I often find myself reflecting on the idea of waiting on the Lord. Waiting can seem frustrating in our fast-paced world, where immediate results and quick fixes are highly prized. My personality is to get in and fix things as soon as possible. So, it’s not easy when I have to wait days, weeks, or months for something. I can start to get anxious very quickly.
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Over the last few weeks, I’ve been learning about the historical use of a long sword. It takes great precision to design them. The long edge faces away from you, while the short edge is toward you. Additionally, the blade has three sections. First, there is the “Strong” — the section from the crossbar to the “Middle” section. After the “Middle” comes the “Weak” or the top half. Each part has advantages for combat. Swords are both defensive and offensive weapons. All of the parts work together to make it formidable.
The comparison of God’s Word being like a sword (found in Hebrews) certainly came to life for me.
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“Don’t care how I want it now.” Veruca Salt sings these words while dancing in Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. She also insists that she gets what she wants when she wants it. It’s easy to cringe at her horrible attitude. We tell ourselves we are certainly not like that. But on the whole, in our fast-paced world, patience is not something most of us have enough of.
Get Rich Quick! Lose Weight Fast! Get Instant Access! We all see a good deal of these types of headlines while scrolling on our phones. It’s everywhere — instant gratification in everything from communication to consuming movies to getting meals.
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“For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you bite and devour each other, watch out, or you will be destroyed by each other.” — Galatians 5:14-15
The Fruit of the Spirit is an outpouring of the Holy Spirit working in our lives. Paul explains the fruits to the Galatians right after these verses. They are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These virtues are interconnected and essential for our spiritual growth.
However, we can easily cultivate the opposite virtues. They entirely oppose the working of the Holy Spirit. Responding in our flesh leads to negative consequences, such as hate, despair, anxiety, impatience, cruelty, wickedness, unfaithfulness, harshness, and impulsiveness.
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“In all circumstances, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one.” — Ephesians 6:16
Paul used this metaphor to represent the Christian’s faith and belief in God. This shield unquestionably extinguishes all (not just some) of the flaming darts the evil one shoots at you.
Just as a physical shield protects a warrior in battle, so, too, the Shield of Faith protects us from the devil’s spiritual attacks. It’s a shield that deflects the lies, temptations, and fears, as well as the doubts that Satan throws at us.
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“A person without self-control is like a city with broken-down walls.” — Proverbs 25:28
This verse likens us to a city. It’s certainly a powerful metaphor; we don’t often see it used in the Bible. I think a few themes from this verse are worth spending some time on. They’ll help us understand what can happen when we don’t exercise self-control.
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Not long ago, I taught about our church’s mission centered around “Winning the Lost, Building the Believer, and Sending the Sanctified”. We can approach this mission in several ways, but being hospitable certainly opens doors to winning others.
“Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” — Hebrews 13:2 (ESV)
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Author F.M. Alexander said, “People don’t define their futures, they decide their habits, and their habits decide their future.”
We all have habits. They range from the mundane (like brushing our teeth or what we listen to on our way to work) to practicing an instrument or creating art. Habits can be amoral, while others can be sinful. Whatever type it is, it will affect you (positively or negatively).
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This past week was Mission To The City. We set out (as a church family) to serve our city with the love of Christ. That motivation is at the forefront of everything we do! The Parable of the Sower (Mark 4) guides our outreach.
We’re to spread His Word, sow Gospel seeds, and let God do the rest. It’s refreshing to know that all I’m supposed to do is plant some seeds (even as small as a mustard seed) in someone’s life. I can do that by sharing the Gospel, passing out a flyer, inviting someone to church, or doing a kind act in the Lord’s name.
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“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all of his ways.” — James 1:5-8
How often we have opposition or trials in our lives and try to handle them on our own. It’s easy to do because we love to fix our own problems and help others fix theirs. But, we need to remember not to rely on our own wisdom in doing this; we need the wisdom of God. When we’re faced with troubles, He will help us generously, without hesitation.
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