Fruitful Fridays: His Perfect Peace

We continue our series on the Fruit of the Spirit today. Our main text for Fruitful Fridays will be Galatians 5:13-26 (ESV). In case you missed any Fruitful Friday posts, here's the line-up: 

1. Fruit of the Spirit: Introduction

2. Fruit of the Spirit: Walking With the Spirit

3. Fruit of the Spirit: Acts of the Flesh

4. Fruit of the Spirit: To Love is to Give

5. Fruit of the Spirit: The Command to Love 

6. Fruit of the Spirit: Dying to Love

Let's take a moment to review before we move on to Peace. 

The Fruit of the Spirit is a singular concept; the nine fruits work together as one. We begin our access to them when we are filled by the Holy Spirit at the moment of our salvation. He works these characteristics into our hearts as we submit our will to his after believing (giving him Lordship over our lives). We become as putty in his hands, slowly being remade into His image.

Is he your Savior and your Lord?  Lordship doesn't always closely follow salvation for many people. It's when we make him our Lord that the fruit grows ripe and sweet.

Though we're filled with the Holy Spirit upon first believing, we can still grieve the Spirit by having unconfessed sin in our lives. During unconfessed sin we're separated from God until we seek forgiveness. And the Fruit of the Spirit? Its production in our heart ceases during sin. It's not that our salvation is lost, just our fellowship with God until our confession. 

If we never get right with God again, we probably weren't saved in the first place. God is faithful to continue his good work in our sincere hearts. He makes us very uncomfortable until we confess and get back into fellowship with him. He assures that we prevail in our salvation. I will never leave you nor forsake you, saith the Lord.

How quickly our hearts bear fruit and how many detours we take along the way, depends on how closely we walk with the Spirit. 

We walk with the Spirit by:

• Praying
• Reading the Bible
• Worshiping through songs and Psalms, etc.
• Confessing sin

Let's move on to peace, of which there are three components.

1. Upward: Peace with God (salvation and continued fellowship)

2. Inward: God's peace in our soul (tranquility within, absence of fear)

3. Outward: Peace with fellow believers (living in harmony with others; being a peacemaker)

Today we will discuss peace with God and inward peace, leaving peace with fellow believers for next week.

1. Peace With God  

God is holy and righteous and cannot fellowship with sinners. For the wages of sin is death. There must be an atonement for sin via blood sacrifice (death). Jesus is the lamb that was slain and for all those who believe on Him there is no death, but reconciliation with God. The Cross bought us fellowship with God directly...beautiful one-on-one fellowship. Instead of needing to kill an animal as atonement for our sins, we simply go before the Father and confess and ask for forgiveness. We're forgiven and all is forgotten, and we're back into fellowship!

It's so easy to take fellowship and peace with God for granted; we must remember it's the greatest gift ever given. Let's preserve our awe and our thankfulness over His gift. To be assured that your Father loves you and approves of you? That's tranquility.

Jesus is the Prince of Peace, as these Scriptures teach: 

Isaiah 9:6, "...For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace." 

Romans 5:1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

Luke 2:10-14 "...But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.' And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.'"

2. Inward Peace

As a Christian staying in fellowship with the Lord, we have an inner peace that surpasses all understanding. 

John 16:33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” 

Jesus has overcome addiction, poverty, brain disorders, physical disorders, disease, chronic pain, broken relationships, materialism, grief over loss, physical and emotional abuse, and unloving parents? All the things that grieve the world, he has overcome? What does this mean? 

Friend, it means these things are temporary. They won't always be with us but He will. His victory for us is eternal life...permanent peace and a sinless soul, a body not subject to emotional or physical pain, permanent communion with Him. 



Our inner peace will remain with us through trials if we dwell on the perfect condition awaiting us. 

I've found that keeping my mind on the eternal is aided by expressing thankfulness for present gifts. Brainstorming a list of everyday graces automatically focuses my mind on Him, and not on my circumstances. Be ye thankful, the Bible commands us. Go through the mental or written exercise of acknowledging His graces.

Colossians 3:15 "And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful." 

John 14:27 "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." 


John 14:27 promises the disciples, and us, that we have Jesus' peace. We may think of peace as the absence of strife and discord and the absence of troubles. Not so, says Jesus. Instead, it's a tranquility of mind arising from a sense of our justification before God. If God loves us and that can never be taken from us, what legitimate trouble do we really have?

Romans 8:28 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Yes, He loves us. He approves us. He's prepared a room for us. Our future is secure and our present is showered with graces.

His peace buys our reconciliation with God; it continues as everyday graces sprinkled over our troubles; it ends in eternity with Him.

Hallelujah!

Matthew Henry explains it thus, speaking of what Christ gives: “The peace I give is of such a nature that the smiles of the world cannot give it, nor the frowns of the world take it away.” “The gifts I give to you are not such as this world gives to its children and votaries, to whom it is kind.” The world’s gifts concern only the body and time; Christ’s gifts enrich the soul for eternity: the world gives lying vanities, and that which will cheat us; Christ gives substantial blessings, which will never fail us: the world gives and takes; Christ gives a good part that shall never be taken away. 

 

The big question is: How do we continually walk in Christs' gift of peace? 

• 1. Bend your knees in prayer 
  
  Psalm 5:3 My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up."
  
  1 Thessalonians 5:17 pray without ceasing
  
  Psalm 95:2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! (Praise is part of prayer.)
  
  1 Corinthians 14:15 What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also.
• 2. Regard your Bible as your lifeline 
  
  Romans 10:17 "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."
  
  2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
  
  Psalm 119: 16 I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word. 
  
  Hebrews 4:12-13 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

• 3. Remain in humble submission to God.
  
  Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
  
  
  
  James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
  
  
  Luke 4:8 And Jesus answered him, “It is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’”
  
  
  
  

• 4. Keep your thoughts on God
  
  Isaiah 26:3 "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is STAYED on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee."
  
  Philippians 4:8 "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."
  
  Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
• 5. Live a right life
  
  Psalm 37:37 "Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace."
  
  Galatians 6:7-8 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.

Prayer Time:  Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for your perfect peace. We thank you for your approval of our very souls and that nothing can separate us from your love. May we bend our knees in prayer, regard your Word as our lifeline, submit our will to you daily, keep our thoughts on you, and life a right life. Help us to preserve your peace in our lives. Help us to be thankful always in every life circumstance. Help us to examine our hearts and confess our sins, so that fellowship with you remains constant. Help us to serve you and not ourselves. We love you.

In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

Pumpkin Pancakes, Oh Yes!

For a spiced holiday treat, combine:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (I use white whole wheat)

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon salt 

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

a pinch of ground cloves 

In a separate bowl, stir together 

11/4 cup milk

1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree 

3 tablespoons melted butter  

1 egg

Fold mixture into dry ingredients. Melt some butter in a skillet over medium heat; pour in 1/4 cup batter for each pancake. Cook pancakes about 3 minutes per side; serve with butter and syrup or whipped cream.

Makes 8 to 10.

photo found here

Taming the House: When There's Serious Chaos

We've spent a few posts discussing strategies for taming the housekeeping beast. I'm trying to make these universal, but they're probably most relevant to homes with three or more children, and to homeschooling homes in which the family is always together at home, using the space and materials.

In our first post we covered reducing the toy clutter, setting aside a catch-up day, and utilizing 5-minute clean-ups. In our second post we covered involving children in home maintenance, via a chore system.

Up front I wrote that I hoped we could analyze our issues together. The truth is that such a low percentage of people comment on blogs (10% or less), that to have even five or ten comments, you need a fairly large audience. Knowing that, I don't expect input necessarily, but if you really have an issue driving you insane, I hope that you will comment? If my skills won't help, someone else might have the answer? Or at least someone will provide comfort, reassuring you that it's normal and will get better.

What drives you the most insane, on a recurring basis? The job of homemaker requires a lot of hats, not the least of which are the abilities to problem solve and manage others. These two skills go a long way toward taming the house and facilitating a measure of domestic serenity.

Maybe you're an organizing queen and your home is under control, but you give up sleep and leisure to keep it that way? Then you probably need to delegate and learn to manage others.

Maybe you have poor organizational skills and have no idea how to get off the frustration train of domestic chaos? Then you probably need to discipline yourself with charts and timers. Time has a way of getting away from us when we're caring for children all day. This is normal...chaos happens so fast! Resign yourself to charts and timers to stay on track with your 5-minute clean-ups, and to help divide up the chores.

The younger your children, the harder it is to feel good about the running of your home. If you have babies and toddlers right now, just take a deep breath. It does get better. I went through that stage twice with no support system, and more than once, someone walked into my house with eyebrows raised. 

Oh, well. 

Rocking and singing to your babies and snuggling your toddlers with books is so much more important. That window of prime emotional and intellectual development won't come again. Let's not miss it. Having enough love and attention from parents early on helps us open up to receive our Heavenly Father's love. And without receiving Him, we can't give love back out, sacrificially.

So focus on the eternal first. Don't let the tyranny of the moment define your legacy.

Last Friday I was at the hospital with Beth from 9:30 AM to 3:30 PM. I arrived home to find an extremely disheveled house. No 5-minute pick-ups were done, and no laundry was done (I do 3-4 loads a day in the cold, muddy seasons).

I had a choice. I could cuddle my three-year-old, who still needed me, and read a Little House book to Mary, or I could start setting the house to rights. Emotionally, I was already spent and the thought of organizing the troops for a major clean, did not appeal to me!

I cuddled my 3-year-old and read a Little House chapter book. When five-year-old Mary could no longer sit still, I held my 3 year old while reading Old Yeller to myself, a post civil-war era novel the boys would start for school the next week.

We did a little catch up on the weekend, aside from groceries and church and science experiments.

Then Monday, we had two more appointments. The house and laundry fell further behind.

Monday afternoon I was so tempted to tackle the mess myself, letting the children out to play. The thought of keeping on them and doing quality-control checks, while still doing a lot of work myself, didn't appeal to me.

But I disciplined myself and made them do their share, and when you find yourself in a similar situation, I urge you to resist the urge to do it all yourself. Spiritually speaking, what does God want here? Pampered children who make messes, knowing that Mom will come to the rescue? Or children who learn the consequences of their actions (cause and effect), and take responsibility for their mistakes?

Daddy didn't call 5-minute clean-ups and the kids ignored their own messes, simply choosing another room for further activities. Instead of blaming Daddy, I blamed them...but I didn't spend a lot of time lecturing. They should know better and the mess proved something to them: it isn't their 3-year-old sister who makes all the messes. She was gone for most of the day and down for the rest, and the house still descended into chaos.

The messier the house, the more they howl over being asking to clean. They find, and I do too, that the chaos is simply overwhelming. Where do we even start? 

Here are a few tips for taming serious chaos:

• Tackle 1 room at a time. Set out a few containers and designate one for trash, one for items that go in other rooms, and one for items that go in the current room. Work together to sort all the items into the baskets, and then designate one person to dump trash, one person to take items to their proper locations around the house, and another person to put things away in the current room.
• Put on favorite cleaning music.
• Provide an incentive. "If we finish the house by afternoon, we'll make Christmas cookies." "If you clean this room well and without complaint, you can have a treat."
• Have a clothes-folding party. I hang all our day clothes directly from the dryer, so our baskets contain only whites, linens, and pajamas. Everyone folds their own pajamas and whites, and helps with towels, and I do the sheets and mine and my husband's things. We help Beth as needed, and I'm not picky about how she folds, since these aren't day clothes we're talking about.
• Read a story during cleaning breaks, to keep grumbling at bay.

One lesson I've learned is that the more I'm away, the more chaos there is. Stay home as much as you can, especially if you homeschool. Choose your outside activities wisely. Perhaps have only one extracurricular activity going at a time, instead of allowing each child to pick one activity per season. Or pick one activity that fits all. If you have three kids and three activities going, that will be chaotic and stressful, not invigorating.  The ends don't justify the means here. The stress of busyness will create health problems, for one thing. Your meals won't be as healthy and you won't be getting adequate rest. And the family will be too separated too often, which doesn't bode well for discipling. You owe your kids love and discipleship, not the moon.

Most of all, we need to focus on the eternal and be humble, praying for guidance always. We can pray for God to reveal anything about us that will help us. Should we be asking for help but we're too proud? Are we lazy and don't want to admit it? Are we a perfectionist and we want everything to stay perfect, never letting anyone make messes and explore their interests? Are we distracted by time-wasters and failing to use our time wisely?

Let's ask God to speak to our hearts and give the answer that is right for us. He will equip us for the tasks he's set before us. Never doubt that.

Prayer Time: Dear Father, thank you for the privilege of caring for children and a home. Help us to seek your truth and your guidance. Equip us to bring you glory in how our homes and children are managed. Encourage our hearts, Lord, because this is hard work and requires many different skills. When we need help, help us to seek it in humility. Help other ladies to come alongside us, offering love, encouragement, and guidance. Thank you for all your wondrous gifts, Father. We love you.

In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

Prayer Request

My mother, age 71, has pneumonia. She was given antibiotics last Saturday and is not better today (Tues.). Please pray for healing and for a softening of her heart toward the Lord, as she faces a difficult illness for her age? She is unsaved. Thank you!

Now is the Time

Time to set our to-do lists aside to worship. Oh, but this one brings the tears! So many do, but the words and melody are so beautiful here. Time spent worshiping changes our perspective on everything. For me, it's like I'm right there in heaven with Him, for the moments of songs, anyway. A valuable experience and discipline, no matter how busy our days are. 

I've reprinted the lyrics because this rendition doesn't include all of them. A song so rich in meaning!

O Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of the dear Saviour's birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining.
Till He appeared and the Spirit felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!
O night divine, the night when Christ was born;
O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!
O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!

Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
O'er the world a star is sweetly gleaming,
Now come the wisemen from out of the Orient land.
The King of kings lay thus lowly manger;
In all our trials born to be our friends.
He knows our need, our weakness is no stranger,
Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!
Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!

Truly He taught us to love one another,
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother.
And in his name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
With all our hearts we praise His holy name.
Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we,
His power and glory ever more proclaim!
His power and glory ever more proclaim!

Here's the background for this carol, found here:

The words and lyrics of the old carol 'O Holy Night' were written by Placide Cappeau de Roquemaure in 1847. Cappeau was a wine seller by trade but was asked by the parish priest to write a poem for Christmas. He obliged and wrote the beautiful words of the hymn. He then realised that it should have music to accompany the words and he approached his friend Adolphe Charles Adams(1803-1856).