Reflections

fruits of the spirit

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,

goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control

Galatians 4: 22 (RSV)

Love

Love is the way to open the heart, to transform the mind.

Practice love; it is a great lesson given by a great Teacher.

Joy

Jesus Others Yourself

Joy is the God given cement that secures the harmony and beauty of the mosaic of life.

Peace

I am leaning on Jesus; he heals me of all my fears and insecurities.

I have peace in the middle of storms knowing that He is the Captain.

Patience

God calls me sometimes to wait, the quick and easy is not always God's way. God is however always working in the moment of my every microsecond.

Kindness

Blessed to be a blessing, acts of kindness passed from one to another.

My motives must remain pure.

Goodness

Outside of the finished work of the cross and my belief in Jesus there would be no goodness within me.

Faithfulness

I must remain connected to the vine and live my life faithful to the Gardener.

I grow in faith through my trust. True faith develops faithfulness.

Gentleness

Be kind to one another for the days are short and the years fly by. Do not let the sun go down and be angry with anyone. Tomorrow may be too late.

Self-Control

I must die to myself and rise up new and led by the Holy Spirit. My transformation cannot occur unless I yield my will to God's will.

Seeking God

The Secret Place

In every one's heart there lies a secret place, a God center.

This is where God reveals to the seeker the innermost longings of their hearts.

I am finding this truth, more and more, as we continue to work together in my daily transformation.

I have a choice to walk inside this room and to live in the power of the secret.

My faith is the key, inside I must seek and I must look deep, for the ways of God are not my ways.

When I was a young child growing up, we lived in a 100 year old farm house with such character, both on the inside and out.

I loved the outside rooms created by years of planting and pruning. There were some areas of the yard that were tucked away from the house, like secret rooms.

I would often slip away inside these hidden spaces to sit, read, or write secret coded messages to my younger sister.

She would also write a message to me in her hiding place and then in a flurry we would exchange messages with the decoder.

This game took time to write and then decipher the "post". But that was the fun of this activity-
...the unraveling, the revelation of something hidden.

Now inside my secret place with God, I see that I must take the time to look for the hidden deep revelations in the greatest post ever written.

..The Bible.

Love

TODAY

Today... on Valentines do something for someone else, but do it in the knowing that there is absolutely no way they could ever repay you. The world will be a better place because of it.

The Good Samaritan

Daniel

I was reading a post from a lady whose blog I like to follow. We live in different countries, have never spoken or even exchanged emails, but I feel a connection when I read her writings.

Today I read her post entitled "Who is Your Neighbor?" The post was about a message she heard at church last Sunday about the story of "The Good Samaritan".

The pastor spoke about how we can get so busy with our own lives that we don't even see when someone needs our help... or we see and just don't feel we have the time to help.

Sometimes we feel as though we don't have anything to offer... or we become apathetic and just look the other way out of selfish pride or indifference.

The pastor concluded that we all have something to give, a smile, a word of encouragement, a hug, or a prayer... He asked "Who is your neighbor?"

I am encouraged to seek out the answer in my day to day experiences. There are neighbors everywhere.

My blogger friend reminded me that as always with God, whatever we give in love comes back to us all the greater. I know this firsthand as my comment on her blog illustrates:

..."I rode the train home from the airport last weekend. Slipping into our seats I mentioned to my husband that the man in the seat across from us looked like he was riding just to stay out of the cold. You know, one of those homeless types, I labeled in my mind.

We rode for 45 minutes, past homes and stores and churches. He sat quietly staring ahead. I found myself thinking how fortunate I am to have a home and family. I wondered what he was thinking... how a ride on a train to nowhere felt... where would he sleep tonight?

As I watched this man, my heart was moved to compassion instead of judgement. Before exiting at our stop, we slipped a few dollars in his hand and asked him his name. He smiled a beautiful smile and gratefully replied "Daniel".

Daniel, I thought as the train pulled away. A good Christian name, given to a favorite son so many years ago... a blessed man who overcame many obstacles.

God bless Daniel tonight.
May he not be a nameless face.

HOME SWEET HOME

A House Divided

...a Vision

I know a house divided will fall and crumble.

The stress fracture, the upheaval of the abrupt comings and goings, and the strong winds of indifference blowing in all directions.

One day a gale of hurricane force will wear down and scatter this weakened house.

I see the aftermath of this great storm. Debris and rubble, mixed with treasures. Everything is scattered in all seven directions.

Just beyond the place where the home had been, I see a beautiful oak tree still standing, it's trunk and branches majestic.

I look back at the rubble and wonder who will pick up the pieces. Will the owner rebuild again? How... when they are bankrupt?

Off in the distance I see a man walking down the road. He is dressed simply, his gait is strong and his face is kind and smiling. The morning sun illuminates behind his body and a warm glow is cast onto the cool of the day.

He walks to the center of the debris of this home. I now see a young woman crying, he kneels beside her. She takes his hand and without a word spoken she rises up with him.

Together they walk to the tree and I see what lies beneath this tree- a fruit I have never seen before. The man speaks to her and she begins to gather this fruit and walk down a hill to a stream.

Beside the stream sits a man crying out in pain, yet there are no apparent wounds. She kneels beside him and the man with the kind face kneels also.

Again, without a word spoken they all rise up. The man with the kind face throws the fruit into the water and speaks one word, "Forgiven".

He walks across the water, stopping in the center of the strong current. He speaks again, "Follow me", and the river becomes quiet and still.

In the distance I hear the call of bird, a sound of beauty; like music to my ears. Hesitantly, I follow as they walk through the waters.

I reach for his hand and step out upon the water. It feels like silk, floating silk... gently across my feet. The pebbles are smooth and the walk is effortless.

The man who calmed the water has gone ahead. I can see him standing on the other side, the beautiful bird perched upon his shoulder.

I walk to the bank and up a knoll, into a serene meadow. There are thousands of flowers everywhere, and in the center a rock protrudes. The man is standing upon the rock.

He speaks, strong and direct, "Upon this rock build your house, go now and live in harmony... live in God".

I fall gently down into the soft grass and into a deep sleep of peace, dreaming of angels, flying all around singing and praising God. Another child has come home.

...home to the heart of the man. Home to Jesus, the Rock of salvation.

Home, sweet home.

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Believe! Anything's Possible!

Take action today! Invest in yourself and believe that God has a plan for you! Jeremiah 29:11

http://awakeyourpotential.com/