But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, KINDNESS, GOODNESS, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Galatians 5: 22-23a

My husband has been following the aftermath of a high school basketball game in which the winner would advance to the New Jersey State Championship game for Class 2 schools. The game between Manasquan and Camden was weighted toward the probability that the Camden team would be making a second appearance at the state final in as many years.

In a last-second shot by a Manasquan player, a three-pointer missed its mark but the ball was picked up by another player and dropped into the basket. A referee ruled the shot good. Manasquan had triumphed over the stronger Camden team by the narrowest of margins, 46-45. They were headed to the championship game. But wait, another referee called a conference. He had seen the shot differently, the decision was reversed, and the win was awarded to Camden. The Manasquan boys went from exultation to devastation in a matter of moments.  

Needless to say, there has been much discussion about this game, social media has been abuzz with a variety of comments and insults, and the Camden coach was not a particularly graceful winner. A review of tapes following the game revealed that the call was in error. The original call should have stood. However, instant replay is not allowed at the games and once the court is cleared, the referee’s decision stands.

The result triggered an appeal to the New Jersey governing authority for high school athletics, but they refused to overturn the decision even though they and the referees admitted the call was wrong. A lawsuit was filed to delay the game until mediation could take place but the court denied that appeal. Manasquan had no recourse left.

Last Saturday, the Manasquan boys traveled to state finals to watch their girls team play for first, and while they were there they also watched Camden. When the buzzer sounded with Camden taking home the championship, the Manasquan boys rose to their feet and gave Camden a standing ovation. Their display of sportsmanship made a huge splash over all the news media.

Their tribute was an honorable act of kindness and I believe, for some at least, it came from a well of goodness in the hearts of these boys.

For years I took these two words, kindness and goodness for granted, but recently I’ve begun to see them differently. In many ways they are interchangeable. However, under closer examination, kindness is more of a verb. It indicates an act of friendliness or generosity, while goodness is a quality that resides within us. It is our core of morality, integrity, and character. And while they are both gifts from the Spirit, goodness is an innate quality tucked deep inside us by God our Father at the time of our birth. What we do with it is our choice. We can tamp it down, deny it exists, go our own way and still perform acts of kindness for others. But until we let God take that tiny seed of goodness in each of us, allow Him to tend and water it, to give it nourishment, our acts of kindness are just that, acts. The two, kindness and goodness feed off one another. The more we allow God to grow our inbred goodness, the more love will be shared through the kindnesses we show to others and the more natural it becomes to offer those kindnesses.

The Manasquan boys could have allowed their disappointment to grow into anger or a desire for revenge. They could have been influenced by all the media attention. They could have shouted unkind remarks at their former opponents. But they chose honor and respect. Now, I don’t know how many of those young men have made a decision to follow Jesus or if any have done so. But I believe that the God-given seed of goodness that was planted in their hearts rose up in that moment and resulted in a true act of kindness. That small moment in time may have been a turning point in lives that could be the beginning of a lifetime relationship.

When we show kindness and goodness to others, we honor our commitment to Jesus and though it may seem an unusual illustration, I thought about Mary as I was writing this little story. Her brother Lazarus had just been brought back to life by her friend, Jesus, who was facing his own eminent death. Mary sat at Jesus’ feet while her sister Martha was bustling around their home trying to prepare a perfect dinner and complaining about Mary’s lack of help. Jesus told her:

“Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:42b)

In the end, the Manasquan team chose “what was better.” Probably without even knowing it, they set a beautiful example for all of us and they will be remembered for it. What will we be remembered for?

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, PATIENCE, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Galatians 5: 22-23a 

I really believe that when the Holy Spirit was pouring out His special gifts on each of us, the patience urn must have been running just about empty when He came to me. The word patient has seldom, if ever, been used to describe my attitude toward life. I’m one of those people who asks God to give me patience and give it to me right now. Well, figuratively anyway…I’m not sure I’ve really said it, but He certainly got my intent.

But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently. Romans 8:25

A couple of weeks ago, we talked about Noah, principally from the perspective of joy. This week let’s consider the task that loomed before him. First, he had to wrap his head around the prediction that God was going to create a flood so immense that it would destroy the entire earth. Secondly, his family had been chosen to survive this catastrophe alongside two of every kind of animal and bird known to man at that time. Then, he had to face the enormity of his responsibility and, of course, he had to be very certain that he had gotten the specifications right for the ark that God had instructed his family to build. The Bible leaves no doubt as to the dimensions or materials used in this ark. There surely must have been doubts, questions, and disagreements between the family members during the building process. Does this sound anything like the major construction projects around your house?

 

Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Ephesians 4:2

Most scholars who have studied the timing of the event and the ages of the participants believe the ark took between fifty-five and seventy-five years to build. Now consider all the ridicule Noah and his family endured during those long years of construction as they created a massive floating barn that rested on dry ground. Does it appear that Noah may have been a very patient man?

Next, we picture Noah and his wife, their two sons and their wives, living captive in the midst of this floating menagerie for over a year. The lack of fresh air, very cold temperatures, and then very hot. What was the origin of the drinking water and food they consumed? They couldn’t have carried enough to last that long so where did it come from? How in the world could they have resolved the countless disagreements that would have risen within their animal charges and even themselves? Once again, I believe patience reigned, because without it that ark would have been uncontrolled chaos! Even their grand adventure to re-establish human habitation on the earth once the waters receded would have taxed their patience and endurance to the very limit.

The silver lining to this story is that through Noah and his family, God had offered humanity another chance, a “do-over”, so to speak. Even though He would have wanted us to get it right the second time around, he knew the weakness of humanity. He knew we would stumble and fall and fail miserably. And of course, we’ve acted exactly as He anticipated. I’d say God, himself, is an exercise in patience we can’t begin to comprehend.

But even after all we’ve done to mess up His beautiful creation, He still offers us a clear path to redemption. We don’t know how long His patience will last, but we do know He promised a second coming of Christ, unlike anything we’ve ever seen. I’m glad my name’s recorded in the Lamb’s Book of Life. And I’ll try to be patient until He gets here. How’s your patience meter gauging the way you’re responding to the world around you and, more importantly, how you’re responding to God’s plan for your life?

Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord. Psalm 27:14

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, JOY, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Galatians 5: 22-23a

Because you are my helper, I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings. Psalm 63:7

I have recently had difficulty defining the word JOY, recently meaning in older adulthood. As a younger person, I found joy in new clothes, new toys, and my friends. In my teen years, joy usually meant a new boyfriend and when I became an adult, the birth of a child brought my most joy-filled moment. And, of course, the joy of becoming a grandparent probably eclipsed them all.

Ken and I are just getting our strength back from a bout with influenza…at this age, you really feel the aftereffects. We find joy at this moment in being able to breathe, eat a decent meal, and take a short walk outside. These four walls are starting to close in upon us. Finding a few daffodils budding on my walk around the yard was definitely in the joy column. And my ever-faithful Lenten roses didn’t let me down. I can always count on uncovering a few buds in February. JOY!

But I still haven’t solved the mystery of defining a simple little three-letter word, JOY. I turned to online dictionaries and found; “the emotion of pleasure and happiness” or “a source of keen pleasure or delight; something or someone greatly valued or appreciated,” and finally, “choosing to respond to external circumstances with inner contentment and satisfaction.”   

On Sunday morning, Pastor Dennis provided another perspective on the word JOY. Now understand, this wasn’t the point of his sermon

 but it certainly struck me as being an appropriate response to my quest for a definition. His subject was the story of Noah, the building of the ark, gathering of the animals, etc. I have often pondered life on an ark for seemingly unending months with countless animals, limited food supply, no sanitary facilities, and a list of inconveniences that just keep going. But today, because my topic is the word joy, my mind immediately traveled to the scene of pure JOY Noah and his family must have felt when they were able to walk off that ark and breathe fresh air again. That thought gave a whole new meaning to my word for the week.  

The Bible doesn’t tell us anything about the conditions on that ark. We can only imagine. But it does tell us this:

So Noah, his wife, and his sons and their wives left the boat….then Noah built an altar to the Lord and there he sacrificed as burnt offerings the animals and birds that had been approved for that purpose. And the Lord was pleased with the aroma of the sacrifice…Genesis 8:18-21

I think Noah and his family found their soul-deep JOY in the presence of the Lord. And that is where we find it as well. Earthly pleasures may bring us happiness for the moment, but joy is not just any emotion. It is a state of being in close communion with the Trinity, of always knowing that God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit surround us, encompass us, and nourish us. It’s that pure peace and contentment in the knowledge that they are in control and whatever happens here, they have prepared a place for us in heaven. That is my JOY!

Joy is the settled assurance that God is in control of all the details of my life, the quiet confidence that ultimately everything is going to be alright, and the determined choice to praise God in every situation. Rick Warren

So I challenge you during this Lenten season to intentionally make a habit of turning everything in your life over to God. Let Him sweat the small stuff. Let Him dig you out of your deepest pit. Let Him instill pure JOY down deep in your soul. And when you do, the love we talked about last week becomes second nature.

When Joy is a habit, Love is a reflex. Bob Goff

Yes ladies, it’s Valentine’s Day! That one day each year when the special man in your life frantically searches out just the right card, visits a florist for roses, picks up a box of chocolates or maybe something very sparkly, all to show you just how much he loves you. And retailers, florists, and jewelers work exhausting hours in anticipation of great monetary rewards. Let’s not forget restaurants that gear up for enormous crowds and add enormous automatic gratuities to your check because it’s a special “holiday.” All of this in the name of “love”!

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy those romantic gestures as much as anyone. But I also know that love is much more than gifts and a special dinner out. Love is getting up early to put the coffee pot on. Love is washing dishes when a spouse has had a hard day or maybe just because you feel like doing it. Love is caring for a sick spouse, meeting the large and small needs as well as all the nasty ones. Love is washing the car when he’s had a very long week. Love is sharing parenting duties. Love is a hug when it’s least expected, a hot cup of tea as the long day ends. Countless simple everyday gestures speak more love than all the extravagances we heap into this one day.

Something else happens today and it has impacted humanity more than any other event in our history. Today we begin the journey of Lent. Once again we are preparing ourselves, though not for the birth of a promised Messiah. This time we prepare to walk alongside that child who has become a man on his tortured pathway to a cruel cross. Over these next weeks, we’ll look at the words shared in Galatians, words that describe what and who we are to be as children of the Trinity. (You’ll note that I use God, Jesus, & Holy Spirit interchangeably because they are.)

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Galatians 5: 22-23a

The attributes shared here describe the foundation of who Christ was as He walked this earth. Love, as we define it, is a romantic feeling for another person. Though it seems the most important element of our lives when we are engaged in a romantic relationship, our human feeling of love can never reach the depth of boundless love that God, through Jesus and the Holy Spirit, has for us, his precious children. It’s a love we can’t begin to understand because it is divine. It demonstrates itself in His ability to forgive when we hurt Him repeatedly. In His constant provision for us. In His constant presence through the Holy Spirit. Most importantly in His willingness to place His own Son on a cross. And that the Son was willing to bear the burden of pain and death for only one reason. He loves us and He knew, as did his Father, from the beginning of time, that we would need forgiveness.

God gave us all an enormous gift—the freedom of choice. This could be the most amazing

 feat He could have ever done. He made us and loved us beyond anything we could

 possibly imagine. Then He left it up to us to love Him back.

Erika Bentsen, Walking In Grace 2024

Because He gave us freedom of choice, the opportunity to stumble and fall became inevitable. We are only human. But He offers us recklessly, over-the-top, boundless love that can overcome anything we can manage to get ourselves into. You will recall there were two criminals, one on each side of Him as He hung on the cross. Even after all the crimes they had committed, they had the opportunity to turn away from what they had done and be reconciled with God. One chose heaven and it was granted to him. The other scoffed and turned his back on Jesus. We know where he is spending his eternity.

God’s love doesn’t know boundaries, doesn’t hold grudges against those who confess their sins, and doesn’  t abandon us in our fears and doubts. He just keeps on loving and he wants us to do the same. There are people around us who need to feel God’s reckless, over-the-top, boundless kind of love.

Enjoy all the treats this Valentine’s Day will bring and always be a loving child of God wherever you are needed.  

 Nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God…(except ourselves) Romans 8:39b

By: Marcy Barthelette

We are like clay, and you are the potter; your hands made us all. Isaiah 64:8

Over the years, I have collected many ceramic pieces that add beauty to our home. Whenever we visit a flea market, I stroll the aisles searching for something that strikes me as different from those I have and in a color that will blend with our décor. The pieces often seem to choose me. However, I’ve needed to become quite selective as my collection had outgrown the shelf space needed to use them artfully and efficiently. My pieces aren’t worth much—they just appeal to my personal taste.

My plants live in pots shaped in many ways—some are tall and cylindrical while others are short with a wide mouth. They come in shades of green, brown, jade, off-white, and deep rich orange, even a touch of dark burgundy, all earthy in their appearance. I have several that nearly form a ball with very small openings at their tops while others are rather flat in nature making them excellent candidates for narrow shelves. By placing them artfully, they enhance the lovely counted cross-stitch pieces that Ken has so expertly crafted as well as my pen and Ink drawings. They even nestle amid some of Ken’s lovingly restored antique tools.

Like the majority of today’s pottery pieces, my pots and vases are all machine-made and mass-produced, but creating genuine hand-crafted ceramic pottery is an ancient artform that probably had its origins in the Far East, Middle East, and Sub-Saharan Africa. Wherever and whenever they’re made the pieces start as an unassuming lump of clay which is then shaped into the desired vessel and heated in a hot fire, 600-1600°C. This can be accomplished in a bonfire, pit or kiln. The extreme heat changes the properties of the clay, making it stronger and more rigid. While early pottery was principally functional, ceramic work has evolved into a fine art category.

But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so he crushed it into a lump of clay

again and started over. Jeremiah 18:4 (if this scripture gave you pause as it did my husband,

grab your Bible and read verses 1-10 of Jeremiah 18 or read the whole chapter to put it in context.)

Pots or other utensils may be built completely by hand or thrown on a wheel. Potters have always been a source of curiosity to me. I’ve watched a friend of ours and other potters throw an object that doesn’t meet their specific standard against a wall, retrieve it and start over. The clay is very forgiving and is an excellent format to implement the old saying, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again!” There was a time when I thought destroying a piece of pottery was a terrible waste. But as a pen and ink artist, I quickly learned that it is important that the piece, whatever it may be, has just the right form and style as seen through the artist’s eyes.

Clay as an artform, sculpture of the human body, lifeless without the touch of God.   

And, of course, that brings me to another crossroad of thinking. God made us in His Image. He is the potter. He holds us in his hands and sculpts every feature to his exact specifications. Imagine being held in the loving hands of God throughout your own personal creation. He sculpted a face that was lovely to His eyes. He shaped a body that was in every way perfect to Him. He placed us inside a warm incubator and let us rest there until it was time for us to be born into this wonderful world He also created.

Sometimes, He adds something to our body that we would choose not to have or He may leave out an organ considered necessary, but when we learn that in His love He sees us as perfect, we can turn that perceived defect into good. It can bring us closer to the Father.

That’s why God never completely removed whatever it was that Paul called his “thorn of my flesh”

(Corinthians 12:7). It kept Paul humble and leaning every day on the grace of God. Bear Grylls, Soul Fuel

Whatever our perceived flaws, God sees past them and into our hearts. If God was able to create us, He is also able to change us, retrieve us from a life poorly chosen, forgive us for bringing tears to His eyes by our behavior. We are like the jar that the potter mashes back into a lump of clay. God can rework the clay and take us back to the perfect creation we were when His own hand placed us in our mother’s womb.

Let Him mold you and make you into the person He sees as perfect…the perfect YOU!

The Creator had created, not a creature but another creator. And the one who had chosen love had created

one who could love in return. Max Lucado, Eye of the Storm

For “In him we live and move and have our being;” as even some of our own poets have said, “For we are indeed his offspring.”

When you look in the mirror, what do you see? I find looking back at me a full head of gray hair, of which Ken is very envious because his locks have diminished throughout the years. A myriad of wrinkles, from head to toe, greets me. Ken is not envious of those. A scar here and another there indicates the location of a previous injury or surgery. Ken has his own share of those. All my body parts have succumbed to the force of gravity, and we share that trait, so no envy is involved and, of course, we are instructed not to feel envy toward others. But being human, it happens occasionally, despite our best intentions.

If you look beyond the physical, deep down to the core, what emotions do you find? Do doubts and fears linger there? Do you harbor a grudge against someone you say you love or once considered a good friend? Is anger or a perceived hurt worming its way so deeply into your heart that it clouds all your other emotions? Does depression hang over you like a heavy gray cloud that never lifts to allow the sun to shine through? That’s a pretty dismal picture!

So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27

What do you suppose God sees when he looks into your face? What does he feel when we allow negativity to dictate our life’s path? He created us in his image and if we exhibit the traits of fear, anger, or envy, and are disrespectful of the body and mind that he created, we are certainly being disrespectful of the gifts he has showered on us. Maybe we just need an attitude adjustment.

According to the Mayo Clinic, “Positive thinking doesn’t mean that you ignore life’s less pleasant situations. It means that you approach unpleasantness more positively and productively. You think the best is going to happen, not the worst.”

If you’re a parent or grandparent, you know that you earned every one of those gray hairs on your hea d or your lack of hair…would you trade them for a shining new deep brown mane that always does just what you want it to do? Time may have etched craters into your face, but along the way, wisdom has crept into your mind and heart. You still have time to work on those sagging body parts. A little exercise goes a long way toward toning up those long-abandoned muscles. And all those scars we observe in the mirror weave the tapestry of our lives, they remind us of the adventures we’ve had, the adversities we’ve endured, and all the instances when God “saved our bacon,” as the saying goes.

When God looks at us he sees his miraculous and perfect creation. He made us the way he wanted us to be. Every gray hair, every wrinkle, every scar is a testament to a life fully lived. What better gift could we receive than knowing God loves us just the way we are.

He placed his hand on the shoulder of humanity and said, “You’re something special.”

Max Lucado, Grace for the Moment Volume I

If you knew Jesus was coming tomorrow, what would you do today?

Max Lucado, Because of Bethlehem

This quote and another to follow later were taken from a great little book by beloved author, Max Lucado, called Because of Bethlehem. Most of the book is focused on the birth of Jesus and the impact His coming had on this world, or should I say the lack of impact. The humans of that day, as well as those of today, were so busy scurrying to keep up with their own plans and packed schedules that they hadn’t the time to spare for a humble birth in a dirty stable. Later in the book, Max turns to Jesus’ return trip to Earth and the very profound impact it will certainly have on each and every one of us. For one day, we will come face to face with Jesus, that much is certain. The uncertainty is in the “when” of the event and in its outcome. Will He welcome us with open arms or will He not? And, if there was a grand announcement that tomorrow was the day of his return, what would you do with this last day you had on earth?

Ken has been quite focused on the seismic activity that has kept parts of Iceland in turmoil for several months. The epicenter of this activity threatens to destroy a little town called Grindavik. To most people, it would just be a tiny, unheard-of town that has had to be evacuated because of the inherent risk of eruption, but to Ken, it was home for a year when the US Air Force stationed him in Iceland. As drones buzz over the town, he can follow the roads that he walked in the early 1960s and grasp where this path of destruction is headed. It was heartbreaking this morning when the first houses in the town were ignited by the heat of erupting lava. The upside to the story is that all the residents have been evacuated. They had a warning and they moved to other places and, though they will likely never live in Grindavik again, they are alive.

Most of us can recall the devastating tornado that struck Joplin in 2011. Those people had little to no warning and many of them died. Others were left homeless and without employment but were alive. During the three years that we lived together in Florida, we learned a great deal about hurricanes and, when we returned to Missouri, people often asked about our fears concerning hurricanes. The answer is a simple one. You almost always have enough warning to get away from them. They may destroy the things in your life, but you will live to tell the stories.

Nature’s dramatic interruptions in our lives are usually manageable if we use our common sense and listen to warnings from experienced people who have studied the specific phenomenon and dealt with the actual occurrence of each type of natural disaster. Our warning systems are not infallible, but they do save a lot of lives.

You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.

Matthew 24:44

When Jesus comes, there won’t be a warning siren or church bells. We’ll just be face-to-face with Him. What will you do on your last day? I know that I am ready to be taken home. Oh yes, I’ve stumbled, I’ve fallen flat on my face, I’ve made so many mistakes I can’t begin to count them. But, He has picked me up every time and set me back on the right path. I know that He is my Savior and I try to live in a way that would please Him, not to humiliate or dishonor Him. And when I fail, I know I can go to Him and earnestly repent. He will forgive. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that when He comes again, He will welcome me and lead me to eternity with Him.

Knowing all of that, I believe I would spend that last day visiting or talking to the people who have been an important part of my time on earth. I’d like to tell them how much they’ve meant to me, and that I care about them. I’d like to make one more effort to help them feel the love of God in their lives if they haven’t fully experienced it. I’d like to know if we’ll share a heavenly home. Perhaps I’d better get busy doing the work I was sent to do because we don’t know when He’ll come for us and I want to be as ready as I can. What would you do if you knew Jesus was coming again tomorrow?

Then do it. Live in such a way that you would not have to change your plans.

Max Lucado, Because of Bethlehem