My thoughts (David Squire):

Who doesn’t love love? It’s a many-splendored thing! It makes the world go ’round! Love is all you need! It’s the stuff clichés are made of and leads to excessive exclamation points! Give me a gooey double helping!

Then I read First Corinthians 13. Hmmm… Well. This sounds hard, and not nearly so marshmallow-ey.

Tyler’s observation here is really helpful. We need to put ourselves in places where God’s Spirit can grow, and we do need the right kinds of “plant food”, sun, and rain to foster the growth of the fruit of the Spirit.

But we have some responsibility, too, especially with the “active fruits” like love. Often I’m able to choose — will I respond with love, or not? Here are the characteristics of love again:

Love is patient,
love is kind,
love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude.

It does not insist on its own way;
it is not irritable or resentful;
it does not rejoice in wrongdoing,
but rejoices in the truth.

It bears all things,
believes all things,
hopes all things,
endures all things.

Love never ends.

That’s quite a list to live up to. But we have two things on our side — the Spirit, who guides us in the right way, and our own will. We’ve been told how love behaves — so we can choose to do those things, whether we feel it or not.

In all my interactions with all the people I encounter — whether it’s the day-to-day ups and downs with my partner, or a run-in with that difficult coworker, or just a random encounter some anonymous jerk in traffic — I have choices to make. I can ignore the Spirit and respond reflexively, or I can choose to be kind. I can choose to be patient. I can choose to not be irritable or resentful or arrogant or rude.

When I exercise the discipline to choose love, I’m creating in my soul a fertile place for the Spirit to take root. And over time, I believe, it becomes more natural to yield to the Spirit, and respond with love.

Thought for the day: I can choose love.

We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to start, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.

My thoughts (David Zier):

When I think about peace as one of the fruits of the spirit, I first think about maintaining peace with God, by believing and trusting in God. I can say that I believe and trust in God, so does that mean I truly have the peace that Galatians is talking about? How can I really know?

Then I start thinking about my own life. How does that peace from God that Jesus leaves us with reveal itself within me? Do I maintain peace with my brothers and sisters in Christ, and all others? Wow! That really is a hard one to answer. I think I can say that I try, but I know this is something that I never really give much thought about. If I were to ask my bothers and sisters, would they tell me that they can sense the peace of Christ within me? I think I am almost afraid to ask!

But it really goes much deeper. I start to think about the insecurities I have and how I compensate for them, the times I think I come up short, and the times I think I disappoint God. It’s enough to have a big pity party and a year’s worth of bad hair days!

But then I think to myself, wait a minute! I’m allowing myself to get caught up in the things that rob me of my peace! We see in Philippians 4:7 that the peace of God is beyond all understanding and guards my heart and mind!

I maintain peace with God by believing and trusting in God. I maintain peace with my brothers and sisters by not allowing strife to be a part of my relationships with others and live as a disciple of Christ. I maintain peace with myself by refusing to live in guilt or condemnation, recognizing that God is greater than all of my sins and shortcomings.

When I turned my life over to Jesus, I put my trust in Jesus for my salvation, for how I want to live my life, and for the kind of person that I want to be. I know this doesn’t make me perfect now, but I know I can live in the peace of God. I can let go of the things that are not of God, that rob of me of my peace.

Thought for the day: Do you allow yourself to live in the peace that Jesus provides us?

We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to start, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.

My thoughts (Tammy Mills):

When I was a teenager, my dad invited my brother and me to go horseback riding. In the weeks leading up to our trail ride, I read everything I could about horses and riding. I even watched a few westerns. I had never ridden a horse before, but with all my reading and watching I was sure I could handle the situation. And I couldn’t wait!

The people in charge of the horses asked us about our experience levels. My dad and brother told them they had no experience, so the folks gave them a short lesson. I, on the other hand, told them I didn’t need a beginner lesson. I had spent weeks prior to this big riding session reading and studying horseback riding.

So with no lessons I hopped up on my horse and away I went. I did really well for awhile, but then it started to rain a bit and I guess my horse hated rain because she started running toward the barn. I was so flustered I had no idea what to do. I didn’t remember reading about this situation in any of my books!

As the horse sped to the barn, my life flashed before my eyes. I knew there wasn’t enough room for me and the horse to clear the barn door, so I was about to be clotheslined! I wished I had taken the lesson!

Twenty feet before I was body slammed into the barn, one of the instructors caught up with me and grabbed the reins. She tugged the reins and said “Whoa!”. Thankfully, my horse slowed down. I was saved!

I learned more about riding horses in that moment than I had learned in weeks of reading. There are just some things you can only learn through doing.

I guess patience is kind of like my horse back riding adventure. You can read about it, even write about it, but you really only “get it” when you are out there living it in your real life.

That is what the reading in James is saying to me today, and I don’t like it! In fact, this is the kind of scripture that makes me want to SCREAM! I hate to be told to “consider if joy” when going through times of trial! I hate “trials”! But I do understand, that in the midst of trials there is an opportunity to grow patience. I have a choice when facing trials. I can gripe and whine or I can press on and keep practicing patience and endurance.

Thought for the day: How do I look at the trials in my life? Do I see them as opportunities to grow the fruits of the spirit?

We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. Use the item above as a starting point, or consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.

As you read, consider: What might God be saying to me in this passage? Summarize your thoughts in a sentence or two before reading on.

My thoughts on this passage (Tyler Connoley):

Sometimes it’s difficult to get our brains around a conceptual idea like “kindness.” It’s easy to say I need the fruit of kindness in my life, but what does that mean in practical terms? Proverbs 31:26 helps me think of kindness as an action, instead of as a concept.

When I speak, are my words helpful or hurtful? Do I speak rashly, and therefore unwisely? Or am I careful with the words I choose?

In particular, Proverbs 31:26, makes me think about how I offer advice. All of us want to be wise, and that sometimes gets us into trouble. We see the “dumb” thing someone else is doing, and we jump in with advice, which comes out as criticism. This is the classic stereotype of the mother-in-law’s tongue, but it’s not the way the “good woman” of Proverbs 31 is described. Her words are wise and kind, and she knows how to help her family and friends without driving them away with criticism.

Thought for the day: Do you need to offer advice to someone? How can you phrase your words so they’re kind and wise?

We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to start, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.

My thoughts (Julie Walsh):

Faithfulness, like the other fruits of the Spirit, is a trait that takes practice and care. As a Christian, you are charged to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.” Too often, however, we think that this faith and trust should always be present like a perfect Norman Rockwell painting.

But how would you react if… You lose your job and all financial stability? You wake up to find your house engulfed in flames? You are involved in a serious car accident leaving you permanently scarred or disabled? Your spouse falls terminally ill?

Faithfulness to God does not mean that you will never be consumed at times with tears of distress or sorrow. Faithfulness does not mean that you will always understand the reasons behind any given circumstance. Faithfulness does not mean that you will never question or doubt God’s plan.

Sharing these feelings, emotions, questions, and struggles with God, however, IS a sign of faithfulness! Make a conscious effort to pray, to engage in open and honest dialogue, and to praise God in the storm. Allow God to witness your true faithfulness!

Thought for the day: Just because I have doubts and fear, doesn’t mean I don’t trust God. Together, we’ll work through it.

We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to start, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.

My thoughts (Jeff Miner):

Each one of us has a unique persona — a cluster of attitudes that characterize us. When I think of my Mother, for example, I think of an incredible cluster of consistently beautiful attitudes. By contrast, when I think of my now deceased Golden Retriever “Turkey” — don’t ask how she got her name — I think of a self-centered being who was quick to anger (even though I loved her dearly).

When people think of you or me, what persona comes to mind?

All of us need work; and that’s fine, because the New Testament is all about transformation. When we invite the Spirit of Christ into our lives, we enter into a process of gradual, but radical, transformation. Our Galatians passage describes what the end product is supposed to look like: a persona characterized by nine key attitudes, which are often called “the fruit of the Spirit.” Today I’m focusing on the fruitful attitude of “generosity.”

Am I a generous person?

Here’s a way to test where we are on the generosity scale. Picture yourself walking into a room full of people — maybe it’s a cafeteria or Sunday church or a family reunion. Pick your setting, then imagine walking into it. Now, take a moment to imagine what you’re thinking and feeling as you walk into this group of people.

What you are thinking will tell you a lot about where you are on the generosity scale. When you enter that group of people, is it all about you or all about them? Consider two examples. Person A walks into church on Sunday and thinks: “I don’t want to talk to anyone; I’m just not in the mood. I want to sit down and lose myself in prayer about all the difficulties of my life. Oh, look, there’s Joe – the world’s greatest hypocrite. I hope the songs today are the kind I like. I wish we could skip the offering.”

By contrast, Person B walks into church on Sunday and thinks: “Goodness, all these people – each one a precious creation of God. I wonder if there’s someone here I can bless? Part of me wants to sit down and lose myself in prayer, but that can wait for a quiet spot in the worship service, for now I’m going to dare to sit down near someone, smile, say hello, and see if that leads to a conversation that blesses. Oh, look, there’s Joe – his shortcomings remind me so much of me. Maybe I should sit next to him. I hope the songs today bless him. I hope my offering today helps someone who really needs it.”

Which person do you want to be? Which person do you think is getting the most out of life? Jesus sums it up this way, “The measure you give will be the measure you get back.”

Thought for the day: As you enter some specific situation today, practice being generous. Intentionally try to move through that situation with less focus on self and more on others — and see if that doesn’t make the situation much better — not just for others, but for you. This is the mystery of the Gospel: it is in dying that we find life, it is in giving that we receive. Mark 8:34-35.

We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to start, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.