4-20-2017

Good Morning All,

                Galatians 5:22-23; “But the spiritual nature produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There are no laws against things like that”

    When you were a child, did people ever ask you “what do you want to be when you grow up?”  I am of the age when most of the young boys wanted to be astronauts. (John Glen or Alan Shepherd).  Or we wanted to be a baseball player (Harmon Killebrew).  Or a doctor (Ben Casey).  By the time I got to high school, this became a bigger question.  We used to have a microfiche player (if you are under 45 ask your parents) that had all sorts of different jobs, professions or occupations and what the average pay was; what the starting pay was; what the educational requirements were; and things like that.  Mostly we just played with it (Highest job with least training was a farrier (Horseshoe guy)).  But some of my schoolmates actually used it and benefitted from it. 

    The thing about that question is that it asks what you want to be and not who you want to be.  What you are does not define you; who you are does.  First and foremost, you are a redeemed child of God; purchased by the blood of Jesus and claimed by Him through your Baptism.  Yet what about the rest of you?  Are you grumpy or owly or in a general bad disposition?  Are you usually unhappy or have little patience?  This doesn’t mean you aren’t saved; you are saved by grace through faith not by disposition.  Yet it does impact your quality of life which God has given to you. 

    As we look at the life of Jesus, we see someone who was gentle, patient, faithful and so on.  This is the life which God wants you to live; partly for the benefit of those around you but mostly because this is the quality of life where you have the most peace.  We see and know people who fly off the handle at the least little thing or are hurt or offended all the time; maybe you are one.  Too often, there is very little happiness in these people’s life.  They don’t fully experience the joy of being God’s redeemed child.  They carry a weight that they don’t have to.  Jesus bore our burdens and removed our sins; why do we still cling to them?  Why do we hold onto the attitudes that the devil wants us to have?  Jesus frees us to live the life which produces the fruit of joy and happiness; why do we deny it?  Trust in God’s incredible mercy and try to be joyful. We can do this by looking at what God has placed all around us and truly enjoying the quiet of the evening, the beauty of the sky or the smile of your spouse.  God has given you a sense of peace; we only need to enjoy and receive it.  Enjoy the fruits of the life which God gives you; he wants you to enjoy it.

    Gracious Father, the fruits of the labor of Jesus are your gift to us.  The redemption of sin and the fruits of the Spirit are ours by your grace.  Give us the strength and courage to enjoy these fruits and share them with those around us.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret