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Japan will host the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo. There will be about 11,000 athletes or so that compete in those games but out of that big number, only about 1000 or so are going to win any sort of prize. So the reality is that if an athlete that even goes the Olympic Games if they want to win a medal they really have to be focused. They have to be self-controlled.

Self-controlled when it comes to their diet and exercise and training. The apostle Paul uses the illustration of a runner preparing for a race and compares it to a Christian and his need for self-control when it comes to his life especially as he looks forward to the prize of heaven.

1 Corinthians chapter 9 verse 24 and following it says this:

Do you not know that when runners compete in the stadium, they all run, but only one receives the prize? Run like that–to win. Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable victor’s wreath, but we do it for an imperishable one. (1 Corinthians 9:24-25)

Sin is certainly tempting, isn’t it? It’s tempting to lose self-control and to fall into sin. The apostle Peter also warns us

Be self-controlled and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. (1 Peter 5:8)

This is no shallow warning for stronger Christians than you have fallen from the faith. Think of King David. Man after God’s own heart and yet he lost self-control as he fell into lust and then adultery then into murder. God didn’t give up on him even with that lack of self-control God sent his messenger, his prophet Nathan, to David to confront him concerning his sin. And David repented. Nathan declared to him that

The Lord has taken away your sin. You will not die. (2 Samuel 12:13)

God does the same for us even at moments when we have lost our self-control. God comes to us that we might repent of our sins and be forgiven, but he invites us to live a life of self-control. A life focused on a prize, not a prize that we win, but a prize that’s already been won for us in Christ. To stay focused on his word, to come regularly to receive his holy supper, that our sins might be forgiven. We might be assured that we are God’s own dear children, that the prize of heaven is ours. May God the Holy Spirit increase in us this fruit of the spirit of self-control. Amen.

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Number of years ago my aunt had a new baby boy, when she brought him home, the older two kids were really excited to play with him, try to play catch with him, and pick them up, and bounce him around, which made her extremely nervous. She had to sit them down and explain how they needed to be gentle with their new baby brother.

She used the illustration of a flower. She showed them a flower, how beautiful, pretty it was, how nice it smelled, but how important it was to be gentle when it came to handling a flower. Because if your rough with it, it falls apart. So also their baby brother. They need to be gentle with him, gentle as he grew older and eventually would become strong enough to play rough and tough with them.

God encourages us as Christians to be gentle to one another. In Galatians chapter 6 verse 1 he writes this:

Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. (Galatians 6:1)

What he’s saying here is that when a fellow Christian falls into some very noticeable sin, rather than coming to him and harshly saying “you’re a horrible, worthless sinner” or maybe worse, gossiping to everyone else around about it. “Did you hear what so and so did?” To approach the situation with gentleness. With care for their faith, coming to them one on one, to show them where they’re wrong in the hopes that they might say they’re sorry. So that you could also show them God’s forgiveness.

In fact God has given us an amazing gift as Christians. An amazing tool that when a fellow Christian repents of their sins, when they say they’re sorry, we have the right to say “you are forgiven.” “God has taken away the guilt of your sin.” “You’re right in God’s sight.”

What an amazing privilege that is. So when it comes to fellow Christians may we act in a spirit of gentleness. Just in the way that God has been gentle with us not giving us the judgment that we deserve but rather being gentle for Jesus sake that gentleness be reflected to one another. Amen.

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What comes to mind when you think of the word faithful? Maybe think of someone or something that is always there for you. Someone who is completely reliable someone who is always true to their word. Maybe it’s the family dog that’s waiting for you when you come home from work. Maybe it’s that parent that you know you can call them up anytime and they’ll take the kids for you. Maybe it’s the emergency services that you know that they’ll be there if something happens.

What about yourself? Do you think of yourself as someone who is faithful? I think most people would say they’d like to be. They try to keep their word. They try to do what they say. They try to be dependable and reliable, but things get busy. Things get complicated. Things change and we don’t.

What about when it comes to God be faithful to Him? Faithful to come to church every week, faithful to give a good offering to the Lord, faithful in following His commandments. Again, here too, we have excuses. Things get busy. Things get complicated. If I was as faithful as I should be I’d certainly be risking a lot. Cost me so much… I might lose so much…

So many times and in so many ways we are unfaithful. When it comes to family, friends, co-workers, and even God. And yet he reminds us of this truth in 2 Timothy chapter 2 verse 13.

If we are faithless, he remains faithful, because he cannot deny himself. (2 Timothy 2:13)

It’s talking about God there of course. That God is always faithful. He’s always dependable, reliable, he always keeps His word. And it doesn’t even depend on us and our faithfulness to Him, it depends on who he is. The almighty and perfect and loving God. What a comfort that is for us then. To know that even when we’ve turned our backs on God at times when we’ve broken our word when it comes to Him where we’ve failed to be reliable and dependable God remains faithful to us and faithful to his promises. As he welcomes us to come back again to repent of our sins that he might forgive us and shower his love on us more and more.

Yes when it comes to the fruit of the spirit of faithfulness we’re really inspired by our God who’s been incredibly faithful to us and will always be. Amen.

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When you were a kid and your parents dropped you off at someone’s house what did they always tell you? Be good. What do they mean by that? Follow the rules. Do what you’re supposed to do. Don’t get into any trouble, or else.

We talk about the fruit of the Spirit goodness. That’s all we’re referring to isn’t it? Being virtuous, being moral, following the rules, but whose rules? We follow the rules or morality of the world seems it is ever changing, doesn’t it?

No goodness is really obeying and following God’s Rules. His rules as summarized in the Ten Commandments. If you read through the Ten Commandments you see what the Bible says about them is true that the law of God is good.

How have you done that being good? Following the rules? Living a moral and upright life as a Christian? Yes for us even as Christians we know our sin and we’ve fallen into sins of lust and of greed and of hatred. We gossiped and lied so many other sins against God’s commandments we see our failures at being good. In fact we must confess with the apostle Paul in Romans chapter 7.

So I fail to do the good I want to do. Instead, the evil I do not want to do, this I keep on doing. What a miserable wretch I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Romans 7:19, 24-25)

The Apostle Paul expresses his failures at being good even when he wanted to. And yet he places his trust, his hope, his thankfulness in God for giving us Jesus. Jesus who has been perfect and good in every way in our place. Yes that same God who has given us Jesus who also helps us to live and to act according to his good purpose to be good not in order to earn heaven but to be good and of thankfulness for what God has done for us in Christ. May God produce in us this fruit to the Spirit: goodness. Amen.

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As we continue our study of the fruit of the spirit, today’s word is kindness. What is kindness? Isn’t kindness being nice or saying something nice or doing something nice for someone else, maybe even when it isn’t required, maybe even when it isn’t deserved.

We can probably think of people that have been pretty nice and kind to us in our lives. Maybe it’s that grandmother that always gives you something whenever you go to her house. Maybe it was that police officer that didn’t give you the ticket even though you really deserved it. Maybe it was that individual when you backed into his car, he didn’t file an insurance claim on you. People who did nice things to you though you didn’t deserve it, though wasn’t required.

What motivates kindness? Just this morning I was out on my way driving to work and I had to stop for a moment because there was a group of guys that was helping another guy get his car out of his driveway. See he had been blocked in because the snowplow had come by and created this huge bank there. Well these three or four guys work diligently to get them out in no time at all.

I didn’t think much of it but about a mile down the road I found yet another motorist in a similar situation. So I decided to pull over to help him out. We tried to dig around his car dig around his tires and push but were unsuccessful until finally another motorist pulled over and he decided to help. We got him out like that. And all of a sudden it dawned on me. Wait a minute. I’ve seen that guy before. Where? I had just seen him. He was the guy who had just gotten his car pushed out by those first group of guys and now he stopped to help push another guy out. It dawned on me that that first kindness had motivated his kindness to respond in a similar way.

Well people aren’t always kind to us. Sometimes they are sometimes they aren’t. What should motivate our kindness as Christians? Ultimately the place for us to look is Christ. In Ephesians Chapter 4 verse 32 Paul writes:

Instead, be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ has forgiven us. (Ephesians 4:32)

Reminds us that God has been incredibly kind, compassionate, forgiving to us in Christ. Who has died for those who didn’t deserve it. He did what was unexpected, what we didn’t in any way deserve because of him that love of Christ, that kindness to us, inspires our own kindness to each other. May Christ inspire your kindness today in your life. Amen.

When you were a kid did your parents ever tell you be patient? Probably was in the context of waiting for something, maybe waiting in line or waiting patiently for a gift you were to receive. They were telling you not to get restless, not to get angry, but just to sit there and wait.

When the Bible uses that word patience, it does use it in that context of waiting, but also in another context. That of being slow to anger or long-suffering. What do those things mean? Really means that God is telling us not to lash out even when an injustice happens to us. And how difficult that can be to show that sort of patience even though we know the person rightfully deserves our wrath and anger.

God has been incredibly patient with us. We think about an example of this with the apostle Paul. One who formerly hated God and hated his church and did everything he could to destroy it. Seemed like God would be perfectly in his right to appear to him and to strike him dead. What does God do instead? With the Apostle Paul he shows patience. He does appear to him to reveal to him the truth that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead that he is truly the Son of God and his Savior. And he brings to Paul saving faith and in fact instructs him to now go and be his missionary.

Reflecting on all of this the apostle Paul writes in 1 Timothy chapter 1 verse 15 and 16.

The saying is trustworthy and worthy of full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am the worst. But I was shown mercy for this reason: that in me the worst sinner Christ Jesus might demonstrate his unlimited patience as an example for those who are going to believe in him resulting in eternal life. (1 Timothy 1:15-16)

Says that God showed unlimited patience with the apostle Paul. He has certainly done the same thing for us. He has not given us what our sins deserve. He has been slow to anger and long-suffering, what a reason then for us to be patient with one another. To also not lash out immediately but to endure, to wait to be long-suffering to also hope that they come to the knowledge of the truth that we know in Jesus Christ our Lord. The one who has been incredibly patient with us. Amen.

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I’m so glad that the recent mid-term elections are finally over. Seems that there is such infighting and discord when it comes to politics in our country. And in some ways it’s a little bit ironic isn’t it? We think about our own nation that we’re not in any major war with any other country at this time. And yet there can be such conflict among our own people over politics.

Yes how nice it is to have a little reprieve a little break from all of that fighting. For us as Christians we know that peace is listed as one of the fruit of the Spirit, that God wants us to know peace and to live in peace with each other. How do we do that? Colossians Chapter 3 verse 15 it says this:

Let the peace of Christ control your hearts, to which you are also called in one body. (Colossians 3:15)

Encourages us to have Christ’s peace control us. To motivate us to move us to live in peace with each other. What sort of peace is that? You remember the very familiar Christmas story as the angels declare the good news of the Savior’s birth to the shepherds. What do the scriptures say?

Glory to God in the highest, peace on earth, good will toward men. (Luke 2:14)

What is that peace on Earth that the angels were talking about? It doesn’t seem that Christ came to bring about peace between nations or even peace among his own people rather just more conflict.

The peace that the angels were talking about is the peace between God and men. That God in Christ would reconcile men to himself to pay for their sins, to suffer the punishment that we rightfully deserved on account of what we had done wrong.

God also wants us to live in this peace when it comes our fellow men. When is the last time that you hurt someone that you love? You remember what it felt like when they finally forgave you? Didn’t it bring a sense of relief, peace, maybe even motivate the way that you interacted with others to live in that peace.

That’s the way God wants it to be for us. Realizing the peace that he has brought in Christ, peace between us and God, may that motivate us to also live in peace with our fellow man. People that we don’t always agree with. Even when it comes to politics but we can live in peace with them knowing God’s peace for us in Christ. Amen.

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“Let the peace of Christ control your hearts…” who is controlling your heart? Join Pastor Moldstad today as we discuss the Fruit of Peace in our Fruits of the Spirit series.

What brings joy to your life? For some this might be a difficult question. It can seem that there is very little that brings joy to us. Maybe look back at our childhood and think about those awesome moments, waking up on Christmas morning to open our gifts. Or maybe those big events of a wedding, or birth of a child, or a graduation.

But when we look at our lives today it seems like those moments of joy are so few and far between. So what brings joy to us? As I mentioned in a previous devotion we as Christians don’t always need to be happy. God doesn’t require that of us. In fact there are many times where we can be filled with sorrow, mourning, and sadness and that’s appropriate to have such emotions.

That doesn’t mean that there isn’t a great reason for us to have joy. What is that reason? As it says in First Peter chapter 1 vs 8 and 9:

Though you do not see him now, yet by believing in him you are filled with a joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, because you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. (1 Peter 1:8-9)

Talks about the joy that each and every one of us have as Christians. Joy in our Savior Jesus Christ. Joy that we are His children, joy that he has made us his own joy that he has promised us eternity forever in heaven.

Yes there are many people that might say: “I don’t have much joy in my life, but I would be joyful if I won the lottery.” In many ways haven’t we won the lottery? When it comes to paradise, when it comes to heaven that God has promised us an eternity of happiness, bliss, joy.

Look upon that. Especially at times of sadness in your life, especially in those times when you feel like you lack joy. Remember what God has given to you through his Son Jesus Christ that incredible gift: to know the inheritance that is yours in him. Amen.

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Who taught you how to love? Maybe upon hearing that question you say “well pastor nobody taught me how to love it’s just something that I do.” And the debate is there whether or not love is something that is a natural human trait or something that we learn. But no matter how you come out on that question all of us must admit that we’ve had some pretty good examples of love in our own lives.

Who of us can’t think of that parent, maybe caretaker, the family member, friend or even complete stranger who showed incredible love for us?

We maybe want to take those examples though, the example of their love, and compare to everyone else’s in our lives. And think about how everyone else has fallen far short of loving us the way that mom did. The way that friend did or even that stranger.

How better for us to take that example and apply it to ourselves? To want to love one another the way that mom loved us, the way that friend loved us, or whoever else it was.

Of course the best example of love has to be our Savior Jesus.

In first John chapter 3 verse 16 it says this.

This is how we have come to know love: Jesus lay down his life for us. And we also should lay down our lives for our brothers. (1 John 3:16)

Yes Jesus loved us in an incredible way. He loved us though we didn’t deserve it. As it says in the scriptures in Romans chapter 5 that

Christ died for the ungodly. (Romans 5:6)

That’s us.

He loves people that disobeyed his commandments. People that didn’t deserve his love. Yet how incredible. How can he love us in this way? Well he willed to love us. He chose to love us not because of something in us but because of something in him.

Have you ever been there? Knowing that you should love someone but also knowing that they don’t deserve it. Knowing that they’re taking advantage of you or knowing of the many times that they’ve hurt you.

It’s very hard to actually love in such circumstances because you think to yourself “they don’t deserve this.” “Why am I doing this?” So easy to just resent them and go through the motions. But we can love we can love even in those circumstances.

We look to Christ. We look to his love for us that incredible love that moved him to suffer and die for us and for our sins. May God help us when it comes to this fruit of the spirit to show love in our lives even to those that don’t deserve it, just the way that God has shown love to us. Amen.

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Have you ever participated in a three legged race before? What’s the way that you win the three legged race? Isn’t it all about being in sync with your partner? If your leg goes one way and their leg goes another you’re going to fall flat on your face. It’s not going to work out. You’re not going to win.

God uses a similar illustration when it comes to our lives. He encourages us to have lives of faith in sync with the Spirit. Galatians chapter 5 verse 25 it says this:

If we live by the Spirit let us also walk in step with it.

He encourages our lives to be lives of faith to be on display for the world in sync with the Spirit. However just like the three legged race this isn’t easy to do. We have a natural way of walking and we want to fall back into that way of walking. So when we hear about the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5 it’s so much easier to do the exact opposite than to do what God instructs us.

When he says that the fruit of the Spirit are love. Isn’t it far easier to be filled with hate and resentment?

Says the fruit of the Spirit is joy, it’s much easier to be negative and to criticize.

He says the fruit of the Spirit is peace. It’s easier to cause fights and make war.

Says the fruit of the Spirit is patience. Far easier to be impatient isn’t it?

The fruit of the Spirit is kindness. We’d rather be mean.

The fruit of the Spirit is goodness, no we’d rather be bad. It’s easier.

The fruit of the Spirit is faithfulness. It’s far easier to break our promises.

The fruit of the Spirit is gentleness. Far easier not to care about people’s feelings.

The fruit of the Spirit is self-control. No it’s far more pleasurable and easier to sin.

Yes it is difficult to do these things. Why? Because of our old Adam, our old sinful flesh that wants us to walk a different way than the way of the Spirit. So what do we do? We honestly want to walk in sync with the Spirit and how do we do that? God reminds us also in Philippians chapter 2 verse 13.

In fact it is God who is working in you both to will and to work for the sake of his good pleasure. (Philippians 2:15)

Tells us there that God is the one that produces these good works. These fruits of faith in us. So when we want help with walking in line with Holy Spirit the place to go to God. To confess our sins our failures in doing all of these things. To receive his forgiveness and also help. There we see that God, as he promises, will help us to walk in line in sync with his Spirit.

Knowing God’s forgiveness and love for us may he ever help us to produce those fruits of faith. Amen.

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