365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 111

My mind is reeling from the test results of my APS report on my temperament that I received this morning. It is so accurate.  I can’t even express the value of having something like this. People struggle their whole lives with learning who they are and what God created them to be. This tool is a gift from God and I am so honored to be called to helping people discover who God created them to be. I feel compelled to re-read it and fully absorb who God created me to be and praise him for everything.

Romans 10:15 As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 38

I got newsletter in the mail from a ministry called Voice of the Martyrs. It shared about their ministry of getting people to write letters to Christians that are in prisons around the world. It shared one story of a man who was imprisoned because he was selling bibles in China. He ended up getting bags of letters and cards from Christians around the world that gave him hope and strength. He was filled with joy at receiving such a gift when he was in prison. This gift gave him the hope and strength he needed and he brought several fellow prisoners there for murder to accept Jesus Christ. Finding joy in such circumstances is almost unfathomable to consider but we are never alone in these struggles and that is the joy of it. This man prayed to be freed from prison as he was being tortured hourly and heard the voice of Jesus tell him “my grace is enough”. He wasn’t freed at that point but lived on knowing he was not alone and that Jesus was with him. I think the ultimate joy that we are given is in knowing Jesus Christ.

1Peter 2:21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.

Happy 2013!

365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 33

In the next couple weeks I am going to be looking at the fruit of the spirit, joy. This time of year seems to be the most joyful time of year. Hmmmm, I wonder why? No, seriously we have so much to be joyous about when it comes to celebrating Christmas but this joy needs to be within us throughout the year, not just in December. I guess reality sets back in. You have to go back to work, clean-up the mess in your house, deal with incoming bills, getting sick and all kinds of trouble that will come our way. The bible tells us just because we believe doesn’t mean we won’t face trials in our life. We aren’t immune to the effects of life on Earth as human beings. I have struggled with being joyful in the midst of pain that comes from the after effects of my shoulder surgery. The healing process can be painfully slow but thankfully I feel progress so when I have a particularly bad day I have that hope. Jesus’ half brother James wrote about thinking of our trials as pure joy. Our trials are the catalyst of change. They will help strengthen us and mature us and they will lead to our completion. Think of yourself as a lump of clay and God is working you into a beautiful sculpture. Having joy when you feel depressed, down or angry about life is a challenge that we cannot overcome on our own. We have to call on the Holy Spirit to help us have this fruit especially when those trials hit us in the face. In the trials that lie ahead of us in the coming year, try to remember to call on the Holy Spirit to give you all that you need, especially joy. I will make a prayer card to have at work when I face a lot of my trials so that I will be prepared.

Holy Spirit, The stuff I am facing now is too hard for me to bare on my own. I need your help. Help me to be filled with joy despite what may be happening in my life. Let me have a smile in my heart that God is masterfully working his creation into a beautiful sculpture. With You All Things Are Possible!  Amen.

James 1:2-4 My brothers and sisters, you will face all kinds of trouble. When you do, think of is as pure joy. Your faith will be put to the test. You know that when that happens it will produce in you the strength to continue. The strength to keep going must be allowed to finish its work. Then you will be all you should be. You will have everything you need.

365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge

This will be a short one since my shoulder surgery was yesterday and I have only one hand to use. The next word I am looking into in the scripture 1Corinthians 13:4-13 is envy. In looking through some definitions of envy on google, I realized that this sin can manifest itself like the green-eyed monster but can also be so subtle you don’t realize what you are feeling is a sin. I had struggled with this with my envy of other women and there ability to communicate well in a social situation. The insecurities of my slower auditory thought processing had me wishing I could process what I am hearing quicker so I could keep up with the conversation going on. I was thinking only of myself and my issues instead being other-thinking. This last year doing this blog and the praises challenge had me in God’s Word everyday. With His help, I have conquered this sin and come to a place of peace and contentment of who God created in me. The Holy Spirit has given me the wisdom I needed to understand this subtle sin and wash it away. Does it creep back in me? Yes, because the evil one will do anything and everything to draw you away from God. So, let us pray.

Holy One, We are so thankful for the guidance you give. Help us today to find the wisdom we need in your Word or through our prayers to discern the subtle sins that the devil tries to get into us. Help us today to conquer the sin of envy and be at peace with who you created us to be.

Exodus 20:17

“You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's.”