Paul writes in Galatians 5:22-25, “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.”

After reading this, think about the difficult life situations like, disagreeing with someone, disciplining our children, providing direction to our employees, expressing our dissatisfaction with a contractor’s work. How should we behave in these situations?

Dear Lord, living by the Spirit is so much different than the norms our world expects. Help us use your word as guidance for our actions so that we will live by the Spirit and demonstrate your love even in difficult situations. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

It is very common in our human nature to dwell on our problems. We can describe in great detail how big the problem is, how long it has been going on, how it runs in our family, etc…..

One interesting thing about successful people is that they spend much more time, energy, and thought avoiding, ignoring, and overcoming their problems than thinking about the problem.

As Christians also, we need to spend more time and energy remembering how big and strong our God is rather than the size of our problems.

Deuteronomy 1:28-31 tells part of the story of the Israelites coming to the Promised Land, “What are we getting into? Our brothers who spied out the land have frightened us with their report. They say that the people of the land are tall and powerful, and that the walls of their cities rise high into the sky! They have even seen giants there—the descendants of the Anakim!’ The Lord God is your leader, and he will fight for you with his mighty miracles, just as you saw him do in Egypt. And you know how he has cared for you again and again here in the wilderness, just as a father cares for his child!’ But nothing I said did any good.“They refused to believe the Lord our God”

They put more faith in their obstacles than in God’s ability to support them moving toward where He was leading them.

We need to remember that the will of God will never lead us where the love of God will not support us.

Dear Lord, you are bigger than any obstacle we can ever face. Help us remember to believe that and put our focus on your power to support us rather than the obstacles we face. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Do you ever have doubts or questions about your Christian faith? I think everyone does occasionally. The reasons may vary, but I think it often is a result of trying to figure it all out. Trying to understand things like, why something bad happened to us or a loved one, or how Salvation works, or other questions that cannot be answered with certainty.

Peter tells us that this questioning is not unique to us. The prophets even had questions.

First he says, we need to stay faithful through the questions and difficult times.

1 Peter 1:7-9 he says, “So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.”

And then, he says, like the prophets, we may not understand the whole picture.

1 Peter 1:10-12 “This salvation was something even the prophets wanted to know more about when they prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you. They wondered what time or situation the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when he told them in advance about Christ’s suffering and his great glory afterward. They were told that their messages were not for themselves, but for you.”

It wouldn’t be faith if we had all the answers.

Dear Lord, Thank you for the insights you give us in your word, the Bible. Help us stay strong and trust you, even when we don’t understand the whole picture. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

You may have heard this expression, “Attitude determines your altitude.” Though it is simple and trite, the message carries truth. Our attitude has a tremendous effect on our lives.

In Romans 14, Paul is teaching about what is important in the church, saying that it is not about following ceremonial laws but about our attitude and why we do what we do. In verses 17-18 he says, “For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. If you serve Christ with this attitude, you will please God, and others will approve of you, too.”

If we start with this attitude of Goodness, Peace, and Joy, open to the Holy Spirit’s work in us, we can’t help but be examples of God’s love.

Dear Lord, help us establish positive attitudes each day so that we may handle all that life gives us with Goodness Peace and Joy. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Often in life things occur that we cannot understand; Times when there are terrible tragedies that affect thousands of people, and times when something unexplainable happens to one person. Even as faithful Christians we wonder how these events could be something God intended.

There are all also vast and fundamental questions that remain unanswered about our universe and our physical beings.

Ecclesiastes 8:17 says, “Then I saw all that God has done. No one can comprehend what goes on under the sun. Despite all their efforts to search it out, no one can discover its meaning. Even if the wise claim they know, they cannot really comprehend it.”

Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13:12, “For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror, then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.”

In the years people have been around, we have discovered many things about God’s creation, but when we stop and think about the huge gaps in our knowledge we can only step back an be in awe of God. How can we not believe in God? And once believing in God, the good news of salvation through Jesus is rational.

Dear Lord, our minds can barely begin to understand your power, wisdom and glory, and how humbled we should be, knowing that you care for us enough to save us. Help us find the peace and joy in knowing this and also fear and respect Your power and love. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.