February 21st, 2011 by Kristi Stephens

Image by Joe Gratz via Flickr

What do you think of when you picture standing before God’s throne for the first time?

Perhaps you tremble at the thought. You picture your knees knocking together, your hands shaking, waiting for the deepest, darkest parts of your heart, the most shameful moments of your life to be displayed on a giant screen for all to see. You picture God as judge, glaring down at you, gavel in hand. You are unworthy. You shudder as you await the verdict.

Join me over at Scripture Dig for the rest of this post as we consider God’s amazing work of justification!

February 18th, 2011 by Kristi Stephens

Image via Wikipedia

The fruit of the Spirit is…

Love: “…doing what will be best for all, for the greatest length of time, in the spirit which Christ brought to the solution of people’s wants in His time.” (from Harper’s Bible Dictionary)

Joy: “Christian joy is no mere gaiety that knows no gloom, but is the result of the triumph of faith over adverse and trying circumstances, which, instead of hindering, actually enhance it. Even our Lord Himself “for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising shame.” (from International Standard Bible Encyclopedia)

Peace: “In English, the word “peace” conjures up a passive picture, one showing an absence of civil disturbance or hostilities, or a personality free from internal and external strife. The biblical concept of peace is larger than that and rests heavily on the Hebrew root slm, which means “to be complete” or “to be sound.” The verb conveys both a dynamic and a static meaning”to be complete or whole” or “to live well.” (from Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary)

Patience: “Patience” implies suffering, enduring or waiting, as a determination of the will and not simply under necessity. (from International Standard Bible Encyclopedia)

Kindness: The state or quality of being kind

Goodness: “the Christian life in its truth is likeness to God, the source and perfection of all good. 2 Thessalonians 1:11 regards God Himself as expressing His goodness in and through us.” (from International Standard Bible Encyclopedia)

Faithfulness: “Faithfulness is one of the characteristics of God’s ethical nature. It denotes the firmness or constancy of God in His relations with men, especially with His people. It is, accordingly, one aspect of God’s truth and of His unchangeableness.” (from International Standard Bible Encyclopedia)

Gentleness: “Sensitivity of disposition and kindness of behavior, founded on strength and prompted by love.” (from Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary)

Self-control: “the virtue of one who masters his desires and passions, esp. his sensual appetites” (from The KJV New Testament Greek Lexicon)

To bear fruit is to become like God.

To love like He loves.

To be filled with joy that springs from Him.

To be peaceful, whole, complete.

To be patient, choosing with the will to endure.

To consistently show kindness.

To have the goodness of God Himself expressed in and through us.

To be constant and trustworthy in all things, as He is faithful to us.

To be so controlled by strength and love that we are characterized by gentleness.

To be in control of our desires, passions, appetites.

…I don’t know about you, but I surely can’t do that on my own. No matter how many “fruit of the Spirit” magnets are on my refrigerator, no matter how often I lecture myself about being kind and gentle, no matter how hard I try… I can’t cause myself to bear fruit.

I must abide in Him.

You can find all of the posts in the abide series listed here.

February 17th, 2011 by Kristi Stephens

Yesterday I shared my struggle to silence my mental “to-do” list in order to really be still and abide. You know what I’ve discovered, though? That’s not the only kind of list we love.

We love a list that makes us feel good. Or at least gives us something to do. And so… we turn following Christ into lists.

When new believers want to grow, we give them a list. Have a quiet time. Come to church. Say your prayers. Memorize Scripture. Join a Bible study. And voila – you’ll grow, right?

As we discussed many times in the Scripture Dig series on spiritual disciplines last month, disciplines such as these are tools, means to the end and not the end in and of themselves. The goal is actually to abide in Christ.

Sometimes our well-kept check lists become sources of pride and actually barriers from abiding in Him. I have met many Christians who seem completely obsessed with their check lists. They hammer on things like the time and place and formula of the correct ‘quiet time,’ puffing themselves up for doing things “right” and causing those around them to wrestle constantly with guilt. They pride themselves on their perfect church attendance and assume that God smiles down on them more because their seat in “their” pew in their church is always filled with their family. I have been one of these people myself from time to time.

Self-righteous check-list keeping can unexpectedly become a stumbling block to us when we forget that ‘doing’ does not cause growth or automatically mean that we are more spiritual. This struggle is not new.

Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”

“Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.”

“Which ones?” the man inquired.

Jesus replied, “‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,’and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’”

“All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”

Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

Matthew 19:16-22

This man’s confident audacity amazes me. “All these I have kept.” He kept his list, he knew it by heart, he checked off those boxes with gusto. But he missed what Jesus pointed him back to – no one is good but God alone. Outwardly you might look good, but your heart is far from God’s heart. He looked good to others, but he loved his money more than people. He loved his money more than God. He loved his list more than he loved Jesus.

Self-righteous list-keeping blinds us from seeing Him. From loving Him. From realizing how desperately we need Him. From abiding in Him.

As we continue through our series we’re going to spend some time talking about bearing fruit. Want to have a fruitful life? You can’t do it apart from Him. You cannot will yourself to produce the Fruit of the Spirit, you cannot list-keep your way into true godliness.

You must abide in Him.

You can find all of the posts in the abide series listed here.

February 16th, 2011 by Kristi Stephens

The words whisper to me from the mantel, echo in the Word etched in my heart, tug at me to be still in His presence.

I hurry on.

I run through my mental check-list of things I “must” do during this small window of time while baby sleeps, children rest.

• Put away groceries.
• Make granola.
• Do the laundry.
• Get the roast ready for dinner.
• Peel potatoes.
• Write a blog post.
• Plan for the retreats I’m speaking at in April.

These things on my mental list seem so looming, so important. My family needs me – I don’t have time to sit with the Word in my lap and prayer on my lips. I have “important” ministry commitments – I don’t have time to sit. [Oh, how the ironic truth stings as I write it!]

The words continue to whisper, this time from the Holy Spirit-

Be still.

I don’t have time to be still, Lord! The answer whispers back – “you don’t have time not to.”

I finally stop and settle, Bible in hand, on the couch. Tears form as the truth is spoken – I can’t do this, Lord. I have been impatient with my children today, have squandered precious time to impress on them the Truth. There is so much more I want to do for my husband, and I fail every day. The opportunities to serve that You continue to open before me frighten me; I know how inadequate I am. I can’t do it – on my own, at least. Once again you have found me trying to do this on my own, face full of dirt as I fall down once again.

Perhaps finding my face on the ground is the very best place to be. I am finally still. My pride has taken its daily hit and now I can open my hands and heart to receive. I open His book and it comes alive.

Eventually I rise to face my list. The laundry still looms, the food needs fixing, the baby cries, the children need snacks and potty breaks and snuggles. But when I have taken the time to stop, to be still, to intentionally sink my roots into His Word and bask in His presence, my priorities shift. My work becomes an altar of praise and worship to my King, and suddenly… I can do all things through Him.

Time has slipped away and we have pasta for dinner instead of roast. I have not written or planned or done all I wanted to do… but I have been still.

The Lord called to my heart – “Kristi, Kristi, you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Choose what is better, and it will not be taken away from you.” (from Luke 10:41-42)

If my roots are going to sink deep… they have to be still. Tomorrow I will undoubtedly learn this lesson again.

Are you learning this lesson, too? Please continue to join us through the month of February as we seek God and learn what it means to abide.

A brand new free downloadable ebook is now available – it contains all of the posts from the “understanding pain and loss” series through the books of Ecclesiastes and Job. My gift to you – I pray it is a blessing.

You can find all of the posts in the abide series listed here.