We have been looking at the fruit of the Spirit as it is presented in Galatians 5:22-23. We've looked at love, joy, and peace, then last week we skipped over to faithfulness. This week we come back to the quality of patience.
Remember, since this fruit is produced by the Spirit in Christians, only Christians can have real love, joy, peace, patience, etc. There are counterfeits, but the real McCoy comes only from the Spirit.
Question: Since the Spirit is the one who produces the fruit, what does the believer have to do about it? Do not make the mistake of thinking we can be passive. We must pursue the fruit. In this week’s passage, the first two words are, “Be patient.” That's a command! Growing in Christ-likeness is a cooperative effort; the Holy Spirit produces the fruit and we are commanded to demonstrate the fruit. God works, so we work.
God expects you to be patient. To be patient is to be long suffering, to be long-fused rather than short-fused. It means that it takes a lot to get your dander up to the point where you lash out with your hand, tongue, or in your heart and will. Consider this passage in James:
James 5:7-11 7Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. 8You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. 9Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. 10As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.
God expects you to be patient with his timetable. James uses the example of the ancient farmer who had to wait for the early rains to soften the ground, and for the latter rains to mature the crop. If he became impatient and harvested his crop too soon, before the latter rains, his crop would not be mature. Any good farmer would patiently wait for the right time to harvest the crop. In the same way, you must be patient with God's timetable and agenda for your life.
1. You can become impatient with God’s timetable. For example, let's say you're on the way to an important meeting and get caught in a traffic jam. Would you become impatient?
Or, say you're really tight financially, but you're in line for a promotion that would provide what you need. Then you find that you were skipped over and didn't get the promotion. Would you become impatient?
You make your plans and set your goals for a project, for a family, for school, for a career, etc., but God has different plans and a different timetable. It's difficult not to become impatient with God and His plan.
2. You can become impatient under trial. James' readers were being taken advantage of by rich landowners, who were withholding their wages and mistreating them. There are also many other examples of believers being mistreated:
● Jeremiah was beaten, put in stocks, held in prison, and finally,
into a muddy cistern.
● Job lost his wealth, his family, his health, and his friends.
God does test and try his people to see if they are for real, and if they are, to purify their faith by removing the dross — pride, unhealthy dependence on something or someone else, etc.
Are you under trial? Are you saying, "How long, O Lord, how long?" Or, perhaps you're saying, less eloquently, "Life stinks!"
If that's you, then beware! When impatience is a temptation, so is self-pity. Self-pity is when you feel sorry for yourself and believe that you deserve better. It is dangerous! When self-pity sets in, you can justify any sin—and I mean ANY sin. You reason to yourself, "This is too hard for me. I deserve some relief and some pleasure," And then you go out and do ....
3. You can become impatient with someone else’s weaknesses and sins. This can be a big problem in a church family, where God brings together people from different backgrounds, experiences, idiosyncrasies, and styles of sinning, and says, get along, love each other, and be patient with one another. That's a big challenge for us all.
God expects you to say wholeheartedly,
● "God, your timetable is better than mine. It's hard to wait, but who am I to think that I know better than you?"
● "God, this trial is long and difficult, but I know you are in control and at work in my life to make me more like your Son. Thank you.
● "God, this person is awkward to be around, but you have put us together in the same church family. I need to wash his feet and be patient with him, and he will have to be with me. Thank you, Lord."
How can you cultivate patience in your life? By strengthening your heart, the inner you, where you think, believe, decide, feel, and value things. You need to think of, delight in, and believe the truth of God for patience to be produced in your heart and life.
1. Remember who is making you wait — God. Not your boss or your spouse, but the sovereign and majestic God of heaven and earth, the one person who has perfect wisdom and loves you.
2. When you’re under trial or being mistreated, remember that Christ will right all wrongs when he returns. For now, he is using the trial to produce growth in you, and the process of growth into Christ-likeness is valuable. Remember also that God hasn’t left you alone. He is compassionate and merciful, and will provide for you as he did for Job.
3. When you are dealing with the sins and weaknesses of others, remember how patient God has been and is with you. Jesus endured his suffering patiently, and his suffering of the crown of thorns, the nails, the mocking and the scorn, were far worse than anything you have to endure. He patiently took it for you, and he never lashed out.
Remember how patient and forgiving God is with you. Think of the parable of the unmerciful servant, who forgot the king's patience and kindness to him (Matthew 18:23-35). The next time you feel like tearing into someone who has blown it with you, remember God's patience with you. (Patience doesn't mean saying nothing or being indifferent. It means that you say the truth in love and you lend a helping hand.
Discussion
1. When are you most tempted to be impatient? Which of the three occasions listed in the blog are most challenging to you?
a. when your timetable is disrupted;
b. when you are undergoing a trial;
c. when you have to deal with someone's weaknesses and sins.
2. What thoughts will help you to overcome impatience and respond with genuine, God-pleasing patience?
3. What will you do—specifically and concretely—to help yourself remember how to respond patiently in the future?
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Monday, April 27, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
Fruit of the Spirit: Faithfulness
We have been looking at the fruit of the Spirit as it is presented in Galatians 5:22-23, where Paul says, "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control ...." We've looked at love, joy, and peace. This week we are skipping ahead to the quality of faithfulness, and we will look at faithfulness from Mark 14:32-42:
32 And they went to a place called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, "Sit here while I pray." 33And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled. 34And he said to them, "My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch." 35And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. 36And he said, "Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will." 37And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, "Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour? 38 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." 39And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. 40And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy, and they did not know what to answer him. 41And he came the third time and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? It is enough; the hour has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 42Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand."
What is faithfulness? It means being trustworthy, reliable, true to your word, doing what you said you would do, keeping your promises, being a person someone can trust and rely on, being loyal even when the pressure is on.
Jesus was faithful par excellence, and this week's passage describes the culmination of a whole life of fidelity. When Jesus went into the Garden of Gethsemane with his disciples to to pray, he knew the crucifixion was imminent, and the reality of it began to weigh on him. He saw the horror and felt the weight as never before. Listen to the depth of his emotion: "...he began to be distressed and troubled. And he said to them, 'My soul is very sorrowful, even to death.'" Jesus did not exaggerate; the life was being sucked out of him by the horror of what he faced.
Jesus mentions the cup he would have to drink. This was a metaphor used by the Old Testament prophets to picture the wrath and judgment of God being poured out on sin. In the Garden, Jesus saw the cup. He saw the sins of his people swirling around; he saw the deception and lies, the unfaithfulness, the adultery, the hatred, the gossip, the abortions—all the acts of sin committed against his Father. And he saw, and smelled, and tasted, and felt the horror of hell. One commentator, William Lane, says, "Jesus came to be with the Father for an interlude before his betrayal, but found hell rather than heaven opened before him, and he staggered.
As horrible as all that was, something even more devastating was happening. His becoming sin for us meant alienation from his father. Jesus was all alone as the sins of his people were poured over him. Heaven was closed to the Son of God. What happened in the Garden anticipated the cry of Jesus on the cross, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" He began to hear the judgment from his father, "Depart from me, ye cursed, from the presence of the Lord and his glory."
Jesus was faithful under infinite pressure. The waves of utter horror and astonishment at the coming judgment came crashing upon him, yet he was like a rock on the shore and didn't crack or give way. He remained faithful in the dark, when he was all alone. He remained faithful to his Father and to his people—faithful to you.
Jesus didn't change when thorns, the whip, and the nails inflicted their pain. No, Jesus took the chalice of sin and wrath from the hands of his Father and drank it all and staggered into the flames of hell. His beautiful body was broken and precious blood was spilled out down his body onto the cross and to the ground below, and he died. What faithfulness! He kept his word. He kept his promise.
The disciples were unfaithful. Three times Jesus asked Peter, James, and John to stay awake and pray for themselves lest they succumb to the temptation to be unfaithful to Jesus when the betrayer appeared. Each time, they fell asleep. The spirit was willing, but the body was weak.
How could they do that, with Jesus right there with them, suffering and writhing in painful horror? Their unfaithfulness seems incredible! Or are the disciples a picture of you in your relationship to Jesus and others?
• How many times have you been unfaithful in your relationships—not doing what you said you would do, not being a true and faithful friend, husband, wife, child, or brother or sister?
• How many times have you given in to the temptation or invitation to be untrue to Jesus by choosing to sin, doing the very things that Christ convulsed over as he peered into the cup of judgment and suffered the alienation of his father?
• Are you someone entirely different under the cover of darkness? Are you different around certain people than you are at home or at church? What do you watch on TV when you're alone in the hotel room? How do you carry out your job when the boss is away?
How do we become more faithful like Jesus?
1. Own up to your lack of faithfulness to Jesus. Don't deceive yourself; acknowledge it and ask God to forgive you.
2. Contemplate and cherish this:
• Jesus came to be faithful to the Father for you because you couldn't be.
• Your unfaithfulness was attributed to him; Jesus prayed and got hell and was ignored so that you could pray and get heaven and be heard.
• God considers you forgiven and faithful, now and forever.
• Paul says in 2 Cor. 3:18 that when you see the glory of Christ you are transformed from one degree of Christ-likeness to another. So when you see Jesus being faithful for you, that will change you.
3. Out of gratitude for his faithfulness, you need to make a disciplined, prayerful effort to be faithful to God and others.
• Identify areas in your life where you need to be more faithful.
• What will you do to change?
• Pray for God's help, for yourself and your brothers.
32 And they went to a place called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, "Sit here while I pray." 33And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled. 34And he said to them, "My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch." 35And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. 36And he said, "Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will." 37And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, "Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour? 38 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." 39And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. 40And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy, and they did not know what to answer him. 41And he came the third time and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? It is enough; the hour has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 42Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand."
What is faithfulness? It means being trustworthy, reliable, true to your word, doing what you said you would do, keeping your promises, being a person someone can trust and rely on, being loyal even when the pressure is on.
Jesus was faithful par excellence, and this week's passage describes the culmination of a whole life of fidelity. When Jesus went into the Garden of Gethsemane with his disciples to to pray, he knew the crucifixion was imminent, and the reality of it began to weigh on him. He saw the horror and felt the weight as never before. Listen to the depth of his emotion: "...he began to be distressed and troubled. And he said to them, 'My soul is very sorrowful, even to death.'" Jesus did not exaggerate; the life was being sucked out of him by the horror of what he faced.
Jesus mentions the cup he would have to drink. This was a metaphor used by the Old Testament prophets to picture the wrath and judgment of God being poured out on sin. In the Garden, Jesus saw the cup. He saw the sins of his people swirling around; he saw the deception and lies, the unfaithfulness, the adultery, the hatred, the gossip, the abortions—all the acts of sin committed against his Father. And he saw, and smelled, and tasted, and felt the horror of hell. One commentator, William Lane, says, "Jesus came to be with the Father for an interlude before his betrayal, but found hell rather than heaven opened before him, and he staggered.
As horrible as all that was, something even more devastating was happening. His becoming sin for us meant alienation from his father. Jesus was all alone as the sins of his people were poured over him. Heaven was closed to the Son of God. What happened in the Garden anticipated the cry of Jesus on the cross, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" He began to hear the judgment from his father, "Depart from me, ye cursed, from the presence of the Lord and his glory."
Jesus was faithful under infinite pressure. The waves of utter horror and astonishment at the coming judgment came crashing upon him, yet he was like a rock on the shore and didn't crack or give way. He remained faithful in the dark, when he was all alone. He remained faithful to his Father and to his people—faithful to you.
Jesus didn't change when thorns, the whip, and the nails inflicted their pain. No, Jesus took the chalice of sin and wrath from the hands of his Father and drank it all and staggered into the flames of hell. His beautiful body was broken and precious blood was spilled out down his body onto the cross and to the ground below, and he died. What faithfulness! He kept his word. He kept his promise.
The disciples were unfaithful. Three times Jesus asked Peter, James, and John to stay awake and pray for themselves lest they succumb to the temptation to be unfaithful to Jesus when the betrayer appeared. Each time, they fell asleep. The spirit was willing, but the body was weak.
How could they do that, with Jesus right there with them, suffering and writhing in painful horror? Their unfaithfulness seems incredible! Or are the disciples a picture of you in your relationship to Jesus and others?
• How many times have you been unfaithful in your relationships—not doing what you said you would do, not being a true and faithful friend, husband, wife, child, or brother or sister?
• How many times have you given in to the temptation or invitation to be untrue to Jesus by choosing to sin, doing the very things that Christ convulsed over as he peered into the cup of judgment and suffered the alienation of his father?
• Are you someone entirely different under the cover of darkness? Are you different around certain people than you are at home or at church? What do you watch on TV when you're alone in the hotel room? How do you carry out your job when the boss is away?
How do we become more faithful like Jesus?
1. Own up to your lack of faithfulness to Jesus. Don't deceive yourself; acknowledge it and ask God to forgive you.
2. Contemplate and cherish this:
• Jesus came to be faithful to the Father for you because you couldn't be.
• Your unfaithfulness was attributed to him; Jesus prayed and got hell and was ignored so that you could pray and get heaven and be heard.
• God considers you forgiven and faithful, now and forever.
• Paul says in 2 Cor. 3:18 that when you see the glory of Christ you are transformed from one degree of Christ-likeness to another. So when you see Jesus being faithful for you, that will change you.
3. Out of gratitude for his faithfulness, you need to make a disciplined, prayerful effort to be faithful to God and others.
• Identify areas in your life where you need to be more faithful.
• What will you do to change?
• Pray for God's help, for yourself and your brothers.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Fruit of the Spirit: Peace
We are looking at the fruit of the Spirit—the fruit produced in a believer's life by the Holy Spirit in coordination with the believer's own pursuit of it. We have looked at love and joyfulness in recent weeks, and now we look at the quality of peace, which is closely related to joy. The very same eternal realities that are the basis of your joy are what the Spirit uses to produce peace—the reality of your salvation in Christ and your relationship with him.
Peace is inner confidence and trust in God's wise and good control of your life. It is an attitude that is constant, solid, and confident no matter what the conditions. The natural man doesn't know true peace. Some people have the counterfeit of true peace—they are laid back and easygoing, but only because they are apathetic or indifferent or self-centered; they don't have true Spirit-produced peace. True peace has confidence and trust in God's control, and it also loves and cares for and is engaged in the lives of other people.
The natural man, on the other hand, is worried to death. Inside, he is torn apart with worry about the economy, terrorism, moral decay, etc. Worry in the heart of a pagan is like a weed growing wildly, out of control. He worries because he doesn't know God; he worries because he is oriented only to the material world and yet he can't control it. He is like the rich fool in Luke 12, who was busy laying up treasure for himself on earth and was not rich toward God:
13 Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me." 14But he said to him, "Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?" 15And he said to them, "Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." 16And he told them a parable, saying, "The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17and he thought to himself, 'What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?' 18And he said, 'I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.' 20But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' 21So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God."
22And he said to his disciples, "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. 23For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. 24 Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! 25And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 26If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? 27Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 28But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! 29And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. 30For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.
32 "Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
The rich fool was self-centered and greedy. Though he worked hard and was blessed by God, he gave no thought to God or others; his life consisted in having an abundance of things.
What does it look like today when someone is busy laying up treasure for himself on earth?
You see it every day. You know someone whose primary ambition is to accumulate money and possessions, or to travel the world, to head up his own company or to buy out his competitors, to build his reputation., to succeed, earn human approval and acceptance, fame and power. Or maybe you know someone who is determined to have physical health and be young forever.
This ambition for treasure on earth is a prescription for worry and dissatisfaction. It is the soil out of which the weed of worry flourishes and takes over a person's heart. Just look at the market for prescription drugs! People crave relief from the worry and anxiety that come from a life centered on the material world, the world without God. And their worry is justified! Everything they are living for will be lost, and they know in their hearts that they have no security.
Are you a believer? Do you have the Holy Spirit? Then you shouldn't resemble the worry-filled pagans in the world. You should possess a confidence and trust and rest in God's wise and good control of your life, resulting in an inner calmness—the peace of God. Why? Because you have a personal relationship with God. He loves you and is concerned about the very details of your life, and he promises to provide for your needs. Jesus has already met the greatest need in your life by giving you peace with God when he was your enemy. If God has met your greatest need, won't he meet the other, lesser needs that you have?
What prevents you from having the peace of God? The roadblocks to peace are simple (though serious):
• a focus on laying up treasures on earth - "Where your treasure is there will your heart be also" (v. 34). When treasures on earth are too important to you, you worry over them.
• unbelief - You don't trust God's good and wise control; you don't really believe his promises.
How can you remove the roadblocks to peace?
• Repent for your worry and unbelief, and for your inordinate desire for treasures on earth.
• Seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness with all your heart. How do you seek that? You seek the kingdom of God when you try obey his word. That includes being salt and light in the world, serving in the church, your family to know God, enjoying and sharing with others the material wealth God provides, in the promises of God, praying with thankfulness, and seeking to spread the gospel and bring others into the kingdom.
What issues in your life sometimes threaten the peace of God that you should have?
When you indulge in the sin of worry, what is the impact on those around you? On yourself?
What will you do to cultivate peace in your life in the next week?
Have you grown in love and joyfulness as a result of the first two weeks' studies?
Peace is inner confidence and trust in God's wise and good control of your life. It is an attitude that is constant, solid, and confident no matter what the conditions. The natural man doesn't know true peace. Some people have the counterfeit of true peace—they are laid back and easygoing, but only because they are apathetic or indifferent or self-centered; they don't have true Spirit-produced peace. True peace has confidence and trust in God's control, and it also loves and cares for and is engaged in the lives of other people.
The natural man, on the other hand, is worried to death. Inside, he is torn apart with worry about the economy, terrorism, moral decay, etc. Worry in the heart of a pagan is like a weed growing wildly, out of control. He worries because he doesn't know God; he worries because he is oriented only to the material world and yet he can't control it. He is like the rich fool in Luke 12, who was busy laying up treasure for himself on earth and was not rich toward God:
13 Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me." 14But he said to him, "Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?" 15And he said to them, "Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." 16And he told them a parable, saying, "The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17and he thought to himself, 'What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?' 18And he said, 'I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.' 20But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' 21So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God."
22And he said to his disciples, "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. 23For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. 24 Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! 25And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 26If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? 27Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 28But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! 29And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. 30For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.
32 "Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
The rich fool was self-centered and greedy. Though he worked hard and was blessed by God, he gave no thought to God or others; his life consisted in having an abundance of things.
What does it look like today when someone is busy laying up treasure for himself on earth?
You see it every day. You know someone whose primary ambition is to accumulate money and possessions, or to travel the world, to head up his own company or to buy out his competitors, to build his reputation., to succeed, earn human approval and acceptance, fame and power. Or maybe you know someone who is determined to have physical health and be young forever.
This ambition for treasure on earth is a prescription for worry and dissatisfaction. It is the soil out of which the weed of worry flourishes and takes over a person's heart. Just look at the market for prescription drugs! People crave relief from the worry and anxiety that come from a life centered on the material world, the world without God. And their worry is justified! Everything they are living for will be lost, and they know in their hearts that they have no security.
Are you a believer? Do you have the Holy Spirit? Then you shouldn't resemble the worry-filled pagans in the world. You should possess a confidence and trust and rest in God's wise and good control of your life, resulting in an inner calmness—the peace of God. Why? Because you have a personal relationship with God. He loves you and is concerned about the very details of your life, and he promises to provide for your needs. Jesus has already met the greatest need in your life by giving you peace with God when he was your enemy. If God has met your greatest need, won't he meet the other, lesser needs that you have?
What prevents you from having the peace of God? The roadblocks to peace are simple (though serious):
• a focus on laying up treasures on earth - "Where your treasure is there will your heart be also" (v. 34). When treasures on earth are too important to you, you worry over them.
• unbelief - You don't trust God's good and wise control; you don't really believe his promises.
How can you remove the roadblocks to peace?
• Repent for your worry and unbelief, and for your inordinate desire for treasures on earth.
• Seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness with all your heart. How do you seek that? You seek the kingdom of God when you try obey his word. That includes being salt and light in the world, serving in the church, your family to know God, enjoying and sharing with others the material wealth God provides, in the promises of God, praying with thankfulness, and seeking to spread the gospel and bring others into the kingdom.
What issues in your life sometimes threaten the peace of God that you should have?
When you indulge in the sin of worry, what is the impact on those around you? On yourself?
What will you do to cultivate peace in your life in the next week?
Have you grown in love and joyfulness as a result of the first two weeks' studies?
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