Category: Faith

The fruits of the Spirit – Faithfulness

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On faithfulness, from the very words of our Sovereign God…

I’m not worthy of all the love and faithfulness you have shown me. O LORD, your mercy reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. Because of your faithfulness, O my God, even I will give thanks to you as I play on a lyre. I will make music with a harp to praise you, O Holy One of Israel. I will sing forever about the evidence of your mercy, O LORD. I will tell about your faithfulness to every generation. O LORD, the heavens praise your miracles and your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones. O LORD God of Armies, who is like you? Mighty LORD, even your faithfulness surrounds you.

I have not buried your righteousness deep in my heart. I have been outspoken about your faithfulness and your salvation. I have not hidden your mercy and your truth from those assembled for worship. Where is the evidence of your mercy, Lord? You swore an oath to David on the basis of your faithfulness. Will anyone tell about your mercy in Sheol or about your faithfulness in Abaddon? What if some of them were unfaithful? Look at the proud person. He is not right in himself. But the righteous person will live because of his faithfulness.
Can their unfaithfulness cancel God’s faithfulness? His mercy toward us is powerful. The LORD’s faithfulness endures forever. Hallelujah!

I said, “Your mercy will last forever. Your faithfulness stands firm in the heavens.” My faithfulness and mercy will be with him, and in my name he will be victorious. Don’t give glory to us, O LORD. Don’t give glory to us. Instead, give glory to your name because of your mercy and faithfulness. Your faithfulness endures throughout every generation. You set the earth in place, and it continues to stand. It is good to announce your mercy in the morning and your faithfulness in the evening. It is new every morning. His faithfulness is great.

I have chosen a life of faithfulness. I have set your regulations in front of me. By mercy and faithfulness, peace is made with the LORD.  Fathers make your faithfulness known to their children.  By the fear of the LORD, evil is avoided.  Fear the LORD, and serve him with integrity and faithfulness. The LORD is good. His mercy endures forever. His faithfulness endures throughout every generation. He ordered them, “Do this wholeheartedly-with the fear of the LORD and with faithfulness. “

The fruits of the Spirit – Goodness

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An official asked Jesus, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God.”
Luke 18:18-19

The LORD said, “I will let all my goodness pass in front of you, and there I will call out my name ‘the LORD.’ I will be kind to anyone I want to. I will be merciful to anyone I want to.
Exodus 33:19

Do not remember the sins of my youth or my rebellious ways. Remember me, O LORD, in keeping with your mercy and your goodness.
Psalms 25:7

I believe that I will see the goodness of the LORD in this world of the living.
Psalms 27:13

Your flock settled there. Out of your goodness, O God, you provided for oppressed people.
Psalms 68:10

O LORD Almighty, deal with me out of the goodness of your name. Rescue me because of your mercy.
Psalms 109:21

They will announce what they remember of your great goodness, and they will joyfully sing about your righteousness.
Psalms 145:7

They experienced the goodness of God’s word and the powers of the world to come.
Hebrews 6:5

All goodness comes from God, only He is good. If there is any goodness in you, thank Him.

The fruits of the Spirit – Kindness

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How is kindness different from love? God shows His love to those whom He has chosen by enabling their belief, by offering them salvation, by atoning for His chosen by sacrificing His Beloved on the cross. God shows His love by bestowing blessings upon His chosen. God shows His love by selecting them for eternal life. We show love by taking care of one another, being faithful to one another, and helping one another. How do we show kindness then? Love and kindness sound so similar. They are but with one important difference, kindness can be shared with those we don’t love.

God shows His kindness in many different ways. He keeps the planet warm and habitable, sends the sun and rain at just the right times, and He provides us with water and food. This is kindness that is expressed to all life on the earth, not just His elect. God enables some to become rich and enjoy their wealth all their days on earth. This is kind in that many of them are doomed to destruction. (I don’t judge them, God does.)

One may ask then if God is so kind to those who are not His chosen, then why doesn’t he just save them anyway? If you had spent your whole life denying that there is a God, or even worse, not caring if there is a God or not, would it be kind to for you to stand before God for all eternity? To have to stand and praise God all eternity when you never believed in the first place would be very unkind indeed.

We can’t pretend to know God’s motives. Our highest love is not quite as good as His lowest kindness. How can we ever hope to understand His greatest kindness? Or for that matter, His deepest love? Emulate your Father. Show kindness to those whom you don’t love.

The fruits of the Spirit – Patience

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Holy Lord, I have barely enough to make ends meet. I work hard but the money always seems to be gone. I don’t know what to do Father. Won’t you help me?

Silence.

Holy Lord, my family is all gone. My children don’t call or visit any more. I’m lonely and feel as though my heart will break. Won’t you bring me home?

Silence.

Mighty God, you know how young I am but I want to serve You so badly! I want to find a Godly man to share my life with and raise Godly children but there doesn’t seem to be anyone in sight? How long must I stay in my parent’s home? When can I begin Your work?

Silence.

Most merciful Father, one trouble after another seems to pile itself on to my life. I trust You and know You will deliver me from all evil. When will these troubles end?

Silence.

When God doesn’t seem to answer our prayers, when it seems as though He is turning a deaf ear to our needs or troubles or sorrows, we must remember to ask ourselves, is God’s answer “No” or is He trying to teach us something? First of all turn to scripture to seek His answers, secondly consider that He may be teaching you to rely completely upon Him. God doesn’t do things on our timetable but on His. Wait for Him. He will take care of you at the proper time. No sooner, nor shall He delay.

So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience;
Colossians 3:12

The fruits of the Spirit – Peace

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Where will I find peace?  Will I find it locked witihin my car before I face the day’s challenges?  No, the challenges will still come.  Will I find it under the green trees along a quiet stream?  No, I must eventually leave that place.  Will I find it in the bosom of my family?  No, children grow up and move away.  Spouses die.  I cannot find peace anywere except within myself.  Quietly, gently placed there by a loving and merciful Savior.

How will I find peace?  Will I find it by studying the great works of man stumbling across some secret wisdom that unlocks it?  No, though you gain all the knowledge in all the world, you will not find peace. Will I find it by asking all the wisest men in all the world, some guru upon a mountain?  No, men who offer peace try to give away what they themselves don’t have.  The Bible, that’s it, the Bible will show me how to find peace!  The Bible speaks of peace but does not offer it.  Those who follow the teachings in the Bible will be given very little in the way of peace.  No, there is nothing I can do to find it.  The only way I will find it is if I am led to peace by a loving and merciful Savior.

When will I find peace?  Will I find it when I have finished studying Scripture having unlocked all it’s secrets?  No, many learned men read Scripture and it does nothing for them.  Will I find it when the wars have ended, when men no longer rise up against one another?  No, there will always be war and suffering until the return of our King.  Will I find it when at last I am laid to rest?  No, the dead feel nothing, they only sleep and await peace.  No, I will only find peace when I have completely submitted myself to a loving a merciful Savior.

My Savior leads me through righteous paths, He calms the waters for me, though the wolves snarl and snap I do not fear them.  I feel the peace that can’t be explained.  The peace that comes from knowing that you are beyond the reach of evil.  The peace that comes from knowing that no matter what happens I will ultimately be victorious because my Savior, my King, my God has ordained it and nothing can stand before Him. 

Peace is where I Am … is.

The fruits of the Spirit – Joy

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I sit amid silver glints streaking through cloud and sky. My heart races as I see the green and brown of earth melt into the blue horizon on all sides. The roar of engine and air fills my head and mixes with the acrid heady smell of fuel and hot metal. Ever so gently this flash of silver floats earthward and alights the gound once more.

I bask in the warmth of my wife’s smile, the aroma of the food she cooked filles the house. My children are making foolish noises at each other across the table. My work for the day is done, I can rest, relax, enjoy dinner with my family. I pray over the food. My wife tells me about her day, my children each tell me something that interests them at the moment. I mostly just listen quietly, only asking a few questions here and there.

I have to there be early. I have to help set up. Arrange the chairs just so. Make sure the food supplies are moved to the kitchen. I listen to my wife play preludes on the piano while I bustle around. The service begins. The chair I sit in is uncomfortable, it hurts my back. But then… oh then when we sing!

“Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
-Nehemiah 8:10

The fruits of the Spirit – Love

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Christ has poured out His love upon you, make yourself a conduit for that love.

Family

Kiss your wife.
Hug your kids.
Call your father.

Friends

Help your buddy change his oil.
Call an old acquaintance to say hello.
Laugh at your brother’s joke when it isn’t funny.

Colleagues

Make coffee for once.
Listen to someone’s problems.
Tell a colleague you admire them because…

Strangers

Smile at an elderly person.
Let the other car go first.
Help a mother lift something heavy at the grocery store.

Church

Thank your pastor for his hard work.
Ask an elderly church member for advice.
Sit next to someone who is alone.

Three simple things you can do in almost any situation to express Christ’s love. How many more can you think of? Will you act upon them? Let the fruits of the Spirit ripen in your life and burst forth their goodness upon those around you.

Hangar therapy

On By The Flying DutchmanIn Aviation, Faith2 Comments

What a week this has been. There were family problems, work problems, thank God there were no church problems. In fact my church has been a great help this week. For the first time in recent memory a church has helped us. Bless them. It was kind of a bell curve, the week started out good, got worse as it went on, then ended as good as it started. My wife and I got to go out to dinner alone for our wedding anniversary, which was very good. I feel I cheated her though, because my mind was still racing a mile a minute from this week.

But today my mind was freed and returned to normal. The best therapy besides prayer for me is aviation. It doesn’t matter that I didn’t get to fly today. It doesn’t matter that I spent the last two months building elevators that I can’t use. What matters is that I was able to spend a few quiet hours at the airport in my hangar working on my plane. It’s dirty and dangerous work. Dangerous to your eyes and fingers anyway. But the cares melted away with my vixen file, my bolts and bearings, my tin snips and clecoes. There is almost a poetry to drilling, deburring, dimpling, priming, and riveting. It somehow restores me. When I do it, I feel normal again. Though it is not normal for most men to build airplanes. But to me it is liberating.

Dreaming is almost as fun as doing. I have almost as much fun planning my flights as I do executing them. Even now I am trying to decide where to go after I have flight tested my elevators. Someplace close like Los Banos, or farther away like Oceano where I can walk onto the beach and watch the waves for a while. In the end it doesn’t really matter because it’s the journey I have come to enjoy much more than the destination.

Here’s to the journey.

Amazing phone call

On By The Flying DutchmanIn Faith2 Comments

I’ve refered to him as the man of sorrow and the agnostic Calivinist, he is in fact my father and I received an amazing phone call from him the other night. He said he just called to let me know that he’d read through all of my postings on this site and was very proud and respected me for the journey I had taken and shared through this site. I was stunned. Some of what I wrote under the assumption that it would never be read by family. After all I cleverly hid my words in a blog on the Internet. Who’d ever think to look there?
However, true to his nature, he didn’t take offense at anything I wrote but instead took my words in the spirit in which they were intended. Something I don’t often get to experience. My response was genuine, and without any pretense of hiding behind humor; thank you.

I told him that it’s still my hope that he will join the journey one of these days and I relayed as such to him. I can’t remember the response I got exactly but it wasn’t “NO!” So from now on, whether he likes it or not, I shall refer to him as the man of hope.

Thanks again, Dad. I love you.

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Romans 5:1-5

Not because of anything we had done

On By The Flying DutchmanIn Faith2 Comments

I’ve been pondering my position on salvation lately after some discourse with a friend over the Internet. I cannot move myself away from the position I have taken. Why should I? I can find no good reason. This was once upon a time a position I fought tooth and nail against and simply could not bring myself to believe. I believe it now. My friend is now in the same position I was in a little over a year ago. The debate is: did I choose God, or was I chosen by God?

The Bible provides enough ammunition for both sides of the debate. Or so it would appear. I have come to find that I didn’t really understand the Bible until I realized that I was chosen by God. Scripture makes more sense as a whole with this new understanding. For instance, how does the man who believes that he chose to follow God explain the following verses from Titus 3:

“Indeed, we, too, were once stupid, disobedient, and misled. We were slaves to many kinds of lusts and pleasures. We were mean and jealous. We were hated, and we hated each other. However, when God our Savior made his kindness and love for humanity appear, he saved us, but not because of anything we had done to gain his approval. Instead, because of his mercy he saved us through the washing in which the Holy Spirit gives us new birth and renewal. God poured a generous amount of the Spirit on us through Jesus Christ our Savior. As a result, God in his kindness has given us his approval and we have become heirs who have the confidence that we have everlasting life.”
(God’s Word translation)

“Not because of anything we had done…” What does that mean? Does that only refer to Mosaic Law? Or does it refer to our choosing God? Don’t you do something when you take a decision?

This is the fundamental problem with Arminianism. If we choose to accept God through Jesus, then how do we explain all the verses that talk about God choosing His special people? Choosing His disciples? The Bible speaks of God’s choice again and again. Yes there are passages about people here and there choosing to follow God. But how did they come to make that choice? Let’s face it, sin is fun! Lust, debauchery, drunkeness…what’s not to enjoy? Sin is pleasurable to the physical body. What could possibly make us want to turn away from that pleasure, deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Jesus?

God regenerating the heart of man and giving him the option of choosing God. That’s the only answer I can come up with. Can someone show me where this is wrong?