Would you be quiet please?!?!

Lately I have been struggling… I know, Shocker! Right? LOL This time I’m struggling with a different kind of problem. I am struggling with finding the right words. I feel like Moses when God tells him to go to Egypt. Moses tells God he’s not a good speaker. I feel like that. I write something, I speak to someone, I text something…. then I look back and think, “That is NOT what I meant. That came out all wrong!” I have tried to write several blog entries in the last few weeks only to delete them. Same thing happens when I try to post something on FB. I look back on posts and think, “What did I post that for?” Even if my intentions are good, it seems the words come out all wrong. 

Several Bible verses have stuck out to me in the last few weeks and months regarding my words. James 1:19 says, “Quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to become angry…” I have already written an entire blog about this one but it’s just one that keeps coming to mind. Another one is 1 Peter 3:4, “You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.” The “gentle & quiet spirit” struck me because those things I am not! I strive to be but my flesh wants to take over and put my two cents in. Proverbs 17:28 says, “Even fools are thought wise when they keep silent; with their mouths shut, they seem intelligent.” This one is funny to me but it’s also so true. It’s better to just be quiet then to spew every thought you have without a filter.

I had somewhat of a revelation this morning. I’m learning that the more I vent about my feelings, the less I trust in God. I’m not saying we should all hold everything in and not talk about it. But I notice with myself that I’m looking for answers in people. I’m looking for someone to give me a response that will make the light bulb go on. I’m searching for answers in all the wrong places. When I post my problems on FB or vent to my friends, I’m less likely to pray about them. I’m less likely to lay them down at the Cross for Jesus to bear.

I recently felt hurt and betrayed by several people in the same day at the same event. It left me feeling worthless and it brought my self-esteem plummeting. I started to blog about it in my anger, then I got to the bottom and deleted it. I’m so grateful I did. The other revelation I had about this topic was that the more I speak, the more I become self-righteous. There is a verse in Proverbs that says, “Too much talk leads to sin. Be sensible and keep your mouth shut.” I never realized what this meant until now. The more I talk, the more I get on my soapbox and the less I live what I believe.

At the beginning of the year, I went on a search for a new life verse. James 1:19 came to mind and that was one that I began to memorize. Now I realize how much deeper my faith will go if I just be quiet. Be quiet so I can listen (to others’ hearts; to the Holy Spirit within me). Be quiet so I don’t say things I’ll later regret (like I do ALL the time!). Be quiet so I can pray instead of vent. Be quiet so I don’t sin.

Until next time, Friends….

Fruit

This morning I did a bible study with the kids from Galatians 5:22-23. (But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.) Before the bible study, I looked up what the words meant in the original language because sometimes words in English get lost due to the fact that we use them in different contexts. So I thought if I’m gonna teach my kids this verse, I want to know what the words really mean. Needless to say, I was convicted. LOL

I want to write out these meanings, definitions, and translations because I want to be able to come back to them. I want my kids to read these again one day and remember how important it is to live by the Spirit of God. I never want to forget the FRUIT that God gives us in order to live a fulfilling life. I believe this verse is a verse to live by. Please, Lord, help me produce the fruits of the Spirit!!!

*I looked up these words on http://www.biblos.com and I read a children’s bible study on this passage that I found on http://www.dltk-bible.com. All the quotes and definitions come from http://www.biblos.com.* This is my interpretation of this verse. I am not a scholar or a theologist or a pastor. I’m just a follower of Jesus who wanted to share this study that I did with my kids 😉

Before I share the definitions of this verse, I will share the verses leading up to this verse (in my own words and with help from descriptions in biblos.com). The verses prior to the fruit passage are talking about how when we are saved through Jesus, we are free. But let’s not use our freedom in Christ to allow us to keep on sinning. We should become a new person when we are forgiven from past sins. That means we need to change and stop doing the same sins. We need to give our lives to Jesus Christ. When we are saved, God gives us the Holy Spirit, so that by His prompting, we can live lives that show we are followers of Jesus. The Spirit lives in us, so we should walk in the Spirit, not in our flesh. Galatians 5:19-21 talks about the works of our flesh: adultery, fornication (being promiscuous), uncleanness (lustful living), lewdness, idolatry, sorcery (can also mean the act of administering drugs; poisoning), hatred, contentions (selfish ambitions), jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfishness, envy (being happy when someone else is miserable), carousing (riotous partying), drunkenness, etc. So leading up to the fruit, Paul (the author of Galatians) is telling us how we are living WITHOUT a savior. It’s just human nature. We were prone to living by our flesh ever since Adam & Eve. Then he goes on to tell us how we live when we live by the Holy Spirit. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”  

The first word I wondered about was “fruit”. The Hebrew word for fruit in this passage is karpos. It means result; profit or gain. So the result of having the Spirit of God is the FRUIT. The way I explained it to my kids was that when we look at an orange tree, we want to see the fruit. We expect it to produce oranges. When we look at a rose bush, we expect it to grow and bloom roses. When we give our lives to Jesus, we are expected to see fruit that reflects HIM!

Love (agape): this is a divine love. This is the love that God has for us. We are His children and He loves us no matter what. He loves us regardless of our past sins. He loves us regardless of what we look like. With this fruit, God can help us love others the way He loves us.

Joy (chara): gladness. God is the source of joy. We can try to be happy on our own, but only God can give us true joy. Another way to find joy is to remember it this way. J: Jesus (make Jesus first in your life) O: Others (put others ahead of yourself) Y: Yourself (don’t be selfish, put other people’s needs ahead of your own).

Peace (eirene): “God’s gift of wholeness.” Think about this for a minute. Think about how you feel when ALL of your needs are met. This definition opened my eyes to what true peace really is. When I thought about peace before, I thought no fighting. Well, when you have all you need through Jesus, you don’t have to fight for anything because He’s already given it to you. WOW!

Patience (makrothymia): “waiting sufficient time before expressing anger.” Hmmmm….. I struggle with patience…a lot! I used to think patience was the act of NOT becoming angry. But it’s waiting before expressing. It means hold on, don’t get mad yet, wait until you know all the details, wait, hold on; then knowing all the details we are probably less likely to explode in anger.

Kindness (chrestotes): “well-fit for use; useful; meeting real needs, in God’s way, in His timing.” I don’t know if I ever really studied words before because when I read this definition, I was speechless. Whoa, I need to remember what kindness is. It’s being useful for God. It’s letting God use you for Him because He is GOOD. I just sit here and I want to stop typing so I can bask in this meaning for a while……..

Goodness (agathosyne): “inherently good; spiritual, moral excellence.” With this definition, I tried to explain to my kids that we are not wired to be good people without the help of the Holy Spirit. One of the kids debated this one by using a great example. She said, “We can be good. What if we are sitting at the doctor’s office and Keaton sits really quietly. That means he is being good.” So I replied, “Do you think Keaton could sit and be quiet ALL day?” “NO!!!!!”, they all shouted!! LOL We can try to be good for a time, but without the Spirit of God, we can’t continue being good. We need His guidance to show us how to be the people God wants us to be.

Faithfulness (pestis): this one was described as being a warranty from God. I took this fruit as being God is faithful to us as His promise in our salvation. The definition from the children’s bible study talked about it a different way. It said it was us keeping promises. Yes, we can be faithful to others by keeping our word, but it’s a little deeper. Here’s another translation of the word that I thought was interesting: “faith is only given to the redeemed, it’s not a virtue that can be worked up by human effort. Faith is the work of God and involves hearing His voice – whereby the believer lays hold of His preferred will.” We can’t have faith in God if we haven’t been saved (or at least that is my take on this definition).

Gentleness (prautes): “meekness, gentle strength; expressing power with reserve and gentleness.”

Self-Control (enkrateia): This one is kind of self explanatory but I want to add that it’s an impossible fruit to master without The Master!!!!!

If you want the fruits of the Spirit, you first have to ask Jesus to be your Savior. Here’s how: A) Admit you are a sinner. Do you have traits of the flesh? Of course, we all do! But when we sin, we are separated from God. We need a Savior to bridge the gap between us. That Savior is Jesus Christ. B) Believe Jesus came to save you from your sins. In Old Testament times, when people sinned, they had to make a sacrifice to God in order to be forgiven. God decided to give One sacrifice for all: His Son, Jesus. Jesus died so we could be forgiven from our sins, once and for all. C) Confess your sins (and turn away from them) and commit your life to Jesus. Then He will give you the gift of the Holy Spirit. With time, prayer, and reading the Bible, you will get to know God and have a relationship with Him. He will give you the gifts (or fruits) of the Spirit. Join a church that believes in Jesus Christ and share His love with others.

If you have made the decision to follow Jesus, leave a comment or email me. I’d love to pray for you. God bless ❤