Good morning! Today’s blog is from Phil Bourgeois.
Today’s Readings: Psalm 39, Galatians 4-6
Psalm 39:4 speaks to the psalmist’s desire to know the number of his days, presumably so that he might gain a heart of wisdom. The human spirit is restless and feverish by nature. When I was a teenager, I wanted to be older so that I could do adult things. When I was in College, I wanted to finish quickly so that I could get the job of my dreams. Later, I began to dream about finding that person who would complete me and be my life partner. Then came the dream of raising a family, and then a dream of a better job and a bigger house. Years spent dreaming and pursuing – something akin to chasing the wind. As I have gotten older, I have finally begun to see how quickly the hand of time moves. I now understand the importance of living each day to the fullest and making the most of every opportunity to love and serve others in Jesus’ name. How about you? Are you thinking about plans that you have 5 or 10 years down the road, or living in the moment? I can tell you from personal experience that it’s a lot more freeing to live one day at a time!
Paul writes in Galatians 5:1 that “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.” So having a heart of wisdom and living one day at a time is part of the freedom that we gain in Christ. Like our national freedom, our freedom isn’t free. It was bought at great cost! Christ’s death on the cross bought us our life and freedom. And what should that new life in Christ look like? We know what it does not look like, as described in Galatians 5:19-21. If we are in Christ, we are a new creation! And the fruits of the Spirit are the product of living life in true freedom. Increasing measures of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Wouldn’t you call this living life to the full? Today, do a check to see if the fruit of the Spirit can be seen in your life. Ask yourself the following questions regularly with the goal of producing godly fruit!
- Was I loving toward anyone today? Did anyone see God’s love in my life? If so, how? If not, why not?
- Was I joyful today? How did I respond in situations that tested my joy?
- How is my serenity? Did I allow anything to steal my peace today?
- Was I patient with others today? Did anything cause me to lose my patience?
- How kind was I today? Did I act in an unkind way toward anyone?
- Can I describe this day as “good”? Have I demonstrated God’s goodness to others?
- How was my faith today? Did I act unfaithfully?
- How was my gentleness? If I needed to have a confrontation, was I gentle?
- How was my self-control? Did I give in to something instead of standing firm?
Phil Bourgeois