In step

[RiverOL]

Celebrating Forgiveness
Give us this day our daily bread. —Matthew 6:11 KJV
For a devout Jew, sharing a meal is more than an act of hospitality. If you eat with someone, you are one with that person; you are not just filling your stomach. That’s why the children of Israel spent so much time in fellowship with one another, particularly around the table—it was a symbol of forgiveness.
Peter experienced forgiveness, too. When the soldiers arrested Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, Peter followed. He wanted to know what was happening to his Master. But when someone identified him and questioned his relationship with Jesus, three times Peter denied ever knowing Him.

It was a terrible moment for Peter. His desolation drove him back to his fishing boat and onto the Sea of Galilee. But from somewhere on the beach, a familiar voice encouraged the men to cast their nets on the other side of the boat.
Peter recognized the voice of Jesus, jumped into the water and swam to the shore. As soon as Jesus saw him, He invited Peter to come have breakfast. Peter had been forgiven!
Through the atonement, God is calling us back to Him. He is calling you to rest in Him and His finished work on the Cross.

 

[RiverOL]

Waiting for the Light
Morning Encounter:

Read:
A child has been born for us.
We have been given a son
who will be our ruler.
His names will be
Wonderful Advisor
and Mighty God,
Eternal Father
and Prince of Peace.

His power will never end;
peace will last forever.
He will rule David’s kingdom
and make it grow strong.
He will always rule
with honesty and justice.

The Lord All-Powerful
will make certain
that all of this is done.
(Isaiah 9.6-7)

Reflect:
The prophet Isaiah, in the midst of darkness and gloom for the people of Judah, predicts the future coming of a great light, in the form of a child. The people of Judah are waiting in faith and in hope, sustained by this prophecy of a great light coming to dispel their darkness. Isaiah’s words point towards a future King who doesn’t wipe away every pain and problem, but comes as the Light of the World into our brokenness and darkness.


Respond:
Reflect on the idea of waiting for Jesus, the Light of the World, who meets us in our darkness and brokenness.

Midday Meditation:
‘Advent calls us to readjust our eyes in that darkness so that we can see glimmers of the Light of the World, glowing and pointing us forwards to that ultimate time in the future when everything will be fulfilled.’
(Paula Gooder The Meaning is in the Waiting)

Evening Reflection:
A waiting person is a patient person. The word patience means the willingness to stay where we are and live the situation out to the full in the belief that something hidden there will manifest itself to us.”

 

[RiverOL]

How Jesus handled tension
Luke 12:35-53
"But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is completed!" (v.50)

Jesus' behavior when He looked around at the Pharisees "with anger" was not the result of a bad temper but the fulfilling of a redemptive purpose. The cutting was not to hurt, but to heal. When we display anger, it is usually for purposes of destruction rather than construction.

Although Jesus was free from bad temper, however, He was not free from tension, that is: "a state of moderate stress." Moffatt, in fact, translates our text for today in this way: "What tension I suffer, till it is all over!" A certain amount of tension is a necessary part of life. Jesus experienced it, and so will we. And it is not necessarily a bad thing. The violin string that is free from tension is incapable of music, but when tightened gives forth a sound that delights the ear. The tension that Jesus felt was a tension that was harnessed to the interest of others.

He was on His way to a cross and the tension was not to be loosed until He pronounced the words: "It is finished."The tension, however, did not leave Him frustrated and bad-tempered; it left Him calm and composed, with a prayer for the forgiveness of His enemies upon His lips. It drove Him, not to pieces, but to peace -- the peace of achievement and victory. This was so because the tension was harnessed to God's perfect will -- hence it was a constructive urge. Unfortunately, many of our tensions drive us, not toward God's will but toward our own will. We are more concerned for ourselves than for the divine interests. This kind of driving will succeed only in driving us "nuts."

Prayer:
Dear Lord and Master, teach me how to harness my tensions to Your purposes, so that they are transformed into rhythm and song. In Christ's Name I ask it. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

Give us this day our daily bread. —Matthew 6:11 KJV
For a devout Jew, sharing a meal is more than an act of hospitality. If you eat with someone, you are one with that person; you are not just filling your stomach. That’s why the children of Israel spent so much time in fellowship with one another, particularly around the table—it was a symbol of forgiveness.

Peter experienced forgiveness, too. When the soldiers arrested Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, Peter followed. He wanted to know what was happening to his Master. But when someone identified him and questioned his relationship with Jesus, three times Peter denied ever knowing Him.

It was a terrible moment for Peter. His desolation drove him back to his fishing boat and onto the Sea of Galilee. But from somewhere on the beach, a familiar voice encouraged the men to cast their nets on the other side of the boat.
Peter recognized the voice of Jesus, jumped into the water and swam to the shore. As soon as Jesus saw him, He invited Peter to come have breakfast. Peter had been forgiven!
Through the atonement, God is calling us back to Him. He is calling you to rest in Him and His finished work on the Cross.

 

[RiverOL]

Waiting for the Messiah
Morning Encounter:
Read:
The Spirit of the Lord God
has taken control of me!
The Lord has chosen and sent me
to tell the oppressed
the good news,
to heal the broken-hearted,
and to announce freedom
for prisoners and captives.

This is the year
when the Lord God
will show kindness to us
and punish our enemies.
The Lord has sent me
to comfort those who mourn,
especially in Jerusalem.
(Isaiah 61:1-2)

Reflect:
Through the prophet Isaiah we again have light breaking through the darkness. These are beautiful words of God’s anointed one who will usher in God’s kingdom in a new way. These are the words of Isaiah picked up by Jesus in the Synagogue in Luke 4. God’s promises to the poor as refuge, healing and freedom are announced. Long after these words were first spoken, Jesus comes and ministers to the poor, the broken and the outcast – to those whose life circumstances prevented them from entering the main Temple and taking part in sacrificial worship which was such an important part of the Jewish way of life.

Respond:
Thank God today for the work of the Salvation Army and others who will be serving people in difficult situations this Christmas.

Midday Meditation:
‘The gospel is absurd and the life of Jesus is meaningless unless we believe that He lived, died, and rose again with but one purpose in mind: to make brand-new creation. Not to make people with better morals but to create a community of prophets and professional lovers, men and women who would surrender to the mystery of the fire of the Spirit that burns within, who would live in ever greater fidelity to the omnipresent Word of God, who would enter into the centre of it all, the very heart and mystery of Christ, into the centre of the flame that consumes, purifies, and sets everything aglow with peace, joy, boldness, and extravagant, furious love. This, my friend, is what it really means to be a Christian.’
(Brennan Manning)

Evening Reflection:
This evening, why not be still and silent and wait on God. If it helps to focus, you might like to light a candle or watch a log fire burn as you reflect on your day.
Only God gives inward peace, and I depend on him.
God alone is the mighty rock that keeps me safe, and he is the fortress where I feel secure.
God saves me and honours me.
He is that mighty rock where I find safety.

 

[RiverOL]

Two Ways to Honk a Horn
James 1:19-27
"... man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires." (v.20)

We continue meditating on the fourth fruit of the Spirit -- patience or good temper. "Temper," someone has said, "turns to bad or good according to what is behind it." Remember that the word "temper" simply means "a disposition of mind" and really requires the words "good" or "bad" to be prefixed to it if it is to be clearly identified. Dr. Stanley Jones says that there are two ways to honk a horn -- the Christian way and the non-Christian way. The Christian way calls attention to a situation; the non-Christian way not only calls attention to the situation but it also calls attention to what the honker feels about it. In the USA I once saw a sign on a car that said: "Honk away -- it's your ulcer." Ulcers are usually visible signs of an ulcerated spirit -- ulcerated by irritation and bad temper.

Whenever we lose our temper and take it out on people around us, we do the utmost harm, not to them, but to ourselves. The one who is out of sorts with someone else is usually out of sorts with himself. He projects his inner problems on to others and fails to see that the cause and remedy are in himself. I once witnessed a Sunday School superintendent lose his temper in a committee meeting, and when reprimanded by another for his bad spirit said: "I have to lose my temper in order to get anything done around here." Our text for today contradicts that view. Listen to it again, this time in the Phillips translation: "For man's temper is never the means of achieving God's true goodness." Wrong means lead to wrong ends -- inevitably

O Father, help me to meet all impatience with patience, all hate with love, all grumpiness with joy and all bad temper with good temper. In Jesus' Name I ask it. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

Confession Isn’t Sufficient

But if a wicked person turns away from all his sins
. . . he shall surely live—Ezekiel 18:21

Confession is necessary, but it is not sufficient. Sufficiency is achieved only when confession is connected with repentance. You see, confession is making our sins known—to God, to wives, to trusted brothers. Repentance, though . . . repentance involves a turning: turning away from those sins; turning our backs on our old selves, on the men who committed those sins. Repentance is saying, we don’t want to be those men anymore. Repentance is turning toward God. It’s a willingness to become new men, loyal followers. Confession is critical, but it’s only the first step. Repentance is the ultimate step.

Ironically, confession requires great courage, but repentance just requires a soft, willing heart. In the parable of the Prodigal Son, Jesus taught that it’s not sin itself that imperils us, but rather a hard, stubborn heart, an unwillingness to turn, an unwillingness to repent. The younger son lived a life with ostensibly more sin. The older brother simply harboured resentment and jealousy. The younger repented of his sins, though; the older did not. The father welcomed the younger and celebrated his return: “for this your brother was dead, and is alive” (Luke 15:32). The father pleaded with the older to also join in celebration, to soften his heart. He would not. Without repentance, we continue in our sin. Without repentance, we continue on our own path . . . toward death. Said Jesus, “unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3).



That stuff that you need/needed to confess, brother . . . yeah, that. Repent of it now. Turn your back on that man, that man who committed those sins. Soften. Be willing to listen to God. Astonishingly, he’ll always let you start anew. “Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out” (Acts 3:19).

 

[RiverOL]

Waiting Expectantly
Morning Encounter:
Read:
All at once an angel from the Lord appeared to Zechariah at the right side of the altar. Zechariah was confused and afraid when he saw the angel. But the angel told him:
Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayers. Your wife Elizabeth will have a son, and you must name him John. His birth will make you very happy, and many people will be glad. Your son will be a great servant of the Lord. He must never drink wine or beer, and the power of the Holy Spirit will be with him from the time he is born.

John will lead many people in Israel to turn back to the Lord their God. He will go ahead of the Lord with the same power and spirit that Elijah had. And because of John, parents will be more thoughtful of their children. And people who now disobey God will begin to think as they ought to. That is how John will get people ready for the Lord.
(Luke 1.11-17)

Reflect:
The circumstances of John’s birth to Zechariah and Elizabeth resemble those of Isaac’s to Abraham and Sarah. They too are a childless couple who have prayed many times and have waited many years for a child of their own. The time of expectation, anticipation and waiting was nearly over. The birth of John the Baptist signals the start of something new; in a few years he will be the one to proclaim the arrival of his cousin, Jesus.

Respond:
John is the traditional focus of the third candle in advent. Take time to read his story in the opening chapters of Luke.

Midday Meditation:
'Biblically, waiting is not just something we have to do until we get what we want. Waiting is part of the process of becoming what God wants us to be.' (John Ortberg)

Evening Reflection:
I will praise you, my God and King, and always honour your name.
I will praise you each day and always honour your name.
You are wonderful, Lord, and you deserve all praise, because you are much greater than anyone can understand.
Each generation will announce to the next your wonderful and powerful deeds.
I will keep thinking about your marvellous glory and your mighty miracles.
(From Psalm 145)

 

[RiverOL]

"I got saved last night"
Ephesians 4:8-21
"... be filled with the Spirit ... always giving thanks to God the Father for everything ..." (vv.18 & 20)

The greatest single influence in turning a bad temper to a good temper is to be indwelt by the Spirit of God. Our text makes that abundantly plain. When the Spirit is allowed to dwell in us, He influences our reactions so that we respond to life's situations with praise rather than with pique.

A miner was notorious for his bad temper. His job was to look after the pit ponies, and whenever they did anything wrong, he would swear and hit out at them with a stick. When he got like this, strong men would keep out of his way, for they knew that he could as easily turn on them as he did on the horses.

One night he went to a Welsh revival meeting, got gloriously converted and experienced a mighty encounter with the Holy Spirit. Next day, at work, one of the horses stepped on his foot. The men with him waited for the explosion -- but nothing happened. One man asked: "Are you sick?" "No," replied the miner, "why do you ask?" "Well," said the man, "I know how quickly you get upset about things, and when the horse stepped on your foot and you didn't lose your temper, I thought you must be unwell." "I'm not unwell," said the miner, "I got saved and filled with the Holy Spirit last night."There is an interesting moment recorded in the life of Saul in 1 Samuel 10:27: "But some rebels said, 'How can this man save us?' So they despised him, and brought him no presents. But he held his peace" (NKJV). Had Saul maintained that same spirit, he would have been a great man.

Dear Father, let Your Spirit invade and take up His abode deep within me, so that in the hour of pressure and crisis, I shall react to everything in a truly Christian way. In Christ's Name I pray. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

Fools are headstrong and do what they like; wise people take advice.
—Proverbs 12:15 MSG
None of us enters this world with the wisdom of Solomon. We need to grow in wisdom and understanding, and this comes from being mentored by wise parents, counselors, pastors, teachers, and friends. However, in order for this process to work effectively, we need to be humble enough to acknowledge our need for God’s wisdom.
We also need to be careful of where we look for our source of wisdom.

Not every self-help author, talk show host, or media pundit truly have the wisdom of God. They may be spouting worldly wisdom or political correctness rather than the truth based on God’s Word.
The apostle Paul warned: “Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ” (Colossians 2:8 NLT). Be careful where you get your wisdom!

 

[RiverOL]

Waiting for the Future
Morning Encounter:
Read:
After this, I saw a large crowd with more people than could be counted. They were from every race, tribe, nation, and language, and they stood before the throne and before the Lamb. They wore white robes and held palm branches in their hands, as they shouted,
“Our God, who sits
upon the throne,
has the power
to save his people,
and so does the Lamb.”

The angels who stood around the throne knelt in front of it with their faces to the ground. The elders and the four living creatures knelt there with them. Then they all worshiped God and said,
“Amen! Praise, glory, wisdom,
thanks, honour, power,
and strength belong to our God
forever and ever! Amen!”

One of the elders asked me, “Do you know who these people are that are dressed in white robes? Do you know where they come from?”
“Sir,” I answered, “you must know.”
Then he told me:
“These are the ones
who have gone through
the great suffering.

They have washed their robes
in the blood of the Lamb
and have made them white.
And so they stand
before the throne of God
and worship him in his temple
day and night.

The one who sits on the throne
will spread his tent
over them.
They will never hunger
or thirst again,
and they won’t be troubled
by the sun

or any scorching heat.
The Lamb in the centre
of the throne
will be their shepherd.

He will lead them to streams
of life-giving water,
and God will wipe all tears
from their eyes.”
(Revelation 7.9-17)

Reflect:
Advent is a season where we look back to the long awaited arrival of Jesus the Messiah, but also a time of looking forwards to his future return. Here, John pictures a countless multitude of people from all the nations of the world gathering before the throne of God in worship. These are people who hunger and thirst no more, every pain and tear has been wiped away and whose suffering has been left behind. Now God’s work is finished and his people are under the protective care of a good shepherd.
Respond:
In the hurry and distraction of this season, take time to further reflect on these verses today. Take comfort in this vision of the victorious Christ.

Midday Meditation:
‘The aim of God in history is the creation of an all-inclusive community of loving persons, with Himself included in that community as its prime sustainer and most glorious inhabitant. Such a community lives under the immediate and total ruler ship of the Holy Spirit. They are a people blinded to all other loyalties by the splendor of God, a compassionate community embodying the law of love as seen in Jesus Christ…They are an obedient army of the Lamb of God living under the Spiritual Disciplines, a community in the process of total transformation from the inside out, a people determined to live out the demands of the gospel in a secular world. They are tenderly aggressive, meekly powerful, suffering, and overcoming. Such a community, cast in the rare and apostolic mold, constitutes a new gathering of the people of God. May God almighty continue to gather such people in our day.’

(Dallas Willard)
Evening Reflection:
The angel showed me a river that was crystal clear, and its waters gave life. The river came from the throne where God and the Lamb were seated. Then it flowed down the middle of the city’s main street. On each side of the river are trees that grow a different kind of fruit each month of the year. The fruit gives life, and the leaves are used as medicine to heal the nations.
God’s curse will no longer be on the people of that city. He and the Lamb will be seated there on their thrones, and its people will worship God and will see him face to face. God’s name will be written on the foreheads of the people. Never again will night appear, and no one who lives there will ever need a lamp or the sun. The Lord God will be their light, and they will rule forever.
(Revelation 22:1-5)

 

[RiverOL]

"I would have been -- B.C."
1 Thessalonians 5:12-24
"... encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone." (v.14)

Mary writes of the change that the Holy Spirit wrought in her after conversion: "I went out to shut the chickens up for the night and found that the boys had closed the door and turned out the light, and all the chickens were outside. Chickens can't see in the dark, and if you shine a light on them, it blinds them. Three years ago I would have given the boys a good spanking, and made them get the chickens in. Tonight, I didn't even stop singing! I went to turn the light on and found that the bulb was burned out. Instead of being disgusted, as I would have been B.

C. (before Christ), I just got a new one and then I got those chickens in with such tenderness that I even surprised myself. When the last chicken was in, I thanked my Father for helping me get them all in so easily by controlling, not the chickens, but me." What the Spirit did for Mary, He can do for you.

Another woman, after finding Christ, went through a time of great persecution from her family. She said: "I used to have a violent temper and my family used to be careful how they talked to me. It was a goal of mine always to have the last word. Following my conversion, my family used to test me by saying all the things they knew used to annoy me. If it had not been for the presence of the Spirit in my life, I know I would not have had the patience to handle their remarks. I still have the last word -- but the last word is silence."

Prayer
Father, at those times when the last word needs to be silence, help me to have that last word. Drive this thought deep into my heart -- that I always lose when I lose my temper. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

All glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.
—Ephesians 3:20 NLT

Sometimes it is easy to get the wrong idea about biblical heroes like Elijah. Awestruck by their mighty acts of faith, we can assume they are akin to comic book superheroes—people who are nothing at all like us.

However, James 5:17-18 points out that Elijah was just an ordinary man who knew how to pray to an extraordinary God:
The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with. Elijah, for instance, human just like us, prayed hard that it wouldn’t rain, and it didn’t—not a drop for three and a half years. Then he prayed that it would rain, and it did. The showers came and everything started growing again (MSG).
Have you limited what God might be able to do in your life? Or have you accepted the challenge modeled by Elijah—learning to pray to a big God?

 

[RiverOL]

Waiting, Pondering, Treasuring
Morning Encounter:
Read:
One month later God sent the angel Gabriel to the town of Nazareth in Galilee with a message for a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to Joseph from the family of King David. The angel greeted Mary and said, “You are truly blessed! The Lord is with you.”
Mary was confused by the angel’s words and wondered what they meant. Then the angel told Mary, “Don’t be afraid! God is pleased with you, and you will have a son. His name will be Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of God Most High. The Lord God will make him king, as his ancestor David was. He will rule the people of Israel forever, and his kingdom will never end.”

Mary asked the angel, “How can this happen? I am not married!”

The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come down to you, and God’s power will come over you. So your child will be called the holy Son of God. Your relative Elizabeth is also going to have a son, even though she is old. No one thought she could ever have a baby, but in three months she will have a son. Nothing is impossible for God!”
Mary said, “I am the Lord’s servant! Let it happen as you have said.” And the angel left her.
(Luke 1:26-38)

Reflect:
The arrival of the angel and the subsequent announcement brings a storm into Mary’s life. She is likely to have been a young teenager at the time, engaged to Joseph and this news would have rocked her whole life. Pregnancy outside of marriage would have at best meant being an outcast in her community. Mary’s staggering response is one of quiet submission. Mary is now waiting, for the pregnancy to begin, for the baby to grow inside her and for the birth of her son.

Respond:
As you wait on the Lord today, with whatever challenges you face, try and echo these words of quiet submission: ‘I am the Lord’s servant! Let it happen as you have said.’

Midday Meditation:
‘We shall steer safely though every storm, so long as our heart is right, our intention fervent, our courage steadfast, and our trust fixed on God.’
(St.Francis De Sales)

Evening Reflection:
You're the Lord of all creation
And still You know my heart
The Author of salvation
You've Loved me from the start
Waiting here for you
With our hands lifted high in praise
And it's You we adore
Singing Hallelujah

 

[RiverOL]

No reason to smile
Proverbs 17:17-28
"A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones." (v.22)

A surprising thing takes place in those whose temper is tempered by the Holy Spirit -- bad temper is replaced by a growing sense of humor. God has given us the power of humor, not only to laugh at things, but to laugh off things. I am not suggesting that we ought to use laughter to deny realities, but humor often reduces things to their proper size.

I once heard a preacher say: "There is no good in a movement or a person where there is no good humor, for goodness has laughter as a corollary." There is something basically wrong with a person who, at appropriate times, cannot break out into hearty laughter. I heard recently of a member of the Irish Republican Army who was wonderfully converted. He spent the first month after his conversion in the home of a minister who said of him: "It was two weeks before I saw him smile, and when I spoke to him about this, he said: 'I have been in a grim business, plotting against people -- and the way I was living, there was just no reason to smile.' " How tragic -- "just no reason to smile." Depend on it, where you cannot smile, you cannot live -- you just exist.

Over the years, I have watched many groups come to the CWR Institutes in Christian Counselling. Many are tied up with fears, guilts and apprehension. We invite them to share their fears and get them up and out. They do. Then the laughter begins. They grow progressively happier as the week goes on. By the end of the week, they are ready to laugh at anything -- themselves included.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, it is said of You that You were anointed "with the oil of gladness more than your companions." Let that same anointing rest and remain upon me today -- and every day. For Your own dear Name's sake. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

Waiting on the Lord
Morning Encounter:
Read:
At this time a man named Simeon was living in Jerusalem. Simeon was a good man. He loved God and was waiting for God to save the people of Israel. God’s Spirit came to him and told him that he would not die until he had seen Christ the Lord.
When Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the temple to do what the Law of Moses says should be done for a new baby, the Spirit told Simeon to go into the temple. Simeon took the baby Jesus in his arms and praised God,
“Lord, I am your servant,
and now I can die in peace,
because you have kept
your promise to me.

With my own eyes I have seen
what you have done
to save your people,
and foreign nations
will also see this.

Your mighty power is a light
for all nations,
and it will bring honour
to your people Israel.”
(Luke 2:25-32)

Reflect:
We know little about Simeon except for what Luke has recorded here. He is a man who loves God and is filled with a continual sensitivity to the Spirit. Luke tells us that he has been waiting for the promised Saviour. The one he is now holding in his arms is a light for the whole world. This is a wonderful moment, for Mary and Joseph, but especially for Simeon who experiences the fulfilment of promise made to him by God.

Respond:
Has God made promises to you? Have they been fulfilled? If so, give thanks to God for his faithfulness. Perhaps you are still waiting; ask the Lord to help you to trust him.

Midday Meditation:
‘Wait on the Lord’ is a constant refrain in the Psalms, and it is a necessary word, for God often keeps us waiting. He is not in such a hurry as we are, and it is not his way to give more light on the future than we need for action in the present, or to guide us more than one step at a time. When in doubt, do nothing, but continue to wait on God. When action is needed, light will come.’
(J.I. Packer Knowing God)

Evening Reflection:
From a sea of troubles
I call out to you, Lord.
Won’t you please listen
as I beg for mercy?
If you kept record of our sins,
no one could last long.
But you forgive us,
and so we will worship you.

With all my heart,
I am waiting, Lord, for you!
I trust your promises.
I wait for you more eagerly
than a soldier on guard duty
waits for the dawn.
Yes, I wait more eagerly
than a soldier on guard duty
waits for the dawn
(From Psalm 130)

 

[RiverOL]

Warm goodwill to others
Colossians 3
"... clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience." (v.12)

The fifth virtue listed in the fruit of the Spirit is kindness. The King James Version uses the word "gentleness" but there is little doubt that "kindness" is a more faithful translation of the original Greek word -- chrestotes. "Kindness" is a very beautiful word; it means "a kindly disposition, or warm goodwill toward others."One commentator says that if you wanted to express Christianity in one English word, you would use the word "kindness." To speak, for example, of an "unkind Christian" is almost a contradiction in terms.

There is some evidence that in the early centuries of the Church, non-Christians used the words "kindly" and "Christian" as synonyms. Tertullian, one of the Church Fathers, said, "The words were so allied in meaning that no harm was done by the confusion."I once asked a church youth group, if I had the power to give them just eight of the fruit instead of nine, which one would they be willing to do without. Almost everyone in the group said "kindness." When I asked why, they explained that for them, the word conjured up a picture of weakness and sentimentality.

I told the group that they were obviously unaware of the true meaning of the word "kindness," and that a kindly disposition does not necessarily mean maudlin sentimentality. So let's be quite clear what we are talking about when we use this word: kindness is a supernatural virtue endowed upon us by the Holy Spirit, engendering within us a warm goodwill to others. How much of it, I wonder, will flow out to others today from you and me?

Prayer:
Gracious Father, help me today to be clothed with kindness. Make me a person who can show warmth and goodwill to others. I ask this for Your own dear Name's sake. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.
—John 15:10 NKJV
If you had a difficult childhood, you may think of “obedience” in harsh or abusive terms. But Jesus modeled and taught an entirely different kind of obedience—pleasing our Heavenly Father based on a love relationship with Him.

He explained that His own obedience was motivated by love rather than fear or obligation: “So the world might know how thoroughly I love the Father, I am carrying out my Father’s instructions right down to the last detail.” (John 14:31 MSG)

Likewise, Jesus said His followers would be motivated to obey because of this same kind of love: “Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me…Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching.” (John 14:21, 14:23 NIV)
Remember: You’ll never receive God’s blessings in full measure unless you are abiding in His love. Your obedience will flow from your love relationship with the Lover of your soul.

 

[RiverOL]

Joseph's Journey
Morning Encounter:

Introduction
This Christmas week, many people will be making all kinds of trips and expeditions to visit family and friends. Going out and about for gatherings of all kinds is an important part of Christmas. Journeys were also part of the original Christmas story. Travel with us this week as we explore the various journeys that took place, culminating with the birth of the Saviour.

Read:
This is how the birth of Jesus Christ took place. When Mary his mother was engaged to Joseph, before they were married, she became pregnant by the Holy Spirit. Joseph her husband was a righteous man. Because he didn’t want to humiliate her, he decided to call off their engagement quietly. As he was thinking about this, an angel from the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because the child she carries was conceived by the Holy Spirit.

She will give birth to a son, and you will call him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” Now all of this took place so that what the Lord had spoken through the prophet would be fulfilled:
Look! A virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son,
And they will call him, Emmanuel.
(Matthew 1: 18-23)

Reflect:
Joseph’s journey begins with the unwelcome news that his bride-to-be is pregnant. You can only imagine the shame, anger and sense of betrayal he must have felt. But then he has a dream. In the midst of confusion, fear and anxiety about what lies ahead he chooses surrender, faith and hope.

Respond:
Take time to read these words a few times and reflect on your own journey of faith.

Midday Meditation:
‘It need not discourage us if we are full of doubts. Healthy questions keep faith dynamic. In fact, unless we start with doubts we cannot have a deep-rooted faith. One who believes lightly and unthinkingly has not much of a belief. One who has a faith which is not to be shaken has won it through blood and tears -has worked his or her way from doubt to truth as one who reaches a clearing through a thicket of brambles and thorns.’
(Helen Keller)

Evening Reflection:
Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
naught be all else to me, save that thou art;
thou my best thought, by day or by night,
waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.

 

[RiverOL]

What kindness is not
Ephesians 4:17-32
"Be kind and compassionate to one another ..." (v.32)

We saw yesterday how a group of young people had a wrong concept of kindness, viewing it as just maudlin sentimentality. It is surprising how debased the word "kindness" has become, in both Christian and non-Christian thought.

Some Christians accept the word because it is used in Scripture, but have no real desire to acquire the virtue because, to them, it smacks of sentimentality and weakness. The world uses the word but, separated as it is from any thought of God, "kindness" comes out as a mild compensation for a lack of firmness and clear thinking. People say, rather patronizingly in some cases: "Oh, he's a kind fellow" -- and they leave it there. The word has come to wear thin in the currency of the world (and in some parts of the Church), so there is a great need to see it minted afresh and gleaming bright in the commerce of modern-day Christian life.

Think with me still further about what kindness, the fruit of the Spirit, is not. Kindness is not being a "do-gooder." In fact, the word in the original Greek does not imply active goodness but a disposition of goodwill, although active goodness may be one expression of it. Many think of kindness as giving money to people who have a financial need, but just giving money to people who appear to need it, without being guided by the Spirit, can result in great harm. Giving to people at the wrong time can take away from them something more precious than is being given. There are few things in which we have more need of the direction and guidance of the Holy Spirit than in our giving.

Prayer
O Father, help me to discern between what is true and what is counterfeit. I want my kindness to be genuine kindness -- the sort of kindness that helps people, not hurts them. Amen.