Day 43 - Peace

Here’s a little piece of trivia for you: The word for “peace” occurs eighty times in the New Testament. It occurs in every book of the New Testament. How about that? It must be significant.

There is a section of Scripture in Colossians 3:1-17 that is entitled “Rules for Holy Living.” It’s a subsection of a section called “What Christians Should Do.” Take a few minutes to read this passage in God’s Word.

It begins with an encouragement for Christians to set their minds on things above, which means that we are to strive to make heaven’s priorities our daily practice. Paul encourages the Colossian Christians to put to death those practices that give in to earthly, carnal desires, as well as greed and idolatry. He reminds them that they used to practice all those things, but they have been made new creatures in Christ.

Paul then calls them God’s chosen people—holy, dearly loved, compassionate, kind, humble, gentle, and patient. He urges them to bear with each other’s weaknesses and to be forgiving—as Christ forgave them. And then he says for them to put on love, which binds all of those virtues together in “perfect unity.”

Take a closer look at verse 15: “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.” The word rule, here, is the word that is equivalent to an umpire or a referee. After all, it is in our hearts where conflicts take place (James 4:1). And who better to referee those conflicts than the peace of Christ? So how do we do that? We ask ourselves this: which choice will promote peace in our souls and in our Christian community?

Sometimes we enjoy the challenge of conflict, especially when the motives, engagement, and outcomes bring out the best in those participating. In athletics, great competition among equals can strengthen mutual respect. But within the circumstances of competition and conflict there is the very real possibility that Satan can find a foothold (Ephesians 4:25-27). So when all is said and done, we must open our hearts and minds to the rest and gentleness of the peace of Christ. In short, make peace your reputation. People are much more likely to offer friendship and assistance to a person of peace. They are also more likely to share their hurts and difficulties with a gentle and peaceful spirit. Seasoned sailors don’t mind the challenge of choppy seas occasionally, but to a person, they all prefer to run through navigable waters with a full wind in their sail.

Paul ends this section encouraging the Christians to be thankful in everything: “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”

Do you let the peace of Christ referee the conflicts in your heart?

Are you willing to turn them over to Him and His peace?

Day 42 - Joy

My mother used to say to me, “Happiness is what you feel: joy is what you are.” I didn’t understand that for a long time. But I get it. The closest thing to joy that the world feels is happiness. And they may seem like they could be related. But happiness is dependent on circumstances; joy is not. Joy is what is in your heart as a result of the Holy Spirit’s work in you.

Take a look at the tiny book of 3 John, especially verses 3 and 4. It says: “It gave me great joy to have some brothers come and tell about your faithfulness to the truth and how you continue to walk in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.” If you are a parent of grown children, perhaps you have felt great joy when you heard that your children are faithful and active in their walk with the Lord. If you are a grandparent, you have likely felt the joy of hearing your grandchild tell you that they love you.

In the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15, do you remember how the father would wait and watch every day to see if his son had returned? Do you remember the description Luke gave when at last the father did see his son coming home? The father ran to meet him. He threw his arms around his son.

Joy is particularly full when what was lost spiritually is found (The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 10). Take a few minutes to read Acts 16:16-34. Pay particular attention to verse 34. Luke records: “The jailer brought them (Paul and Silas) into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole family.” Do you remember r this event? Paul and Silas had been thrown into prison because they had cast out a demon from a slave girl. Her owners were not happy about that and filed a complaint. As a result, Paul and Silas did some jail time. During the night, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God. Suddenly, there was a great earthquake and the prison doors flew open and the chains had come loose. He was sure that the prisoners had escaped and because he knew he would be put to death for their escape, he was going to kill himself. But Paul and Silas stopped him, and they told him that they were all there. Immediately, the jailer knew this was the work of God.

While there is happiness to be felt and found in what we might term “having a good day” it takes the joy of the Holy Spirit to sing hymns of praise when treated unjustly. We can find ourselves imprisoned by someone else’s poor treatment, prejudice, and unfair tactics. But with the Holy Spirit, there is still the power and perspective to be joyful.

Have you felt that joy? How can you tell the difference between the joy of the Lord and a sense of happiness? I wonder how the joy of Paul and Silas and later, the joy of the jailer, impacted the other prisoners at the Philippian jail

Day 41 - Love

1 Corinthians 13 is one of the best-known chapters in the Bible. It is referred to as the “Love Chapter” and is used in many marriage ceremonies. It is fitting that love should be the first on the list of the Spirit’s fruit. Every Christian feels love. 1 John 4:8 tells us that “God is love.” The last verse in the Love chapter says that “the greatest of these is love.”

It is wonderful feeling to know that you are loved. This love from God is unconditional, transforming, and unchangeable. Because of this love, Christ died on the cross for us. This love is present in us even though we willfully sin. And because the Spirit lives in us—and He is characterized by love –we are to show love to other Christians, as well as those living in the world.

John 13:35 quotes Jesus, “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” So how can we love others? By helping when it’s not convenient, by giving when it hurts, by spending our energy on the welfare of others instead of ourselves, by receiving hurts from others without complaining or fighting back—that’s how we love others. But this kind of loving is hard to do, isn’t it? However, that’s how “all men will know” that we belong to Christ.

John 15:12-13 tells us, “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” We are to love each other as Jesus loved us, and He loved us enough to give His life for us. We may not have to die for someone, but there are other ways to practice sacrificial love: listening, helping, encouraging, giving. Think of someone in particular who needs this kind of love today. Give all the love you can, and then try to give a little more (Life Application Bible).

Can you imagine catching enough wind (that is, the Holy Spirit) in our sails (our lives) that we have enough love and more to share? Do you sometimes run out of spiritual energy when you are trying to love others this way? Think back to the story of the Good Samaritan. His love is instructive. It is perceptive, thoughtful, risky, engaging, and comprehensive. Jesus tells that story specifically to illustrate his kind of love, and how we display it.

Day 40 - Practice Makes Perfect

Spiritual warfare is real. Satan really does want to distract us and mislead us so that we take our focus off of the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul, in writing to the Galatians, very clearly describes spiritual warfare in two phrases: “the works of the flesh” and “the fruit of the Spirit.” Please don’t get the impression that these two forces are equal; they are not. The Spirit is infinitely more powerful.

However, if we rely on our own wisdom, we will make wrong choices. If we try to achieve the qualities listed as the fruit of the Spirit by our own might and effort, we will fail. Galatians 5:16-21 contains a list of the works of the flesh—the evil desires that every person faces at some point in their life. The only way to be free of these evil desires is to let the Holy Spirit’s power work in us.

Ignoring the evil desires is not effective at all—in fact, doing so demonstrates that the Holy Spirit is not living in us, and we have not been transformed; or that we have tasted the Spirit and are now grieving Him by our ambivalence toward His presence in us. These evil desires—or works of the flesh—are to be dealt with decisively. They are overcome through the power of the Spirit.

Galatians 6:22-26 lists the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is different from spiritual gifts. We’ve studied that the Holy Spirit gives us each gifts as He sees fit. The fruit of the Spirit is in every Christian who has been transformed by the Holy Spirit’s power. So, every one of us has all the facets of this fruit.

Over the next several days, we will be looking at each facet of the fruit of the Spirit. These virtues that are the Spirit’s fruit don’t necessarily need to be classified, although they do seem to fall into three categories (The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 10):

1. The first three seem to be Christian habits of the mind and are directed God-ward,

2. The second three deal with the Christian’s relationship with others—they are more social virtues, and

3. The last three concern the Christian as he is to be in himself.

Do you remember our Beginner Sailing Tips? This is the list for those who are new to sailing and we’ve looked at several of them. These help folks master the basics of sailing so that they can be effective and reap all the benefits associated with it. This list concludes with this tip: Practice makes perfect. As we grow toward a life that catches the wind of the Spirit, this is a good tip for us to remember as well: practice makes perfect.

Day 39 - Be the Best You Can Be

The Spirit gives us gifts—each one of us—that bless the Body.

Psalm 139:13-14

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

When you see a newborn, especially your own, aren’t you in awe of God’s miracle of life? When I read what the psalmist says in the above verse, I know that God is amazing and His power is awesome.

In our study yesterday, we read how the Holy Spirit has given each one of us gifts as He sees fit. We don’t all have the same gifts and some people have more than one. Turn again to 1 Corinthians 12:12-31. Paul compares the body of Christ—His church—to our human bodies. Each physical body part functions in a specific way—not like any other part—so that, working together, we are complete. Likewise, in the church each member has a different function. And when we work together, we are complete.

The church is composed of many types of people from a variety of backgrounds with a multitude of gifts and abilities. But despite the differences, all believers have one thing in common—faith in Christ. All believers are baptized by one Holy Spirit into one body of believers, the church. We don’t lose our individual identities, but we have an overriding oneness in Christ. When a person becomes a Christian, the Holy Spirit takes up residence, and they are born into God’s family. The same Holy Spirit completely fills our innermost beings. As members of God’s family, we may have different interests and gifts, but we have a common goal (Life Application Bible).

We are encouraged, just as Paul encouraged the Corinthian believers, to discover and develop our gifts and see how we can serve Christ’s body with the gifts given to us. In this passage Paul also surfaces two barriers to the maximizing of our gifts. First we might declare ourselves (12:14-20) to be of minor value or importance to the body. This means we neglect the body by not giving our gift for their good. Second, we declare others to be of lesser value or importance and imagine them as dispensable (12:21-26). So whether by underestimating or overestimating the value of our gifts, the body of Christ is wounded.

If you’ve ever been to a marina and seen where boats are tied up, one thing you will notice is the difference in sizes and types of boats. Some are huge and powerful looking, some are sleek and graceful looking, and some look like they are barely held together with baling wire and duct tape. But when they are out on the water, each boat moves through the water, using the attributes it was given.

How are you using your gift(s) from God?

Are you opening yourself up to the Holy Spirit’s leading?

Day 38 - There Is a Gift for You

The Spirit gives us gifts–each one of us—that bless the Body.

Have you noticed that some people sing a whole lot better than other people? And have you ever noticed that some people are just gifted athletically, and some are not? And surely you’ve noticed that there are some people who aren’t bothered in the least about getting up in front of large groups of people and speaking. From time to time, we may wish we were as gifted as another person in a specific area. At that point, we’re usually either motivated to improve ourselves or we accept our own limitation and move on.

In Galatians 5:25, we are called to “keep in step” with the Spirit. But in the same context, Paul is also warning the Galatians to beware of conceit, provoking each other and envying each other. How does the Holy Spirit fit into this picture? When we live a life in step with the Holy Spirit, He gives us whatever gifts He sees fit for us to have and use. Open your Bible and take a look at 1 Corinthians 12:1-11. The spiritual gifts given to each person by the Holy Spirit are special abilities that are to be used to minister to the needs of the body of believers. There are many gifts, people have different gifts, some people have more than one gift, and one gift is not superior to another. All spiritual gifts come from the Holy Spirit, and their purpose is to build up Christ’s body, the church (Life Application Bible).

The Life Application Bible notes point this out: The Holy Spirit decides which gifts each believer should have. We are responsible to use and sharpen our gifts, but we can take no credit for what God has freely given us. We need to remember these two central points: 1) Properly used, spiritual gifts are not self-serving but serve the whole body of Christ [see verse 7], and 2) Each gift becomes practically useless when used without love. As we seek to identify, utilize, and develop the gifts God has given us, we need to make loving God and loving our fellow Christians our highest motives.

Just as the wind catches the open sail and moves the boat across the water, the wind that is the Holy Spirit can fill us with a gift or gifts to bless those around us and move our vessels—our lives—as a blessing to others. When viewed through this lens, I can cherish my own gifts, overcome my envy of others, and actually rejoice when someone else exercises their gift(s).

The Holy Spirit has given you gifts for the common good, just as He sees fit. Are you open to using them for His purposes and desires?

How can you prepare to be more available and submissive to His will?

Day 37 - Things Change

Because of the Spirit, we abound with hope and are filled with joy and peace.

Several days ago, we looked at the story of Cornelius from Acts 10. What a huge paradigm shift for the Jews! All of a sudden, the very people they had grown up kind of despising were eligible for God’s gift of salvation. It wasn’t just your everyday Jewish Christian who had some trouble digesting this. Even the disciples and elders in Jerusalem wanted to talk with Peter and have him explain his actions.

Turn to Acts 11:1-18 and read this section where Peter explains his actions. Remember that most Jewish believers thought that God offered salvation only to the Jews because God had given His law to them—they were the Chosen. Other Jewish believers would agree that Gentiles (someone who was not a Jew) could become Christians, but only if they “converted” to the Jewish way of life first and followed all the Jewish laws and traditions (Acts 15:5-11). Neither group was right. God did choose the Jewish people and taught them His laws so that they could bring His word and message of salvation to all people. This was the original promise and covenant with Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3; Galatians 3:6-9).

When Peter brought his story concerning the conversion of Cornelius to the believers in Jerusalem, it shocked them. What shocked them the most was that Peter had eaten with Gentiles! And in their minds the Gentiles were unclean...weren’t they?

Peter gave them a play-by-play account of the whole thing—from his trance on the rooftop to God’s insistence not to call anything He made unclean to the baptisms of Cornelius and his household. Notice verses 15-18:

As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ So if God gave them the same gift as he gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God? When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.”

When someone’s life is changed by the Spirit, isn’t it a tremendous thing? It was powerful in the day of Peter and Cornelius and it is still powerful today.

If you’ve ever watched television coverage of the America’s Cup race, you’ve probably noticed that the media shows you the days when nearly every vessel is running with a full sail of wind. Every crew member is at their peak as the boats slice through the waves. It’s beautiful, isn’t it? So, too, are the lives lived with a full sail of the wind of the Holy Spirit.

Are you running with a full sail? Do you want to be?