It’s Okay to Ask Questions

“Every word of God is tested;
He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.”
Proverbs 30:5

There is blind belief and there is belief based upon proven fact.  We visited a church this past Sunday that issued a challenge to the people to test God’s word.  They said that if you tithe for 60 days and do not see God provide for you, then the church would write you a check for the full amount that you had given over those two months.   This is based on Malachi 3:10, “’Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me in this,’ says the Lord of Hosts, ‘if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.’”    Lord of Hosts is God’s battle name.  He is saying, “I am the commander.  I will take care of your needs because you are under My command.”  God says to test Him.  His word will stand.  It has stood against time and kingdoms and insurrections.  God can handle your questioning, your anger, your discussion.  His word will stand, and in the process, you will climb upon the solid rock. 

When life happens and you have walked with God and lived a biblically pure life, but still find yourself a victim of sin or circumstances, it is natural to wonder and ask and question and fume.  Use your anger and need for justice to seek out answers from the God Who Is The Answer.  Job questioned God. David questioned God.  I have questioned God.  If we are honest with ourselves we have all questioned God.  There are some that live by blind faith, “God says it, I believe it, end of story.”  But the honest ones will say that they got there because they questioned and found God faithful.  Others say it because they are afraid to question because, “What if God can’t stand up to the test?”

I became a Christian by searching for truth.  I had a Times Life coffee table book called Religions of the World.  I read it and studied it and found truth only in Christianity.  I read the Bible and started attending a church.  I began to see the God of creation.  I began believing in Jesus and His offer of redemption through  the cross.  When I was confronted with becoming a Christian, it was the next right step because the word of God had proved true in my life.  It did not take away the facts of child abuse or take me out of my situation.  But it answered the big questions and filled a need for unconditional love and acceptance in my life.  I have questioned God often since my conversion at age 13.  Why do I have to suffer so much pain?  Why do I have to lose a friend?  Why does my friend have cancer?  Why did my son’s wife leave after just 13 months of marriage?  Why do kids have to deal with the sins of their parents?  Why doesn’t God come down and right wrongs and injustices?  I have tried to understand.  I have formulated answers.  I have thrown some away and have stuck to others.  But through it all my relationship with God has not wavered.  It has grown.  It has changed. 

God is infinite.  I am not.  God is not limited to time.  I am.  God is the answer; He does not have to give me all the answers.  But as I cry out to understand, through His word and His presence He reassures me that He is in control; that He loves me; and that His promises are forever.  For a time there is sadness and crying, but He will wipe away the tears.  We see in a mirror dimly, but then we will understand it all.

Hint of the Day:  Get alone with God.  Cry, scream, question, and be still.  Let God comfort you and minister to your heart.  Seek Him not for answers, but as the Answer.  I know a couple of people who actually set up a chair in their closet as their prayer closet.  I often find myself in the car parked at a park or behind a church.  Anywhere private will do.  But be honest.  Be real.  God can handle our emotions.  He made them.  He made us.  And most of all, He cares.  God may come to you immediately or He may not.  Continue on until you know that you have been in His presence.  Leave rejoicing.

Enjoy the Journey

"...for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10

You might be in a state of waiting.  You are putting footwork to your wait.  But now what?  God would desire that you find joy in the journey!  We, as human beings, tend to seek the goal, strive for the end results, look to the finish line.  But if we do this continually, we will miss out on the journey.  And the journey is where we learn lessons, soak in the joy of the Lord, and come to know His strength.  Your journey maybe taking you through pain, unknown territory, loss, or depression.  If you turn your journey over to God, wait upon Him to change things, do the footwork of obedience and standing on God's word in the midst, then you can also find joy in the journey.

A painting that I have in my dining room says:  "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass; it's about learning to dance in the rain."  I love that!  Storms will come, but in the midst is joy!  Where does joy come from?  Joy comes from the Lord!  You don't have to be joyful that you are in the circumstances that you are in.  You don't have to like where you are at.  But quit striving to manipulate the circumstances, go to the God Who is in Control, and praise Him in the midst.  Then comes joy.

My husband and I are on the road for a 5 month stretch with a few days at home here and there.  My heart wants to be home with our boys who leave for college in a few short months.  I can choose to mope around about not getting what I want, or I can choose to wait upon the Lord, continue to be obedient in what He has asked me to do, and I can sing praises to My God and King.  I can dance in the rain!  And when I do - OH the joy that fills my soul!  Joy is linked to the presence of God throughout Scripture.  Get into His presence and He will get you through with joy!

The joy of the Lord is our strength!  Have you begged God to give you strength to get through, to be able to move beyond your situation?  That strength comes from the joy of His presence.  If you are in church, read your Bible, help out with missions, etc. but still feel no joy, then you are doing, but are not being with God.  Put aside the activities and bow before your Father and let Him lift you up.

Hint for the day: Learn some melodies or songs of praise.  Put worship music on when you are cleaning or driving.  It will lift you up and bring you into worship.  If you have small kids, sing along with them to some children's songs of worship.  We may not sing great, but we can make a joyful noise unto the Lord.  If someone in your house is struggling, sing gentle songs of worship to them as you  pray with them.  Enter is house with thanksgiving in your heart and enter His courts with praise.

Foot work

“Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called.” Ephesians 4:1

Sometimes waiting requires footwork.  That seems contradictory, but God works in mysterious ways!  Think about being pregnant and waiting for that little one to be in your arms.  While you are waiting, you are also eating right, exercising, buying different clothes, preparing a room or a bed, and preparing other children in the family for that day.

When God told the Israelites to take Jericho, He asked them to walk around the city one time each day for 6 days and seven times on the 7th day.  I am sure that the Israelites were thinking, “Why doesn’t God just do it!”  But, God has lessons for us to learn during the wait.  Usually one of them is trust and another is obedience. 

We are on the road right now going from conference to conference to sell our books.  The writing of the book itself was a walk of obedience that took 7 years.  Then when I thought that I was finished, God showed us the next step.  He promises us that His word will not go out void.  I claim that each time we sell a book.  Not that my book is anywhere close to the authority of Scripture, but it contains a lot of Scripture!  So now we wait for the word to get out and for people to hear about the book.  God has required us to put our resources and energy into going out to these conferences and speaking.  He could just draw people’s attention to our webpage, or let a nationally known person promote it.  That would be easier.  But God has not opened those doors, so we wait upon the Lord and we put footwork towards His promise and what we feel He is calling us to do.

What about you?  What promise or goal are you striving for that God has placed upon your heart?  One of my sons feels called to be a missionary pilot.  He is waiting for that reality to happen and he is preparing to go to school to get the licenses that he will need.  Two sons feel led to start a business, and if you were to ask them about footwork, they would laugh!  There has been lots of that!

Sometimes waiting means doing nothing, but usually waiting means footwork.  Don’t get ahead of God, but don’t be unaware and miss God’s answer.

Hint of the day:  Help your children set goals with God’s plan for them in mind.  God would have all us be healthy, so set a goal of physical fitness.  It may be to run a 5k or to do 100 sit ups.  Then help them to wait upon God’s fulfillment as they start training.  If they plan to go into a specific field, help them set goals to get them ready.  My pilot son has been earning his ranks through Civil Air Patrol while in high school.  He has flown many times and knows this is God’s calling.  Be obedient and wait.  God will guide and strengthen you in the process, not just in the conclusion.

Wait Upon the Lord

"Wait on the Lord;
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart,
Wait, I say, on the Lord!"
Psalm 27:14

"They that wait upon the Lord will gain new strength..." Isaiah 40:31

Waiting, that is probably the hardest thing that God askes us to do!  We want it and we want it now!  I hate waiting.  But I have learned that when we trust God and wait upon His timing, truly our hearts are strengthened and we are renewed.  I think of the example of Abraham not waiting and pushing God's will, thus having Ishmael with Hagar which has led to centuries of dispute and angst and wars.  If he had waited upon God, Isaac would not have had a rival and all of history would have turned out differently. 

Then I think about the times that I didn't choose to wait upon the Lord.  I tend to be a bull in the china cabinet.  I get an idea and I drive to get it done!  Luckily, my husband is very logical and can usually keep me from doing something foolish.  Recently it was an urge I had to admonish one of my sons about a relationship.  I just wanted to cut to the bottom line.  Lay it all out.  But we, my wise husband and I, chose to wait upon God's timing.  We did put some bugs in this child's ear, and recalled some things that he had learned, but we did not give him an ultimatum or tell him what he should do.  My husband asked a few questions to get him thinking.  Now we wait.  Ughhh!  That's the hard part!

But God loves my child more than I can even imagine.  This child is praying and listening.  Surely God will lead and guide.  Mom needs to trust and wait.  In our younger student book we have the kids decorate a box called their "Trust God Box".  Any time they are afraid or worrying about something, they are to write it down and pray about it and give it to God by putting it in the box and letting it go.  I often have a mother tell me, "I need a 'Trust God Box'!"  Well, I guess I could use one also!  Waiting is really about trusting.

If you have a hard time waiting and trusting, a good place to start is Proverbs 3:5-6.  "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, but in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight."  Trust, lean, acknowledge that God is in control and that He is good and that He will handle the situation.  Then let go and wait patiently upon the Lord.

Hint of the Day: We all have a hard time waiting.  Give yourself a goal such as not thinking about the answer to your problem for a week.  Then if you reach that day and haven't worried, give yourself a treat!  This works with children as well.  If they don't ask about or talk about an event or worry for three days ( or another set time), give them a treat.  We can train ourselves to wait upon the Lord.  Pray for patience and for God's timing.  Then wait and don't worry or try to solve the situation.  You can do it, and your faith will be strengthened.

Ignorance

"To give prudence to the naive,
To the youth knowledge and discretion."
Proverbs 1:4

I wrote yesterday about not moving the ancient boundaries.  In order to keep those boundaries in place, you must know what those boundaries are.  I just watched "180" on youtube.  Ray Comfort interviews young people about their knowledge of Adolf Hitler and the holocaust.  I was blown away by the fact that many didn't even know who Hitler was.  Others just decided to believe that the holocaust was a lie.

I like to argue that there are some things that it is okay to be naive about.  For example, I have a husband and 5 sons; it is okay for me to be naive about car repair.  Until I am alone in a strange city with a broken down car!  There are things which we can not afford to be naive about.  One of those things is history, because it is bound to repeat itself if we don't learn from it.  Another is God's word, God's love, God's judgment, God's provision through Jesus Christ, and our own sinfulness.

What things do you think that it is okay to be naive about?  I am rethinking my answers.  It wouldn't hurt me to know a little bit about car repair and could save me a big headache someday!  But I will not choose to be ignorant of God's word or His love.  Prudence begins with knowledge.  Prudence is making wise decisions and the regard to wisdom about practical matters.  If you want ot be prudent, you can't choose to be naive or ignorant.  Learn the good, the bad, and the ugly of history, science, Chrisitanity, politics, etc.  Challenge yourself to think.  Don't just gain knowledge, but put that knowledge to use in your life.  Find instruction in righteousness and truth.  Reading god's word is a good place to start.

Hint of the Day:  Don't teach just the Christian ideas to your students or they will not know how to repond to falsehood.  Notice the word "just", Christian thoughts and ideas should be foremost in their education, but remember to let them wrestle with the other ideas and religions out there. The truth can stand on its own.  I became a Christian through the study of world religions.  God will speak to their hearts.  Trust Him. 
 But remember the stages of learning and don't introduce these things too soon.  0-7 year olds learn facts by rote memory.  7-12 year olds are in the stage of instruction.  Not until after the 12th birthday do children have the logic and discerning ability to handle arguments against Christianity.  Protect them with the truth and let it sink deep into their hearts when they are young and they will be able to handle it wisely when they are older.

"Do not move the ancient boundary
Which your fathers have set."
Proverbs 22:28

Boundaries.  They are there for our good.  but how often we want to ignore them, step over them, or remove them.  Literally, Solomon was talking about land boundaries given by God to the Hebrews as they took over the land.  But I think we can also apply this to moral and Christian boundaries.  Look at Proverbs 9:1-6:
               
"Wisdom has built her house,
She has hewn out her seven pillars;
She has prepared her food, she has mixed her wine;
She has also set her table;
She has sent out her maidens, she calls
From the tops of the heights of the city:
To him who lacks understanding she says,
'Come, eat of my food
And drink of the wine I have mixed.
Forsake your fooly and live,
And proceed in the way of understanding.'" 

Notice that wisdom is a done deal.   It was laid down before the creation of the world and existed since before time. (Proverbs 8)  There is no new wisdom of the age.  God's wisdom laid the foundations of the earth and will be there when those foundations are destroyed.  Therefore, do not move the ancient boundaries.

Absolute truth was also laid down with wisdom.  "The sum of God's word is truth." (Psalm 119:160)  His word will never change or fail.  So do you want to know what boundaries you should set on relationships, finances, marriage, business, etc.?  Go to God's word.  It is black and white and will never change.  Base your life on these boundaries and your life will be lived out within God's will and His protection and provision will be yours.  This does not mean that nothing bad will ever happen; we live in satan's world for now.  But (Greater is He who is in me than he that is in the world! - 1 John 4:4)

Hint of the day:  Some of us were born with a very good sense of right and wrong, black and white.  Others were not. You can develop this sense within yourself or your children by role playing situations and asking is that right or wrong.  Don't forget to discuss the motive as well as the action.  Seek God's word when you are not sure.  When a child has acted out of wrong motives or with wrong actions, you can ask them how they might have done differently according to God's wisdom.  proverbs is a great place to start.  Reading the Proverbs is good, but we don't always really learn by just reading.  Nathan, my second son, said that he used to journal through the Proverbs.  That is, he wrote down a proverb and then discussed it with himself - the why, the what, the who, the where, the when, and the how as well as other verses that supported this verse.  Others draw out different proverbs.  These are all great ideas.  Then, of course, there is Practical Proverbs which can be found on our website that will take you into deeper understanding of Proverbs and help you to apply them to your life.

Letting Go

“Man’s steps are ordained by the Lord,

How then can man understand his way?”
Proverbs 20:24

 We just had a graduation for our twins.  They are 18, and ready to head off into the great unknown! (Literally, one is going to be a pilot.)  The other one is going to live at home and attend a Christian school where he is playing soccer and preparing to be a coach and teacher.  This will require us to move to another town which is another unknown!  But we are excited. 

At the graduation, a father expressed his admiration to my husband of our being able to release our kids to God and let them move on to become the young men of actions and dreams and godliness that they were raised to be.  (One lives in Hawaii and is pursuing a law degree, another is in South Carolina and is a graphic artist; these older two are also working together to start a new international business!  Our third son is finishing college in December and can’t wait to try his hand at supervising and entrepreneurship.) 

We are able to be excited for each child and release them to God, because we have recognized from their conception that they were God’s.  We were privileged to have the opportunity to raise them, but they were never ours.  We placed them in God’s care and allowed God to direct their lives from birth.  Then we were faithful in the stewardship of raising them.  This included their schooling, their moral development, and most importantly, introducing them to God and encouraging them to grow in their relationship with Him.  We have spent 18 years preparing them for the day of their departure.  They have learned life skills, social skills, job skills, and personal skills that will serve them well in the world. 

The best part of it all is that we still get to be involved in their lives.  Now they choose us as friends.  What a privilege!  We are there when they need advice; we are there to cheer them on; we are there to walk alongside them.  But they are God’s responsibility!  He has ordained their way and we get to a part of that!  Just yesterday my oldest called and was so excited because he had just finished his first parachute jump.  He knew to call mom after the fact so she wouldn’t freak out!  But I was so excited for him because he is living his dream!  I am also glad that I wasn’t there and didn’t have to take part!

Train up your children in the way they should go, and let God ordain there steps and ways!  He is faithful always!  That doesn’t mean that they won’t get hurt or disillusioned.  It does mean that even though they may not understand the why, they will know that they are loved and precious to you and to their God and that God is good and will be their Rock.

Fruit Trees

"By the river on its bank, on one side and on the other, will grow all kinds of trees for food.  Their leaves will not wither and their fruit will not fail.  They will bear every month because their water flows from the sanctuary, and their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing."  Ezekiel 47:12

My second son always loved his fruit.  When he was young, he decided that he did not want a mansion in heaven; he would rather pitch a tent in God's orchard!  I quite agree!  Fruit is sweet and nutritious. 

Psalm 1 compares the man that is a serious student of God's word to a fruit tree.  One that is planted by streams of life giving water, that yields its fruit in its season, and whose leaves do not wither.  This man will prosper in all that he does.  Are you bearing fruit each season of your life?  Are you standing against the burning accusations and torrential storms of life?  Are you prospering in your spiritual walk?

The answer is to be firmly planted in the word of God and allow the Holy Spirit to teach you and train you through the word.  Fruit will grow naturally when you are being fed and your arms are raisid in  praise and adoration and worship of the Tree Maker and the Son Giver!

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  Against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22).  Which fruit are you lacking in?  Begin to pray to God to produce this fruit in abuncance in your life.  Look for ways to practice the fruit, and rejoice when each little bloom begins to grow!  This fruit will be sweet and nutritious in your life!

Hint of the day:  Either draw or have your children draw some big pieces of fruit.  Label each one with a different fruit of the spirit and put them on your refrigerator.  Each week choose a different fruit to focus on, pray about, and research.  You can find people in the Bible and in your life that display each fruit and those who don't!  Role play situations at home when the fruit would be needed.  Look for opportunities to surprise each other with a extra helping of the fruit of the week.

Self-control

"Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverence, and in your perseverence, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.  For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."2 Peter 1:5-8

What is self-control?  We know we lack it when we eat too much or yell or oversleep.  Self-control is discipline of the will.  Now, our will is the very last thing that wants to be disciplined.  When we want something, we want it all, we want it now!  Self-control is internal boundaries that our will has been taught to follow and to not cross.  We all know that self-control is really Spirit-control, because by ourselves we can't seem to be consistent.  But with the help and guidance and reliance on the Holy Spirit, we can overcome all things!

Self-control is the last fruit in the list of the fruit of the Spirit.  Is this because it is usually the last that grows?  I think that our walk and relationship with the Lord starts and is continued only through self-control.  At first it may be regimen only, then with the regimen comes the daily need and reliance.  Look at 2 Peter above.  Faith is followed by moral excellence, then knowledge, then self-control.  I thought self-control was all about being morally excellent, but apparently not since it comes after that in the list.  Faith comes and with it the desire to live right before God.  That leads us to the need and desire for knowledge of our God which then makes us realize our need for self-control in all things.  So self-control develops out of knowledge of the word of God.  When we know how we ought to behave, then we can begin to gain self-control over those areas.  When we have self-control, it then leads to perseverence, brotherly kindness, and love. 

In my life, I have noticed that the more I practice self-control over an area, the easy it is to continue doing the right thng.  That's where perseverence comes in.  When I have shown self-control for a period of time and I have persevered in a relationship, then I enter into real brotherly kindness and from that love.  Just a reminder: self-control is a fruit of the Spirit.  Trying to gain it on our own will fail, but with our roots deep in the word and our arms stretched out in praise and prayer to the Son, we can have and exercise self-control.  If it were unattainable, then it would not have been listed here!

Hint of the day: Begin to pray over any area that you need self-control in.  Then do what you know to do - get into the word and on your knees.  The experts say that any bad habit can be undone by doing it differently for 30 days.  This may be so with outward appearances, but the bad habits of the heart take a while longer (sometimes years) to overcome.  But with prayer and knowledge you can begin to realize self-control.  Persevere and when you look back over the last 2 or 5 or 10 years, the fruit of the Spirit will be evident to you.

Hint of the day 2: Children need to learn good habits and have healthy outward boundaries if they are to have healthy inward boundaries when they are older.  Expecting a young child to exercise self-control without parental reminders is crazy!  Remember that self-control is a fruit of the spirit even for our children.  So don't expect them to exercise self-control without Christ or without growing daily in His word.

Gentleness

"...but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God." 1 Peter 3:4

"Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth."  Matthew 5:5

Boy!  God is hitting me between the eyes this morning!  I have been angry with a family member and my responses have not been gentle.  Therefore, I have a heart problem!  "For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart." (Matthew 12:34)  You can not have a gentle answer until you have a gentle heart.  You can try, like with all of the fruits, to train yourself to be soft spoken, but when you get squeezed, out will come the bitterness, anger, and meanness. 

Gentleness is not being a doormat.  You can have a bold personality and still be gentle of heart and word.  Mercy flows from a gentle heart.  Grace is the word of a gentle heart.  Unselfishness underlies a gentle heart.  A gentle heart hears God and speaks His words in love.  Gentleness can still judge another, but with a soft word that the other might repent and return to God.  Gentleness can rule a kingdom and the subjects will respond with gentleness.  Matthew 5:5 says that the gentle shall inherit the earth.  This is the regenerated earth of Ezekiel.  The gentle shall rule.  The gentle have been taught by God and therefore have this fruit of the Spirit.

I am going to go talk with God about my not so gentle heart and words.  How about you?  Is there a person or an area of your life that you are not being gentle with?  Are your words showing a heart of anger or bitterness?  If you are not at peace within, then you will not be gentle outwardly.  Remember to allow the fruit to grow naturally by digging deep into the word and into time with God.

Hint of the Day: We all occassionally have a bad day or wake up on the wrong side of the bed.  When our children would wake up grumpy.  We would send them back to bed to literally get out of the other side of the bed - the ungrumpy side.  This usually resulted in giggles and tickles.  It is hard to be grumpy when you are giggling!  Sometimes kids just need some quiet alone time (not punishment, just time to have little stimulation and to be still).  Every day after lunch we have an imposed "everyone to their own room (or bed) time".  This is an hour when each person can regroup, refresh, and be ready to jump back into the family.  This really helped on days when mom needed some alone time!  We found that the afternoons always went smoother after we all had this time alone.  Some did puzzles, some read, and others fell asleep.  I would read a magazine, read my Bible or do a Bible study, or take a bath.  ThenI was ready to hit the afternoon with a smile! 

Faithfulness

"Do not fear what you are about to suffer.  Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulaton for ten days.  Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life." Revelation 2:10

"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1

Faith is listed as a fruit of the Spirit, but also as a gift of the Spirit.  (1 Corinthians 12:9)  Faith is essential to having a relationship with God, for salvation, and for walking with God.  Without faith our beliefs are in vain.  A pastor once told it to me this way.  He showed me a chair and asked if I believed that the chair would hold me.  I said, "Yes."  Then he asked me if I had faith that the chair would hold me.  I said, "Yes."  Then he told me to sit in the chair and exercise that faith.  Just knowing that God is there and that He is good is not faith; it is belief.  But even the demons believe, and yet they shudder.(James 2:19)  Having a belief is not enough.  You must exercise that belief, thus turning it into faith by placing yourself into the hands of God and trusting your life to Him through Jesus.  Keith Green had a song called "Step Across the Line."  The line was the boundary between belief and faith. 

So if we have to have faith before we can become a Christian, then how is it a gift or a fruit?  First of all, God gives some people an extra dose of faith in the midst of difficult circumstances.  Those with this type of faith will walk into a lions' den or fire in the name of Christ.  This gift is given at times of great need.  This gift may be for a moment or for a life time.  But know that if and when you are in need of extra faith, God will give extra grace.

As we exercise the faith that we have, be it small or great, then that faith will begin to grow and thus, is a fruit of the Spirit.  It is like a muscle, as we use it, it grows stronger.  If we are not using it, it will atrophy!  Faith can be as small as a mustard seed, but grow into the biggest tree in the garden.  Faith is choosing to believe that God is who He says He is, and that He will do what He says He will do.  This is especially true when your life circumstances are hard and you can't see the hand of God for the moment.  Faith says, God is good; He loves me; and He wants the best for me.  Even though we might not experience that for a moment, faith says that we will trust anyway because we see through a mirror dimly but God has the eternal forever perspective.

Be careful though!  Don't place your faith in what God will do for you, but rather place your faith in God.  This difference has shipwrecked many a person who started off with faith in God, but went astray expecting only good things.  When life got tough, they felt abandoned by God when really He was standing by waiting to pick them up as they began to exercise their faith.  Think of a child learning to walk.  If Mom never lets go of their hands, then they will never walk alone.  God is there.  He said so.  I believe it.  I will trust in God. 

Hint for the Day:  You can teach the concept of faith to an elementary aged child by not putting supper on the table one night.  They trust you to feed them because you always have.  When they ask where dinner is, you let them know that you didn't feel like feeding them tonight so they can go to bed hungry.  They will begin to protest!  Laugh with them and pull out the pizza!  Let them know that they had trusted you to provide for them because you always have.  We can trust in God because He is trustworthy as well.  Even as the child didn't really believe that you would allow them to go to bed hungry, we don't really believe that God will let us down.  So when we feel like God is not there, or God does not care, He does and will provide in the right time.

Goodness

"To this end also we pray for you always, that our God will  count you worthy of your calling, and fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ."
2 Thessalonians 1:11-12

Goodness is different from kindness.  Whereas kindness is an outward exspression, goodness is the state of the heart.  Often that goodness is detected because of kind acts, but goodness goes deeper.  Goodness is a regenerated heart that loves so greatly and that is so connected to God that the attitude and actions of the body are naturally good.  Reactions of forgiveness, actions of kindness, words of encouragement and love, and prayers of intercession are just natural outpouring of a good heart.

When I first married my husband of 27 years, I would get frustrated because he would automatically respond to life's situations with Godly wisdom.  I would have to think it through, and often I would need to readjust my attitude or reaction to line up with God's Word.  He had become a Christian at age 9 along with his whole family.  They talked and taught the Christian faith throughout every day and circumstance.  I became a Christian at 13, but other than church attendance, had no influence in my daily walk. As I grew as a Christian, got into God's Word, and spent more time in praise and prayer, biblical thought patterns and reactions became more automatic.

Are you good?  Only you can answer that.  Only you know the true condition of your heart.  If the answer is "sometimes" or "no", then go to God with it and begin to pray that He will make your thoughts and attitudes glorify Him.  Notice in the verse above, that goodness and faith comes through and with the power of Jesus and is for His glory.  Your goodness will be a witness to others of God's goodness.

Hint of the day: Talk about God's goodness throughout your day with your spouse, kids, coworkers, or friends. Let your conversation be good and encouraging and uplifting.  Kindness can be learned, but goodness is a fruit thatmust grow natuarally from your walk with God.  Be in the word adn practice the presence of God.

Kindness

"...and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love."
2 Peter 1:7

"Do not let kindness and truth leave you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart." Proverbs 3:3

Kindness is action.  Kindness is reaction.  We are responsible for both.  Kindness is taking the initiative to do something nice for someone.  Kindness is showing love and respect and forgiveness through a smile, a word, or an action.  Kindness is seeing a need and filling it.  It might be bringing dinner to someone who is sick or planting flowers for someone who is unable.  One of the kindest acts ever shown to me was when a friend wanted to come over with her children to visit and I declined because I had too much ironing to do.  She showed up with her ironing board and iron and we ironed together for hours and visited along the way!

Kindness is a choice.  One must practice being kind.  It doesn't come naturally.  It, too, is a fruit of the Spirit!  Roots in deep, arms raised in praise to the Son!  According to 2 Peter 1:7, kindness grows from godliness and leads to love.  If you are having a hard time loving someone, try being kind to them.  This can lead to love.  When we lived in North Dakota, there were two women who were having a hard time with me.  I was new, but my husband and I felt an immediate comeraderie with the pastor and his wife and I played piano and taught Sunday School.  They went to the pastor with their feelings of jealousy. He suggested that they become my secret sisters.  They started being kind through secret acts of giving.  Pretty soon, they started to smile at me and initiate conversation.  Finally, we became friends because God had changed their hearts to hearts of love.

When the Bible talks about God's kindness it is in regard to Salvation and mercy.  "...so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus." Ephesians 2:7.  God's kindness grew from His love for us and resulted in being able to have a relationship with us.  Kindness is the "magic" pill in any relationship.  If you have a difficult person in your life, put on kindness and see what happens!  Don't just react to someone's kindness, but initiate kindness even in the midst of anger, jealousy, or indifference.

Hint for the day:  Teach your children kindness by your actions.  Be kind to them, but also have them help you be kind to others.  When we were at seminary, there was a family that was having a hard time financially.  The boys helped me grocery shop and then leave the bags of food on their porch, ring, and run!  We had such fun and the family was so thankful.  At Christmas, we always find a family that is in need and supply anything from Christmas trees to presents.  One day when we were engaged, my husband needed to plant flowers at the apartment complex that he managed.  My friend and I did some midnight gardening and boy was he surprised when he found his job already done!  Find ways to be kind today.

Patience

"...so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience..." Colossians 1:10-11

Then there is the little girl that prays for patience and tells God to hurry up and give it to her!  I have been that little girl.  Have you?  Patience seems to be one of the fruits of the Spirit that is just out of reach.  Even when we begin to see the fruit of patience in one area or another, there seems to be other areas where we have no patience - with a particular person or a particular situation.  But, once again, we see patience as a fruit that grows from deep roots and Son shine!

Look at the verse above in Colossians.  Notice that patience is linked with steadfastness.  When we set our eyes on a goal and work diligently and with focus on that goal, not allowing anything to get in our way or draw us aside, then we are steadfast.  In that steadfastness comes patience.  Think about a college student.  Only those who keep their eyes on the goal of graduation will make it.  They know that it will take four years of single-focused perseverence to attain that goal.  They are patient because they know what is involved and that eventually they will get there if they are steadfast. 

As Christians, we too, can know our goals of maturity and closeness with Christ, keep our eyes on Jesus, and move towards the end in confidence that we can obtain it.  We have an advantage though!  Look again at Colossians.  We are strengthened with all power to reach our goal!  The Holy Spirit, the word of God, fellowship with other believers, and the presence of God will give us the power to keep moving towards our goal to achieve it!

Patience can be yours!  When I was a young mom and struggling not to yell at my kids, I would pray, "God, take this anger from me."  I tried memorizing verses, but it wasn't until God told me that I was praying amiss, that I finally overcame this sin.  He said that instead of praying that He would take the anger away, that I should be praying, "God fill me up with so much of You that there is no room for anger."  As I began to get more serious about being with Him through prayer continuously, the yelling became more and more rare until I no longer yelled.  It is the same way with patience.  Fill up with God, and know that He is sovereign over all, and that He will work all things for our good in the end, and trust in Him.  He will give you patience even with the most irritating person or situation in your life!

Hint of the Day: Kids have a hard time being patient because they don't really understand time.  If they are looking forward to an event - a birthday, a return of a parent who has been gone for a time, a visit from a relative, or the start of school, you can help them by giving them a way to mark the time.  A basket with as many stones in it as hours in the day, or days until the expected event will help.  At the top of each hour or the start of each day, remove a stone.  They will see that as the stones disappear, the time is getting closer.  One dad was away often on business trips.  He would buy little token gifts, wrap them, and put them in the basket.  The child could open one a day until the last one.  When that one was opened he knew dad was coming home that day!