And We Wait...

And we wait.

In Galatians, Paul tells us that the fruit of the spirit is love, kindness, gentleness, self-control, joy, peace, goodness, faithfulness and patience.

Patience...

Part of being a disciple - living for Christ - is the patience we have.

We wait patiently for God to move.

We wait patiently for God to answer our prayers.

We wait patiently for Christ's return.

And like the disciples thousands of years ago, we wait patiently this Saturday for Easter and the rising of God's Son - Our Savior.

The gift we have is foreknowledge of what will be; of knowing the future past. We know that Christ rose from the grave. We have the freedom and the joy in that knowledge.

Our brothers and sisters who waited two thousand years ago, did not have that gift.

They waited in fear.

They feared for their lives.

They feared they had lost all hope.

They feared the unknown future without their master.

Their patience turned to fear...and still they waited.

True patience is about trust. Trusting that God is Who He says He is and He will do what He said He will do.

And true patience does not live apart from the rest of the fruit of the spirit. True patience is marked by love and by goodness and by faithfulness and by joy and by self-control and by gentleness.

The men in the upper room had their faith shaken on Friday. They waited through the Sabbath in fear.

But Jesus' female disciples were faithful in their waiting. They knew they would need to return to the grave to anoint Jesus for burial. They didn't know that their faithfulness, love, patience and goodness would be marked with the joy of finding an empty tomb - but they patiently prepared.

As we wait for Sunday morning, we must also remember that our patience in preparing for an Easter celebration is only a foreshadow of the patience we need as followers of Christ in waiting for his ultimate return. We are learning patience to help us bear the indefinable wait of his second coming with joy, love, faith, goodness, gentleness, peace and self-control in our hearts. Because, what happens next?

We wait...

Scripture

Galatians 5:16-23

Luke 23:50-56

Quote of the Day

A handful of patience is worth more than a bushel of brains.

Dutch Proverb

Question of the Day

What can you learn in the waiting?

Don't forget....Easter Sunrise serves @ 7AM at the Log Cabin. Breakfast at the church starting at 8:15. Main Worship Service at 10:30 AM

and... GUMY is BACK next week regular times!

Happy Waiting Day!

Finding the Patience of God

Patience.

Wow... I know Paul writes that it is a part of the fruit of the spirit and King Solomon wrote that wisdom leads to patience, but on a regular basis I feel like patience is a gift I will never receive.

There are several, slightly different definitions to patience:
1. the bearing of provocation, annoyance, misfortune, or pain, without complaint, loss of temper, irritation, or the like. 
2.an ability or willingness to suppress restlessness or annoyance when confronted with delay

3.quiet, steady perseverance; even-tempered care; diligence:

Hm mm... I don't know about you, but each of these definitions convicts me. I rarely display any of these qualities - I often complain about delays; I can be quick to lose my temper; I can become annoyed when life doesn't go according to my plan; And even when I persevere I tend to complain in the midst of pressing on!

Despite all of my failings, I still have a deep desire to be a person of patience; to be someone who reflects God's care with the world.

Can you imagine if God displayed our level of patience?

How would He react to the mistakes and the sin we fall into everyday?

God's patience is much deeper than any one person's, but it isn't infinite. He suffers through our missteps, misdirections, and misguided judgements. He endures our follies, failures, and fallacies.

But, He has told us that one day He will judge the world. His patience - His suppression of annoyance and temper - will run out and He will come to judge.

Until that day, we are called to live our lives reflective of the love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, self-control, goodness and faithfulness this is the fruit of the Holy Spirit of God living within each of us.

Some days we will be better at persevering in spite of our condition and some days we will lose our tempers. Thankfully everyday, God will forgive each of us in spite of our missteps in patience.

I am so thankful that God's patience well is SIGNIFICANTLY deeper than mine.

Scripture

Galatians 5:13-26

Quote of the Day

“Patience is the ability to idle your motor when you feel like stripping your gears.”

Barbara Johnson

Question of the Day

When have you been able to show patience in the midst of adversity?