On hold until June

It seems that our meeting days either fall on a national holiday (Easter and Mother's Day) or a special church day (Word of Light's anniversary picnic service). So no meetings until June when we begin our DVD study More than a Good Bible Study Girl by Lysa Terkeurst.  Good news is that Lysa is going to be the guest at this years women's conference!  So until then, may God continue to watch over you and may you continue to rely on Him!

Spring Cleaning

It is the time of year that many of us begin looking around our house and deciding that it is time to spruce the place up.  Walmart has moved their cleaning items to the front of the store to entice us to begin that process.  We open up the windows, deep clean the carpets, scrub the floors and walls and add some color to our environment.  Today I want you to begin thinking about spring cleaning your other house also.

2 Kings 20:1 says,”set your house in order, for you shall die and not live”  These words were spoken to Hezekiah on what was to be his deathbed.  However, he turned to God and prayed, he had a spiritual spring cleaning of sorts, and God heard him and not only healed him but granted him 15 more years of life.  Now, I am not saying that spiritual spring cleaning will add any years to your life, but I will say that just as spring cleaning your house makes it a more pleasant place to live and be, spring cleaning your spiritual house will make you a more pleasant place for the Spirit to dwell.

During the winter months our homes become “stale” with recycled air circulating, Extra dirt gets brought into the house that may not be cleaned out as efficiently due to shorter daylight hours or cold weather or business.  Our spiritual house is the same way.  We go through periods in our life we were are just recirculating what we know and not inviting anything new in.  We allow extra dirt to creep into our lives gradually, but it builds up.  The world outside dirties up our windows and every so often it needs cleaned off/out.  Today I invite you to begin spring cleaning your spiritual house.

To do this, we need to take a look at ourselves and evaluate what needs cleaned first.  Continuing with the spring cleaning analogy, we usually start with the things that are dirtiest or those that are most obvious first.  Seriously, do you clean under your fridge before while the counters are covered with dishes?  It is the same with our spiritual spring cleaning.  Take a moment and think about the one thing in your life that you feel should be your biggest priority to straighten up right now.  Here are a few areas you may want to examine:

·         Your heart – we can’t clean ourselves up without God.  Psalm 51:10 tells us that God creates a clean heart and renews a right spirit within us. 

·         Your mouth – this is more than just bad language, as we have talked before it includes how we talk about others(negative talk, pessimistic thoughts, complaining, gossip etc) Phillippians 2:14 tells us to do EVERYTHING without complaining or arguing while Luke 6:45 tells us that what we speak is the overflow of our heart.  If our heart is a reflection of our relationship with God, what are our words showing the world about that relationship?

Once we have discovered what needs cleaned, we need to gather our tools.  When cleaning your home you don’t grab a straw broom to clean the bathtub.  We also need to be sure we are using the right tool for this job.  There are tons of books out there about how to get closer to God, how to have the life every Christian wants, how to be a godly woman.  I don’t know about you but I am a gadget girl.  I like trying new things that are supposed to make cleaning quicker and easier.  I would LOVE to have one of those Roomba things that clean the carpet for you.  Sometimes we look for the easy way to clean our spiritual souls too.   I am a reader, so I turn to books a lot in an attempt to find the path to “better”.  A title like How to have a new Kid by Friday appeal to that part of me that wants to fix it quick and with little effort.  Reality is though that sometimes our quick fixes are based on a firm foundation of truth, and sometimes they are not.  When cleaning our spiritual house, we need to be sure that the tool we are using is really going to work rather than waste time and effort trying everything else first.  This tool is the Bible.  Need to know how to remove a stain on your heart?  The Bible holds the answer whether that stain is unforgiveness, idolatry, idleness, pride or any other stain.  Before you start cleaning take some time to research what the Bible has to say about what you are wanting to clean up.  Write it down and keep it with you so that when you are having a particularly rough time removing the stain you can turn to your tool for help.  Hebrews 4:12 tells us that the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two edged sword.  It is probably the ONLY THING that can remove the stain.

So we know what we are cleaning and how to clean it, now we need to declutter.  I am a pack rat, both in this world and spiritually.  Given the option I would surround myself with TONS of seemingly meaningless stuff because of the meaning I tend to place on something.  I saved baby teeth (finally threw those out about 2 years ago), the dried up umbilical stump is taped in one of my kids baby books, and anything that could be recycled into a crafty project gets saved too.  I am recovering from this need to save for one reason and one reason only.  The clutter it creates makes life more difficult.  It is hard to feel at peace in a home of barely controlled chaos.  When every flat surface in your house is cluttered to the point you can’t even put a glass on your side table then I began to feel cluttered and out of control and overwhelmed.  Our spiritual life is the same.  Are you hanging on to something?  Anger, unforgiveness, the thought that it was better before?  In my spiritual life I collected the negative thoughts that others voiced about me and clung to them believing they were part of who I am.  No one would love me because I was fat, I wasn’t good enough at _________, I didn’t deserve what my parents gave me, if my mother had been smart she would have left me with my father when they divorced because I was ruining her life. And so much more.  We all have those voices from our past that cause us to doubt that God loves us, really loves us.  Toss out the clutter.  You don’t need it, it doesn’t define you, and it doesn’t matter anymore.   Hebrews 12:1 tells us to strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that hinders our progress.  Ephesians 4:31 tells us to get rid of bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.  Romans 12:2 tells us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds and Philippians 4:8 tells us to focus on things that are just, pure, lovely, of good report, of virtue and praise.

Next comes the hard part, for me at least.  I am a procrastinator at heart.  The problem with that is that I don’t function well under pressure so when I wait until the last minute to do something, things tend to fall apart around me.  If I put off spring cleaning the next thing you know I get a phone call telling me I am going to be having unexpected company and I begin rushing around like a mad woman trying to get it all done and I inevitably end up overlooking something (picture rings in the toilet or toothpaste globs in the sink).  Basically, it doesn’t get done right and I end up looking for short cuts which we have already mentioned don’t always  work.  In my case, they rarely work.  Soul cleaning is the same.  God wants what is best for us.  Sometimes that means He sees we aren’t serious about our cleaning so He will give us an “unexpected” to push us into doing what we should have been doing to begin with.  You see, even the best laid plans are useless if you don’t implement them.  James 2:14 asks “what does it profit if someone says he has faith but does not have works?”  There is no spiritual profit if you do nothing.   However, you have to do more than just start.  Really, can you get all your spring cleaning done in one day?  It is the same with soul cleaning…it’s a process that requires self-discipline to complete.  I read that “success in any endeavor where self-discipline is involved boils down to this question: can you make yourself do something you don’t particularly want to do in order to get a result you would like to have?”  Few people really enjoy soul cleaning.  It’s painful at worst and uncomfortable at best.  But as Christians we claim that the result we want is to be like Christ, and that means making ourselves do the work. 

Don’t forget the closets!  These tend to get overlooked in my house because no one ever sees them but me and my family.  That being the case I tend to not fret about them so much.  The problem with that plan is that the closest is where my kids store their laundry basket.  When I don’t pay attention to the closets, over time the clothes hanging in the closet that are off season and have been hanging for up to 6 months w/o being washed begin to take on the odor of that dirty laundry basket.  That means extra work for me when I do get around to cleaning the closets because I have to wash clothes that are technically clean but reek.  Our souls have spiritual closets as well, those areas of our lives that no one else sees, sometimes not even our spouse or family.  We tend to hide our dirty laundry in the closets hoping that the guest (the Spirit) doesn’t look into them.  Problem is, guests always go looking.  Proverbs 15:11 (NLT) says that even death and destruction hold no secrets from the Lord.  How much more does he know the human heart!  There isn’t a closet dark enough to secret enough to hide something from God.  The struggle to keep our deepest, darkests from Him does nothing but hurt us.  Psalm 32:3-5 says When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD"—and you forgave the guilt of my sin.

Once you have done all this work to clean out the yuck, you need to set you mind upon keeping it clean.  Few of us invest all the time to spring clean our home and then throw our hands up, say mission accomplished, and quit taking out the trash afterwards, or stop running the vacuum.  You try to maintain that sense of peace that a newly scrubbed house brings.  The Bible tells us how to maintain that sense of peace.  I like how the NCV translates Galatians 5:16-17 So I tell you: Live by following the Spirit. Then you will not do what your sinful selves want. Our sinful selves want what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit wants what is against our sinful selves. The two are against each other, so you cannot do just what you please.  If you aren’t walking in the Spirit you are at war.  War is not peaceful.    So stop warring and let the Son shine in on your newly cleaned soul, Jesus that is. 

God ... is the one who invited you into this wonderful friendship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 1 Cor. 1:9 (NLT)  You were not intended to do this alone.  God knows you can’t.  So now that you have scrubbed your windows, shown Him what is hidden in your closets and started looking to His word as your tools, why not invite some company.  Sit down and chat with Jesus every day.  Unlike the friends you have here on earth, He may already know what you have to say, but He isn’t going to jump in and tell you how bad His was too.  I am not going to tell you that the relationship or conversation will be all about you, but it will be one in which you are the center of His attention.  He won’t have to put you on hold to deal with an errant child, or ask to call you back so He can cook supper for his family.  Jesus doesn’t have call waiting.  When you call He always answers and you will have His undivided attention for the duration of the conversation.  He LOVES you and misses you.  He wants to know all about your day, your thoughts, your fears.  But like any friend it can’t be one way.  Be sure to thank Him for the little things He does for you.  Did you get an awesome parking space today?  Tell Him thanks, He was saving it for you.  Did you get just the right words from a friend when things seemed rough today?  Thank Him for letting your friend know you were hurting and guiding them to you.  He does lots of behind the scenes orchestrating in an effort to look after you.  When is the last time you said thank you?

So what are you waiting for?  Got your list?  Get cleaning girlfriend!

The Velveteen Rabbit

( I don't know that this lesson will do you much good unless you have the book The Velveteen Rabbit: Or How Toys Became Real as the lesson follows the book)

Read until Rabbit asks what is Real – the rabbit is like a person in the world - worth is determined by how others view him.  Rabbit wants to be loved and accepted but listens to what those around him say.  Everyone in the room wants to be REAL.  Take a moment and answer Rabbit’s question for yourself. What is real?

Continue reading

REAL is something that happens to you, when you are REALLY loved.  It can be painful and it is a gradual process.  Becoming a real christens is similar.  It happens when you finally realize you are REALLY loved by Christ and His Father.  While your acceptance is the first step, the rest of your life is a journey to becoming REAL, ending when you stand in the presence of God.  You don’t earn God’s love, He loves you, end of story.  (Romans 5:6-8)   The people who break easily, have sharp edges or have to be carefully kept are also in the world.  These are the ones who step away from God when things get tough and stop trusting Him.  They refuse to repent of their sins, or they avoid the hard parts.  Think about the parable of the sower (Luke 8:4-14)  all have the same information available, but not all grow from it and trust.   I read in Eat Your Peas:  Faithfully by Cheryl Karpan  “For the faithful, accepting change and opportunity is a time of growing in God’s love and becoming all we are meant to be. Are you willing to give up what is for what could be?”  Those who don’t become REAL are those who aren’t willing to give up what is for what God has for them. 

Once you are Real, you can’t be ugly (despite all that has happened in your life, all you have done wrong) except to people who don’t understand (p. 10)  God doesn’t see all of our ugly anymore no matter how the world views us, what they know of our past, how we have messed up, how unworthy we really are, God sees us as beautiful.  (1 samuel 16:7, Ecc 3:11)

p. 14-15  The Rabbit was pulled out of what his routine in life was and placed into a situation that was at first very uncomfortable for him.  He was squeezed, smothered, lonely and missed what he had before.  God also pulls us out of our comfort zones and places us in situations that are uncomfortable.  Sometimes, like in the Rabbit’s case, it is done to help others during a time of need in their own life.  Rabbit accepted what had happened and over time began to see that it wasn’t so bad after all.  He became what he needed to in order to fulfill a need and in the process he began to be happy, despite the toll it was taking on him.  Part of becoming REAL is sacrifice, being willing to give up what you want so that you can serve others. (1 John 3:16, John 15:12-13)

p. 17-23  As Christians we have to be careful that we don’t begin to think that we have achieved REAL even though we are still on the journey.  Rabbit wanted to be REAL so much that he allowed himself to be convinced he had achieved it, despite the evidence that proved otherwise.  We have to be always compare ourselves honestly to what is REAL, God’s Word.  While the Rabbit may have resembled a rabbit, inside he was still stuffing and thread.  It is our hearts that God looks at and it is our hearts that will show us to be REAL or not.  Becoming real is more than just believing.  Being a Christian is more than just believing in Christ, the demons believed in Jesus and they weren’t Christians. (james 1:19)  Believing is part of being real (Hebrews 11:6), had the rabbit not believed he would have had nothing to strive for, no purpose or goal, but it wasn’t the end of the journey, just the beginning.  Sometimes we deceive ourselves, hiding from reality, and we get hurt, or hurt ourselves as we are trying to serve God, just as Rabbit was hurt.  We have to be willing though to examine ourselves, to consider the truth of the life we are living. Galatians 6:3

Another point in this section is the real rabbits.  They were a stumbling block for our Rabbit.  Quick to point out how he wasn’t REAL, how he couldn’t do what they could, and then run off and leave him.  These real rabbits remind me of Pharisees.  They represent the Christians who are so caught up in who they are that they don’t think about how their words and actions affect others.  They are quick to point out wrongs and yet disappear rather than assist Rabbit in truly becoming REAL.  Romans 14:13 tells us not to be a stumbling block, not to judge others.   We have to be careful that we encourage each other on this journey to becoming REAL.  (1 Thess 5:11, Hebrews 10:24-25)

p. 30  Again Rabbit’s situation is changing, the journey to becoming REAL is one in which things don’t always happen as we think they will.  Rabbit stayed true to the situation he had been placed in, gave everything he had to it, thought that he was going to be rewarded with a trip to the ocean, only to discover that his situation was changed again.  He felt discarded and was set aside.  Things looked very dark for Rabbit.  We will have dark times on our journey also, times when we feel that perhaps the situation is unfair, or that we are alone.  Perhaps we will feel like all of our actions have been in vain and that we have wasted a part of our life.  James 1:2-4 tells us that these times are tests of our faith and they help us to grow more real.

P. 34-39 Rabbit didn’t hold it all in and pretend like he wasn’t upset.  He was honest about how he felt, just as we need to be honest about our feelings.  It was because Rabbit was honest and allowed the tear to fall that the fairy came.  She came to make Rabbit real.  I believe that we will also stand before one who will make us REAL and that He also will ask if we know who He is.  Our life here on earth is like being real to the Boy.  God surrounds us with people who love us, people who are willing to help us on our journey to becoming Real.  They may only be in our life for a short time.  They may be people that we must sacrifice for and become ragged for as we learn to love selflessly and completely.  They may move on from us and leave us behind.  We may get hurt by them and we may feel loved by them.  It is our responsibility though to give them our love, to give them everything we have so that we can be REAL to them because one day Jesus will stand before us and ask if we know him. 

So what do we learn about becoming real from Rabbit.  First, we need not compare ourselves to others.  (Gal. 6:4, 2 cor. 10:12)  Second, becoming real hurts (1 peter 4:12) but it will help us grow (romans 8:28).  We can’t become comfortable and deceive ourselves about what we really are (romans 3:23, 1 timothy 4:1).  We need to encourage each other (1 Peter 4:8-10, Heberws 10:24).  Finally, we learn that we have to share everything with God (phil 4:6-7, psalm 27:14, 2 cor. 9:8, prov. 3:5-6, 1 peter 5:7)

See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are!
1 John 3:1 (NLT)

Ruth and Orpah

To me, the term “sold out Christian” is as silly as the label “very explosive dynamite”.  Dynamite isn’t dynamite if it isn’t very explosive ~Aaron Darlington

This story takes place during the time of the Judges

Exodus 3:17- God tells the people that the land He was giving them would flow with milk and honey

Exodus 6 – God sets some rules about this land.  The Israelites needed to be careful to obey Him so that it would go well with them there.  They should love God with all their heart, soul and strength, be careful to not forget the Lord, serve only God, not test God, keep His commands and do right in His sight.

Then we get to Judges.  Judges begins with the Israelites not destroying the altars of the people currently living in the land, making agreements with the people rather than driving them out as God had instructed them to do since He had given them the land.  As a result God tells the Israelites that He will not drive the people out of the land, instead they would be left as a test to see if the Israelites will keep God’s ways.

After that generation died, the next didn’t know God and began to do every thing that God had warned them to be careful about not doingl.  The He appoints Judges for the Israelites, and as ling as the judge is alive the Israelites do well.  When there isn’t a judge they “do evil in the eyes of the Lord”.  During these times the Israelites warred with the surrounding people, including the Moabites.  These multitudes of wars led to a famine in the land.  This is where Ruth begins.

Read Ruth chapter  1

Let’s look at Orpah and Ruth

Bot women were Moabites.   Moabite history lesson – when Israelites were leaving Egypt the Moabites refused to help.  As a result non of the Moabites for ten generations could enter the assembly of the Lord with the Israelites couldn’t even seek a treaty of friendship with them.  (Deuteronomy 23:3-6)  At one point, in Judges 3:14, the Moabites ruled the Israelites.  At least until their king was killed by Ehud in his private chamber which led to a war in which the Israelites killed 10,000 Moabites.  This led to a tenuous peace of 80 years and then discord broke out again.  These women probably would not have been readily accepted in Bethlehem due to the history.  They both knew that.  Yet they both pack up their belongings and start on the road with Naomi.  They didn’t know what was in store for them at the end of the road.  This is like the beginning of our Christian walk.  We were outsiders, our past actions weren’t approved of by the people we were wanting to join.  Still, we were willing to pack up our stuff and change our lives.

At some point on the road though, Naomi seems to reconsider the girls coming with her.  Whether this was out of concern for them or because she was concerned about what her family and friends would think about her and her sons for marrying them we will never know.  Whatever her reasons, she tries to convince the girls to return to their old loves.  We face this early on in our Christian walk as well.   Someone makes you feel like you can’t have the life you thought or that your old life was better.  Think about it and I bet it has happened to you!

Orpah turns back.  She loved Naomi, or at least cared enough about her that the thought of separating from her brought her to tears.  But in the end, she turned back.  Makes me wonder if maybe she was just following the crowd and her heart wasn’t really in it.  After all, when she married, Naomi and Ruth became her family.  It was her husband’s families job to provide and care for her.  These were the people she hung out with.  She felt safe and comfortable with them.  Problem is that she may have been part of the family based on legality, she wasn’t part of the family in her heart.  So when faced with the thought  that things were going to be rough, she abandoned what she had committed to and went back to her old life.  A lot of Christians do too.  Maybe not as dramatic as Orpah, they may not revert entirely back to their old life, but you can tell that they are just following the crowd.  That they like the company more than anything else.  These are the ones that when things get tough, rather than draw closer to God, they start missing church services, or skipping Bible study time.  Or they are the ones that never started studying to begin with, more concerned with creating the image of Christianity than actually being one.  They get so hung up on how others see them (I am hanging out with Ruth.  Yeah, you know Naomi?  She is my mother in law.  Yep, I go to that BIG church on the main road.  Etc) that they forget to get to know God.  For whatever reason, they don’t really commit, just like Orpah didn’t really commit.

Ruth however, clings to Naomi.  She doesn’t know what is waiting for her anymore than Orpah does, but she knows that she is part of Naomi’s family through and through.  Look again at what Ruth tells Naomi.  She gives up everything that is her, her ability to go where she wants to, her gods, even a choice about where she will die and be buried.  She sells out.  This is what God asks of us.  He wants all of us, He wants us to love Him as Ruth loved Naomi, with all of our heart, soul and strength.

I believe that Ruth’s love and devotion so impressed God that he allowed her to be part of Jesus lineage.  A Moabite that should not have been allowed to join the assembly of God.  Ruth wasn’t a dynamite dud!

Patience

Luke 21:19 “By your patience possess your souls” NKJV or NIV says “By standing firm you will gain life”  

The Greek word used in these verses is hypomonē  (hü-po-mo-nā')  which means steadfastness, constancy, endurance, a patient enduring, sustaining perseverance.  In the NT it is the characteristic of a man who is not swerved from deliberate purpose and his loyalty to faith & piety by even the greatest trials and sufferings.  It comes from the word hupo which means under and mone which means abide.    

Patience isn’t something we naturally have.  All you have to do is to watch a child and you can see that patience is not something that comes naturally.   We all struggle with waiting whether it be waiting for something good to happen, a bad situation to end, an answer to a question, traffic to move, or a line to end.  Paul describes Jesus as having limitless patience in 1 Timothy 1:16.  I would say that he would have to have it as many times as he has reached out to us as sinners and we reject him.  Other than the obvious fact that if more of us had patience the world would be a better place, why should we, specifically Christians, have patience?

Patience is first a trait of God.  He is a God of patience (Romans 15:5).  Think about how he has been patient with His people.  How many times He has endured rejection by those he loves, how many times He has persevered while his chosen people have forgotten Him, ignored Him, worshipped others, mocked Him.  In Ephesians 5 we are called to be imitators of God, this includes patience.

Acts 14:22 tells us that life is going to be hard, we will have many hardships before we get to enter His kingdom.  Peter tells us not to be surprised by trials (1 peter 4:12-13) we should expect them.  We experience trails so that God can learn our hearts (Deut 8:2-3), so that we may avoid sinning (Exodus 20:20) and so that we may gain patience (Romans 5:3)  We all know the story of Job, a man who had it all, lost everything, went through a terrible ordeal emotionally, physically, financially etc.  He remained steadfast, James calls him patient in chapter 5:11 (KJV), and in the end he was rewarded.  Let me point out that Job complained.  He cursed the day of his birth, he begged for death, he complained in the bitterness of his soul.  Kind of goes against our modern definition of the word patience (the quality of bearing misfortune, provocation, annoyance, delay, hardship, pain etc with fortitude and calm and without complaint anger or the like)  Even God complained when the Israelites repeatedly turned from him.  Patience is not putting on your big girl britches and your happy face and pushing through it.  Patience is hanging in there and making the best of it without sacrificing your faith, your purpose, your beliefs, your trust in God.  Did you get that?  Patience is trusting that God has a plan in your life and that He knows what He is doing.  You abide under all circumstances because you know He is in control. 

In the end Job received much more than he had to begin with.  It wasn’t the same, it was better.  He gained twice as much as he had before he was tested, his daughters were the most beautiful in the land.  We too have a reward for our patience.  Matthew 24:13 tells us that “he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved”  James 1:12 tells us that “blessed is the (wo)man that endureth temptation, for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised them that love him.”  2 timothy 2:12 tells us that “if we endure, we will also reign with him (Jesus)”  

Now some of us are sitting here thinking, “I got this one covered.  I have no problem with being patient when the going gets tough.”  Great!  For some, that is a tough lesson to learn.  But I got news for you, patience isn’t just about abiding under, patience is also about self-control.  

You see, two different words in Greek are often translated as patience.  I am sure you have heard of the fruits of the Spirit, traits that give evidence of the Holy Spirit living in you.  Lets look at Galatians 5:22.  

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,"

 

 What is that 4^th word?  Depending on your version of the Bible it either says “longsuffering” or patience.  In Greek this word is makrothymia (mä-kro-thü-mē'-ä) and it means self-restraint which does not hastily retaliate a wrong.  This is the “patient” that Paul urges us to in Ephesians 4.  1 Corinthians 13:4 tells us that love IS patient.  Again I remind you that we are called to imitate God and 1 John 4:8 tells us that GOD IS LOVE.  If God is love, and love is patient, then God is patient and we should be patient, we should maintain self-restraint when dealing with others, especially when we feel wronged.  2 peter 3:9 tells us that God is patient with us because he doesn’t want any of us to perish.  Take a moment to think about your life.  Have you ever wronged God?  Did He retaliate?  Now let me ask you another question, have you ever felt as if you were wronged?  How long did it take you to retaliate?  If God can be patient with us in an attempt to save us from a miserable eternity, can we not be patient with others in an attempt to show them God’s love?  Isn’t that one of our purposes, to show others the love of God so that they may know Him?

Notice that the Greek meaning doesn’t say “does not retaliate” it says “does not hastily retaliate.”  We are called to correct each other.  Matthew 18:15 tells us that when someone sins we should correct them privately.  Luke 17:3-4 tells us to rebuke them and if they repent to forgive them, repeatedly.  1 Timothy 5 gives us a clue about this though.  Timothy tells us not to rebuke our elders harshly, but to speak to them as a parent, in other words with respect.  I believe that we can take it a step further because We are called to encourage one another and build each other up (1 Thess. 5:11) which is a difficult task if we are hastily retaliating perceived wrongs and doing so harshly.  In our haste to correct we often tend to react in anger.  We attack the person rather than the action.  Correction isn’t intended to belittle them, but to help them to understand (Prov 15:32).  This patience calls us to be more concerned with the other person than ourselves, just as God is more concerned with our salvation than with the wrongs we have commited against him.  Peter tells us that Our Lord’s patience means salvation. (2 peter 3:15)  If He is patient enough to react slowly to our transgressions, shouldn’t we as imitators of God, react slowly to the transgressions of others upon us?  

This patience is a fruit of the Spirit, evidence of His work in us.  Fruit is a thing that is a result of effort, therefore patience requires effort.  Read a little farther after we learn of the fruit in Galatians 5, verses 24-26 say, “And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.  If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.  Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.”  We must crucify our desire to retaliate hastily, we must not provoke one another.  

Patience, whether in our circumstances or with others, isn’t something we can just do, or just have.  Remember our picture of a child being asked to wait, patience doesn’t come naturally.  That is why we are tested, repeatedly.  Psalm 119:71 tells us “it is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn your statutes”  Patience is learned through affliction, whether it be the affliction of circumstances or the affliction of being wronged by others.  Look at Paul.  This is a man who was blinded, had numerous attempts on his life often causing him to flee the city he was in, was stoned to the point that witnesses thought he was dead, and he was imprisoned.  That is a lot of difficult testing and a lot to be patient through.  His circumstances were difficult and he was definitely wronged by others repeatedly.  However,  Paul tells us that he has leaned the secret to contentment in all circumstance in Phil. 4:11-13.  His secret? The strength of Christ.  Let’s look at Christ.  Isaiah 53:4 tells us that, “surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows (our wrongs) yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted”  He was pierced, he was crushed, he was punished, he was wronged.    But fortunately, Jesus has a limitless ability to abide under as we saw in 1 Timothy 1:16, as well as being slow to anger (look at Psalm 103:8) As Christians we have the gift of the Spirit in us that allows us to draw upon the strength of Christ, the ability to abide under hardship and the ability to be slow to anger and to not respond hastily.  So when we again look at the opening verse, that by our patience we possess our soul, it is through Jesus that we are able to possess our soul, or receive the gift of an eternity with God.  What good does it do to gain the whole world through our impatient acts, and yet forfeit our soul?  (Mark 8:36)

Verses to consider in the following weeks:

Proverbs 14:29                                  Proverbs 16:32

Proverbs 25:15                                  Proverbs 15:18

Proverbs 19:11                                  Ecclesiastes 7:8

1 Thessalonians 5:14                        Psalm 37: 7-9

Romans 12:12                                   1 Thessalonians 5:14

James 5:8                                          1 Timothy 6:11-14

Hebrews 12:1                                     Luke 8:4-15 (especially verse 15)