When the writer of Hebrews first deals with Abraham in 11:8-10, we are told it was Abraham’s faith that enabled him to leave home and wander in the wilderness of Canaan for 100 years. While waiting on God, Abraham lived a life of faith and confidence, knowing that God had a purpose for his life. 

I’m abundantly blessed with five lovely granddaughters, and each of them has gone through the phase where they are obsessed with horses.  I raised three boys and none of them ever seemed to be interested, so maybe it’s a girl thing. I’ve been with them at farms and fairgrounds when they get their chance to ride a horse, and they are enchanted.  It’s fascinating that tiny girls are so comfortable with these huge, strong animals.  Horses have great power and strength, and of course, must be monitored closely, but they choose to be gentle and willing and to enter into a relationship with a trusting little girl.

What if you woke up one day into what seemed like a children’s book titled “Upside Down Day”? The ceiling was below you and the floor overhead.  When you brushed your teeth, the water ran up toward the ceiling. All the rules were opposite of what they usually are. Stop signs included the words, “if you want to”. The elevator buttons chose all the wrong floors. You get it.

For the second time in this series of articles, which are written in connection with a Women’s Bible Study, I have sat and stared at my computer screen, wondering where to start.  You may remember, I mentioned being completely stumped when I was trying to figure out how to teach a concise lesson on the fruit “love”.  And since God’s love and God’s goodness are so much the same, here I sit again. I have stared into space at home, tried at a coffee shop, and did housecleaning chores that I rarely do as a means of procrastination.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness…” (Gal 5:19). “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another…” (Eph 4:32).  “Love is patient and kind…” (1 Cor 13:4).  So why does it feel like kindness is losing its place in our society, in the world, and sadly, even among those who call themselves children of God and disciples of Christ?  Why does typing our thoughts onto social media feel like it negates the instruction to let our words be “seasoned with salt”?  Why can’t we disagree and even dispute without character maligning? To quote my two-year-old grandson, when something confounds him, “What’s going on?”

It’s early January as I write article four in the series, Meditations on the Fruit of the Spirit. It still gets dark by five o’clock, and a polar vortex has taken up residence with howling wind and below freezing temperatures.  How fitting that our Bible study this month will cover the fruit of Patience. 

One of the most interesting accounts of the Jewish experience in Europe during the years of 1942-1944 is an account written by a young lady named Anne Frank.  Her story is one of her entire family hidden in a canal house located in the middle of Amsterdam, a city occupied by the Nazi soldiers and sympathizers.  There is some debate on all the truths of the account, but there is no doubt that it is a compelling tale for consideration.  As a girl, I remember reading Anne’s journal and imagining the challenges that she and her family faced. For two years they lived undiscovered and undetected in a busy city with the challenge of cooking meals, communicating, and even moving about within the confines of a small living space, without being seen or heard.

This is the second in a series of articles I’m writing in connection with a Women’s Bible Study I’m hosting.  We are studying the fruit of the Spirit and the second class is about Joy.  I’ve titled the articles “Meditations” because in my preparation, I find there is so much to take in, so much attention given to these qualities throughout the Bible, that the best way to sort through the information is to take a step back and consider and reflect.

Recently, I invited friends to a women’s Bible study on the fruit of the Spirit from Galatians 5.

I decided we would spend one class on each quality, so I set up a nine-class outline, created a generic study sheet, and sat back, thinking this would be a simple class.  Only when I got out my notebook and Bible and began to work on the first “fruit” - love,  I realized it was anything but simple! Where to start? No, seriously, where to start?  In describing the fruit of the Spirit, Paul began with love, perhaps because all the other qualities are grounded in love.  But how was I to even begin narrowing our focus on a concept that is woven into every theme and is the very theme of the Bible?  I was overwhelmed at the task and quickly humbled from my overly confident approach to our study.

After reminding the New Testament Christians of the faith of Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and Sarah, the writer takes a moment to discuss that they all died in their faith, never having seen what they were promised:

13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 14 For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. 15 And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.

Have you ever had a strange dream?  One filled with images that were maybe startling or disturbing?  Zechariah is a book that has several night visions filled with images that are strange and similar to other apocalyptic imagery in books like Ezekiel and Revelation.   In Ezra 5:1-2, we are told that both Zechariah and Haggai were prophets who helped push the people to complete the work on the temple.  Their visions had important messages to share about either the current state of the people or a future promise. 

The book of Malachi is the last of the 12 minor prophets as well as the last book of the Old Testament.  This prophet ends the Old Testament with a clear warning about apathy and ethical compromise.  Malachi means “my messenger,” and he did have a very clear message to give the Israelites.  Interestingly, the phrase “Lord of Hosts” or “Lord of Armies” occurs in this book more than in any other Old Testament book.  At this time in Israel’s history, they had returned from captivity but were still under foreign rule and had no real military of their own.  God is reminding them that they need no military protection if they will put their faith in Him.  The book is unique in that it uses a didactic-dialectic method where a charge is made, an objection is raised, and then a refutation is given to the objection.  It has a very conversational tone and method of teaching

With the study of Haggai, we are jumping forward in the timeline of the Bible now to after the captivity of Judah and the remnant has returned to Jerusalem. Haggai was a contemporary of Zechariah and Ezra. The remnant returned after the decree of Cyrus in 538 BC and although they initially had been zealous and eager to rebuild, soon they became discouraged and distracted by their day-to-day lives. 18 years have now passed, and Haggai begins to prophesy in 520 BC.

The genealogy of Zephaniah is traced back at the beginning of the book to Hezekiah, and Zephaniah appears to be of royal descent. Zephaniah received the word of the Lord during the reign of Josiah (Zeph 1:1), most likely between 640-609 BC. Zephaniah’s name means “Jehovah hides.”

My husband and I live in a congested city in a house that’s over 100 years old. It’s a brick house, built to last. It’s got a lot of character. Translation: it’s really great to look at, but something is always in need of repair. Water has found its way into the house in at least four different locations. Pipes have broken, and water has pooled up in the basement as well. The back stoop steps are leaning sideways, and the doorknobs are almost daily falling off the doors and into the floor. The house demands our attention.

In Romans 14:19, Paul writes, “So then, let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.” What if everyone I encountered today followed that law? What if at least I did? Why is peace so difficult to maintain? Why are the people I care for the most often the hardest to get along with? What are we to do when we disagree?

“There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing” (Proverbs 12:18). Oh, the power of our words! We’ve all been subject at some time in our lives to words that cut like a knife. And we’ve all watched with regret as our own words hurt someone as deeply as any weapon. James calls our tongue “a restless evil, full of deadly poison.” How we long to be the perfect man he speaks of that “does not stumble in what he says.” Yes, if we care about our relationships, we will have to learn to be “slow to speak” (James 1:19).

Habakkuk is one of the most applicable books in the Bible. It is common for us to question the evil in the world around us and wonder about the justice of God. Habakkuk had these same questions, and the answer from God may be surprising.