Thoughts on some New Testament scriptures

Faith expressing itself through love is what counts - not just obeying a set of rules. Our Heavenly Father provides His Holy Spirit to help us produce the fruits He wants us to have: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. This list of "fruits" tells us all about what Jesus is like, and the Spirit wants us to be like Him. (See Galatians 5:22,23.)

I like James 3:17, "...The wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere."

Colossians 3:12-17 provides a practical "code of ethics" for Christian living - and I try to review it periodically as a guide for my life.

Why?

Why? We ask that about things we want to know more about. But we also ask it as a form of protest. We really mean we are angry that something is happening - or not happening. In these situations, we probably don’t want a reasonable explanation. We want it to happen our way, or stop happening and return to the way it was - in other words, just be the way we think it should be.

In Genesis 37, we aren’t told what Joseph was thinking when his brothers sold him as a slave, but we can guess he was thinking just about the way we would have. But God was in his whole situation. As Paul wrote under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, in Romans 8:28, "All things work together for good...." Young Joseph undoubtedly reproached himself for the things he’d said that angered his brothers, but it was blame he did not need to accept, for God had a wonderful purpose in mind for His people.

Dear Heavenly Father, please help us to learn to look for Your purpose instead of grumbling "Why?" and/or taking blame on ourselves when things don’t go the way we think they ought to. Please help us seek Your plan, Father, and abandon our own agendas. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Patience

Patience is the Christian's growth hormone. It's not something you can purchase; it's home-grown! Requires lots of opportunities to practice, which is where the trials and tribulations come in. "Practice makes perfect" as the old saying goes. See Romans 5:1-5 KJV.

Landen is now 4

Our youngest great-grandchild is now 4 years old. Landen is Jami's son. We celebrated his birthday at a McDonald's fun space in Olathe KS.

The gift that really got his attention was a battery-operated computer-like learning game.

Landen has a 12-year-old sister, Jacey, and a 9-year-old brother, Hunter. They all enjoyed one of his gifts, the fake glasses and Groucho Marx mustache. Also at the party were cousins Jaden (10) and Jaxen (9)