“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things” (Galatians 5:22-23)

My apologies for not getting the Verse of the Day out for Monday.

This was a big weekend for the Kim family and I got lost being daddy for my girls. Karis graduated from Seattle University with her Master’s degree, and Kaitlin graduated from the University of Washington with her Bachelor’s degree, and Kaitlin’s 22nd birthday was today Monday. All that to say, I forgot to send out Monday’s Verse of the Day!

In the coming weeks, we will be looking at each of the 9 qualities of the fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians and spend a week with each of them.

First thing you should know is that these are not 9 fruits of the Spirit. The Greek for fruit is singular. Second, the Greeks did not have an “etc.” So the way the Greeks wrote out “etc.” is by listing like qualities.

What this means is that the 9 qualities, and qualities like them, are what constitutes the fruit of the Spirit.

Love – agape.

We begin with love. The Bible is the greatest love book in the world. The entire Bible is the story of a God who so loves sinners that he pursues and woos sinners. It’s the story of a God who could not imagine spending an eternity that did not include you in it. So God sent his Son to die for you to pay the debt of sin in order that God can transform sinners into his sons and daughters. It’s the most incredible story of love in the entire world.

I look forward to looking at God’s love for you and me in the coming week!

“Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who have been chosen and destined by God the Father and sanctified by the Spirit to be obedient to Jesus Christ and to be sprinkled with his blood: May grace and peace be yours in abundance” (1 Peter 1:1-2)

Who are you? What is your purpose?

In these two short verses God tells us much about who we are and what our purpose is.

Who does God say we are?

• Apostle
  • Apostle literally means “one sent on a mission”
  • There is a particular life and purpose God sends us out for
  • Who has sent us? Jesus Christ is the one who sends us
• Exiles
  • This world is not our home. We are created to live forever in God’s presence
  • Our investment in life ought to demonstrate the reality that our aim is to prepare all people for eternity with Christ
  • Invest well. Spend what you need for the journey here, but spend everything else – our money, time, talents – to invest in our eternal home
• Chosen and Destined
  • God chose us. Because God chose us, God was willing to pay the ultimate price for us by sending his Son to die and rise again for us
  • God saves us for a purpose. We are not to live aimlessly but live lives that are destined
  • We are chosen and destined to be sent out as apostles to a world that needs what only God offers in Jesus Christ
  • Jesus is the only hope for our world
• Sanctified
  • God continues to shape and change us to be more like him
  • The more we grow in our love and understanding of who God is and what God has called us for, the more we become more like Christ
  • The more we become like Christ in our character, hope, and our life the more God uses sanctified ones to establish his kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven
• Obedient
  • What is the chief characteristic of apostles, exiles, chosen and destined, sanctified ones? Obedience
  • Through our acts of obedience God begins to carve out strongholds of the Kingdom in enemy territory

That’s an awesome list!

Wow! You’re all pretty amazing people!

When we live into our calling as Christ’s apostles, grace and peace is ours in abundance even in a world characterized by suffering and darkness. Each time we live into our calling, Christ’s light and hope pushes back the darkness of this world.

That’s awesome!

Wow! You’re all pretty amazing people!!!

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21)

There are appropriate times to express anger. Jesus confronted the money changers and those selling animals at the Temple in Jerusalem by making a whip to drive them out and overturning the tables from where they were conducting business (John 2:13-17).

When faced with atrocity and injustice it is not only appropriate to express anger, but it is right to do so.

But eventually, there has to be more than displays of anger. Eventually, you have to start building – building people, building just systems, building a better society, building a society that values all people.

And when it comes to building, you can’t fight evil with evil. As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

That’s the role of the church. That’s what you and I are called to be and do. That’s how Christ’s light shines.

Church, more than ever our world needs the light of Christ.

Be the church. Church has never been about the building. Church has always been the called out ones sent into the world to be Christ’s light.

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21).