EmmDev 2023-06-23 [More thoughts about Fruitful Living] Keeping in Step (2)

Keeping in Step (2)

Hi Everyone.
This ends this very mini series on keeping in step with the Spirt.
It is government school hols and so I will take a break from EmmDevs until 18 July.
Blessings and Love to you all!
Theo

Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. (Galatians5:25)

(Continued from yesterday...)
I have a vivid memory from a wedding I officiated at. A dad was walking his daughter down the aisle: he was fighting back the tears but smiling broadly - he was proud of his daughter and happy for her. The music was playing, the groom was beaming and the congregation was admiring the bride's dress...

About halfway down the aisle it happened - the dad adjusted his step with the little shuffle I remember learning on the cadet parade ground.

There were a number of things about the action that impressed me:

1. I suspect that if we were to ask him if he remembers doing it, the dad would probably not recall doing it. It was an automatic response.
2. It revealed a sensitivity and attention to detail on the part of the father. Among all the other stimuli, the father noticed this little thing: He was out of step.
3. Now no-one expects people to walk in step down the aisle, but the dad had a military background and from that background the assumption is that "in-step" is better than "out of step". The dad was giving his best to the moment.
4. It was a very humble thing to do. One could argue that he was the "higher rank" on the day. He was the dad and the daughter should be expected to stay in step with him, but he didn't squeeze her arm and hiss "Get in step!", he just made the adjustments. (Now I'm not implying that we are superior to the Holy Spirit, but sometimes were are in circumstances where the Holy Spirit calls us to fall in-step with people or events that we might consider "below" us.)

As we walk through life the Holy Spirit will nudge us and prompt us with little course corrections. If we respond quickly, one little shuffle will do it. If we let it drift too far, it will often take a couple of shuffles.

Like the dad in my story, let's work so hard at staying in step that it begins to be an automatic response. Let's pay attention to the smaller details because the Spirit is often at work in the little things. Let's have an attitude of excellence (NOT slavish perfectionism!!!) that permeates our behaviour. Finally, let's make sure that we don't take ourselves too seriously.

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EmmDev 2023-06-22 [More thoughts about Fruitful Living] Keeping in Step (1)

Keeping in Step (1)

Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. (Galatians5:25)

I wasn't called up for National Service, but I do remember doing Cadets at school. As a gawky st.6, I was a real frustration to our squad sergeant who had to get us to march, because I was always getting out of step when we marched. This was particularly bad when we did right and left turns because it took us all some practice to learn to shorten or lengthen our steps depending on whether we were on the inside or outside.

This idea of staying in step with the Spirit is a very apt and helpful analogy. Staying in step means that:

1. I don't walk at MY pace and do MY thing - I submit to my Commander.
2. I must be attentive to the pace and direction of the Spirit.
3. I need to make adjustments when I get out of step.
4. I will need to shorten and lengthen my steps through the twists and turns of life to stay close to the Spirit.

When we marched in Cadets we had lots of cues to keep us in step - someone would chant the pace ("left left left right left") or a drummer would give us a beat. We also could be guided by the sound of more than a hundred footfalls and the peripheral vision of the rows and ranks alongside us all moving in unison.

The cues are both similar and different when we walk with the Spirit.

One of the big differences is that we only spend some of our time marching as a big group. Most of the time it's just me, my family and the Spirit. We need to listen carefully to His guidance in Scripture and the gentle promptings in our heart. If we're the head of the family, we have a big responsibility to set the example and help our loved ones stay in step with us as we stay in step with the Spirit. If we're not the spiritual head of the family, its vital that we support the one who is.

In the church context, we have more cues:
- Our worship: Music, prayers, lessons and overall mission/vision.
- The preaching: Listen for the pace-setting of the Spirit through the preacher.
- The example of others: Look at what God is doing in the life of others.

(We'll continue this thought tomorrow...)

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EmmDev 2023-06-21 [More thoughts about Fruitful Living] Fruit and Fruit Trees

Fruit and Fruit Trees

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Galatians5:22-23)

We know these verses so well! Some can even recite the list of the nine qualities that make up the fruit of the Spirit and some can even sing it! But there are two important misunderstandings about the fruit of the Spirit that we must clarify.

• Many people try to have the fruit, but neglect the source.
  You can't grow apples without an apple tree. You can't harvest oranges if you don't have orange-trees. And, to get good plump apples, the farmer does not run around the orchard injecting nutrients into the apples - he fertilizes the tree!

  Sometimes we focus on the qualities too much: We can read up about patience and do self-control exercises, we can visualise gentleness and we can attend seminars on "practical goodness." Especially when we teach our kids this verse, we tend to focus on trying to achieve the qualities in our own strength.

• It is fruit not fruits.
  The nine qualities are best likened as segments of the one fruit of the Spirit. While one can identify segments that are underdeveloped, its always important to consider the whole. Lack of self-control is often linked to lack of patience. Lack of gentleness is often the symptom of a lack of peace...

So, having addressed the misconceptions, what is the balanced view on the fruit of the Spirit?

1. The fruit is the evidence of the Spirit's presence.
2. The abundance and health of the fruit reflects the quality of the relationship (or lack thereof) we have with the Spirit.
3. We can describe and study the segments, but it becomes academic if we neglect the "tree" - our relationship with the Holy Spirit.
4. Have you ever seen a tree struggling to bear fruit? If a tree is in good soil, is well-watered and enjoying good weather, then the fruit is produced effortlessly with blossoms, green leaves, and healthy branches. It almost looks as though the tree is having fun!

Against such things there is no law."

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EmmDev 2023-06-20 [Fruit lived out] 9. Self-Control

9. Self-Control

So David and Abishai went to the army by night, and there was Saul, lying asleep inside the camp with his spear stuck in the ground near his head. Abner and the soldiers were lying around him. Abishai said to David, "Today God has delivered your enemy into your hands. Now let me pin him to the ground with one thrust of my spear; I won't strike him twice." But David said to Abishai, "Don't destroy him! Who can lay a hand on the LORD's anointed and be guiltless? As surely as the LORD lives," he said, "the LORD himself will strike him; either his time will come and he will die, or he will go into battle and perish. But the LORD forbid that I should lay a hand on the LORD's anointed. Now get the spear and water jug that are near his head, and let's go." (1Samuel26:7-11)

King Saul had been incredibly cruel to David. He'd tried to kill him multiple times, he'd given David's wife away to another man, he'd pursued David relentlessly and this is the second time that David had a defenseless Saul in front of him.

Bear in mind that Saul had repeatedly disobeyed and dishonoured God, that God had already rejected Saul and Samuel had already anointed David as King. And did I mention that this is the second time that David has Saul at his mercy? And this time Abishai, a very enthusiastic and efficient ("I won't strike him twice") Abishai, is right there to do the dirty work...

But David is self-controlled. He realises that his reputation needs to be spotless. He can't take shortcuts, no matter how he feels about his own travails, the fate of his wife or the plight of his men, he needs to do what is right. He chooses to honour God above convenience. He chooses to do the right thing rather than take a short-cut.

Self-control is the ability to exercise reason over passion, principle over expedience and discipline over comfort. The Holy Spirit enables us to do this.

Sadly, later in life, David doesn't exercise self-control. He takes Bathsheba, has Uriah killed and unleashes a storm of taking and killing in his own family. I find his confession prayer in Ps.51 most telling: "Take not your Holy Spirit from me."

It's clear to me that David understood that his failures in the light of a lost connection with God's Spirit. When I am walking closely with God and I am open to His Spirit's whispers, there seems to be a greater space between stimulus and response. It's in this space that I can make the right choices and do what honours God. When I am disconnected from the Spirit's love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and gentleness the space between stimulus and response becomes small and I am reactionary and un-self-controlled.
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I hope you have enjoyed this short series as much I have enjoyed writing them.
God bless,
Theo

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EmmDev 2023-06-14 [Fruit lived out] 8. Gentleness

8. Gentleness

"Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her. There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. There she will sing as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt. ... The LORD said to me, "Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes." (Hosea2:14-3:1)

The Greek word for "gentleness" can also be translated as "meekness or humility". James uses the word twice but in the context of humility. Peter uses it in the context of sharing our faith - that we should to it with gentleness/humility and respect. Paul uses the word gentleness eight times and it's almost always in the context of his pastoral approach to people or in the context of how Christians should treat one another.

But why are we gentle?
Because God is so gentle with us!

God asked Hosea to marry and love a prostitute named Gomer. She ran away.
God likened Hosea and Gomer to Himself and Israel.
Then God explained that although Israel had gone astray, He planned to allure her and speak tenderly to her and restore her.
Then he asks Hosea to go and show love to his wife again.

There is a profound gentleness revealed here.
God works gently through providence, creation and the gospel alluring, wooing, winning us to come to Him.

Paul urges a young Timothy to take the same path of gentleness:
2 Timothy 2:22-26 Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.

What is the purpose of gentleness? To bring people back to God...

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EmmDev 2023-06-13 [Fruit lived out] 7. Faith/Faithfulness

7. Faith/Faithfulness

"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!' (Matthew25:23)

Today's fruit is a bit challenging in the sense that it is an "ambidextrous" word. The Greek word is "pistis" which is the common New Testament word for "faith" and "faithfulness".

"Faithfulness" on its own could be understood as "reliable", and, while this is a good quality to have, reliability on its own is simply an admirable character trait. To fully define faithfulness as a fruit of the Spirit would be to say that it is reliability that springs from faith...

In the parable of the talents, three servants are given money to look after. One of them, motivated by fear of the master, does the bare minimum. He hides the coin and returns it. Eager to simply stay out of trouble. The other two servants, called "good" and "faithful" by their master, have taken a risk as they worked to make the money grow. We might call the last servant "reliable" - he returned the money and took no risks. The other two had more than fear of the master. They believed in the happiness that he would share. They believed in his goodness. They believed that it was worth taking a risk for him.

They were more than reliable. They were faithful, in the sense that they were diligent, reliable, trustworthy, but they also had faith: They believed in the goodness and generosity of the master and so they took risks so that they could give their best.

I like being reliable. I like delivering on my promises. But reliability goes to the level of faithfulness when I give my all and then some more because I believe in the goodness of my Heavenly Father.

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EmmDev 2023-06-09 [Fruit lived out] 6. Goodness

6. Goodness

That night the king could not sleep; so he ordered the book of the chronicles, the record of his reign, to be brought in and read to him. It was found recorded there that Mordecai had exposed Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's officers who guarded the doorway, who had conspired to assassinate King Xerxes. (Esther6:1-2)

Goodness is about moral courage and integrity. It is about doing the right and just thing.

In this country we know about how dangerous it can be to be a whistleblower... It can cost you your life.

Mordecai was a Jewish immigrant in a foreign land.
He courageously blew the whistle on the the king's officers who had conspired to assassinate the king. We can only assume that the two were not alone. Mordecai could have faced backlash against him and his family. In the political and civic circles he seemed to move in, he could have been ostracized as the "meddling Jew".

It took courage and integrity to do the right thing, but this seems to be what Mordecai was about. He was a devout and good man who took orphaned Esther on as his own child and grieved and mourned when his nation was in danger.

When Esther was fearful to do the right thing - it was Mordecai who put her on the right track by saying: "You were born for such a time as this!"

And, as evidence that his goodness is passed on to the next generation, his adoptive daughter Esther resolves to stand up for her nation and declares that she is willing to do it, even if it costs her life.

This is goodness and it is the Holy Spirit who fills us with this kind of resolve!

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EmmDev 2023-06-08 [Fruit lived out] 5. Kindness

5. Kindness

Our practical example of the fruit of kindness comes from the account of David, Nabal and Abigail. It takes place during David's wilderness wanderings. David's troops had kindly protected Nabal's shepherds and flocks and at shearing time, David made a simple request of Nabal for some food. Nabal (his name means "fool") responded abusively and derisively.

David was incensed and set out with some of his soldiers to deal with Nabal.

Thankfully Nabal's wife, Abigail, understood the severity of unkindness and reacted quickly.
Here are some extracts from that account:

One of the servants told Nabal's wife Abigail: "David sent messengers from the desert to give our master his greetings, but he hurled insults at them. Yet these men were very good to us. They did not mistreat us, and the whole time we were out in the fields near them nothing was missing. Night and day they were a wall around us all the time we were herding our sheep near them. Now think it over and see what you can do, because disaster is hanging over our master and his whole household. He is such a wicked man that no one can talk to him." Abigail lost no time. She took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five dressed sheep, five seahs of roasted grain, a hundred cakes of raisins and two hundred cakes of pressed figs, and loaded them on donkeys. Then she told her servants, "Go on ahead; I'll follow you." But she did not tell her husband Nabal. ... Then in the morning, when Nabal was sober, his wife told him all these things, and his heart failed him and he became like a stone. About ten days later, the LORD struck Nabal and he died. (1Samuel25:14-38)

This is such a powerful picture of kindness and unkindness.
David and his men are rough and tough soldiers. They're on the run from Saul. Protecting Nabal's flocks from stock thieves shouldn't be a priority for them, but in kindness they do it.

Nabal is wealthy and blessed, refusing David basic hospitality (and hospitality was highly prized in the Ancient Near East) is a crass act of unkindness.

The unkindness unleashes rage in David and he admits to Abigail that he was so angry that he was in danger of killing Nabal out of vengeance because he was so angry.

Abigail shows radical kindness which defuses the situation.
But Nabal is so entrenched in his selfish unkindness that he has a stroke when Abigail tells him what she did - and she had actually saved his life!

The Holy Spirit helps us to be kind.
However, we should always be aware of the dangers of unkindness.
Not only can it get us into trouble, but it can harden our souls.

Opportunities to be kind come when we least expect them and we should try to err on the side of kindness.

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EmmDev 2023-06-07 [Fruit lived out] 4. Patience

4. Patience

The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him. When two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream... ...Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it." "I cannot do it," Joseph replied to Pharaoh, "but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires." (Genesis40:23-41:16)

When he was still a young man, God gave Joseph a dream of greatness.
But before that dream was fulfilled Joseph had to go through a lot:

1. Betrayed and almost killed by his brothers. Genesis 37:2 tells us that he was 17 when his conflict with his brothers reached boiling point.
2. Sold as a slave and dragged off to Egypt
3. Sold to Potiphar where he worked his way to being the "major domo".
4. Thrown into prison where he worked his way up to being a supervisor of sorts
5. Interprets the cupbearer and baker's dreams, but the cupbearer forgot about him for two years
6. Becomes Pharaoh's right hand at 30. (Gen41:46)

That's 13 years as slave and prisoner!
While I think the whole period must have been tough, the last two years must have been really tough.
He'd correctly interpreted the dreams of two high officials but nothing was happening!

I can imagine Joseph's internal dialog: "The cupbearer is alive, the baker is dead, surely the cupbearer will be grateful to be alive! Surely he'll remember me!"

But the cupbearer forgot for two years. (That's nearly 3% of a seventy year life-span!)

If I were Joseph, I'd be angry, champing at the bit, ready to prove myself.

If Pharoah asked me if I could interpret dreams I think I might have responded:
"Is the Nile a river? You betcha I can interpret dreams!"
(or something like that!)

But Joseph is wise and honours God.
There is calmness about him.
He's waited 13 years for this moment.
His spirit is quiet - he can interpret dreams.
He's ready to lead.
He's not a 17 year old tattle-taling on his brothers.
He's learned patience.

God's Spirit can give us patience:
- When we are "waiting in the wings" for years
- When we are slaves slogging away and taken for granted.
- When we are imprisoned physically or by our circumstances.
- When we are forgotten and frustrated.

The same Spirit who helped Joseph will help you and me!

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EmmDev 2023-06-06 [Fruit lived out] 3. Peace

3. Peace

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" He replied, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too." (1Kings19:11-14)

Elijah was stressed out and burnt out. God gave him rest and food and brought him to Mount Horeb.

God asks him twice "What are you doing here, Elijah?"
Both times Elijah's answer, in a nutshell, is the same: "I've worked hard, been rejected, ignored and threatened and I'm all alone."

But I imagine his tone of voice changes between the first and second complaint, because it seems he is content after the second time.

Why is that?
Because he experienced PEACE.

Scholars are divided about whether the earthquake, wind and fire were real or simply manifestations of Elijah's disturbed state. It actually doesn't matter. Either way they are powerful metaphors of the lack of peace Elijah is experiencing. Peace is not to be found until he hears the gentle whisper.

The telling part of the text is that God had asked Elijah to stand outside, but Elijah had retreated back into the cave again and he has to come out to the gentle whisper.

Jesus promises peace. Peace not as the world gives, but His peace - the peace of the Holy Spirit.

This peace is found by disciples waking Jesus in the middle of the storm.
It comes to a man formerly possessed by a legion of demons.
It comes to a boatload of passengers on a storm tossed boat receiving communion from Paul.
It comes to those who are ready to listen beyond the noise of turmoil, travail and heartache to hear the gentle whisper of the Spirit.
To do that we have to come out of the cave of self-pity, cynicism, negativity and doubt.
We need to hear His whisper...
And He will give peace...

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EmmDev 2023-06-02 [Fruit lived out] 2. Joy

2. Joy

David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the LORD with all his might, while he and the entire house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouts and the sound of trumpets. As the ark of the LORD was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, she despised him in her heart. They brought the ark of the LORD and set it in its place inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and David sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before the LORD. After he had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD Almighty. Then he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins to each person in the whole crowd of Israelites, both men and women. And all the people went to their homes. When David returned home to bless his household... (2Samuel6:14-20)

When David brought the Ark of the Covenant to his new capital, Jerusalem, it was a moment of great joy. Although this is the Old Testament and prior to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, this is still a beautiful picture of what joy looks like and how it might play out in our lives.

The obvious first aspects of joy are that there was a group of people singing before the Lord and David expressed his joy in exhuberant uninhibited and un-self-conscious dancing. (This is quite a shift from many of us who sing in church with our hands firmly planted by our sides...)

But there is more to David's joy than gyrations...
David also sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to the Lord. This is the expression of his devotion and love to the God who has brought him

Then he blessed the people. Now David was not a priest, it was not his job to bless the people, but in this moment he feels abundant gratitude and joy and it expresses itself in the desire to pass this on to others. It's a beautiful moment of overflow. Elsewhere he described this as "my cup runneth over."

The joy continues to manifest itself in radical generosity: every person is given a loaf and two cakes. We should note that this could not have been spontaneous, David must have planned for it. Joy is not simply an emotion, it is thoughtful, abundant and generous.

Finally, David wants to come home and bless his family. Living out our faith with our immediate family can be hard. Living out a "form of faith" in the public eye is easy, bringing it home makes it genuine. Unfortunately he comes home to a critical wife who had not let joy into her heart, but David doesn't let that deter him.

So this is what joy looks like:
- It's celebration: music, movement and uninhibited.
- It's devotion, offering our best to God.
- It's expressing the overflow of God's goodness to others.
- It's generosity, pre-meditated and thoughtful.
- It's taking it home to our own private spaces proving it is real.

Nehemiah told a repentant people, "the joy of the Lord is your strength." The Holy Spirit fills us with Joy. We can let others quench it or we can resolve to embrace joy!

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