Tag Archives: fruit of the Spirit

Devotional

Meet Antichrist

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Read 1 John 2:18-24

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE
“By contrast, 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 NRSV)

The Western world is fixated with the apocalypse aren’t we? We are fascinated with the end of the world, with doom and gloom, with the destruction of all things and the idea of living in a dystopic world. From “The Walking Dead”, to “The Hunger Games,” to “Divergent”, there are tons of apocalyptic, dystopic films and books out on the market. Perhaps such a world is more than just a fixation, but an underlying fear.

There is a lot to be afraid of in today’s world, isn’t there. There are religious extremists, in all religions, who are wreaking havoc on people who don’t believe exactly as they do. There are Deadly viruses killing tens of thousands of people and taking the world by storm. There are dysfunctional governments warring over power and ideologies. Every day there are reports of beheadings, kidnappings, grisly murders, riots, hatred, violent uprisings and much, much more.  It seems like at every turn, the world is falling a part at the seams. No wonder the fixation with the end of the world.

And often when we think of the end of the world within the Christianized Western world, we can’t help but imagine that dark forces are aligning against humankind and , often times, those dark forces are embodied by an all-evil entity, envisioned as the “son of Satan”, named the “antichrist.” Yet, the antichrist, as we have come to understand the word, is little more than great fiction based off of a misinterpretation of Scripture. Don’t misunderstand me, as I am NOT saying that the Bible makes no mention of the antichrist. What I AM saying is that the Bible does NOT say the antichrist will be a humanesque demon, named Nicolae Carpathia, who seeks to war with God following a mythical disappearance of millions of God’s neatly dressed holy-rollers.

What the Bible does say about antichrist is that it is a spirit. It is not a spirit of outside forces trying to penetrate the church; rather, it is a spirit that has already penetrated the church and is seeking to destroy the church from within. Whereas the Spirit of God seeks to bring about hope, healing and wholeness, the spirit of antichrist seeks to bring about hopelessness, dis-ease, and disunity. The Spirit of God seeks to love, to encourage, to seek justice, to love mercy, to walk humbly, to show compassion, to be gentle, to be kind, to be patient, and to be unified in love with God’s creation. The spirit of antichrist seeks to undercut, to undermine, to be proud, to live selfishly, to be wrathful, to seek vengeance, to show ruthlessness, to be divisive and to quell the Spirit and the presence of God.

Antichrist, in short, is exactly as it sounds. It is anything that stands opposed to Christ. Practically speaking, if the way we are acting and living is counter to the teachings and example of Christ, then we are living in the spirit of antichrist. I have seen the church adopt tons of models of how it approaches ministry in the world, everything from the business model, to a political model, to an entertainment model; however, the church is not a buisness, nor is it a political machine, nor is it merely an entertainment agency. The church is Christ’s body, broken and resurrected, filled with the power of God to bring about hope, healing and wholeness.

We all have the potential to get caught up and even derailed by the spirit of antichrist; however, this is a power within you that is greater than any other spirit surrounding you. That very power is from God and it is empowering you to live your life in the Spirit of Christ, in a way that heals others, that builds them up, that invites them to discover their purpose in life, that challenges them to grow, and that shares the unconditional love that God has shared with you. Seek first God’s Kingdom, be filled with God’s Spirit, and live accordingly.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
“If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.” – Paul of Tarsus in Galatians 5:25

PRAYER
Lord, I seek to live by your Spirit and your Spirit alone. Allow me to not only move beyond negative spirits and influences so that in you I may truly shine and be a blessing to others. Amen.

Devotional

The Virtuous Life

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Read Galatians 5:19-25

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE

“People with integrity walk safely, but those who follow crooked paths will slip and fall.” (Proverbs 10:9 NLT)

One of my favorite shows on television, as I have mentioned in the past, is the show “The Walking Dead”. Recently, I have been rewatching the series with my wife, as she has never seen it before. This is actually a great way to get more of “The Walking Dead” as I eagerly find myself in the advent of Season 5, which premiers on TMC in October. For those of you who have not watched the show, but might consider watching it, no worries…I will not put any SPOILERS in this, or at least not any that truly matter.

I have found that, on my second time through the series, I am beginning to pick up on things that I totally missed in my first time through. There’s all of the same elements such as zombies (obviously), character development, drama, suspense, humor (though depending on the season, it can be sparing), and action. But, I have noticed more within those elements that didn’t necessarily dawn on me originally. That is the beauty of a well-thought out, well-written script…there is lots of depth.

One of the things I have noticed is how the characters react to circumstances off of their core values. For Rick Grimes, who’s the lead character, his core values follow a more moral and ethical code. In his career, he  was a deputy sheriff who took his job seriously and was a typically honest guy. He’s a guy who values human life, who believes in risking all to help others and believes in honesty.

As Rick and his group go through the trials and tribulations that come with living during the zombie apocalypse, his core values get put to the test. We often like to go through life thinking that there is a right and a wrong, a black and a white, an up and a down; however, in reality, there is often times much more gray and abstract areas, where the discernment process is muddled by the circumstances surrounding us. As Rick’s character develop, we see him go through periods where he is almost at war with himself because the circumstances seem to be calling him to do one thing, but his values are screaming at him to do something completely opposite to that.

In the end, because he is a values driven person, he ends up making decisions that are in line with his core values…even if his first instincts and decisions were against those values. There is a whole host of truths and parallels between this and our lives as Christians. If we are Christian our core values, by necessity, have to be in line with Christ’s virtues of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Let’s also not forget the virtues of forgiveness, mercy, and compassion. And if our core values are in line with the fruit of the Spirit, we will live our lives accordingly.

So often we allow the world to define what our core values are and that is when we find ourselves compromising on things that go against what we claim to believe. Our challenge, as the church today, is to develop the spiritual discipline to mold our values around the virtues of Christ, around the fruit of the Spirit. If we do that, we will find that those core values will, more often than not, guide us in all that we do. What are your core values and do they line up with the virtues of Christ? These are questions we, as Christians, should be measuring ourselves on a daily basis. I pray that you make this a part of your spiritual journey.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

“I hope I shall possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man.” – George Washington

PRAYER

Lord, teach me your ways so that I may build the things you count as virtue into my core values. Let me ever walk in the footsteps of Christ. Amen.

Devotional

Heart-Healthy

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Read Matthew 15:1-20

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE

“A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart.” (Matthew 12:35)

Since starting the 60 day juice fast a year and almost nine months ago, and since becoming vegan, I have learned a lot about nutrition. At three hundred six pounds with type-2 diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, I was certainly heading on a one way ticket to a life cut short by my lifestyle. It was hard for me to see it prior to making the change; however, once that change was made, there could be no doubt that my old lifestyle was literally killing me.

Any doctor, nurse or medical worker will tell you that the number one killer in America is heart disease. More people die from heart attacks, strokes and other heart related diseases than anything else. Why is this? Many people will try and say that their genes are to blame. For some people, that may be the case; however, with the obesity and heart disease rates we have in this country, there can be no doubt that genetics cannot be culprit as much as what we eat is.

With diets high on cholesterol, saturated oils, hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils (aka trans fats), and other heart-stopping stuff, it’s no wonder people’s hearts are seizing. And who can live without their heart? People are literally eating themselves to death and, even though most people are aware of this, they continue to keep their heart-killing lifestyles.

While I am talking about our physical hearts, the same is true with our spiritual hearts. People know that fear, bitterness, anger, hatred, dissension, gossip, jealousy, and other such things are bad for one’s soul. There can be no question that such things lead people down a dark and destructive path. There can be no doubt that such things eventually seize one’s “heart” and cause a spiritual death to occur.

Yet, despite most people knowing that living a life of hatred, bitterness and anger leads to spiritual disease, many people still choose to not change their spiritual lifestyles. Many choose to harbor grudges, live in anger, spend their days gossiping and become bitter to their core. The more that people continue to sow those seeds of sin, the more their spiritual arteries get clogged and begin to deteriorate.

This is why Jesus warned his disciples to watch what came from one’s “heart.” A healthy heart will not hold onto anger nor will it spew hatred, bitterness, dissension, gossip, jealousy or any other negative thing. A healthy heart will only produce love, kindness, gentleness, compassion, generosity, patience, and self-control. An unhealthy heart will get clogged with evil things to the point of bursting; a healthy heart will remain free and love will flow through it with ease.

The challenge for us today is to change our lifestyle and choose to live in a heart-healthy manner. Don’t let your heart be consumed with spiritual disease; rather, let you heart be a vessel that pumps the warmth of love throughout your soul. If you change your lifestyle and start allowing yourself to be fed by the Holy Spirit, you will find that you will become a new person. You will be healthy, joyful and willing to share you joy with others. Be heart-healthy and shine with God’s love!

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

“Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude.” – Denis Waitley

PRAYER

Lord, you have given me the strength and the direction to change from who I am to who you want me to be. I thank you for your continued guidance. Amen.