atheists tend to avoid the tent which advertises “Free Spiritual Readings”). Time and again, I’m impressed by the pursuit and faithfulness of God towards these precious people. During one conversation last weekend, a fellow was amazed when I told him he didn’t have to prove himself to God. The onus is on God to show us his faithfulness, not the other way around. So many understand the Lord to be distant, unimpressed and hard to please; it must break his heart, because it breaks mine when I hear the stories of people carrying around burdens that are impossib...

There is no one who is good, except by the Spirit. Goodness (Greek = agathosyne ), as described in Galatians 5:22, is something you become by continually acting with goodness towards to another. You cannot be good in a vacuum. To be good, we must have an opportunity to practice goodness with others. It’s much harder this way, isn’t it? When no one is around to irritate me or get in my way, I find it easy to exhibit goodness. It’s when my Man other people are around, the deficit I have in goodness is apparent. The beautiful truth is we are not expected to have goodness apart from the Spirit. The degree to which I am good is the degree to which the Holy Spirit is at work in my life to change my heart. Change the heart, and the behaviour changes. Goodness, as well as any other aspect of the fruit of the Spirit, isn’t produced by striving. Have you ever noticed a fruit tree strive to make fruit? Jesus said if we stay connected to the trunk of the tree (vine), we will bear f...

Random acts of kindness is not dead. A few weeks ago, I was in a shop but was $2 short to pay for my purchases. I told the clerk, I would come back later for that item but the gentleman behind me offered to pay the difference. The man was insistent and I gratefully accepted, and as I walked out of the store, I thanked the Lord for there are still people willing to show kindness to others. Looking around our culture, and the worries and anxieties we carry about health and wealth which cause us to be self centred and thinking only about what’s in it for me, it’s easy to become disillusioned the world is a terrible place. My Man and I work for a company who is at odds with a former company member. We’re caught in the middle; each side wants us to be on board with their cause. In a discussion with a company representative in regards to the former member, I was called naive for showing kindness to the other. They said, the person in question had not reciprocated kindness to ...

My car is nine years old; I bought it new and replaced the brake pads four or five times plus incurred other costs related to brake work. I’ve spent more on my brakes than average drivers because I like speed, or more precisely, I like to get out of the gate quickly. I accelerate and then hit the brakes. I do everything quickly. I eat quickly, I read quickly, and I walk quickly. Patience is not a strong virtue for me, and yet it is a fruit of the Spirit and I want to develop it in my life. The problem is it takes too long to do. Our entire culture fixates on getting things done more quickly. It’s no surprise we are more stressed than ever before. Patience is closely related to peace. A Greek-English lexicon defines patience as ‘to remain seated in one’s heart’ or to keep one’s heart from jumping. It’s similar to the definition for peace, isn’t it? Peace is sitting with one’s own heart and patience is remaining seated. A patient person is a peaceful person. Patience is mor...

Peace. Jesus gave us his peace. His peace transcends (is above) logic or reason. In other words, it doesn’t make sense, and it’s a fruit of the Spirit. Strong’s #1515 tells us it’s a set of favourable circumstances involving peace; it also has a meaning to be without trouble, to have no worries and to ‘sit down with one’s own heart’. I love that last phrase – to sit down with one’s own heart. My Boy sometimes has anxiety; it manifests as anger. I used to react to the anger and fight back with anger. We’d have a yelling match, until eventually I would subdue him because I’m the ‘boss’ and I can threaten him within an inch of his life. As you can imagine it didn’t go well. In those moments, I’d pray to God and he would start to release his peace to me and he’d tell me to lower my voice, and release the peace I carry. Instead of isolating my son as the problem, I hold onto him tightly and speak softly to him, saying, “Anger must go when peace comes in.” The tension in his litt...