Let’s admit that politicians flip flop, and they often do it because of the expediency of the moment.  But these people are people just like we are and therefore subject to human weaknesses.  We can say we expect better from our duly elected officials, but we have what we have and often we have the leadership we deserve.

At the same time, what looks like a flip flop might not be a flip flop.  Sir Winston Churchill, who many would say was more statesman than politician, began his political career as a Tory, switched to the Liberal Party, and then between the two world wars flip flopped back to the Tories.

Sometimes I really get tired of being mediocre. You know, someone that isn’t really fantastic at anything. I admire people that are genuinely intelligent, extremely athletic, awesome singers, fantastic artists, etc… I remember as a kid wishing I would wake up one morning and find out that some part of my brain turned on, and I was finally a genius. What can I say? I had lots of “castles in the sky” dreams.  

Well, the thing is, I have realized I just haven’t really accepted and enjoyed who I am. Why is that? Is it because I keep comparing myself to others that I believe are way more talented than me? It is easy to do this when you can see the craftiest people in the world on Pintrest and the accomplishments of the masses on Facebook. And how about the brilliant and skilled on YouTube?

The title is not meant derogatorily or sarcastically. My meaning is this: blessed are those that don’t have many worries, like children. The simplest things can make a child happy, and this week, my children were ecstatic. We had snow days!

Okay, so for my readers who are up North, snow days are common occurrences and get rather redundant as winter drags on and on, but for us who live in Texas, snow days are rare opportunities. We have to make the best of them because they don’t happen that often. In fact, every year my children pray a lot for snow, and their prayers have been answered, but usually it is in the amount of an inch at most.

In Matthew 18 Jesus teaches a lesson about forgiveness with an interesting twist. This is a tale forgiveness that is not paid forward, and ends with the rich man, who represents God, condemning the unforgiving soul to be handed over to tormentors.

This strikes us as a bit harsh for a loving God, but Jesus was actually teaching a fact of psychological health validated by modern psychology. To illustrate this point I want to relate the story of Louie Zamperini, made famous through Lauren Hillenbrand’s biography Unbroken and lately in a movie of the same title directed by Angelina Jolie.

Anger can be the bitterest fruit of all destructive emotions. “It shatters friendships and destroys marriages; it causes abuse in families and discord in business; it breeds violence in the community and war between nations. Its recoil, like that of a high-powered rifle, often hurts the one who wields it as well as its target” (Billy Graham).

How true that statement is. I have seen the destruction of anger. I have been a victim of others’ anger, and I have definitely been the one lashing out in anger. The thing is, neither situation is any fun. I am never proud when I give into anger, and I definitely don’t like it when I am on the receiving end.

A long life might be considered a blessing, but then I look at my Dad. He’s almost 92 years old, and in a way he’s the last man standing.  He’s the only one left from his World War II unit. None of his old buddies are still alive.

I thought about this when I contemplated how many of my friends who, just over the last few years, have either passed or have suffered from chronic ailments of one sort or another. Solomon was on to something when he wrote, “Better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man.  The living will take it to heart” (Ecclesiastes 7:2).

Judge not, that you be not judged. (Matt 7:1 NKJ)

A friend tells me that Matthew 7:1 is the most widely quoted scripture these days.  “Judge not that you be not judged.”  I’m not inclined to argue with the scriptures, but I do take issue with the scriptures being misused.  In post-modern America, we’re told that we shouldn’t judge other people and what they do.  Who are you to tell someone else that they are wrong?  Judge not!

Now that we have discussed the Fruit of the Spirit, we need to look at things that can quench it. We are all trying to fight the good fight, to win the race, to make it to the Kingdom of God, and since we are of the Spirit, we are to walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh.

The thing is, though, when Christians start talking about the desires of the flesh, sin, we seem to focus on one type of sin and ignore the rest that can keep us out of the Kingdom of God. Let’s just look at the list in Galatians 5:19-21:

To many people, the Law of God is a set of “have to’s”.   “I have to watch what I say.  I have to keep my mitts off other people’s property.  I have to tell the truth.”  And so on.

But in reality, the Law of God is a series of “get to’s”.  If everyone kept the law, we would get to live in safe neighborhoods.  We would get to leave doors unlocked.  We would get to have honest and noble civic leaders.  We would get to have strong families and loving relationships.

Do you ever have one of those days that causes you to just wish you could have a do-over? A rewind button or a pause button that allowed you to react the way you know you should have, but you didn’t?

I can’t count how many times I’ve wished I could. Like those moments when I snap at my children for the slightest things or when my voice goes up some decibels. I know that I’m supposed to exhibit self-control. I know that “a gentle answer turns away wrath” and “a harsh word stirs up anger” (Prov 15:1). But, when I let my emotions rule instead of God’s Spirit, I do not act the way I should.

“Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth,” said Jesus (Matt 5:5). Meekness means humility and gentleness. I noticed today in Galatians 5:22-23, where we find the list of the fruit of the Spirit, that I have always memorized “gentleness” though the KJV says “meekness.” Honestly, I did not know that they were synonyms. It is always neat to learn something new.

I think the world needs more of this fruit, but it is not my job to judge the world. That is God’s job (1 Cor 5:12-13). My job is to grow in the fruit of the Spirit, which is what everyone who calls themselves part of the body of Christ is supposed to do. So, if we are to be gentle/meek/humble, why do we have so many contentions within the body?

Being honest with God to the point of being blunt is perfectly okay with him – even to the point of being uncharitable.  

"Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” (John 11:21 NKJV)  These were the words of Martha after the death of her brother Lazarus had, and she spoke these words to the Son of God himself.  If you read her comments with the proper inflection, you can sense her frustration.  Jesus had failed to hurry to their side when he learned of Lazarus’ sickness.  They had sent for him days before (verse 3), but John, when presenting these facts, strangely juxtaposes two sentences: “Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.  So, when he heard that he was sick, he stayed two more days in the place where he was.” (John 11:5-6 NKJV)

Faith is a gift from God. It is not something we create ourselves (Eph 2:8-9). God gives us a measure of faith (Rom 12:3), and I believe that God allots us more faith as we grow in Christ. I do not think that we are stuck with the measure we receive when we first believe.

When I look at Abraham, the father of faith, I see a man whose faith grew. I know that it took a lot of faith to leave his homeland and to follow an unseen God to an unknown place (Gen 12). He had a measure of faith; I’m sure it was given to him by God since God never changes.

No, I don’t accept it all on faith.  The God of the Bible does not expect you to check your reasoning powers at the sanctuary door.  Rather, we read of Paul’s admonition to the Thessalonians to “test all things; hold fast what is good” (I Thessalonians 5:21 NKJV), or as the old King James has it, “Prove all things.”

“Prove” can mean lots of different things.  Writers such as Lee Strobel offer proof of God through rules of evidence which he presents admirably in his “Case For” books – The Case of Christ, The Case for Faith, and The Case for a Creator. 

The next fruit of the spirit in Galatians 5:22, is mentioned in the KJV as gentleness, and most other versions say kindness.  I believe everyone of us have been the receiver of kindness/gentleness, and it brightens our days.

How great is it when you are sitting in a parking lot trying to get out onto the street that is packed with cars, and someone waves you in to pull out in front of them.  Or, how about the times that you are entering a place and someone takes the time to hold the door open for you.  Or, the times when you just can’t seem to see anything bright that day, and a perfect stranger smiles at you and offers a kind word to you.  

If we are going to say that Exodus 16:4 makes the seventh-day Sabbath the “Test Commandment” for ancient Israel and for God’s people today, then we also have to examine what God says in Judges 2:21-22.

    “I also will no longer drive out before them any of the nations which Joshua left when he died, so that through them I may test Israel, whether they will keep the ways of the Lord, to walk in them as their fathers kept them, or not.”

More than one hundred years ago the scholar E. W. Bullinger published his Companion Bible, popular for its scholarly appendices and insights. From internal Scriptural evidence, Bullinger makes the case that Jesus could not have been born in December. More than likely his birth was in the fall of the year, specifically during the High Holy Day season at the Feast of Tabernacles.