Goodness One-a-Day Monday    12/5/16

Posted on by December 5, 2016
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A life worthy

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness , goodness…  (Galatians 5:22)

When I was a little kid, I tried to be a good boy.

No, seriously…I did.  And, except for a few experiments with alcohol fires and the unexplained throwing of a rock at my neighbor’s window–seriously, I don’t know why I did that–I was good.

Well, I mean, there was that time I hit the neighbor kid with a golf club, and the time my cousin’s cap gun went missing and ended up in my pocket, and the time I tried to teach myself to drive and mowed down a fence with my mom’s car, and the time I “egged” a guy’s house–and father–because, well, yeah, and the time I employed evasive driving maneuvers against the police because one more ticket would cost me my license, and of course the tickets leading up to the need for evasive maneuvers…

So maybe I wasn’t so good.

And maybe neither are you.

But remember, the Holy Spirit is at work in you, and he will produce fruit.

So you do what you can, and he’ll do what he can.

And there will be good.

Happy Monday, Beloved.

Patience One-a-Day Thursday    12/1/16

Posted on by December 1, 2016
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A life worthy

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience…(Galatians 5:22)

I could make a bunch of patience jokes, but who has time for that?

Ba da Bing!

The essence of patience is that you put yourself on God’s time rather than your own.  You acknowledge that God knows everything you know, and everything you don’t.  You recognize that he sees far beyond the moment in which you’re stuck behind some…person…who doesn’t seem to know what the pedal on the right is for.  You admit that maybe God has it all–even your commute–under control.

You trust him.

Beloved, when we come right down to it, that impatience is another part of the whole control thing.  You want it your way and in your time because you want to be Captain, to be Master,

to be God.

If you can just release that need for control and trust the Holy Spirit at work within you, you will procure a profound peace and a plethora of patience.

At least, that’s what they tell me.

Happy Thursday, Beloved.

Joy One-a-Day Tuesday    11/29/16

Posted on by November 29, 2016
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A life worthy

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy…  (Galatians 5:22).

Not happiness

Not joviality

Not glee

Joy

The deep and abiding knowledge that you are loved, that you are whole.  It lies there beneath the surface of our life, unaffected by the storms of the moment.  Joy is much bigger than the moment.  

From time to time it rises to the surface, bubbling up to take us by surprise and sweeping us off our feet with an intensity that leaves us breathless.  Then it recedes, knowing that this frame can only take so much.

But someday…

Someday we will trade this frame for a new and improved model that can handle joy at full strength.

That’ll be nifty.

May Joy bubble up in your life today.

Happy Tuesday, Beloved.

Love One-a-Day Monday    11/28/16

Posted on by November 28, 2016
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A life worthy

But the fruit of the Spirit is love…  (Galatians 5:22).

On the count of three, I want you to create a mango.

Ready?  One…Two…Three!

TaDaaaa!!

Hey, where’s your mango?

Oh, that’s right.  You can’t make a mango, because a mango isn’t in your nature.  It’s a fruit of the mango tree.

As love is a fruit of the Spirit.

Beloved, you can do loving things–and you should–out of obedience to God.  But that feeling of unselfish love, of wanting someone else’s good above your own…you can’t manufacture that.  It comes from the Holy Spirit, and it develops and ripens in its own time and on His schedule.  So don’t force it, and don’t kick yourself for not feeling what you think you ought to feel.  Just let the Spirit work in you.  Be obedient to his commands, and the fruit will mature right on his schedule.

His schedule.

Happy Monday, Beloved.

Still Thankful? One-a-Day Friday    11/25/16

Posted on by November 25, 2016
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A life worthy

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever (Galatians 16:34).

Are you still thankful today, Beloved?  Or has the Christmas to-do list already swapped contention for contentment?  Look, I’m not judging; I know you’ve got a lot to do.  Myself, I’m looking at a garage that needs to be cleaned–I’ve been putting it off for eight months now–just so I can get to the Christmas lights, most of which are broken, if I remember correctly.  I have a vague memory of an entire string of lights falling from the roof last January, resulting in a string of mini-explosions and a decision that I would replace all the lights “Next year,” when finances would undoubtedly be better, except they’re not.  So I’ve probably gotta buy lights, and garland, and maybe a lawn elf–but no inflatables, I’m passionately against inflatables–before I can even start decorating, and the neighbors are pretty much done already…

Yeah, so I get it.

But, for those of us in Christ, the One we were thankful for yesterday is the same One we celebrate at Christmas.  It’s pretty much the same holiday; you just have to swap funny hats.

Of course, you know that already…you’re a bright one.

So, hey, take time during the craziness–like today, like right now–to stop and breathe and give thanks.  

For him

For you and him

Happy Friday, Beloved.

Thankful One-a-Day Thursday    11/24/16

Posted on by November 24, 2016
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A life worthy

I thank God every time I remember you (Philippians 1:3).

As I think over all the ways God has blessed me and has filled my life with his love and his grace, my heart comes to you.  You, who enter my digital den and read my ramblings.  For some of you it’s a One-a-Day; for others it’s a Once-in-a-While.  Still, you come, and you read, and you allow me to share the bits and bobs that rattle around inside me.  Look, your time is important.  You could go anywhere in cyberspace and read any of thousands of devotions written by people wiser and better trained than I.  But you spend a few moments here, with me.  You do me great honor.

So, as you give thanks today, please know that there is someone clacking away at his Chromebook who is very thankful for…you.

Happy Thanksgiving, Beloved.

Dirt One-a-Day Wednesday    11/23/16

Posted on by November 23, 2016
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A life worthy

But the fruit of the Spirit is…  (Galatians 5:22).

There are places in the Bible where we believers are compared to strong trees or lush vines producing good fruit.

This is not one of those places.

Here, please note, the fruit is produced by the Spirit of God.

So where are we in this analogy?  Well, the Holy Spirit lives in us, and a tree lives in…

dirt.

Yes, Beloved, we are dirt.  I mean, you can go with rich, fertile soil or even jars of clay if it makes you feel better, but it’s all still dirt. We don’t produce the fruit or bear the fruit; we simply allow the Spirit to be planted in us.  We endure the rains because they allow the Spirit to sink his roots deep.

I could continue the analogy by talking about how some days fertilizer gets dumped on us, but I don’t want to put that picture in your head.

Oops…too late.

Well, let’s hope today is not a fertilizer day.

Happy Wednesday, Beloved.

Fruit of the Flesh One-a-Day Tuesday    11/22/16

Posted on by November 22, 2016
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A life worthy

The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.  I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God  (Galatians 5:19-21).

Well, now–there’s a happy start to your Tuesday.

Look, we’re not going to go into details here.  Some of the items on this list are vague, while others are quite specific.  But let’s take a moment to discuss what this list is not.

First, it’s not a comprehensive check-off list.  Don’t look at this and think, “Whew, I don’t see myself here, so I’m good.”  Because, first of all, look closer–you’re on here.  Besides, Paul’s not listing all sin.  He’s giving examples of the fruit produced by a life lived apart from God.  

Second, it’s not a mark of doom.  When you see yourself on this list, it doesn’t mean that you’re not God’s.  Paul doesn’t say, “Those who commit any of these acts will not inherit the Kingdom of God.”  He says,  “Those who live like this…” It’s a lifestyle.  What you see above are the effects, not the causes, of a life without Christ.  

So, Beloved, when you look at this list and it seems all too familiar, return to the Cross, bathe in his grace, and remember whose you are and how much you are worth to him.

Then live like it.

Happy Tuesday, Beloved.