Habakkuk’s Prayer of Faith - Habakkuk 3

             

Habakkuk has asked God tough questions and now Habakkuk responds to God's answers. God told Habakkuk that he doesn't overlook evil, or the brokenness it brings. God promises accountability for Babylon, but not until Judah remembers again their covenant relationship with God. God will deliver them, but never tells Habakkuk Israel will be a free nation again once the punishment is finished. God doesn't talk about Judah and what he’ll do for them, instead God promises that Babylon will suffer the consequences of their evil. God points to who he is, ending with a call to worship and honour him, a call to trust, echoes to Job!

Habakkuk responds, "Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord." Habakkuk acknowledges God's power, standing in awe before him, remembering who God is and what God’s done for his people in the past, all rooted in his covenantal relationship with his people. Habakkuk accepts God's answer that God’s in control and evil will reap the consequences it deserves. He remembers how God overturned evil powers in the past to save his people and restores his relationship with Israel again and again. Habakkuk looks back in order to strengthen his faith in God so his heart can sincerely trust and praise God, no matter the circumstances. Habakkuk praises God in spite of his own uncertainty, calling God to act again, "I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord. Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy."

Habakkuk remembers Israel's exodus from Egypt and the 40 years of wandering through the wilderness. Habakkuk remembers Teman and Mount Paran and God's glory revealed there, echoing Mount Sinai and God's meeting his people there. He remembers the splendour and power of God and how the people reacted with awe and wonder.

Then Habakkuk remembers God is a warrior for his people, "Plague went before him; pestilence followed his steps. He stood, and shook the earth; he looked, and made the nations tremble. The ancient mountains crumbled and the age-old hills collapsed—but he marches on forever. I saw the tents of Cushan in distress, the dwellings of Midian in anguish. Were you angry with the rivers, Lord? Was your wrath against the streams? Did you rage against the sea when you rode your horses and your chariots to victory?  You uncovered your bow, you called for many arrows... You came out to deliver your people, to save your anointed one."

God proved his might and power while Israel were slaves in Egypt, he protected Israel in the wilderness from nations like Midian, and when Israel entered the Promised Land, he even caused the sun to stand still so Joshua could defeat his enemies. Habakkuk turns to the stories of salvation to find hope and confidence in the future even if the present looks grim. Habakkuk knows a God who controls nature and the nations.

Habakkuk ends by saying, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; he knows God’s in control, that no matter what is happening right now, no matter what’s coming, God saves his people. Yet Habakkuk also knows individuals will still get hurt and even suffer greatly. In Scripture the emphasis is normally on Israel as a whole, not as individuals. We've turned the Bible into a personal guide to personal salvation while God normally deals with his people as a whole. When God works to save his people, individuals and even families still suffer greatly at times, even to the point of death. Habakkuk knows that God will save them from the power of Babylon, but that he personally might not survive and might face great suffering himself. Habakkuk is a call to the people of God to trust and believe and praise the Lord, even if personally they might suffer.

The Jews in the time of Jesus also knew suffering. Pilate was in control and often extremely cruel towards the Jews so they wouldn’t didn't get any ideas about rebelling against him or Rome. Crosses and other cruel forms of punishment were fairly normal. Jesus knew of the cruelty of Pilate as Luke tells us in chapter 13, "Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish."

Life can be hard. I've walked alongside teenage girls who were abused, with women abused by Christian husbands, seniors whose children took all they had and then abandoned them, parents who have lost children, refugees who fled from brutal situations, those who have thought of taking their own lives, and families of those who did. How do you help people who have gone through these kinds of things to trust or praise God? Habakkuk shows us the way, to look back and remember who God is and what he’s done in the past. God’s the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow is what Scripture confesses, so when we see God listen to the cries of his people and respond, when we see God's love expressed through Jesus who died to reconcile us with God, we find hope.

A young mother of 2 young daughters whose husband took his own life told me, "I have to trust God and I do because I've heard you tell the stories of God and how he saves his people, it's hard and when I praise God, it's with tears, but I do it because when I read the psalms I hear David and others crying out to God in hard times and always ending up with praising God. I do hope it gets easier though." Did you hear how Jesus calls us to repent? It sounds hard during persecution and unexplained suffering, that Jesus calls us to repent. But the word repent in Greek is a military word which means to do an about face, to turn around. During times when things look hopeless and the effects of sin have filled your life with darkness and suffering, one unnamed ancient church father wrote that to repent means to turn away from looking so deeply into your suffering so that you lose hope, and turning around to look for the light of Jesus.

We look to Jesus, the light and hope of the world and remember his life and suffering, how he was crucified to save us from our sin. Jesus knows your pain and suffering, he knows your hurt, because through his Spirit, he’s there with you. He comes close and tells us that our suffering is only for a time and that he suffered and died for us so that we might find eternal life and peace in him, even in the middle of suffering. "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Paul also suffered deeply for bringing the message of Jesus to the world. In 2 Corinthians 11 Paul writes that he was lashed, beaten, stoned, in danger from nature, Jews, and Gentiles, and experienced hunger and thirst as he followed Jesus’ call. Yet he’s able to write, "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!"

Jesus is a warrior who is returning to defeat the powers of sin and evil; there will be justice. In Revelation 19:11–13 and 19-21, John sees Jesus coming as a warrior for his people “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God…. Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to wage war against the rider on the horse and his army. But the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed the signs on its behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. The rest were killed with the sword coming out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh.”

 If you have, or are suffering, know that the church is here to help you keep looking to Jesus, to remember his faithfulness to you. These are often long pain-filled journeys of faith and trust in God, but you don’t walk alone, Jesus' Spirit is with you and I, and the elders, and many others are also here to listen to, to weep with, to support and encourage you, and help you find peace and rest in Jesus, saying with Habakkuk, "Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Saviour. The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to tread on the heights."

Why Do You Tolerate the Treacherous? - Habakkuk 1:12-2:20

Last week we looked at Habakkuk's question to God about why God allows so much injustice and evil to happen among his own people. Habakkuk’s horrified that his holy God would use the vicious and brutal Babylonians to punish his own people. How can that be? "Lord, are you not from everlasting? My God, my Holy One, you will never die. You, Lord, have appointed them to execute judgment; you, my Rock, have ordained them to punish.  Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrongdoing. Why then do you tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?" But Habakkuk also trusts God’s covenantal faithfulness to his people and waits "to look to see what he, God, will say to me, Habakkuk, and what answer I am to give to this complaint."

God tells Habakkuk to write his answer down on a tablet so that it won’t get destroyed or forgotten. His message is one of hope: God’s going to restore his people, but not right away. Israel needs to learn again that God is God and they’re his people, called to be a blessing to the nations so the nations can learn who God is through them. Sometimes a father needs to allow his children to suffer the consequences of their choices, even though it may be really painful. This doesn't mean that God doesn't love us, God’s with us always and suffers the pain alongside us since his Spirit lives within us experiencing our pain and suffering with us. Our God knows our pain because he walks with us through it all, this is why we can turn to him no matter what is going on in our lives, because he understands our hurt, but a loving father also knows that sometimes this is the only way we learn to trust his teaching.

It's hard knowing that God's going to allow Judah to be under the power of a pagan government that is deliberately anti-God. Can you image Habakkuk’s questions for God if he knew that once the Babylonians conquer Israel, that Israel will not truly be free, except for a brief time under the Maccabees, until 1948 and the re-establishment of Israel by the United Nations. Habakkuk’s looking for a God win, a Jewish win. He recognizes that what’s happening here is a battle between the gods, between Yahweh, Judah’s God and the gods of the Babylonians. God reassures Habakkuk that Yahweh, Israel’s God is in control and that he wins even if it doesn’t look like it right now, we say God is omnipotent, all-powerful. Habakkuk doesn’t know of Jesus and his defeat of death, his resurrection, and future return to claim all the universe and every knee will bow to him.

God tells Habakkuk that he’ll hold Babylon accountable, those who live by the sword will die by the sword. Those whom Babylon oppressed will rise up and overthrow their cruel yoke. Yet God calls his people to live by a different standard, "the righteous will live by their faithfulness." As followers of Jesus, we often find ourselves trusting too much in governments over God's kingdom. We often tolerate the treacherous for our goals, God doesn’t tolerate the treacherous, he allows them to increase their guilt and holds then accountable.

God's kingdom’s not like the kingdoms we create here on earth. God's kingdom is something we live out in relationship with God. God gives them a way of living at Mount Sinai that focused on Israel’s relationship with God and each other in healthy life-giving ways. Jesus reveals to us the kingdom of heaven in the Sermon on the Mount and describes it through numerous parables. Jesus challenges Israel and us to live God's kingdom, beginning with "repent and believe," to be kingdom people, living out "your kingdom come, your will be done on earth and it is in heaven.”

Israel in Habakkuk's time has forgotten or ignored the call to live in God's will. They no longer protected the widows, orphans, or poor, they were too focused on building their own lives. Life was all about themselves and what they can get out of it, which is why they are so drawn to the gods of the nations around them. These gods could be manipulated through offerings to justify taking or doing what they want. We create our own gods, because it gives us control on how we live, we choose our own values. In our culture, we’re the center of our universe and we give ourselves permission to not see the hurt and brokenness and reach out, or place the blame for their circumstances on them. For many people, there’s little concern about injustice until it impacts them personally. God reassures Habakkuk that he will hold the nations accountable for their actions and values. The kingdom of heaven is the only eternal kingdom and the time is coming that “the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord.” Jesus comes to defeat evil and restore the very good of creation, we call this Christus Victorious; Jesus wins!

Jesus invites us into God's kingdom, to trust that God’s laws and ways are given to us to help us flourish as his people, and to be an example to the world of how God has created us to live with God and each other. God puts our earthly governments in place, but we live out God's kingdom in each and every community he’s places his church. Believers are called to be involved in politics as a Christian influence, but we don't put our faith in politics. We work for the principles of justice, for protection for the vulnerable, poor, and foreigners among us with compassion and grace, all the things the prophets were sent to Israel to remind them about.

The center of government is not Edmonton or Ottawa, it's God. Wherever a follower of Jesus is present, God's kingdom is there. Jesus calls us to give up our agendas and to trust his way of being God's kingdom people. We don't live how Jesus challenges us to live in order to get into the kingdom of God, but because we love Jesus and are already part of God's kingdom.

N.T Wright has reflected deeply on Jesus' description of the kingdom of God. Jesus calls us to be light and salt in the world, bringing hope and flavour into the world, giving people a taste of what following Jesus is all about. It's about letting the light of the world, Jesus, to shine through us into the world. It’s about turning the other cheek, going the extra mile in serving each other, loving your enemies, offering forgiveness instead of vengeance. The kingdom of God is a place of shalom with all that means in terms of healthy relationships and being a healthy community spiritually, emotionally, and physically for all people.

We’re easily seduced by the kingdoms of our world. When we choose the world’s way; we lose our way. God allows Babylon to conquer Israel and take them into exile for 70 years in order to draw his people back to himself. In the center of Jerusalem is the temple, "The Lord is in his holy temple, let all the earth be silent before him." The temple, not the palace, is the center of the life of God's people. This is the constant call to God's people, to keep our focus on God, to place God's will above our own, to be God's presence in our province and country which often sees no value in God or God's kingdom values. Jesus invites his listeners into God's kingdom; a way of prayer and worship filled with jubilation and celebration which can be practiced right here and now.

Earthly governments often create times when we're challenged to choose and live out God's kingdom values over the government’s values. In the kingdom of heaven, God's people speak up against injustice and work towards creating a safe place where everyone’s able to flourish. This looks like reaching out to support women who can't see any other option than abortion, opening up our homes and lives to support them so they can have and raise their child. When people feel death is the only option left to deal with their pain and suffering, coming alongside them with love, compassion, fellowship, and grace to help them see the value of life, even life filled with physical pain and suffering, helping them move towards death in trust so they’re able to impact those who know and see us. We live out God's values by loving, supporting and enabling people to choose God’s values given to shape us in his image. When they choose otherwise, we offer grace and mercy and understanding and help them see that God loves them and calls them back to draw close to him.

As Bethel, we keep our eyes and hearts on God, listening closely to Jesus' challenge and vision for living out God's kingdom right here, beginning in our homes. We’re sinners in need to God's forgiveness and grace which we receive through Jesus and his willing sacrifice on the cross in our place. In his death and resurrection, Jesus establishes his kingdom here. We share in both his death and resurrection by dying to our old lives and living new kingdom focused lives.

No matter your age or physical circumstances, you can be a powerful part of our church’s ministry by praying for Bethel and her leaders, showing your support of their leadership as servants of Jesus as we grow deeper in our love for God and our community, and grow the kingdom of heaven. 

Why Do You Tolerate Wrong - Habakkuk 1:1-11

A little history; Habakkuk appears late in King Josiah's reign. Josiah becomes king at 8 years old after 57 years of evil kings. Josiah follows God because of his mother's influence. At 18, King Josiah repairs the temple where the book of the Law is discovered. Josiah’s horrified when he realizes that Israel hasn’t lived by God's word for a long time and tells the high priest to ask God for guidance. The prophetess Huldah gives them God's answer in 2 Kings 22, "This is what the Lord says: I am going to bring disaster on this place and its people, according to everything written in the book the king of Judah has read. Because they have forsaken me and burned incense to other gods and aroused my anger by all the idols their hands have made, my anger will burn against this place and will not be quenched." But the prophetess also tells them that because Josiah has repented, this punishment will not happen until after Josiah dies.

King Josiah works hard to bring his people back to God. He renews the covenant with God and has the book of the covenant read aloud to everyone. Josiah tears down all the idol temples and altars and reinstates the worship of God with all the festivals and sacrifices. But it's hard leading the people back into a faithful relationship with God. For 67 years they haven’t heard the word of God read or taught by the priests and the people resist change. But hearing God’s Word, doing the sacrifices and festivals, didn’t change the hearts of many of the people or produce holiness.

Habakkuk has hard questions for God, "How long, Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, “Violence!” but you do not save? Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds. Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted." Why isn't God's Law creating a holy people; why does God allow evil and injustice. The nations around Israel are never going to understand who God is if this continues, why isn't God doing something to force his people back into a proper God honouring relationship for his glory?

Apathy is a common problem in many Christian churches today, so is bickering and fighting among God's people. Philip Yancy writes about how grace and love can be hard to find in many churches and it’s hard to change it. God doesn’t force us to follow him, but he does allow the consequences of our choices impact us in order to draw us back to him, as he does here with Israel. If we want to be acceptable to our culture, God’s not going to force us to choose his way over the world’s. He’s patient, but won’t allow our lack of faithfulness to go on forever.

With so many churches around, with the Bible so easy to get our hands on, with so many devotionals available and so many Christian writers, so many Bible studies, why is the church still so messed up? Why is there so much brokenness in so many Christian families? Why does the church so often feel like a social club instead of a place of transformation into the image of Jesus?

The missionary E. Stanley Jones asked Mahatma Gandhi, "Mr. Ghandi, though you quote the words of Christ often, why is that you appear to so adamantly reject becoming his follower?" Ghandi replied, "Oh, I don't reject your Christ. I love your Christ. It's just that so many of you Christians are so unlike your Christ." He went on to tell Jones, “If Christians would really live according to the teachings of Christ, as found in the Bible, all of India would be Christian today.” Ghandi rejected Christianity because when he was practicing law in South Africa, seriously exploring becoming a Christian and visited a church service. As he went to enter the church, a white South African elder stopped him, "Where do you think you're going, kaffir?" the man asked Ghandi. Ghandi told him, "I'd like to attend worship here." The church elder snarled at him, "There's no room for kaffirs in this church. Get out of here or I'll have my assistants throw you down the steps." Ghandi decided then to accept the good he found in Jesus, but never again considered joining a church.

Habakkuk wonders why God seems so quiet and so inactive and allows so much wrong to go on? God responds to Habakkuk, “Look at the nations and watch—and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told.  I am raising up the Babylonians, that ruthless and impetuous people, who sweep across the whole earth to seize dwellings not their own."

God’s going to allow outsiders to punish Judah for not being faithful to him. God allows the nations, whom the Jews want to be like, to conquer them and show them exactly what it means to be just like them. This isn't something new, during the time of the Judges God often allowed the nations around Israel to come in and conquer them until the people realized just how good they actually have it when they actually follow God seriously and would turn back to God; God would then send someone to come and rescue Judah from their oppressors. However, Babylon’s much more powerful, vicious, and crueler than any other nation.

God’s telling Habakkuk, if Judah’s not going to fear God, then they’ll fear the enemy he’s going to send against them. Judah's violence and injustice to their own poor, widows, orphans, and foreigners will be repaid by a people more skilled in violence and injustice. Habakkuk has to wrestle with the knowledge that God’s getting ready to do something hard and drastic. God’s going to allow the full consequences of Judah's desire to be like the nations to play its way out and it's not going to be pretty. A lot of innocent believers are going to suffer alongside those who don't really care about God. When we choose the power of this world to guide and shape us, it always leads to violence and injustice. Speaking with an older man in our community who blames the church for all the evils of the world, I brought up the teachings of Jesus and tried to show him how it’s only when the church embraces the world’s ways of power and might instead of living out Jesus’ humility and sacrificial servant spirit, that the church brings hurt instead of Jesus’ hope and salvation.

There’s so much injustice and evil in the world, just listen to the news. Why are churches having little impact in our communities? Is it because the church has tried so hard to be acceptable to our culture instead of focusing on being holy like God is holy. We’re all sinners unable to measure up to God; we deserve to be punished. God knows that we’re unable to pay the penalty for our sin, so he sends his own son Jesus to become human to take our punishment on himself. The Jews of Jesus’ time could have asked Habakkuk’s same questions, considering Rome oppression, asking why God doesn’t act. Yet through Jesus’ death and resurrection we’re saved from the greatest oppressor Satan who can enslave our souls forever! Jesus calls us to respond to him with humble gratitude and work with his Spirit to establish the kingdom of heaven here and choose him and his way over the ways of the world. Our governments and power systems will all fall, only the kingdom of heaven is forever.

God doesn’t tolerate evil. God repeatedly says, I've chosen you to become people who are like me so that you can show the world who I am. I want you to be holy so you can show the world a more blessed way of living that looks to build others up, to help others become who God calls them to be, to be a people who are sacrificial and generous and grace filled and loving towards others so that God is honoured and glorified.

Jesus tells a parable about fruit trees, and that if you don't bear fruit, you’ll get pruned. Paul describes the fruit of the Spirit as, "love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.  Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." This fruit we’re called to develop in ourselves, showing others through our lives and words who a Jesus follower is, imitating Jesus. This begins in each of our homes, supported by the church. This morning Adelyn professed her faith in Jesus, committing herself to him, to be shaped by the Holy Spirit, choosing Jesus’ way over our culture’s way because she trusts Jesus. This was Josiah’s hope for the people, this is my hope for each one of us, that we begin each day telling Jesus, “I choose you today, use me.”

Following rules doesn't change us, just like following the law and doing the festivals didn't change the hearts of Judah. The Holy Spirit transforms us to become a holy people that imitate Jesus. We’re called to open our hearts to the Holy Spirit to be transformed; having our hearts of stone changed into softer hearts of flesh, walking in the way of Jesus.

Deliverance on Mount Zion - Obadiah

                    

Obadiah is one of the minor prophets found near the end of the Old Testament. Minor’s not about a lesser message from God; it’s like the difference between a short story and a novel, each telling part of God’s story, each speaking the word of the Lord to the people, often messages of judgment and restoration, helping us understand God’s plan a little better. The message this morning leans more into Israel’s history, helping us when we read the other prophets.

Obadiah’s writing to the people of Edom, condemning them for their role in the destruction of Israel by foreign nations. It’s not exactly clear when Obadiah gives his message; it could be as early as the time of Elisha, but it’s more likely during the time of Jeremiah after Israel’s taken into exile in Babylon. We see similarities between Obadiah 1-9 and Jeremiah 49 that suggest they come from the same time. Israel’s been devastated, and Edom helped Israel’s enemies defeat them. This angers the Lord because Edom comes from the line of Esau, twin brother of Jacob. This is family going up against family and this offends the Lord. Not only has Edom gone up against Israel, they’re also boastful about it and believe that no one’s powerful enough to go up against them.

Edom’s south of the Dead Sea, a mountainous area. You can still visit one of its most famous fortresses, Petra. Petra’s about 80 kilometres south of the Dead Sea in a valley plateau that’s only accessible through a narrow ravine about a mile long and ends at an enormous bluff. It’s easy to defend and Edom believed that no one would ever be able to defeat them here. When you think you’re safe and secure and others are unable to hurt you, it’s easy to become proud and cruel. This happens to Edom, and they find themselves able to take advantage of Israel and get back for perceived historical wrongs dating back to Jacob and Esau. The people of the Middle East have long memories.

The Lord comes to Obadiah with a message of judgment for Edom, but a message of hope and restoration to Israel. The Lord sees Israel’s and reassures them that he will restore them back into their land. We hear an echo back to Abraham and the Lord’s promise to bless Abram and to curse those who curse him. The Lord tells Obadiah an envoy is being sent to the nations to call them to rise up against Edom. The Lord tells Edom that he’s going to make them small and despised, that the nations are going to humiliate them for what they’ve done to Israel. There are consequences to their acts against God’s people. Edom should consider Israel family since their ancestors where the twin brothers of Isaac and Rebekah, protecting Israel instead of going up against her.

The Lord’s message is to the point, Edom thinks they’re invincible and safe, but they’re only fooling themselves. “The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rocks and make your home on the heights, you who say to yourself, ‘Who can bring me down to the ground?’ Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down,” declares the Lord.” They’ve forgotten that the Lord’s more powerful than any kingdom on earth. If might is right, then the Lord is the most right. Edom’s cruelty was worse than thieves, even thieves wouldn’t take everything. “If thieves came to you, if robbers in the night— oh, what a disaster awaits you! — would they not steal only as much as they wanted? If grape pickers came to you, would they not leave a few grapes?” Even thieves leave a few grapes for the poor. It takes a special kind of hate to completely strip all the food from someone. There are consequences from the Lord, “But how Esau will be ransacked, his hidden treasures pillaged!” Edom kept their treasure in caves in the cliffs; and the nations the Lord’s going to use to destroy them are going to hunt out the wealth they’ve accumulated. Edom’s pride made them trust in themselves; but to the Lord, their location, wealth, and human wisdom are nothing. Edom is going to be punished for participating in the destruction of Israel; they’ll be cast down from their heights and Israel will come home again from exile.

“All your allies will force you to the border; your friends will deceive and overpower you; those who eat your bread will set a trap for you, but you will not detect it.” This refers to people they thought were friends, “those who eat your bread,” were those Edom trusted. Sharing meals is a sign of friendship and acceptance, which is why years later the religious leaders got so angry at Jesus for the kinds of people he’s willing to share a meal with, sitting with the undesirables and those seen as unclean and unacceptable. The wisemen of Edom don’t see this betrayal coming at all. The defeat of Edom probably happens in the late sixth or early fifth century B.C. The Nabateans went to the Edomites for a banquet. Once they were welcomed into the territory of Edom, the Nabateans turned against their ally and killed the guards.

 

The Nabateans were descended from Nebaioth, son of Ishmael and brother-in-law of Esau. They’re all related to each other. Their territory was south and east of the river Jordan, along the trade routes from the Far East to the Mediterranean, and their capital became Petra, after they defeated Edom. Antigonus, who gained power in Syria after Alexander’s death, sent two expeditions to Petra in 312 B.C to subdue the Nabataeans and control trade. Both were unsuccessful. Most Middle eastern peoples are related through the patriarchs of Israel, which makes these betrayals worse. This is why peace between Israel and Gaza is so hard to achieve; the anger and hatred run deep and gives a feeling of strength. The same thing happens with us too on smaller scales, some people hang onto anger rather than working towards forgiveness and reconciliation.

 

This message from the Lord is all about holding Edom accountable for their pride, lack of forgiveness; treating Israel as the “other.”  There’s a lack of trust in the other, always assuming the worst about them. We focus on differences: of skin colour, faith, in seeing and understanding the world around us differently. It’s often fuelled by politics or faith and ends in demonizing the other. We saw it happen during the pandemic, accusing the “others” of bad motives and intents rather than offering grace and understanding that each person was trying to do what they thought was best for their family. We’re influenced by the world to think in terms of the “other” instead of recognizing that we’re all created in God’s image, and that God desires that no one be lost.

 

Edom and Israel, also thought like this, leading to hatred and gloating when the other is hurt, allowing them to treat the “other” in horrible ways and justifying it because they’re not like us, creating brokenness. Jesus comes to bring reconciliation between us and God by taking our sin in himself, washing us clean from our sin. Jesus comes to destroy the power of sin that brings brokenness, and to draw us to himself. On Mount Zion, Jesus prays for unity among his followers, Jesus is then sacrificed to bring in the kingdom of heaven. Jesus is revealed as the King of kings before whom all the nations will bend their knee. Jesus is returning on the Day of the Lord to hold the nations, and each one of us, accountable for our actions. God’s people don’t need fear this day of accountability as Jesus has stood in our place before the judge of the universe and paid the price for our role in creating brokenness in the world. There’s this beautiful picture of all humanity coming together in Psalm 86:9, “All the nations You have made will come and bow before you, O Lord, and they will glorify your name.”

We’re called to this ministry of reconciliation, calling the world to believe in Jesus as their Lord, working towards reconciliation here on earth. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:14–20, “For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.”

Reconciliation needs the willingness to confess our role in broken relationships, personally and as nations; to forgive as Jesus forgives us; and to do the hard work of healing that reconciliation brings, as Jesus brings us healing through reconciling us with God. We’re unable to do this on our own, we need the help of the Holy Spirit to grow the fruit of the Spirit in us. It takes courage and a reliance on Jesus to move towards others to build the unity Jesus prays for in John 17. Are we willing to be such a church?

A Broken Family - 2 Samuel 13:1-22

This is hard story. God gives us the Scriptures to reveal who he is and our need for a saviour, revealing the darkness of sin. This story of Amnon and Tamar is about wrong desire, deception, sexual sin, and the brokenness that comes from sin. Tamar’s betrayed by her half-brother, and her father fails her in a deep way. This is a story with no redemption or hope; it’s a story of the darkness sin brings; there’s no happily ever. It’s also reality, already in kindergarten we’re teaching our children about safe touch, bad touch. We may not want to talk about abuse, but it’s real.

It begins with Amnon, the oldest son of King David who’s obsessed with his half-sister Tamar. He supposedly loves her, but even if it’s love, it doesn’t mean it’s right to act on it. This sounds strange in our culture where feelings are given priority when determining whether something is right or wrong. “If I really love someone or something, God must want it for me,” is common thinking. The mental and emotional gymnastics some people go through to make something wrong seem right no longer surprises me.

A third person enters the story, Jonadab, Amnon’s cousin. His ethics comes down to “might is right.” Amnon’s the oldest son of the king so no one should deny him anything he desires. We hear an echo to a later king, Ahab, whose evil wife Jezebel held this same philosophy. When Ahab desires a certain piece of land, Jezebel trumps up a charge against Naboth and has him executed so Ahab could have what he wanted. Might makes right, a philosophy still prevalent today. The belief that leaders should serve rather than be served has seldom been respected. Jonadab makes a plan to have Tamar come to serve Amnon while Amnon pretends to be sick. When David comes to see him, Amnon asks for Tamar to care for him, all so Amnon can have his way with her.

This is predator type of behaviour. Predators carefully observe their victims, seeking to isolate them so they can take advantage of them. This happens in all kinds of settings, including churches and church families. This is why we’re working to be proactive in protecting our children, seniors, and vulnerable members, why Bethel takes its safe church policy seriously, because bad things can happen in good places. King David’s a man after God’s own heart, and yet the horror of abuse happens even in his own family.

Jonadab’s plan works and Tamar’s sent to care for her half-brother. She’s unprepared for the evil planning of her half-brother and his advisor. Misplaced trust is one of a predator’s advantages. Amnon sends everyone out of the room; now there are no witnesses, no accountability, no protection for Tamar who’s extremely vulnerable. When Tamar goes to serve Amnon, he grabs her, “Come to bed with me, my sister.” What he’s demanding of her is against God’s laws: Deuteronomy 27:22, “Cursed is anyone who sleeps with his sister, the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother.” Then all the people shall say, “Amen!” God adds to this command in Leviticus 18:24–25, “‘Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the nations that I am going to drive out before you became defiled. Even the land was defiled; so I punished it for its sin, and the land vomited out its inhabitants.” Amnon knows all this, yet still follows his wrong desires.

4 times Tamar says, “No!” She’s a woman of honour. She offers Amnon a different choice, one that is still hard for her, but saves her honour, a choice often found among royalty in other nations, even if it still disobeyed God’s word in Deuteronomy. Tamar begs Amnon, “Please speak to the king; he will not keep me from being married to you.” Amnon ignores her and takes her by force. There’s no love here; love seeks to protect, to honour, to lift up; not to take and destroy. All those protestations of love for Tamar prove meaningless once he gets what he wants; it’s all lust. Most abusers try to fool themselves and others, but their declarations of love are false, driven by sinful desire, power, and lust; not God given and shaped love. Tamar tries one last time, “Sending me away would be a greater wrong than what you have already done to me,” appealing to Deuteronomy 22:28–29, “If a man happens to meet a virgin who is not pledged to be married and rapes her and they are discovered, he shall pay her father fifty shekels of silver. He must marry the young woman, for he has violated her. He can never divorce her as long as he lives,” but Amnon throws her out.

Tamar’s brother Absalom takes her into his own household to shield her from the shame of what’s happened, telling her, “Be quiet for now my sister; he is your brother. Don’t take this thing to heart.” Tamar’s desolate. Secrecy is common and enables abusers, prevents justice, and often leads to more abuse. The importance of being proactive to prevent abuse, to create safe places that prevent secrecy, that puts in place policies and procedures to make abuse of vulnerable people and children extremely difficult, cannot be overstated. Jesus embraces children, valuing them, in Mark 9:42 he warns us, “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them if a large millstone were hung around their neck and they were thrown into the sea.” Jesus reveals a deep compassion for the oppressed and hurting, this shapes who we want to be as Bethel, a safe place to belong to.

In Alberta, 2023 saw a 10-year high in calls for help. There was a 19-per-cent increase in shelter use by those escaping domestic violence. This is a nationwide trend: intimate partner violence rates have been increasing across the country. Statistics Canada reporting tells us that from 2018 to 2023, family violence and intimate partner violence rose alongside an increase of police-reported violent crime. It happens, even in our community, we have to be proactive rather than reactive in working to keep our members safe. We’re called to battle sin and evil, yet even safe church policies can only go so far, the responsibility begins with each of us. Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 4:3–7, “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister. The Lord will punish all those who commit such sins, as we told you and warned you before. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.” The battle against sin begins in ourselves.

King David’s furious, but doesn’t hold Amnon accountable, increasing Tamar’s pain and the anger of Absalom. David’s refusal to hold Amnon accountable leads to even more brokenness as Absalom seethes in silence, and later arranges for Amnon’s murder, and rebels against his father which leads to his own death. Evil leads to brokenness; a lack of justice and accountability leads to more brokenness.

Bethel has developed our safe church ministry to make our church family a safe place, a healthy family, a place to flourish, and grow in our faith and gifts. We take our responsibility to our children, seniors, and vulnerable adults seriously because one incident of abuse has ripple effects that keeps on growing and devastates so many people’s faith, lives, and trust in Jesus, including the abuser’s family and loved ones.

For those who’ve experienced abuse, our safe church committee, myself, Tammy, and Bowen, our chair of council, are here to walk alongside you; to help you find safe Christian counselling, connecting to the proper authorities, and helping you find healing. Jesus came to sacrifice himself on the cross, not only for the forgiveness of our sins, but to also bring healing and hope. When accusations are made, we find qualified people to walk with each person involved. Jesus offers you this invitation in Matthew 11:28–30, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”  

Jesus can take us from a place of brokenness and shame, to healing, wholeness, and hope. He gives us a new identity as a precious child of God, washed clean from sin and sin done against us. The Holy Spirit reminds us that God is a God of justice and will hold those who abuse accountable. Our trust and hope lie in Jesus, come and rest in his arms of strength. Let us work together to be a safe place that honours God and the peace he offers, a glimpse of the heavenly kingdom Jesus is bringing.

 

 

 

 

Generosity - Acts 4:32-5:11

When I was in elementary school at the Thunder Bay Christian School, a friend from outside our church and school community came with to our annual bazaar with his parents. Part of the bazaar was a cake auction at the end of the evening, and like here, there were astronomical bids for cakes. My friend’s parents were amazed at the generosity of those who bid on the cakes. My dad told them that generosity is part of our response to God’s generosity to us in providing for us. It confused me later when I would see the same community use their money as a weapon, holding back on giving when they didn’t like some of the decisions made by church council. Unfortunately, this is not uncommon. Our hearts and motivations, when it comes to generosity, are often mixed and can be shaped by both gratitude and selfishness.

We see the Holy Spirit powerfully at work after Pentecost, uniting believers in Jesus, bringing unity, and leading them to embrace again many of the teachings and ways God had given to Israel after freeing them from slavery in Egypt. God gives them a way of living with him and each other that reveals his heart, especially for those who find themselves falling on hard times. We see God’s love and grace especially in Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross for our sin and hard hearts. God’s grace and generosity is revealed in the resurrection of Jesus and the giving of the Holy Spirit, which is now working in this new community of believers in Jesus.

Barnabas responds to God’s call to generosity in Deuteronomy 15:7–8 and 10–11, ^“If anyone is poor among your fellow Israelites in any of the towns of the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward them. Rather, be openhanded and freely lend them whatever they need… Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore, I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land.”

Grace leads to love for the other. The apostle John picks up on this in 1 John 3:16–18, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” John is called the apostle of love; focusing on God and Jesus’ deep sacrificial love for us. I am thankful Jesus is so generous with his love towards us, even giving his life so we can experience new life. Thankfully his love is not tempered by selfishness of greed, as our love so often is. Love is shown through action; love shapes our choices and actions and flow out of our character and gratitude to God’s grace. Barnabas doesn’t have to sell his land to help others, he chooses to in response to Jesus’ love and sacrifice.

Luke then reminds us of the dark side of our souls. Like Barnabas, Ananias and Sapphira sell a piece of land, but this is where the story shifts. There’s a sense here of rivalry; pride or greed perhaps? Ananias also brings the proceeds of the sale of the land, or at least some of the proceeds. He holds some of the money back for himself, but he makes it look like he’s given everything to the apostles, just like Barnabas. Ananias wants to look as generous and amazing as Barnabas. There’s nothing wrong with keeping some of the money for himself, it's his after-all, he’s still donating a lot to the church; the sin’s found in his heart, in his deception, greed, and pride.

Why we do something is as important as what we do; the why reveals where our hearts, values, and identity really lay. What we do and who we are as followers of Jesus need to be the same. When they’re not the same, the biblical word is hypocrisy, referring to actors, putting on different faces to play a role. Peter addresses this in his responses to Ananias and later to Sapphira, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.” Then Peter said to her, “How could you conspire to test the Spirit of the Lord?” Both experience the consequences of their deception, falling dead, and “Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.”

This is a hard story; often I’ve had people ask why God would be so harsh over such a small lie, we’ve all done worse. What we hear in this hard story is an echo to another time in Israel’s history during a major step forward in God’s redemptive history. It’s at Jericho’s fall as Israel’s finally entering the Promised Land and beginning the process of claiming it for themselves. Jericho is the first major battle Israel faces as they seek to conquer the land, and God demands that everything in the city be devoted to him. After the fall of Jericho, a man named Achan decided to take a beautiful robe, silver, and gold for himself, burying it in his tent, stealing from God, figuring God wouldn’t notice or mind.

The cost of Achan’s theft from God is the death of him and his family by stoning. Ananias and Sapphira are accused of lying to God and testing the Holy Spirit, basically stealing from God, and the result’s death, echoing back to when God gives Adam and Eve one command, “Don’t eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil for the penalty is death.” Ananias and Sapphira aren’t just fudging on the selling price and keeping a few dollars in their pockets, they’re testing the Holy Spirit, “I want all the benefits of being part of God’s family, but I don’t want to honour God with my life; I will follow Jesus on my terms, not his.” God doesn’t need your money, what he demands is your everything, your entire life and heart for his kingdom. God gives us everything we have, wealth, talents, or time, in order to use and develop them for him and the kingdom of heaven.

As part of your everything, God desires your absolute loyalty and love, to make nothing more important in your life than him. Achan, Ananias, and Sapphira made money more important than God. Jesus talks a lot about possessions. In Luke 12:15 Jesus warns, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” In Mark 12:41–44, Jesus uses a widow as an example of what loyalty and love to God and neighbour looks like, “Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.” This offering was used to help the poor and widows; it was above their tithing. Jesus marvels at her generosity, recognizing her love of God and neighbour being lived out here. This is heart giving, full trust in God giving, total life giving to God. Ananias and Sapphira’s story reminds us that outside of God lays death, while in Jesus we find life.

In the kingdom of heaven, loving God is the first commandment and the second is to love our neighbours. Paul picks up on Jesus’ teaching; in 2 Corinthians 8:7–8 Paul writes, “since you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you—see that you also excel in this grace of giving. I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others.” Paul offers a warning as well, 2 Corinthians 9:6–9, ^“Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”  

Many of us were never taught how to give, we learned by watching and through reading the Bible. If you want to learn to be more generous, begin small. Begin with a couple of dollars every week, after a few months, increase it by a dollar. It’s about growing in trusting God to provide, and it starts small, but like our faith, we work at it to grow our giving. Choose something important to you to give to. Don’t forget to surround your giving with prayer, asking for the Holy Spirit to guide and shape your heart. As you increase your giving, you will discover joy in giving, a deeper faith, the blessing from the Holy Spirit, and a full life.

 

The Holy Spirit, The Teacher - John 14:22-31

          

Our passage this morning is part of a section that begins with Jesus washing the disciples’ feet and ends with Jesus being arrested. Jesus is preparing the disciples for his death and resurrection, which includes the promise of the Holy Spirit. This morning we’re focusing on Jesus’ promise of the gift of the Holy Spirit which is fulfilled on the feast of Pentecost.

When things are going well, we think less about our faith and God, and focus more on what we want. We don’t think about difficult times, our faith feels strong and confident, then the ground under us shifts and we begin to feel unsure about life and our faith gets tested. The disciples, on their way to Jerusalem had been arguing about who was going to get the places of honour and power in the coming kingdom Jesus keeps talking about. Jesus gives them a lesson in humility by washing their feet, and talks about his death. Just before going to the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus says in Matthew 26:31–32, “This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written: “‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.” The disciples’ confidence is being shaken.

Jesus tells his disciples that he’s going home, “Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” The disciples are unsure what Jesus is talking about, they sense something bad’s about to happen, but not sure what. Jesus’ talk of leaving, his earlier talk about being killed is sinking into the disciples’ consciousness.  

Jesus knows things are going to get hard for them, so he reminds them of the importance of obeying his teaching; reassuring them of the Father’s love. We see the unity between Father and Son as Jesus reminds them that everything he taught comes directly from the Father. To help them remember and obey his teaching, Jesus promises them the Holy Spirit, “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

Just as the Father sent his son Jesus, the Father sends the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ name, revealing the divinity of the Holy Spirit, the connection between Father, Son and Holy Spirit, giving authority to all that the Spirit will teach them: Jesus’ teaching. For the early believers, the most important thing about the gift of the spirit of truth, is that the Spirit is holy. The Holy Spirit has the same character as God, as the Father and the Son, a Spirit to be completely trusted.

Jesus calls the Holy Spirit the parakletos, which means “Helper, Counselor, Encourager, Mediator.” Most Greek dictionaries emphasize “Helper.” The Holy Spirit is given to provide us with help in difficult times. In giving the Holy Spirit, Jesus gives them peace. This peace through the Holy Spirit brings knowledge, strength, and courage in the difficult and exciting times that lie ahead. The Spirit teaches “panta,” or “all things,” helping us remember everything Jesus taught, everything we need to know of the kingdom of heaven, of God the Father, and of himself and how we’re saved through Jesus.

It's clear the disciples didn’t understand everything Jesus taught them; but later on, they remember what he’d said and finally understand. That comes as we mature in our faith, as the Holy Spirit teaches us; but we need to be humble and listen and learn. John Calvin sees the Scriptures, not as timeless truths but as the participatory engagement of God with human persons. This engagement happens through the Holy Spirit. Martin Luther writes that Jesus “must be a Saviour and Redeemer from real, great, grievous and damnable transgressions and iniquities, yea, and from the very greatest and most shocking sins…. you will have to get used to the belief that Christ is a real Saviour and you are a real sinner.” The Holy Spirit convicts us of this, and our need for Jesus as our Saviour.

On this Pentecost Sunday, we celebrate the presence of the Holy Spirit as the helper God sends, but the Spirit’s also given to us to convict us of our sin, John 16:7–8, “But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment….” We’re given a way to live by God and Jesus through the commandments and teachings to help us grow into the image of God we’re created in, and flourish as his people. It takes trust and faith in the way of Jesus, especially when it counters what our culture teaches.

There are things we’re taught, when we receive the information, but don’t really understand it until a situation comes up and suddenly it makes sense. Jesus taught often about bearing our crosses, yet just before this passage, the disciples were arguing about sitting on thrones instead. It’s only after Jesus’ death, resurrection, and the coming of the Holy Spirit that they finally understand that part of following Jesus involves suffering, persecution, and even death, for some of them, death on a cross. The Holy Spirit’s given to help them find peace in the suffering, faith in Jesus, but even more importantly, as Dallas Willard often said, the faith of Jesus. The Spirit gives us the strength and ability to obey Jesus and find our life in him because he gave his life for us.

We just ordained elders, a youth elder, and deacon. Let the people see your obedience to Jesus’ teachings and God’s laws and decrees, let them see and hear your faith in Jesus, help them see that you have the faith of Jesus that carries us through life. Obey in a spirit of love for God and Jesus. This looks like loving God’s people deeply, loving those who are lost and searching. Lean on the Holy Spirit to love as Jesus loves. The world will know we follow Jesus by how we love; not just those who are like us, but especially those who are difficult to love, those who are very different from us, even those who don’t believe as we believe.

We love because we’re created in the image of God. Love leads to forgiveness and reconciliation. The Holy Spirit’s given to us to help us live this, because in our own strength we’re unable to. When Jesus meets the disciples in the upper room on Easter, John 20:21–23, “Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven,” remembering we are forgiven as we forgive others!

Jesus warns us about the prince of this world, “I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over me, but he comes so that the world may learn that I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me.” The prince of the world is Satan, and as we learned when Satan tried to tempt Jesus in the wilderness, he has no power over Jesus. Satan comes so that the world will learn how much Jesus loves the Father, trusting completely in the Father, doing exactly what the Father has commanded him. This completely frustrates everything Satan’s trying to do to twist creation, as God created it, out of shape. Satan’s the prince of lies, this is why Jesus sends us the spirit of truth, pointing to Jesus, who is the way, the truth, and the life; helping us to keep our eyes, ears, and hearts focused on Jesus, strengthening us in our faith.

Paul emphasizes that the Holy Spirit reveals its presence in our lives by working in us to grow the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22–25, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” There’s so much more to say about the Holy Spirit, but ultimately, if we fail to listen to the Holy Spirit and grow its fruit, we need to look deeper at our faith. Is our faith in Jesus, or in the things of the world? Today, listen deeply to the Holy Spirit’s teaching as the Spirit points us to Jesus’ teaching and way. Follow the Spirit in the way of Jesus.