The Name

“But may it never be that I would boast, except in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”  Galatians 6:14

This week has been an eventful and emotional experience for my parents and my siblings. We packed and moved Mom and Dad to their new home, and likely their last address on earth. Due to recent falls, failing health, and future concerns for their safety, we all finally came to a sense of urgency that the time had come to make the move.

Coming to agreement in our family is not an easy process. Mom and Dad are fiercely independent people, and they have passed that trait down to all four of their children. We share a common name, and after that the similarities end. As the kids say, “It is all good,” but the truth is, we are very different.  

Adversity and diversity don’t often bring out the best in each other, but this week was a team effort as these two turbulent streams surged into a tight timeline. I am proud of my wife, my parents, my two brothers and my sister and dear family friends for pulling together to make this move happen. Great job!

The good news out of all this was our family was able to come together around our common bond with a genuine desire to do what is best for our parents, and to honor them at the same time. The name we share is not just a collection of letters in the alphabet. We have a name given to us by our parents. Their love for one another was forged in God’s heart, and given to them. For the past 69 years, their love for one another has been poured out on us, and it is deeply rooted in our hearts.  

To say that our parents sacrificed for their four children, doesn’t do them justice. They never saw what they gave to us as a loss, but as an investment in our future. These last few days, the four of us have sought to return, in small portion, all they have done for us, by making this transition as smooth as possible.

Moving my parents from their home of 37 years to a retirement home has not been easy for them, or for us. The consolation for all of us has been the common knowledge that it was the right thing to do.  Dad has helped us by saying, “The best is yet to come.” Mom has quietly reminded us, “It’s all going to work out.” Thanks Mom and Dad! It helped. A LOT!

Thank you for giving us your love, as well as your name. I still want to be like you, when I grow up.

Paul’s letter to the Galatian church reminded them of his personal love for the name of Jesus, and his personal assessment of his own life. He knew he was nothing without the name of Jesus.  When The Risen Lord stopped Paul on the Road to Damascus, He changed his name and his life. Paul turned from a man looking for fame, to a man boasting only in “the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.” Thanks Paul, for pointing the way to Jesus.

Note to self: The name of Jesus is all that you have that God recognizes. He is not impressed with your life efforts, your resume, your mind, or your opinion. He looks at The Cross and expects to see you on it, dead not alive. You are only alive to Him in Christ. Every time you pray in the name of Jesus is a celebration of the death, burial and resurrection of The Lord Jesus Christ. You only have access to The Father, in the name of His Son. Praying and dying to self releases Christ’s life in you.

Name-droppers are the lowest form of celebrity status. Facebook and smart phones have turned photo ops and celebrity stalking into a fine art. Hand on hip, fish face pouted Facebook pics of stalkers leaning into trapped celebrities may be trophies, but they do not reveal a relationship exists. Warning: They can be used as evidence in court for a restraining order. But I digress.

Paul did not boast in “The name of The Lord Jesus Christ” as some name-dropping stalker seeking borrowed fame. He boasted as a dead man, who had been made alive in Christ.  The boasting of his life was not in how well he had lived, but in the fact that he had died to his own will and to the ways of the world. Look at Paul’s resume. It begins and ends at The Cross.

“The world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”

With no irreverence intended, I am reminded of the title of an old James Bond movie, “The World is Not Enough.” It never is.

Death to self is not a single event. It is a single-minded, single-hearted passion to put to death anything that cools genuine love for Jesus. Death to self is crucifixion, not suicide. Suicide is full of self. Crucifixion is an emptying of self. At The Cross,  self dies by identifying with the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. Prayer warriors never forget the nails.

There is no new life in Christ without the crucifixion of self. This death begins the moment a believer is saved, and continues until the believer is called home to Heaven. This kind of death results in the burial of the pride of life, and the lusts of the flesh that seek self-glorification over self-crucifixion.

Note to self: The moment pride raises its head, personal rights demand a defense, or resentment rises over God’s intervention, look to The Cross and pray for forgiveness, and renewed filling of The Spirit, in “The Name of The Lord Jesus Christ.”  Don’t wait 20 seconds. Delayed obedience, only develops intense rationalization. Your walk with God is based on the breath you have in your lungs, not in the good will you have accumulated with Him over the past 40 years. One degree of delayed obedience leads to a way of life that is 100 percent off course.

Over my parents bed is a small wooden triangle. It gives a simple picture of the process of death to self.  At the apex of the triangle is the word, STOP! At the corner on the left is the word, LOOK! On the right is the word, LISTEN! The cross bar holding all this together is marked, PRAY!

STOP! When walking in your own will, and not in God’s way, stop immediately. Moving without dying is wandering. STOP!

LOOK! Walking with the world often looks more appealing than talking with Jesus. When it does, look to The Cross and die to the world. Praying improves your vision of right and wrong.

LISTEN! The Father speaks to His children when they pray to Him in “The Name of The Lord Jesus Christ.” Hearing is improved by dying to self and praying to The Father. Jesus prayed “Not My will, but Thy will be done.” He also said, “Follow Me! Death to self is no more complicated than that.

The Opportunity

“The one who is taught the word is to share all good things with the one who teaches him. Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people especially to those who are of the household of faith.” Galatians 6:6-10

Pauls’ statement begins with what appears to be a derailed remark that has jumped the track from a train of thought dealing with self-examination and losing heart. Closer examination reveals that sharing and bearing fruit are closely related. Those who sow The Spirit will reap eternal life in Heaven, and they exhibit a generous life on earth.

“The one who is taught the word is to share all good things with the one who teaches him.” V. 6

FULL DISCLOSURE: I am an itinerant minister who depends on the generosity of the people of faith to respond to my teaching with a spirit of generosity. I was raised in the home of a pastor-evangelist, and church-planting missionary for the first 22 years of my life. I followed in the footsteps of my father, by responding to God’s call on my life to be a minister of The Gospel. From 1972-2014, I have seen God meet the needs of our family. Everything I have in my possession is a result of God’s children releasing their grasp on what The Father has given to them and passing it on to me. I have been an undeserving, but grateful beneficiary of the generosity of those willing “to share all good things with the one who teaches…” After 64 years of experience, I can say with a great deal of authority, “There is simply nothing like the joy of living by faith.”

Paul reminded the Galatian believers to share in meeting the very real financial and physical needs of those who taught them. Those who make excuses for not doing this are the ones who miss The Opportunity. The Opportunity to give is not meant to be a draining of one’s assets. It is God’s way of bringing blessing to the giver of the gift, and the receiver of it. Don’t take my word for it. “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Jesus

Those who are proponents of the “Give to Get” School of Finance, usually over-state their case, but rarely forget to ask those who take their course to make the check out in their name. Paul’s teaching on the subject of giving had more to do with giving than getting, but there is no doubt about it, with sowing comes reaping.

Three things about reaping ought to be kept in mind, by those who have a tendency to miss out on The Opportunity to give.

1. You reap what you sow.
2. You reap later than you sow.
3. You reap more than you sow.

In the fall of 1975, I heard a country preacher in Marble Falls, Texas address a group of pastors at a Baptist Associational Evangelism Rally at the First Baptist Church. He had been given the dubious honor on the program of taking the offering. Lifting an offering from preachers makes getting blood out of a turnip look like child’s play. This guy was a seasoned veteran.

To say that preachers are notoriously tight with their money is a bit of an overstatement, but not by much. In the 1960’s when the Southern Baptist Convention ventured across the Mason Dixon line, and held their annual meeting in a northern city, the newspapers reported, “The Southern Baptists came to town with a $50 bill and The Ten Commandments, and never broke either one.” But I digress.

Back to Marble Falls, the preacher taking the offering said to his peers, “You shovel out. God shovels in. God’s shovel is bigger than yours. Let’s pray.” He called for the ushers to take the offering, while the musician presented the “Special Music.” It was a solo of “Amazing Grace” played on a handsaw. There wasn’t a closed wallet or a dry eye in the place. You can’t make this stuff up, and I miss it more than I am willing to admit.

The Opportunity to give always seems to be offered in the face of a prevailing wind. Those who pray for renewed faith to give, often sail into powerful gusts of The Flesh. Rather than selfishly holding onto what God has given to them, they pray. This kind of prayer is called importunity and it is the key to seizing The Opportunity. It takes giving seriously enough to cry out to God to replace what He calls for them to give to others. Prayer warriors learn that The Father’s storehouses are never depleted, and that it is simply impossible to out-give God.

Paul encouraged the early church to give to those who taught them. His ministry had been an itinerant one, and it had landed him in chains next to a Roman soldier. Unable to come to Galatia, Paul urged them to meet the needs of those who took his place. Generously giving to those who teach the word has always been a vital sign of a healthy church.

Pastors must lead their people to give generously to those who teach the word. Many do this so reluctantly that the offering taken for a guest preacher or missionary is the best-kept secret in the church. Wise pastors don’t fear calling on people to give to someone else. Teaching people to be generous in giving to others who teach the word won’t deplete the local church of anything but selfishness.

Sowing to The Flesh involves yielding to selfishness. Sowing to The Spirit results in bearing of fruit. The bearing of fruit is the result of sowing the right seed, and being connected to the right root. Those who “Give to Get” miss The Opportunity to give with the right motive. Those who give an offering of love will find out that they develop a taste for it. They no longer are satisfied with “Give to Get.” They “Give to Get to Give” over and over again. Love is the DNA of The Spirit.

“The fruit of The Spirit is love.” Galatians 5:22-23

The Opportunity to give will be missed if excuses flow out a person’s mouth faster than God’s love grows in their heart. Being filled with The Spirit and being selfish is an unacceptable expression of the love of Christ. Those focused on giving that is merely reduced to a certain percentage need to be reminded of the words of Dr. Jack “Cactus Jack” McGorman.

“Jesus did not die by fractions on the cross.”

Paul’s admonition is also a warning. It is possible for The Opportunity to give to be missed. Along with the missing of The Opportunity is the loss of blessing. Seizing The Opportunity requires letting go of what is held onto with a selfish grip. Releasing a gift into God’s hand to use as He sees fit, without throwing a fit, reveals the DNA of The Spirit, not The Flesh. Prayer warriors seize The Opportunity, and love to give generously. TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

“… while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people especially to those who are of the household of faith.”

The Proof

“But each one must examine his own work, and then he will have reason for boasting in regard to himself alone, and not in regard to another. For each one will bear his own load.” Galatians 6:6

During the wild and crazy days of The Jesus Revolution, there was a question that was often raised when Jesus People gathered together. Almost 50 years later, it is worth asking again.

“If you were accused of the crime of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence available to convict you?”

Paul challenged the Galatian believers to prove themselves, by examining, not by excusing themselves. He said, “Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.” (v.2) When Jesus was asked what was the greatest commandment, He responded with two, “First love God. Second love your neighbor.”

The Proof is love, vertical and horizontal. The Proof of a believer is not found in evidence of their education. It is found in the results of their examination.

Tearing down others to build up one’s self has been developed into an art form by many within the church. Painstakingly and relentlessly dissecting the faults of brothers and sisters never improves the fellowship. Self-appointed fruit inspectors do not have good standing with God, or with the family of God.

Paul made a case for restoring people surprised by temptation. With gentle hands, believers were challenged to humbly remember, except for the grace of God, they could be caught in the same trap.

The gentlest hands are guided by praying hearts broken by the sin observed in others. They are not overjoyed by it, but they do not ignore it.

“Discernment is given for intercession, never fault-finding.”
Oswald Chambers (British preacher, teacher, philosopher, and WW I army chaplain who died in Egypt in 1914)

Over a hundred years ago, Oswald Chambers observed the danger of hypocrites posing as concerned believers within The Body of Christ. He called for proof of concern of another person’s burden, by responding with immediate intercession for anyone caught in sin. Posers intensify inspection. Prayer warriors engage in intercession. The proof is in the praying.

Those who try to find joy in exposing someone’s sin will never have their thirst satisfied. Inspecting without interceding is like drinking salt water. At best it leaves a bitter after taste, and if continued unabated it leads to death. Those who choose to live in “The Land of OS” will resist the urge for inspection, and invest their energy in intercession.

Bearing burdens begins by caring enough to pray, and praying leads to meeting needs. This was not an open invitation for users of the system to become abusers of it. The Jewish synagogue had a support system for those who were hit by hard times. When the church was started in Gentile communities, there was nothing like this kind of benevolent safety net. Jesus created it.

The love of God in the heart of a believer creates a concern for the needs of His children. The reciprocal, “one another” passages of Scripture reveal an immediate bond between people who may not be blood relatives, but they share the experience of being adopted into a loving family that The Father has created.

“Bearing one another’s burdens” begins with praying for others on a spiritual level, but it leads to caring for them on a physical level. The beauty of The Body of Christ is the pain that is experienced when one part of The Body is hurt, and the swift response that is made by family members to meet a need.

“Restore” paints a word picture that describes the resetting and knitting of a broken bone, or the replacement of a joint separated from its socket. Anyone who has ever experienced either one of these traumas knows that there is not only a need, but there is also a need for speed. Even the most insignificant part of the physical body can create significant pain and initiate a swift response to ease intense pain.

The Proof is in the praying, and praying brings real joy. Proving one’s own works, or carrying one’s own load requires a prayer life marked by integrity and intensity. People who carry their own load pray for the strength to avoid sin, and the grace to restore those who have been caught in it. TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

“The true way to have rejoicing in ourselves is to be much in proving our own works, in examining ourselves by the unerring rule of God’s word, and not by the false measures of what others are, or may think of us.” Matthew Henry

The Spiritual

“Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and therefore fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.” Galatians 6:1-3

Nothing is more of a putdown than to be called a “Holy Joe” or “Super Spiritual.” The intention of the one making this kind of a remark is to offer judgment, not encouragement. “Holy Rollers” and “Bible Thumpers” are perceived to be a self-righteous posers. Those “caught in any trespass” rarely respond well to being exposed. They react to correction, by putting “The Spiritual” in their place. They intend to get them out of their face for being an irritating reminder of what is right and what is wrong.

Contemporary culture is saturated with political correctness, and driven to remove any reminder of the authority of God, The Cross, or the name of Jesus. “The Spiritual” are told to muzzle themselves or there will be hell to pay. When they persist in pointing out what Holy God says is right and wrong, they invite ridicule, and resentment. Do it anyway.

Chuck Swindoll tells the story of two churches who merged, but soon split after they couldn’t agree on the correct expression of “The Lord’s Prayer.” Every time they tried to recite it together, one group would say, “Forgive us our debts.” The other would say, “Forgive us our trespasses.” He said, “They finally separated. One went back to their debts. The other went back to their trespasses.” Unfortunately, from Paul’s day up until now, churches still have plenty of both.

“The Spiritual” are those who do a great deal more than remind. They restore. Big difference.

When the inevitable trespasses occur, “The Spiritual” don’t pull out their shock faces, point out what is wrong, and fixate on fixing the blame. They fix the problem. They don’t just expose sin. They restore sinners.

“…you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness;…” v. 1

“Restore such a one” resembles the Hippocratic Oath, and was a birthmark of the early church. Paul urged the Galatian Church to avoid becoming hypocritical when correcting the inevitable, and incorrigible trespassers in their fellowship. Ancient doctors were warned in their oath, “Do no harm.” In other words, don’t do more damage than good. If a doctor was going to be of any good to a patient, the focus must be kept on helping a person get well, not killing them with the cure.

Note to self: There is little left to restore when the mission of the church becomes “Die Heretic!” You are not called to reject those who are in the wrong, but to restore them to what is right. Start by praying for them, not by criticizing them.

“The Spiritual” don’t dissect or discern a “trespasser” to death. They intercede for them. There is nothing quite like praying for someone to get rid of the pride of life that rises up with a rush of righteous indignation. When another brother or sister is caught doing something wrong, often pride rushes in before prayer takes the field.

“Discernment is given for intercession, never fault-finding.”
Os Chambers, “My Utmost for His Highest.”

The trespasser and the intercessor have two things in common. They are both sinners, and don’t deserve God’s grace. The trespasser is separated from God’s grace. The intercessor draws near to God to bring the trespasser back to Him.

“…each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and therefore fulfill the law of Christ.

For the trespasser to be restored, there must be a relief of burdens, not the addition of more of them. ‘Bearing one another’s burdens” begins when intercession is initiated and gossip is eliminated. Talking about what a person has done wrong, is not the same thing as interceding for them to be made right.

Prideful, and prayerless people are easily deceived into believing they are above the temptation that trapped someone else. Self-deception is the lowest form of perception. When a prideful, prayerless, self-righteous hypocrite rejoices at pointing out failure, they are not restoring a brother. They are heading towards a fall off their own high horse.

For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.”

Talking about a person’s wrong is a far cry from interceding on their behalf to be made right. The beginning of restoration is intercession. Prayer doesn’t make it impossible to gossip about a person who has done wrong. Prayer is not fool proof. It scan be hijacked by any fool who is determined to hate someone who has done wrong. Praying for trespassers just makes it harder to gossip and hate. Prayer invites The Restorer to step into the operating room, and it takes the knives out of the hands of those who are more interested in cutting than curing.

People prone to throw rocks at every barking dog should get over themselves, and remember Jesus said, "He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." John 8:7

“The Spiritual” are gentle, not brutal. The same word is used to describe a wild animal that has been broken, bridled, yoked, or harnessed, and put to good use under the guiding hand of its master. “The Spiritual” are not void of sin or personal rebellion. They are just repentant of it. Those who have worn out a path returning to The Master should be the best guides back to Him.

“The Spiritual” begin the restoration process by interceding for those who have lost their way. When they discern something wrong in a brother’s life, they don’t begin to tear and share about him. They initiate the prayer for him. When they pray, they lift trespassers up to Jesus. They don't hold them down in their sin.

Prayer removes pride from the heart of the intercessor. Pride-free prayer warriors engage in intercession. They also come along side of a trespasser, and lead them to restoration. TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

The Walk

“If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.” Galatians 5:26

Christian clichés often have a rich heritage. They only become underwhelming platitudes, when pretenders overuse them. Counterfeit Christianity tarnishes and robs the truth of its original value. Conventional wisdom says talk is cheap, but Spirit-filled believers have a walk that matches their talk.

“Don’t talk the talk, if you won’t walk the walk.” Anonymous

Paul doesn’t value talking about God over walking by The Spirit. The contemporary church has changed the price tags.  It has no shortage of talkers. The next Great Awakening must produce legions of walkers before the church will catch the eye of seekers looking for a turnaround in their lives.

Note to self: The truth isn’t a clichés, but “Practice what you preach.”

Speaking in tongues is often held up as the purest sign of The Spirit-filled life. Those who talk in tongues should be humbled by the gift. Any superior perspective generated in the hearts of those who do, over those who don’t, are producing man-made, not God-given fruit.

On the other hand, those who don’t speak in tongues bring no honor to God by offering up a thin-skinned reaction to those who do. Both parties might want to review what Paul says about The Flesh and The Spirit. Talking and walking, though not mutually exclusive, are simply not the same thing.

Spirit-filled people are Christ-like followers. They are not fully devoted to a dogma about Jesus. They walk and talk with Jesus.

When I was a small boy, my mother often restricted my associations with people and places that she believed exerted a negative impact on my behavior. She warned, “When you spend time with people, you become like them.” She always encouraged me to spend time with people that would have a positive influence on my life. Down through the years, Mom’s Mississippi colloquialisms have been a source of amusement for all four of her children. One of her favorites was, “When you run with dogs, you always get fleas.” As I recall, Mom always had the last laugh.

“Walk by The Spirit” reveals the life of a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ as a relationship marked by consistent companionship. It is not a religion held at arms length, or a theological position grasped with a white-knuckled grip.

One of the most succinct statement ever made about The Walk  is, “Your walk with God is the next 20 seconds.” The Walk is as fresh as the breath in a believer’s lungs. To keep walking, keep praying.

When believers stop talking with God, it is not long before The Walk becomes a drag. Dragging one’s feet doesn’t stop The Spirit’s sense of direction in a believer’s life. Prayerlessness will turn the joy of the journey into a forced march. This only happens…EVERY TIME.

Prayer reveals belief, refreshes the breath, and restores The Walk of a genuine Christ-follower. Believing prayer is more about walking than talking, but praying is the key to walking by The Spirit and talking with God, in the name of Jesus.

Prayer increases The Fruit of the Spirit and reveals the family resemblance in a child of The Father. The truth is, the greater the prayer, the longer The Walk. In time, The Fruit of The Spirit in the child of God bears a striking resemblance to the character of Christ. Prayer taps into the root in the family tree, and bears The Fruit of The Spirit.

Prayerlessness, like any sinfulness, separates and impairs the connection with the root of The Fruit. Interrupting the flow of prayer resurrects The Flesh, and overshadows The Fruit.

Claiming credit for a movement of God, engaging in a spirit of competition with other believers, envying what God is doing in another believer’s life are all warning signs of The Flesh. These are not vital signs of a healthy walk by The Spirit. They are sin indicators, and if left unconfessed, and uncorrected will lead to the chalk outlines of a crash site.

Immediate confession, and renewed obedience reset these flashing lights on the dashboard of a life that is off course. Prayer avoids the danger of accumulating error, and heading toward a point of no return.   Asking The Father for forgiveness of sin, and yielding immediately to The Spirit’s control puts The Flesh to death. The Walk is never far from The Cross.

Prayerless, prideful people fail to keep The Flesh nailed to the cross. When The Spirit convicts of sin, the prayerful respond with humble confession, not prideful excuses.

Prayerful people are not perfect people. They are forgiven by The Father, filled with The Spirit, and resemble The Son. The Walk begins in prayer, and is sustained by prayer. Prayerful people, walk by The Spirit and stay the course. TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

The Process

“The Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control…” Galatians 22-23

“Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passion and desires.” v. 24

“If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. ” v. 25

The Character: The Fruit of The Spirit is the character of Christ. Those who believe in Jesus as their Lord and Savior do His church no favors, bring The Son no honor and give The Father no glory by manufacturing the imitation fruit of their own “passions and desires.”

The Flesh is any passion and desire in a believer’s life that doesn’t resemble the character of Jesus. The Flesh is not lazy, just self-centered. The by-product of this self-help is man-made religion. The church produced by this kind of effort is a death-defying system incapable of offering people any life-giving hope.

“Never let the system overshadow The Savior.” Don Miller (my Dad, not the other one)

Imitation fruit will never pass the taste test of people hungering and thirsting for righteousness, but it will always find an audience of people satisfied with keeping up appearances. The fruit inspection of The Spirit begins with conviction of sin. When a believer ignores the slightest touch of The Spirit’s hand, or the first whisper of His still, small voice The Flesh has risen from the dead, and must be taken back to The Cross.

The Crucified: The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their right name. Believers are sealed by The Spirit. The Fruit He produces is stamped with the character of The Son. He relentlessly pursues believers, inviting them into consistent companionship with Jesus marked by moment-by-moment intimacy and immediate, intense integrity.

At the first sign of “passions and desires” less than the character of Jesus, believers must put The Flesh to death. The longer they rationalize any behavior produced by personal “passions and desires” their fruit becomes increasingly poisonous. Lives spent sinking roots deeper and deeper into bitter soil become embittered expressions of the character of Christ.

Imitation fruit leaves an aroma of sweat equity, but not the sweet fruit of The Spirit. What The Spirit produces brings the aroma of a farmer’s market, not the body odor of a machine shop. Remember, the beginning of wisdom is to call things by their right name, especially The Fruit of The Spirit.

• Love is not a warm feeling for those who treat us well, but undefeatable goodwill towards those who do their worst.

• Joy is not entertainment soaked sensation, but an over-whelming confidence in God’s sovereignty in spite of all appearances.

• Peace is not the absence of war, but the calming Presence of The Champion in the heat of the battle.

• Patience is not the capping of a volcano and a holding onto one’s temper with a white-knuckled grip, and a thin-lipped grimace. It is the God-given capacity to have a long-tempered attitude towards the crises of life, large and small, and say with absolute abandonment in the middle of it all, “This too will pass.”

• Kindness is not a warm thought, but a need known transformed into a need met.

• Goodness is not an expression of one’s best, but the result of the death of one’s worst.

• Gentleness is not the touch placed upon those who do what we want. It is the broken will, bridled mouth, and harnessed power of a wild animal under the authority and jurisdiction a new master.

• Faithfulness is not a relentless reliability upon one’s own ability. It is the surrendered will of a person who has come to the end of their own will, and seeks nothing but being available to the will of God.

• Self-control is not self dominating, but self-yielded to the ways and the will and the waiting required of those who desire God’s best, not just what they want.

The Walk: The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. Those who die to their own “passions and desires” discover that the joy is in the journey.

The Walk by The Spirit begins at The Cross. The believer just doesn’t start there, but stays there until the character of Christ is produced. The crucified life begins with the death of The Flesh. This death is sustained and maintained by yielding immediately to The Spirit’s inspection of The Fruit.

Note to self: When you ignore The Spirit’s gentle, guiding hand upon your life, don’t be surprised if you begin to feel God’s thumb upon your life. Either way, The Father intends for you, as one of His children, to respond to His direction, protection and correction. He will do whatever it takes to bring you to Him. His will is to knock your will out of you.

Anyone who has ever ushered a rebellious child through the Terrible Two’s knows how much resistance can come to the slightest hint of direction, protection, and correction. Wise parents persevere and guide their children to maturity. The Father will do no less.

The danger facing the contemporary church is not the lack of effort, but the release of unharnessed energy. Time doesn’t correct the path of an object that is off course. In navigational terms there is a principle called “accumulative error.” The longer an object continues off course, the greater the consequences of not making a course correction. There is a point of no return.

In the Body of Life of the church suffers from accumulative error. Uncorrected Terrible Two’s morph into Turbulent Teens, and eventually produces Grotesque Geriatrics. Delayed obedience is still disobedience and never ends well.

Wini Oxford was one of the great church ladies of the 20th Century. Before her retirement she served as a church secretary for over 40 years. She was a force of nature, and didn’t suffer fools gladly. It was my privilege to call her my friend and one of the finest administrative assistants I have ever known.

One day I asked Wini why the Senior Adults of the church couldn’t bring themselves to get along with one another. There were a couple of hundred of them hanging around in four departments that the staff referred to as, “God’s Waiting Rooms.” Instead of cooperating with one another, they seemed intent on making life as difficult as possible on themselves and those around them. Wini was in her middle seventies, and she had known these people most of her life. Her response was, “They were mean young adults, and over the years, they have just become meaner Senior Adults. They will have to die to get better.”

Wini was right. Time doesn’t heal all wounds. If left untreated, bruised fruit will become bitter fruit. This only happens…EVERY TIME.

The Process of bearing fruit begins with The Cross, and continues with dying to self. The Walk by The Spirit continues to take a believer back to The Cross. Every time “passions and desires” that don’t’ resemble Jesus emerge from the mouth and the manners of a believer, The Walk leads back to The Cross. The Spirit will not ignore imitation fruit. The Spirit inspects it, and expects it to be called what it is…sin.

Prayerless people find a way of using God’s vocabulary for sin in other people’s lives, but want to change dictionaries when it comes to defining sin in their own lives. Prayerful people are wise people who call things by their right name. Prayer prunes the desire of The Flesh from the heart of the believer to make room for The Fruit of The Spirit. TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

The Fruit

“But the fruit of The Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such thing there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23

The definition of The Fruit is a relatively simple concept to grasp. It is not the definition, but the expression of The Fruit that is elusive. Defining The Fruit is improved by education. Bearing The Fruit is produced by crucifixion.   Education requires an investment of time. Crucifixion requires death. To bear The Fruit believers must die to The Flesh. Big difference.

There is danger in imitation or poison fruit posing as authentic Christianity.  The church is under an ever-present pressure, from the posers within its membership and the culture outside its walls.  Those who don’t produce fruit must never be allowed to redefine it. Watering down the truth only stretches it. It never purifies it.

Imitation fruit may appear to be genuine to those who have never tasted the real thing. Believers should only be concerned about one Fruit Inspector. Only real fruit passes God’s tests.  Anything else is man-made, and does not bear the mark of His Spirit.

The Father is determined to test The Fruit of His children. Sometimes He brings pressure. A small child soon learns that if they want orange juice, they squeeze an orange. The same is true for all kinds of fruit. Peel, break, or squeeze the skin and you get what is inside. The same is true of believers.

The most embarrassing and awkward scenes under the sun probably take place when posers wearing the latest Christian logo-wear are put under pressure. Pressurized posers don’t always express what is on the label. What erupts out of their mouths and manners of people wearing T-shirts that promise more than they deliver may be the worst form of false advertising. People who are hungering and thirsting for the real deal won’t buy the lies. Neither will God.

Exhaustive exegesis produces excellent Bible dictionaries filled with fine definitions describing The Fruit. Education has the capacity to define The Fruit, but it is powerless to produce it.

Note to self: The Ancient Greeks had a word picture for each one of these expressions of The Fruit of The Spirit. They could define it. They just couldn’t produce it.  Neither can you. Refining your definition of The Fruit won’t lead to bearing it. Redefining the definitions of genuine fruit to fit what you can produce only leads to imitation fruit. Stop it.  Die already.

“The fruit of The Spirit is love.” Love is where it all begins. God is love. The Spirit is The Promise of The Father. The Spirit glorifies The Son. The Son glorifies The Father. The Father expects His children to express His love, not some corrupt, man-made, watered down version of it.

The Greeks had more than one word for love. Paul did not invent this particular word. He was inspired by The Spirit to draw it from a rich and ancient heritage. The Greeks beautifully defined love, but were totally unable to produce a single example of it. Nothing has changed in the last 2,000 years. Love is not man-made. It reveals the character of God.

Love points to undefeatable good will, and unconquerable benevolence actively expressed to others. Love continues in spite of the treatment it receives in return. To the Greeks, it was a concept. Through The Spirit love becomes a concrete reality. Without God’s kind of love flowing in and out of a believer, there is no evidence of the life-giving, life-changing Presence of His Spirit.

On a personal note: For 40 years, I have aggressively sought to define and comprehend the meaning of each of these nine traits of The Fruit of The Spirit. I invite you to do the same. WARNING: Defining them more precisely, and understanding them more thoroughly, did not lead to my capacity to express them more effectively. Education isn’t crucifixion. Die daily.

Prayer has softened the soil of my heart, and The Spirit has found His way of sinking His roots deeper into my heart and soul. The less I pray, the harder my heart becomes, and the less of The Fruit of The Spirit I bear. Without praying there is no bearing. Prayer produces a change of my will to remain nailed to The Cross, until I die to The Flesh. Me, my and mine are not expressions of The Fruit of The Spirit.  Praying for a tender heart is no quick fix. Fruit bearing takes a life-time of it.

Anything that grows over night in my yard is usually a weed. Contemporary church culture embraces the newest, the latest the greatest and expects immediate results. The current trend of starting new churches is commendable, BUT if prayerless preachers are starting prayerless churches, they are hardly planting healthy churches able to produce The Fruit of The Spirit.  Pray for a blast from the past to take the church back 2,000 years to The Fruit of The Spirit. TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

The Warning

“And things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Galatians 5:21

The current level of preaching in the contemporary church has descended into an odd mixture of interesting anecdotes and positive platitudes. It leaves people barely informed of the Word of God, and mildly interested in the concept of Jesus as Lord. It has almost totally dispensed with The Warning.

The Warning is the vital sign of the shepherd’s heart, and without it the preacher becomes a communicator without a message. The sheep must be called to separate themselves from the consumer culture seeking to devour them. When preaching only encourages sheep to engage the culture to avoid offending the wolves, they become a buffet for ravenous beasts.

“And things like these…” is Paul’s reminder that cultural Christianity and moral depravity rarely hit rock bottom, until they go over the cliff. Holding hands as they push through God-given barricades, they jump over the edge shouting, “FREEEEEDOM!”

There is a final scene in Mel Gibson’s powerful portrayal of William Wallace in the movie, “Braveheart.”  The hero has been betrayed, caught in a trap and sentenced to death. With his vital organs being pulled out of him, he gasped out with his last breath, “FREEEEEDOM!” The death rattle of a nation can be heard, when people trapped by their own desires, and void of virtue, desperately scream for more freedom.  

“The deeds of the flesh are evident.” Indeed, they are. Paul’s laundry list is a vivid display of The Flesh on parading its pride, and heading toward the cliff.

Immorality
Impurity
Sensuality
Idolatry
Sorcery
Enmities
Strife
Jealousy
Outbursts of anger
Disputes
Dissensions
Factions
Envying
Drunkenness
Carousing

In case anyone believes this 15 item check-list is exhaustive, Paul leaves it open ended with, “And things like these.” Paul never underestimated the capacity of The Flesh to take pride in a new level of depravity and rebellion.

Word studies of these 15 expressions of lost virtue in the Roman world, rarely raise an eyebrow of concern in the contemporary church. They can be found in abundance in pulpits, and pews. Because they are excused, and not exposed within the walls of the church, they become leading news stories in social media. When they come to light, and not The Cross, they bring mockery and ridicule to the Body of Christ.

Note to self: Don’t be like the person with an overloaded cart sneaking into the “!5 Items or Less” line in the grocery store. The Flesh always has room for one more.  You have enough to take to The Cross. Stop grasping for more. Die already.

The Warning is clear. “Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” V. 21b

Practice makes perfect. Habits, good or bad, are a result of repeated behavior. The more a practice is repeated the more ingrained it becomes. Lawyers practice law. Doctors practice medicine. Musicians practice music. Christians who practice The Flesh are not practicing Christianity, but they are consumed by The Flesh.

Making excuses for The Flesh will never remove it from the life of the believer. When “The Blame Game” becomes the end game, the final score will always be in favor of The Flesh.

Prayerless people are prideful people who refuse to admit to God what He already knows, about them. They pose as His children, but try to pass off The Flesh as something else, or someone else’s fault. They are never angry, just frustrated. They are never jealous, just hurt. Get the picture?

The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their right name. The Spirit convicts believers about behavior that has crossed a line, or crashed through one of His barricades. When The Flesh ignores The Spirit, the believer’s heart develops callouses that build up into a hardened surface that becomes resistant to His gentle touch. The harder a heart becomes, the less subtle the hand of God will be to bring His direction and correction.

Over time practicing the deeds of The Flesh choke out the fruit of The Spirit, like weeds suck out the life out of the soil of a garden. Prayer removes the weeds, by increasing a person’s transparency before God. Trust prayer to reveal when a poser is masquerading as a believer and unconnected to the root.

When there is no fruit, check the root. There is little difference in appearances between fruit that is cut off from the root, and fruit that has been choked out by The Flesh.  Those who practice The Flesh, and never produce The Fruit of The Spirit should never put their faith in a false hope. God’s children must admit to Him who they are and what they are doing, by humbling themselves before The Father in prayer.

The Father expects to see a family resemblance in His children. When He plants The Spirit within them, He expects to see them blossom and bear fruit. The Spirit always produces the character of The Son. Never settle for imitation fruit. God won’t. TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

The Flesh

“For the flesh sets its desire against The Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by The Spirit, you are not under The Law. Now the deeds of the flesh are evident which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Galatians 5: 17-21

Confusion about The Flesh centers on the close proximity, but the very real difference between a desire and a deed. They are simply not the same. Giving into one will ultimately lead to the expression of the other. When a person has a desire of the flesh, it is not absolutely mandatory that a deed of the flesh must follow. Those who believe this are deceived.

There is only one imperative, when the desire of The Flesh runs into conflict with the leadership of The Spirit. The Flesh must immediately yield to The Spirit. Without absolute surrender, The Flesh always tries to defy the will of God, and deify its own will. The Flesh doesn’t weaken with age. It grows stronger with every self-centered decision, and poor excuse.

Note to self: When a desire of the flesh leads you to race headlong into a deed of the flesh, having Jesus in your heart will not stop you from looking like you have lost your mind.

Paul’s words reveal his 1st Century awareness that the Roman culture was consumed with the deeds of The Flesh. He said, “Now the deeds of the flesh are evident.” This almost sounds like a classic Jeffersonian phrase, “We hold these truths to be self-evident…” This was a gracious, 18th Century way of saying, “Any fool ought to know this.” Thanks, Bob McEwen. But I digress.

After Paul’s laundry list of The Flesh, he adds, “and things like these.” It is an insightful, and prophetic warning to those who say, “Things can’t get much worse.” When it comes to The Flesh, creative corruption simply knows no bounds.

The battle between The Flesh and The Spirit was won on The Cross. Those who identify with the death, burial and resurrection of The Living Christ are blessed with the promise of The Father, and have The Spirit dwelling in them, forever.

There is a difference between having The Spirit, and yielding to The Spirit. Great danger exists in holding onto a theological concept about The Spirit, without coming under His authority, jurisdiction and leadership. The Spirit is not an idea, a fluid, a feeling, or an “it.” The Spirit is The Person of Christ, and His still, small voice declares the will of God. LISTEN!

When desires of The Flesh turn into deeds of The Flesh, there is no need for more of The Spirit, in the life of the believer. There is a need for less of The Flesh, in the life of the believer.

A person prone to wander from desires to deeds must lower their flag of rebellion and surrender their rebellious territory to God. The rebellious don’t need more of The Spirit. The Spirit needs more of them. Desires of The Flesh are relentless. When they arise in the life of a believer, they must be put to death moment-by-moment, breath-by-breath, step-by-step.

Excusing deeds by blaming desire leads to a free fall over a cliff. Desire has a way of continually moving the barricades closer to the edge. It will never be satisfied with the new boundary. Desire leads to deeds that crash through barriers The Spirit puts in the path of God’s children to protect them from themselves. When rebellious children ignore The Spirit’s leadership, they crash through God’s protection and find destruction.

Pray for grace to resist the desires of the flesh. Too many people approach The Flesh as if getting rid of it is a weight loss issue. Believers don’t need to lose a little bit of The Flesh in order to look more like Jesus. They need to die to all of it, and be led by The Spirit.

Excusing the desires of the flesh, and pampering rebellion never placates desire. Both feed it. Standard statements reveal a heart of a person intent on blaming desire, and excusing themselves from taking any responsibility for their deeds. These include:
➢ “I just can’t help myself.”
➢ “The devil made me do it.”
➢ “I was born this way.”
➢ “I had a rough childhood.”
➢ “The pastor doesn’t feed me.”
➢ “God gave me this desire, so He intends for me enjoy it.”
➢ This desire can’t be wrong, if it feels right”

The leadership of The Spirit is discovered by praying people engaged in the battle between The Flesh and The Spirit. When the first hint of desire raises the aroma of The Flesh in the nostrils of The Spirit, His conviction is released into the heart of the believer. Praying people hear His voice of warning, and yield to His offer of grace to resist desire. They do not oppose The Spirit, and excuse their deeds of The Flesh. They confess their desire, and avoid the deed, by surrendering to The Spirit’s leadership. Through prayer they find the will of God, and The Spirit’s power to resist The Flesh, in the name of Jesus. TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

The Consumer

“For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOUR SELF.’ But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another. But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh.” Galatians 5:14-16

Paul was more than a philosopher of religion or a professor of theology. He was a churchman. He was called by Jesus, and driven to plant healthy churches, among the Gentiles.

Paul did not invest his passion for starting churches into cultivating, and maintaining ornamental plants, just for the sake of appearances.  He intended them to make a difference. He called for members of the churches he planted to bear fruit.

Note to self: Believers are not called to be consumers, but producers.  When your discernment produces criticism of others, without intercession for them, you are not bearing fruit. You are devouring others. You are called to intercession, not fruit inspection. Stop devouring. Start praying. Bear fruit.

American Christianity is deeply immersed in The Consumer Culture. In the 1980’s consumerism was described by Madison Avenue marketing firms, as “The ME Generation.” The label for self-centered consumerism may change, from generation to generation, but a culture that consumes more than it produces should never be a role model for the church. It should be the mission field of the church.

The Law clearly describes healthy fruit as, “LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR.” The Law can label fruit. It just doesn’t have the capacity to produce love. Only The Spirit of Christ bears this kind of fruit in the life of the believer.

Children come into this world, looking out for themselves. Un- like fine wine, selfish people don’t improve with age.  The whine they produce is bitter. The longer they focus on themselves, the less they look like Jesus.

One of the great joys of parenting involves seeing children take their first step. There is nothing quite like it. The surprised look on a child’s face when they finally wobble into this personal discovery is an odd mixture of great fear and new- found freedom. Children may slip back into the habit of crawling. It is a trusted comfort zone. They will always return to walking, because that is where the freedom is.

Paul urged his Galatian children to “walk by The Spirit.” It is such a simple statement, but it unleashes a holy war against the flesh. Prayer warriors who try to negotiate with their flesh, rather than demand an absolute surrender of it, will never experience victory over it.

Jesus described The Yoke, and called for His followers to yield to His direction in it. The Spirit empowers believers to yield to  Jesus and to walk in The Yoke with Him. Walking by The Spirit leads to leaning on Jesus for God’s direction, protection and correction. Leaning into The Yoke involves persistent and consistent praying. It is only by praying in the name of Jesus, that there is any hope of being filled with His Spirit.

“Come to ME, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from ME.” Jesus - Matthew 11:28

Believers discover life-changing freedom when they learn to “walk by The Spirit.” Loving is a life-long learning curve that can only be mastered by leaning into The Yoke. Yielding to The Yoke of Jesus, involves receiving from The Spirit of Christ the character of Jesus. The Spirit produces fruit, and “the fruit of The Spirit is love.” (Galatians 5:22) The Consumer desires fruit. The believer bears fruit. Big difference.

“Walk by the Spirit” is a call to begin a journey that will last a life-time. The Walk is not a destination. It is a relationship. Jesus calls believers to learn from Him. Paul described this learning as taking a walk with The Spirit of Christ. This is more than a quiet time. This is a life-time. The fruit of The Spirit is not achieved by watching the clock, but by looking into the face of Jesus, every step along the way.

Praying is more than a devotional exercise that is done as early as possible, and dispensed with as quickly as possible. Praying is like breathing, continuous, constant, consistent, and comforting. Prayer is life-giving and life-changing not because it is done, but because of where it leads, to Jesus.

Praying conforms a believer to the pace and to the face of Jesus. It conforms a believer to His image and to His character. The character change of a believer is not always immediately seen, but when the walk is finished, it will be complete. Jesus was a carpenter, and what He starts, He finishes. Paul said it this way.

“For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you, will perfect it, until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6

The Consumer devours. The believer bears fruit. TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!