Don't Take The Poison!

"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their need, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, ... Get rid of all bitterness rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." Ephesians 4:29-32

Do you realize that when we act out of selfishness, we are "grieving the Holy Spirit"... how?? Think about a time when you had a desire for something & it seemed as though nobody agreed with what needed to be done to get it. Now, do you remember any of the words that came out of your mouth?... "You know what? I don't have to put up with this! you don't even know what you're talking about. You sit there on your high horse controlling everything. You need to be more considerate of me & my needs!" ["you're right! the rest of us are just floating around in the sea of wrong as you go by in your ship of right!"-Dane Cook]. --This is what's called tearing down out of bitterness.

The flip side is also true. When we see someone in a funk & we become annoyed by it (which is ohhh so easy), and we begin to dwell on the moment & allow it to mess up our day, we are also "grieving the Holy Spirit". I've heard it said that holding a grudge is like taking poison & waiting for the other person to die, but if we're all allowing ourselves to be offended by each other, then we're all taking the poison.

Where is the kindness, the compassion, the forgiveness? Like I said in a previous post... check your fruit for mold! And yes, I will be the one to say it... if we have to struggle through having to be kind to someone & wrestle with forgiveness, then we're in an ugly, ugly spot. Jesus never said, "sorry Judas, I know that you are going to turn me in to the hands of my enemies, so I'm just not going to invite you to dine with us this last time, because it would just be too painful for me to see you right now". My mother used to always say, "Oh, get over it... it is not always about you." And Christ did not give his life for himself.

So, on that note, I leave you with this:

"Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace." Ephesians 4:2,3

Doubting The Beaver

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible." (Hebrews11:1-3)

I heard a comment the other night that has laid heavy on my heart, the simplest, most seemingly unimportant comment. My husband had told us a story of how he had just run into a guardrail trying not to hit a beaver on a bridge. Someone responded to his story with, "Are you sure it was a beaver? Do we even have beavers around here? hmm...", and he was absolutely certain that it was a beaver. We then all finished our conversation of the consequences of acting out in anger, and my husband walked off to get ready for bed. About 20 minutes later, this same person said to someone else, "hey, u know, i just don't understand... (retold the beaver story)... Do we even have beavers here? Maybe it was something else."

Like I said, the simplest, most seemingly unimportant comment... unless you truly consider the underlying meaning... then, it is most important. It speaks of doubt and unbelief. Here is one who refuses to take someone elses word on a matter, where "seeing is believing". What does that say about our own faith? How can we expect to truly believe in an almighty, ancient God who holds the universes that He created in His very hands if we can't even believe that there was a beaver standing on a small bridge.

The world tries to hide behind the "what if"s, the off-the-wall, possible exceptions. I've seen very many christians have their own faith in God shaken by the "what if"s. So, "what if"? I have news for you... YOU ARE NOT GOD. We need to leave the "what if"s to God, & do what is commanded of us, which is to go into all the world and preach the gospel, the gospel that we believe because we have an unyielding faith that it is true. We should know God's voice in such a way that we don't even need a conformation to do His will, even though He will give one anyway (He is a God of order & responsibility).

You should read the rest of Hebrews 11. It gets me so excited!... "By faith Enoch was taken from life, so that he did not experience death", "By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family", "By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice... even though God had said to him, 'it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned'", "By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land", "By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for 7 days", and the list goes on...

Now, consider your own faith. Are you the kind of person that needs to see the beaver so that you can believe that it was there? On a greater note, is God's Word good enough for you? If you have faith that of a child's, God will not be ashamed to be called your God.

Check Your Fruit For Mold

"But the fruit of the Spirit is Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control. Against such things there is no law." (Gal5:22)

Here is a good exercise: Take a piece of paper & write on the 1st line, LOVE. Leave yourself a few blank lines, then write the word, JOY... continue until you've written down each of the 9 fruits of the Spirit of God (listed above). Then in the spaces under each fruit, write down a memory you have, from w/in the past week, when you failed at exibiting that particular fruit, or shall I say... characteristic.

If you find yourself able to write even one experience (of which most will do), pray... ask the Lord to forgive you for bearing bad fruit in His name. & Remember not to pass blame; God didn't allow Adam & Eve back into Eden because they were justified in their action by the manipulation of another being, because the truth is, there is NO JUSTIFICATION for our sour behavior. We must be aware of each moment, discerning what is and is not pleasing to God...

"So I say, live by the Spirit, and you 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." (Gal5:16-18)

There is freedom in bearing good fruit, as both scripture stated... "against such things, there is no law", "you are not under law". These are the benefits of desiring & seeking after God & choosing to live by His Spirit. So, when you wake up each morning, recite these to yourself: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faitfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control. & check them in the midst of every situation. If you find mold, cut it off.

Looking Forward to This

I am "Belonging to the LORD" & here is where you will hear all about it. This blog will be something like a bible devotion, i'm gonna shoot for weekly. Since it is saturday, for me, the end of the week, i will set the first devotion tomorrow or monday. Not like it should matter. Truth be told by the cherry tree... i'm just very tired right now & must, must, must go to bed! But I did just set up this blog - "harmonydq wise sized" & just had to say... welcome.

Romans 10:17 "Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ."