Fruit of the Spirit

I love how Hezekiah’s first response to adversity is to pray. When the vast army came against him, he prayed. When his health was so bad he was going to die, he prayed. What do I do first when I face adversity? His prayer for his health was powerful to me. He was able to say to God that he walked wholeheartedly with God. Is there anything else that my heart is desiring other than God? Matthew 5 says that the pure in heart will see God.

I really enjoyed reading Galatians 6 “If a brother is in sin, restore him gently.” I’ve noticed that if I correct my daughter harshly, she tends to strongly resist changing her behavior or attitude, but if I ask her gently, she is much more likely to cooperate and respond. No wonder a fruit of the Spirit is gentleness. My prayer today is that God will forgive me for the times that I have been harsh towards others. Help me to seek Him first when I face adversity.

What do you do with freedom

God I pray that I can have faith like Hezekiah. I admire how he trusted in you when he was faced with the king of Assyria’s vast army. Even when the king said he was going to do horrible things to the people of Judah, Hezekiah did not give in. Instead he fasted and prayed to God. I love what he said to his people in 2 Chronicles 32:7 “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and his vast army. For there is a greater power that is with us than is with them. With them is only an army of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God who will help us and fight our battles.” The next day, one angel of the Lord wiped out 200,000 soldiers in the Assyrian army.

Who is fighting your battle? I love how Galatians sets up a contrast between victory and defeat. At the time of Hezekiah, Israel was living in the first part of Galatians 5:19 “the acts of the flesh are obvious: Sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery, idolatry and witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy, drunkenness, orgies, and the like.” Israel lived this lifestyle and the Assyrians wiped them out. On the other hand, Judah under Hezekiah’s humble leadership trusted in God and was protected from their enemies. Galatians 5:13 “You were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge in the flesh; rather serve one another humbly in love.

This verse challenges me as a free American to take responsibility and use my freedom to bless others. My prayer today is that God fill me with his spirit so the fruits “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” will be a blessing to others.

I can't believe that's in the bible!

Here is the reading for today Sept 7th: http://www.churchofthehighlands.com/bible

What an interesting combination of verses from Song of Solomon, Psalms and 2 Corinthians. Solomon is definitely in love with his wife. He describes her as perfect in every way. His wife returns his love. She is eager to serve him and excited to be with him. It’s quite a juicy description. I’m fascinated with how God made us to experience such joy in being intimate. My prayer today is to be able to behold God’s beauty and to be totally captivated by his perfection.

Psalm 51 is an example of the devastation of impurity. Temptation enticed David to sin by sleeping with Bathsheba and killing her husband. Consequently, he was weighed down with guilt, shame, and fear. His prayer was that God would have mercy on him and cleans him of all unrighteousness. His greatest fear (Verse 11) was that God would cast him from his presence. He earnestly prayed for a pure and willing heart. In Matthew 5 Jesus says “Blessed is the one with a pure heart for he will see God.” The word for pure means single minded. In other words, you can’t see God in the rear view mirror. You have to focus on him and reject any distractions. David expresses such a strong desire to praise God and share his love with others. My prayer today is that God will cleans me from my sin and fill me with joy of his salvation.

Finally, Paul talks about what happens when the Corinthians are totally sold out to God. He makes them rich in every way so that they can be generous on every occasion. When Solomon was in love with his wife, he was willing to give everything. What, if anything is keeping me from completely falling in love with God today and expressing it through generosity?

Great job Job!

I'm taking a different direction in my daily devotions. I am doing a "read through the bible in a year" program. It is part of the Old Testament, a Psalm, 1 or 2 verses from Proverbs, and a part from the New Testament. If you want to join me go to this link: http://www.churchofthehighlands.com/bible

Great job Job. I just finished reading the book of Job and it was a great experience. I found it interesting that Job blamed God for the bad things that were happening even though it was Satan who was attacking Job. Job won my respect with how faithful he was in keeping his integrity. He lost his family, his fortune, and his health. His friends were not helpful at all. In Job 42:7,  I felt challenged by God’s rebuke of Job’s friends. He says that he was angry at them because they did not speak correctly about who God is. Have you ever had someone misrepresent you? My prayer is that God will reveal more of himself and his character to me so I can represent him correctly. The New Testament reading from 2 Corinthians 5, fits neatly with this passage “We are Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.” God wants to reconcile others through me.

I was also impressed with how humble Job was after God spoke to him. He said that he would remain silent and listen to God because it was obvious that God had more wisdom than him. Then Job passionately repented and prayed for his friends. My prayer today is that I can hear God’s voice and be obedient to him.