A Plan and an Insight

Those of you who have been following my Tuesday reading journey know that ever since early fall, I have really been struggling with my daily Bible reading.  I started out in July on a schedule and at first did pretty well following it.  As I got further and further behind on that path, I began to get discouraged to the point of nearly giving up. At one point, I decided that I had to just quit trying to keep on a preset schedule and just read.  However, that hasn't been working well for me either.  I really need the discipline and accountability of a plan.

Fruit Finale

When we started this series on the fruits of the Spirit, I felt relaxed and excited.  Relaxed because there was no need to decide what to write about next.  Excited because I think we need to talk more about the Holy Spirit.  Notice what I was not feeling-apprehensive, convicted, devastated, or encouraged.  

Silly me! I had no idea how much I was going to learn!

Love

I saved Love for last.  Perhaps you are thinking I saved the best for last.  Maybe so, but the reason I waited until the end to write about this fruit of the Spirit is because it is so hard.  I can quote all the things I learned as a child about love.  "Agape love is about putting others' needs ahead of your own."  However true it is, for me the phrase is so hackneyed as to be useless.  So I looked up every reference in the New Testament for the noun or verb that we translate as love.  After reading about half of them and trying to sort them, my head was spinning and I had no more idea about love than I had to begin with.

Betrayed

I recently read an article on homeschooling that I thought was a must-read for all Christian parents. Although the article dealt with some of the weaknesses of the homeschooling model, it took a breathtakingly honest look at what it means to be a Christian parent. 

Favorite Biblical Female

Today I would like to talk about one of my favorite Bible females. We can learn many lessons from her.  As a faithful friend who walked close to another for many years, she practiced quiet companionship without any of the techniques that most women have perfected (like nagging, I told you so, etc). She never caused any harm to her friend but did her very best to help bear burdens whenever needed.  
    

Faithfulness

As I faced off with the fruits of the Spirit, it was obvious where I needed to begin.  Things like kindness and self-control jumped out as obvious places where the Spirit had been working or where perhaps I was thwarting His work.  When I took a hard look at faithfulness though, I was boggled.

Patience

  

Have you ever justified your sin by saying, "At least I don't do _____?"  Have you ever felt a secret pride in your sin because you didn't recognize it for what it truly was, a thorn trying to grow on a grape vine (Matthew 7:16)?  I'd like to say I've never done that.  It seems like such an obvious thing to avoid.  But when I was studying the Fruits of the Spirit, I had to face my own sin, and worse, I had to face the way I have treated sin in my life.