Sucking Sour Persimmons

“The Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” 

Rom.14:17

Have you ever noticed in the lives of most “believers” the one thing that seems missing is joy? We start off life as a believer as a new being, free from sin, forgiven and alive in Christ. But, what happens to that joy that we started with? Why is it that when you talk to many believers – especially about coming to God's house regularly or for some just getting through a day, you would do better to suck on a sour persimmon?

The easiest thing for us to lose as believers is our joy.  AND – it can be lost in the simplest of ways and with the simplest of things. You can lose it with one phone call or email, a letter or conversation. And there are a lot of people who are conspiring to rob it from you. Jeremiah the prophet said in Lamentations 5:15, “There is no joy left in our hearts”  Cranky Christians are a bad witness and look like they've been baptized in vinegar because they’re never really smiling, have no happiness and rather than give reason for the hope that is in them have people avoiding them because the feel like they are going to get their head chewed off. 

God wants us to be witnesses with our countenance of the JOY that can be found in Him. Paul states in Rom.14:17 “The Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” The sad thing is that many “mature” Christians have lost their joy and don't even know it.  They've become so addicted to living the soured life that they can't see the unspeakable joy that God has right in front of them. And – like an addict, they will not admit that they have lost it.  Has there ever been a point in your life when you were closer to God than you are right now? Has there ever been a point in your life when you were more joyful in the Lord than you are right now? If so, what caused you to lost that?

Did you know that it’s quite easy to get your joy back, too? The first step you need to do is admit you've lost it. Yes...you made a mistake, you didn't do EXACTLY what God wanted you to do or be how God wanted you to be – even though you made a good show of it. That said - Now is the time to make the change.  You can ask God about it; HE IS waiting to help you. David did this in Psalm 51:12: “Restore to me the joy of your salvation”  Did you know that God will do that?  Do you know that if you ask, God will GIVE you the Holy Spirit if you are seeking for it and wiling to take the opportunity God will bring before you?  Jesus said in Lk.11:13, “As bad as you are, you still know how to give good gifts to your children. But your heavenly Father is even more ready to give the Holy Spirit to anyone who asks.”

So, what has changed  about your spiritual walk and quiet time with God since you first heard His voice? What are the things that are robbing you of your joy in Christ?  This is always a season of change, a chance to begin anew again. But you don't have to wait for a New Year's Resolution to do this. You can start right now. 

Jim

Spiritual Gifts - How to Grow Them

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

Gal.5:22,23

As we spoke about this last Sunday, I thought it expedient to write about it for this article, as well as the fact that it is a time of the year that we are considering gifts to each other and other people that we know. Spiritual gifts are gifts of yourself, which God’s Spirit has brought about in you and your heart.  Gifts like this require us to dig deep within our hearts and cultivate the right atmosphere for them to grow.  When there are no roots, or in shallow soil, it may initially sprout and look good, but it doesn't last. The plants wither quickly because they don’t have roots. This is readily seen in Jesus’ statement regarding the parable of the sower.

“The seeds that fell on rocky ground are the people who gladly hear the message and accept it. But they don’t have deep roots, and they believe only for a little while. As soon as life gets hard, they give up”

 Luke 8:13

Many times we hear God’s Word and may even get excited about it, but we don’t allow it to change us. But we don’t take the time to let it sink in. How do you develop spiritual roots? There are two ways that I am aware of 

1. Taking daily time with God and His Word 
2. A weekly (or even more often) small group time with other believers.

These are the only ways that the roots can reach your spirit and at the same time find the nurturing food required to produce the fruits that the Spirit can bring forth.

If you’re not spending time with God on a daily basis, you’re going to dry up and blow away when Satan comes around and applies pressure. Satan knows your weak points and targets them with stealth - you won’t be able to handle it. You've got to make a daily time with God to listen for Him and His voice. Whatever it takes to keep the focus on God, do it! Crucial to this is spending time with people who Love God! Nobody has a complete perspective on life. Every one of us has blinders on. The people in your weekly gathering can see things in your life you can’t see. That’s why we need each other! You learn from the people God’s family as you encourage each other and your roots go deeper. You want to be a person with deep spiritual roots so that when a spiritual recession comes and lasts several years, you’re able to keep bearing fruit and people will find in you a reason for hope.  

So, some questions to ask yourself may be:

• How does your schedule need to change so that you can spend more time with God?
• What things do you need to follow through with that will help you not only grow deeper but grow richer in God’s Spirit?

Jim