Kindness

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.  If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. 

Galatians 5:25

Be kind to someone today.  

God Welcomes Everyone

Opening his mouth Peter said, “I most certainly understand that God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him.” 

Acts 10:34-35

There you go.  How is it that Christians are labelled as intolerant, when the Bible clearly states that everyone is welcomed by God?  God is not partial; He does not favor anyone group of people over another.  He loves all humanity. 

I think where the conflict comes is that some people read the Bible and do not like what it says and decide that God is against them.  The truth is God is for all of us, what He is against is life destroying sin and evil.  Christians who embrace the teachings of the Bible should not be labelled as intolerant any more than Hindus or Buddhist who embrace those teachings. 

So, it is a case of “don’t blame the messenger.”  We come carrying the love of God for all humanity and our beliefs that are based upon the Bible.  If people do not like what the Bible says then they do not have to join us.

But, because we embrace and believe the teachings of the Bible, we will continue to share the message of one way to God, through His Son, Jesus, and we will continue to love and pray for all people.

God Holds Us Up

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Isaiah 41:10.

When we think we cannot keep going, God is there to hold us up and give us strength.

Never give up.

Bears!

Then the men of the city said to Elisha, “Behold now, the situation of the city is pleasant, as my lord sees; but the water is bad and the land is unfruitful.”

He said, “Bring me a new jar, and put salt in it.”  So they brought it to him.  He went out to the spring of water and threw salt in it and said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘I have purified these waters; there shall; not be from there death or unfruitfulness any longer.’”

So the waters have been purified to this day, according to the word of Elisha which he spoke.

Then he went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up by the way, young lads came out from the city and mocked him and said to him, “Go up, you baldhead; go up you baldhead!”

When he looked behind him and saw them, he cursed them, in the name of the Lord.  Then two female bears came out of the woods and tore up forty-two lads of their number.

2 Kings 2:19-24

The power of God rested on Elisha and he demonstrated that power when he purified the water.  When God uses an individual to perform a miracle, it takes a great deal of physical and emotional strength.  Elisha was exhausted and, as we know, when we are tired, we are in no mood for fun and games. 

The men who taunted Elisha knew who he was and the miracle God had used him to perform, but rather than thank God or Elijah, they chose to make fun of Elijah.  I don’t think Elijah intended to harm the men, but God saw their actions as doubting Him, and that is why the bears were called into action. 

I think the lesson is that God sends all sorts of people to help us and that we need to be thankful for God’s help and respectful of His servants.

Look For The Narrow Gate

Jesus said, “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.  For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

Matthew 7:13-14

My theory is that if everybody is doing it, it probably is something I should not be doing.

Jesus taught us that we need to think for ourselves and to measure our choices against what the Bible says.  At the moment, we may think it is easier to go along to get along, but it is always easier to avoid trouble than to try to get out of it.  A little ridicule is less painful to endure than regret.

Look for the narrow gate and run through it.

One God Over All

Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 

There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.

Ephesians 4:1-6