Try A Little Kindness

I loved the book The Ultimate Gift by Jim Stovall. I’ve taught Sunday School lessons on it and I even wrote down the twelve life lessons and carry them in my day-timer. One of the ones I try to remember every day is to do a kindness.

The Kindness items in my Fruits of the Spirit section in my store help me remember that.

Kindness Gifts

Put Christ back in Christmas! Christian Clothing and Gifts

Put Christ back into Christmas! Don't let anyone tell you you can't say Merry Christmas! Pass out buttons, send cards, wear the greeting! Put Jesus in His rightful place and have a Merry Christmas!

Christmas Gifts

Galatians 6:11-18

Galatians 6:11-18 “See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand!
Those who want to make a good impression outwardly are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ. Not even those who are circumcised obey the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your flesh.

May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation. Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule, even to the Israel of God.

Finally, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen.”

Remember in the beginning of the book I wrote that Paul probably dictated all of his letters to a scribe? Since he wrote at least four of his published thirteen letters under house arrest in Rome the guards must have heard all this. They got a real education didn’t they? But, Paul signs his name to validate that the letter was genuine. And here he writes the entire last paragraph in his own hand. It is so important to him!

We are saved by grace.

We have been set free and we should use that freedom to live for Christ and serve Him!

Galatians 6:6-10

Galatians 6:6-10 “Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor.

Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”

Every action has results. If we continually take the high road, while we may not think we’re going to be rewarded for it, or we think that everyone else is doing what he or she want and seem to be getting ahead, God repays in the end.

While God can and does forgive sins, He doesn’t wipe out the consequence of the sin. If we drink too much we run the risk of having an accident or ruining our health. If we steal, we run the risk of embarrassment and jail.

Galatians 6:1-5

Galatians 6:1-5 “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, for each one should carry his own load.”

We’re not to judge others harshly, but help them when they slip up, knowing we will slip at times too. We’re to bear one another’s burdens. And we’re not to compare ourselves to others, but only to ourselves. Ask ourself if we have done our ideal best. This will keep us from being conceited.

Galatians 5:22-26

Galatians 5:22-26 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.”

My application Bible said a very reassuring thing about this passage. It said if you desire to have the qualities listed here, then you know the Holy Spirit is leading you.

I find this reassuring because so often people judge a person by their actions: that person’s not kind – he must not be a Christian.

CS Lewis wrote in “Mere Christianity” that sometimes people have something in their personality or in the way they were brought up that makes it nearly impossible to act a certain way and that even a small act of kindness on their part will speak volumes to God. If you live each day controlled and guided by the Holy Spirit then the words of Christ will be in your mind, the love of Christ will be behind your actions and the power of Christ will help you control your selfish desires.

The character traits listed here are found in the very nature of Christ. We can’t get these things on our own even though we try. They are gifts of the spirit.

And that’s a hard idea to take in. There are hundreds of books, thousands of magazine articles that tell us how to get peace, how to have joy and we read them and we try, but the Bible tells us these are things the Holy Spirit gives us.

He must be in us, we must know Him and we must love Him and we must imitate Him. We must daily commit our sinful tendencies to God’s control. And moment by moment draw on the Spirit’s power to overcome them.

All 9 Fruits of the Spirit in your choice of 6 jewel-tone colors on over 150 different products:

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Galatians 5:16-21

Galatians 5:16-21 “So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

Paul gives us a catalog of evil things here. Let’s look at the list.

Sexual immorality – Christianity came into a world where this was not only condoned, it was regarded as normal! It was Christianity that brought chastity into the world.
Impurity – This is what makes man unfit to come into the presence of God. It separates us from Him.
Debauchery – This word (in some translations it’s wantonness) has been defined as “readiness for any pleasure”. The people who practiced it knew no restraint. They rarely thought about what other people thought. Jezebel was described as wanton.
Idolatry – The worship of gods, which the hands of man made, or material things, which have taken the place of God.
Witchcraft –This literally means the use of drugs! And that’s because the sorcery and witchcraft so prevalent back then used poisonous drugs.
Hatred – Men who are characteristically hostile to other men. The exact opposite of the Christian virtue of love for everyone.
Strife or Discord – Rivalry, which comes from quarrelling and competing.
Jealousy – This word was originally a good one. It meant emulation: the fine desire to share nobility, to attain it when we see it. But, it degenerated to mean the desire for something someone else has.
Fits of rage – This is self-explanatory.
Self-ambition – They used to use this term for a man who sought public office, not to serve, but for what he could get out of it.
Dissension – Literally, this word means, “standing apart”. People who aren’t in harmony or agreement.
Envy – Euripides called this “the greatest of all diseases among men.” It goes beyond jealousy. It’s not that you just want what another person has, you actually begrudge the fact the other person has these things at all. He doesn’t even so much want them for himself; he just doesn’t want the other person to have them.
Drunkenness – In the ancient world this wasn’t a common vice. It was degrading to become drunk. The Greeks drank wine all the time. Children drank wine! But, they drank their wine in the proportion of three parts water to two parts wine. The Greeks, Jews and Christians would have looked down on anyone who was drunk.

Galatians 5:2-15

Galatians 5:2-12 “Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. "A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough” I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion will pay the penalty, whoever he may be. Brothers, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!”

One thing I took new from this is, Paul tells them they can’t just accept circumcision as something they should do. By accepting that it meant they accepted the whole law. They couldn’t just accept part of it.

This made me think of people who dabble in the occult, or new age. They think it’s not all bad, that they can pull some harmless or fun things out to believe or take part in. (Horoscopes for instance.) But, in some things, and I believe God and salvation are two of them, there is such a thing as only black and white, no shades of gray.

Paul says a little leaven, levens the whole lump.

The other thing I took from this section is; love is an outcome of our faith. And our faith can be measured by how much we love. And he tells us this in the next verses:

Galatians 5:13-15 “You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself."If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.”

A commentator called this Paul’s track. After flights of thought he reduces it down to something an ordinary man could understand and do. We have not become free to sin, but free not to sin. And only the Holy Spirit makes us selfless enough to love others. We can’t do it ourselves.

Galatians 4:21- 5:1

Galatians 4:21- 5:1 “Tell me, you who want to be under the law, are you not aware of what the law says? For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. His son by the slave woman was born in the ordinary way; but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a promise.

These things may be taken figuratively, for the women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar. Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother. For it is written: "Be glad, O barren woman, who bears no children; break forth and cry aloud, you who have no labor pains; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband.”

Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. At that time the son born in the ordinary way persecuted the son born by the power of the Spirit. It is the same now. But what does the Scripture say? "Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman's son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman's son.” Therefore, brothers, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman.

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”

To devout and scholarly Jews and especially Rabbis, scripture had more than one meaning, and the literal meaning was often regarded as the least important.

Peshat would be the simple, or literal meaning
Remaz the suggested meaning
Derush the meaning evolved and deduced by investigation
Sod the allegorical meaning

The first letters of these four words, PRDS, are the consonants of the word Paradise. They said that when man had succeeded in penetrating into these four different meanings he had realized the joy of paradise. They loved playing these word games! So a Rabbi would take a simple bit of historical narrative from the Old Testament and read into it, inner meanings. These meanings would seem rather fantastic to us today, but convincing to the people back then.

The story of Sarah and Hagar in Genesis is pretty straightforward. Paul allegorizes it to illustrate his point. As a devout Jew, this is the way he had been taught, but it was also something the readers would expect and understand.

Chapter 5 verse 1 reminds us that it is the power of our love for God, not the constraint of the law that keeps us right.

Galatians 4:12 – 20

Galatians 4:12-20 “ I plead with you, brothers, become like me, for I became like you. You have done me no wrong. As you know, it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you. Even though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus himself. What has happened to all your joy? I can testify that, if you could have done so, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me. Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?

Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you from us, so that you may be zealous for them. It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good, and to be so always and not just when I am with you. My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you, how I wish I could be with you now and change my tone, because I am perplexed about you!”

“Become like me for I became like you.” Paul became a gentile. He gave up all the traditions and privileges of his people. He appeals to the Galatians, telling them not to become Jews, but like himself.

In the next part we see that Paul apparently met them when he was ill. Paul talks other places about a thorn in the flesh, which God did not take away even though he prayed He would. No one knows what that thorn was, but many have speculated. Some think it was the persecution he suffered. Some think it was the temptations of the flesh, which he said he never succeeded in suppressing. Some think it was his physical appearance; bow-legged and probably with “runny eyes” (due to an eye disease prevalent back then and in that area.)

The oldest thought was that he had violent headaches and this may have tied in with the fact that when Paul first went to Galatia he had been to Pamphylia where malaria fever raged. It’s possible he contracted malaria and went to Galatia to recover. Malaria reoccurs and is accompanied by a headache that people have likened to a red-hot bar thrust through the forehead.

We’re not sure what was exactly wrong with him at this time, but apparently the Galatians didn’t treat him like a burden. They took care of him.

Paul calls them “my little children”. Very loving, very enduring. The disciple John, who was the sensitive one, used this term a lot, but this is the only time in the Bible that Paul does. Paul was yearning over his straying children. He had gone through a lot to get them to where they were and it was killing him to think they were backsliding. He couldn’t understand why someone who believed and therefore freed himself from the law would want to take on the burden of the law again.

Love God Line of Christian Apparel, Cards and Gifts

The more I think about this positive thinking thing, the more I feel like we should plaster positive Christian messages everywhere. Not only so we can have them burned into our minds, but also to get other people to think about God and good too.

I just added a new section to my shop: Love God Gifts

Youth Worship Service

This is a service we put together for our youth this coming Sunday night. The narrator reads all of this from behind a curtain. The room is completely dark except for one candle in the middle of the room. The kids are lined up at the door, each with an unlit candle.

"The people walking in darkness have seen a great light"
Candles are often used in worship services to symbolize the presence of Jesus. Jesus said “I am the light of the world” and as you can see, He shines brightly in the darkness.
"In Him there is fullness of joy. There is no darkness at all"

Enter and light your candle from Him. Troy and Nancy will start passing the light. Stand in a tight circle around Him.

The Bible tells us "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden"

"The Lord is my light and my salvation - whom shall I fear?"

"The Lord is God and He has made His light shine upon us"

"Let us walk in the light of the Lord"

Jesus’ light offers us warmth and comfort. It provides us with light to see and a guide of where to walk.

Take a big step back if you have ever lied to your parents
Take a big step back if you laughed at some one and caused them pain
Take a big step back if you have cheated on your homework
Take a big step back if you didn’t do something your parent asked you to
Take a big step back if you ever had an unkind thought about someone
Take a big step back if you were ever selfish

Blow out your candle if you have every broken one of the Ten Commandments.

Focus on the remaining light, how it looks farther away, and how with your flames gone it’s harder to see. You no longer feel the warmth from the candle's flame.

If you have ever broken the golden rule and treated someone as you would not want to be treated then turn around and sit down.

Even though you can’t see the Christ candle anymore you know its there.
Remember how the light looked when you all had yours lit facing the center light. Sit and think about times when you’ve turned your back on Jesus and walked away from Him.

Play the Lifehouse song Everything

Stand up and turn around if you have ever said, "I'm sorry"

Take a baby step forward if you ever helped a friend
Take a baby step forward if you ever helped your parents
Take a baby step forward if you ever said I love you to someone you cared about
Take a baby step forward if you go to church most Sundays
Take a baby step forward if you ever prayed for someone
Take a baby step forward if you try to do what you are suppose to

OK, if you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and came to save you from your sins so that you might live with Him for eternity - come the rest of the way back to the candle.

No matter how far away we get from God He is always ready to take us back. WE may turn our backs and run away from Jesus, but he's always there ready to guide us home and give us warmth and comfort. But, no matter how many “good” things we do – that’s not what gets us there. We have to repent and acknowledge Jesus for who He is and accept His gift of eternal life.

Look at everyone in the circle and see how when we're all together we can help one another in our journey of faith and spread a lot of light out into the world.

Nancy and Troy, light your candles and pass the light around.

Play Go Light Your World by Kathy Triccoli

Pray: Lord, thank you for coming into our lives. Help us be lights that show others the way to You. Amen

Everyone can blow out his or her candles.

Bible Verses for Special Needs

You are sad, - John 14
You have sinned, - Psalm 51
You are facing danger, - Psalm 91
People have failed you, - Psalm 27
It feels as though God is far from you, - Psalm 139
Your faith needs stimulation, - Hebrews 11
You are alone and scared, - Psalm 23
You are worried, - Matthew 8:19-34
You are hurt and critical, - 1 Corinthians 13
You wonder about Christianity, - 2 Corinthians 5:15-18
You feel like an outcast, - Romans 8:31-39
You are seeking peace, - Matthew 11:25-30
It feels as if the world is bigger than God, - Psalm 90
You need Christ like insurance, - Romans 8:1-30
You are leaving home for a trip, - Psalm 121
You are praying for yourself, - Psalm 87
You require courage for a task, - Joshua 1
Inflation's and investments are hogging your thoughts, - Mark 10:17-31
You are depressive, - Psalm 27
Your bank account is empty, - Psalm 37
You lose faith in mankind, - 1 Corinthians 13
It looks like people are unfriendly, - John 15
You are losing hope, - Psalm 126
You feel the world is small compared to you, - Psalm 19
Paul's secret for happiness, - Colossians 3:12-17
With big opportunity/discovery, - Isaiah 55
To get along with other people, - Romans 12
For dealing with fear, - Psalm 47
For security, - Psalm 121:3
For assurance, - Mark 8:35
For reassurance, - Psalm 145:18

Online Bible

I use Bible Gateway all the time when I'm online and want to look up a Bible verse. It's especially great because you can see all the different Bible translations. Here's a neat chart they've got you can store on your desktop.

New International Version (NIV)

Books
Chapters
Genesis
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
Exodus
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40
Leviticus
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27
Numbers
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36
Deuteronomy
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34
Joshua
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Judges
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
Ruth
1 2 3 4
1 Samuel
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
2 Samuel
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
1 Kings
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
2 Kings
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
1 Chronicles
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29
2 Chronicles
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36
Ezra
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Nehemiah
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Esther
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Job
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42
Psalm
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150
Proverbs
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
Ecclesiastes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Song of Solomon
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Isaiah
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66
Jeremiah
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52
Lamentations
1 2 3 4 5
Ezekiel
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48
Daniel
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Hosea
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Joel
1 2 3
Amos
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Obadiah
1
Jonah
1 2 3 4
Micah
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Nahum
1 2 3
Habakkuk
1 2 3
Zephaniah
1 2 3
Haggai
1 2
Zechariah
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Malachi
1 2 3 4
Matthew
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
Mark
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Luke
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
John
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
Acts
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
Romans
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
1 Corinthians
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
2 Corinthians
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Galatians
1 2 3 4 5 6
Ephesians
1 2 3 4 5 6
Philippians
1 2 3 4
Colossians
1 2 3 4
1 Thessalonians
1 2 3 4 5
2 Thessalonians
1 2 3
1 Timothy
1 2 3 4 5 6
2 Timothy
1 2 3 4
Titus
1 2 3
Philemon
1
Hebrews
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
James
1 2 3 4 5
1 Peter
1 2 3 4 5
2 Peter
1 2 3
1 John
1 2 3 4 5
2 John
1
3 John
1
Jude
1
Revelation
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22