God’s Joy

I said earlier that growing the fruit of the Spirit in our lives is about finding and putting on God’s attributes.

So what do we know about God’s joy?

God the Father takes joy in his creation.
“… and He saw that it was good.” etc.
Both Old Testament and New Testament are filled with God’s pleasure at his creation, and his love for us.

God the Son takes joy in his work in our salvation.
Jesus talks about this as being his purpose.  To come and seek and save the lost, and to give his life for is people.  This was not easy for him, but it was his joy.

God the Spirit … helps us find our joy.

• And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit
  (Acts 13:52)
• For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,
  (Romans 14:17)
• May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
  (Romans 15:13)
• You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit
  (1 Thessalonians 1:6)

Joy is often connected to Holy Spirit in the Bible.  It seems that when we walk in His way, and trust in Him, his joy will find us.

 

The Greatest of these is love.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:13)

Why is love such a big deal?

Because love is what makes us who we are as Christians.  It is the reason the Christian church is called to reach out to a hurting community.  We were saved because God loved us, and we are called to show that love to others in return.

There are many secular organisations that are better equipped to feed the hungry, so why are we called to do it?  Because we are showing His love when we do it.

There are many people who will help others, but we do it because we are called to love them as well.

We are called to love, because we were first loved.

Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbour as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbour. Therefore love is the fulfilment of the law.
(Romans 13:8-10)

Our love is what sets us apart from the world, and what makes us more like God.  Because He is love, if we have love for each other, we show God’s love to those around us, and become it as well.

Day 34 - Peace

Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. (Romans 14:19-20)

Lent is a very personal thing.  It is about our own relationship with our Lord.  Do you judge other people for their observance, or lack thereof?

Do you eat food around those who are fasting, or loudly refuse food at a meal when you are fasting? 

Do you silently condemn others for doing less than you, or nothing at all, or for their pride in their discipline?

Lent is about drawing closer to GOD, but don’t let us let it be a time for drawing further away from our brothers and sisters and fellow FISH.

Day 22 - Integrity

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody.
(Romans 12:17)

There’s a lot to this one.

 

Be careful….

It’s not just going to happen.  We need to take care, and make it our purpose to do what is right.

Do what is right…

Simple, but not easy.  Not right-ish.  Not right appearing.  Not almost right.  Do what IS RIGHT!

 

In the eyes…

1. Don’t just do what you think is right.  Do what everyone thinks is right. 

2. Let others see.  I know we are told to do our good works in secret, so that we can be rewarded.  But if we are going to let people see us do anything, let it rather be good works than bad.  Let them judge us all by these actions, not just us.

 

… of everybody.

They are all watching you.  Don’t be afraid to stand by your belief, and do what is right – even if it isn’t popular.

Day Three : Purity

Blessed are the pure in heart,for they will see God. (Matthew 5:8)

So let's just get this one out of the way. Purity is a tough one, but from the verse above we know it is something we need to strive for. So today, we seek a desire to be clean, a spirit of

PURITY

This entire time of lent is about striving for purity. I think the operative word here is striving. We will fail.

Yes, I said will fail.

Haven't you heard? If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. (1 John 1:8) and all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)

So what hope do we hope. Well, the good news or us is that it is not about reaching the prize. It is about reaching for the prize.

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13-15)

Paul reminds us to keep looking forward, to 'forget what is behind' (our sinful nature) and strain for what is ahead. We cannot be clean by our own effort, but thankfully we don't have to be.

Haven't you heard? If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:8-9) and all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus (Romans 3:23-24)

We can never purify ourselves. Or achieve purity in our own strength. Luckily we don't have to, all we have to do is accept his redemption, confess our sins, and strive onwards.

So what is our challenge for today? How do we seek purity

How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. (Psalm 119:9-10)

By reading His word, and taking it to heart.