1 March 2014 - Fruit of the Spirit (part four of four)

“A gentle answer turns away wrath”, as per Proverbs fifteen

“Be completely humble and gentle”, in Ephesians four is seen

On the same topic, in Philippians four from Paul we hear

“Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near”

He continues “Do not be anxious about anything”

But present requests to God with thanksgiving

From First Peter three, doing right results in being blessed

Doing everything with gentleness set us apart from the rest

In Isaiah chapter forty, a shepherd is what God is called

He gently gathers, carries, and leads without being stalled

Zechariah, in chapter nine, about Jesus did prophesize

The Son of God would be righteous, gentle, and wise

In Matthew eleven, “I will give you rest”, Jesus did impart

“Learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart”

Like a city with broken down walls, says Psalm twenty five

Is a man in whom self-control does not constantly thrive

Titus chapter two says to “teach the older men to be”

Temperate, self-controlled, and loving faithfully

Similarly, women should be self-controlled and pure

And kind so that God’s Word they do not obscure

In Second Peter chapter one, faith leads to goodness

Then knowledge, self-control, perseverance, and godliness

Along with increasing measures of brotherly kindness and love

To ensure we are effective in sharing knowledge from above

“The Lord is…slow to anger” per Psalm one hundred three

“Compassionate and gracious”, “abounding in love” is He

In Psalm one hundred forty five, those words David did repeat

David’s words of praise are ongoing and are never obsolete

“The Lord takes vengeance on his foes”, says Nahum one

“Slow to anger and great in power” are God and His Son

1 March 2014 - Fruit of the Spirit (part three)

The kindhearted gain respect and are blessed by God in heaven

But the ruthless gain only wealth and trouble, per Proverbs eleven

Proverbs fourteen says that “He who despises his neighbor sins”

“But blessed is he who is kind to the needy” for then God wins

For “he who oppresses the poor shows contempt for the Maker”

“But whoever is kind to the needy honors God” the census taker

Be kind and compassionate to one another”, per Ephesians four

“Forgiving each other just as Christ god forgave you” for evermore

“As God’s chosen people,…clothe yourself”, per Colossians three

With compassion, kindness, gentleness, patience, and humility

“Bear with each other and…whatever grievances you may have” forgive

To “forgive as the Lord forgave you” is the way we should all live

Isaiah told “of the kindnesses of the Lord”, in chapter sixty three

About God’s deeds and compassion, that should be met with glee
Jeremiah chapter nine shared what the Lord did to him say

“Let not the wise boast of their wisdom” for it may go away

For the strong and the rich, He said that the same holds true
But instead boast in the Lord’s kindness that comes through

Titus chapter three says that “we lived in malice and envy”

But God’s kindness appeared because of His great mercy

Proverbs twelve says “A good man obtains favor from the Lord”

But warns that a crafty man is condemned to face His sword

“No good tree bears bad fruit” in Luke six Jesus did say

Based on his heart, the good man does good every day

Galatians six states “let us not become weary in doing good”

“For at the proper time we will reap a harvest” it is understood

“Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people”

“Especially to those who belong to the family” under the steeple

“For we are God’s workmanship, created…”, per Ephesians two

“To do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do”

“Do not imitate what is evil but what is good”, per 3 John eleven

For “anyone who does what is good is from God” in heaven

“Taste and see that the Lord is good” says Psalm thirty four

“Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him”, rich or poor

David said he would praise God forever in Psalm fifty two

Because His name is good and His name brings hope anew

“Surely God is good to Israel” begins Psalm seventy three

“To those who are pure in heart”, it is quite common to see

“The Lord is good and…endures forever”, Psalm one hundred ends

And also with His faithfulness, on which every generation depends

In the last verse of Psalm one hundred and eighteen

The same phrase “his love endures forever” is seen

Psalm one hundred thirty five says “the Lord is good”

The psalmist would constantly praise God if he could

The line from Psalm one hundred forty five should never fade

“The Lord is good…[and] has compassion on all he has made”

Per First Samuel twelve, “Be sure to fear the Lord” every day

“Serve Him faithfully” and consider His great deeds it does say

David did declare about God in Second Samuel twenty two

That He would be faithful to those who were faithful too

In Psalm thirty one, the faithful the Lord will preserve

“But the proud He pays back in full”, as they deserve

And in the last line of that same psalm, David did impart

“All you who hope in the Lord”, “be strong and take heart”

But in Second Timothy chapter two verse thirteen

“If we are faithless, He will remain faithful” is seen

In Deuteronomy seven, Moses repeated words from above

Know that “He is a faithful God, keeping his covenant of love”

Psalm eighty nine contains one of many famous declarations

“I will make Your faithfulness known throughout all generations”

In Lamentations chapter three, Jeremiah did profess

“They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness”

In First Corinthians ten “God is faithful” Paul did declare

He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear”

Per First John one, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just”

He “will forgive us our sins and purify us”, in this we can trust

15 February 2014 - Fruit of the Spirit (part two)

“Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous”, says Psalm 33

For right, true, and faithful the Lord’s word will always be

And despite empty stalls and a harvest that was null

Habakkuk rejoiced and in God his Savior was joyful

“May the God of hope fill you all with joy and peace”

Per Romans fifteen, so hope will overflow and not cease

In Philippians four, from Paul’s pen and in his voice

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”

Do not be surprised at trials and sufferings and more

But rejoice, per verse thirteen of First Peter chapter four

Psalm 104 says “May the glory of the Lord endure forever”

“May the Lord rejoice in His works” that disappear never

“I will sing praise to my God as long as I live” it does say

And “may my meditation be pleasing to Him” every day

In Zephaniah three, despite destruction, he said not to fear

For the Lord took delight in Zion, which he held so dear

In Hebrews twelve, Paul said to persevere with our race

And to not lose heart but to fix our eyes on Jesus’ face

For “who for the joy set before him endured the cross”

As “the author and perfecter of our faith”, He bore the loss

In Numbers six, God told Moses how the Israelites to bless

“The Lord bless you and keep you” he did on them impress

“The Lord [will] turn his face toward you and give you peace”

He will “be gracious to you” and your blessings will increase

In verse one hundred sixty five of Psalm one hundred nineteen

“Great peace have they who love [God’s] law” is clearly seen

“You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast”

For per Isaiah twenty six, the Lord’s time is never passed

In John fourteen, Jesus said “Peace I leave with you”

Telling his disciples not to fear in anything they would do

In Philippians four, Paul said “do not be anxious about anything”

“But in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving”

“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding”

“Will guard your hearts and your minds” through everything

Per Colossians three, “let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts”

Since all were to called to peace as one body with many parts

Per Psalm twenty nine, David’s love for God never did cease

For “The Lord gives strength” and “blesses his people with peace”

In Isaiah chapter nine, a child’s birth was foretold to one and all

The Mighty God and Prince of Peace will David’s throne reinstall

As a result, “of the increase of…peace there will be no end”

For from ongoing justice and righteousness He will not bend

“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith”

“We have peace with God”, Romans chapter five saith

And per 1 Thessalonians chapter five verse twenty three

“May…the God of peace, sanctify…spirit, soul, and body”

“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him”

“Do not fret when men” do evil and things look grim

Psalm thirty seven continues, “… and turn from wrath”

And “do not fret” for that only leads to an evil path

In Psalm forty, David said that he patiently did wait

God heard his cry and saved David from a bad fate

Proverbs fourteen says “a patient man has great understanding”

“But a quick-tempered man displays folly” in virtually everything

“Love is patient, love is kind” per 1 Corinthians thirteen

About patience in suffering, in James five is also seen

“Be patient…until the Lord’s coming” for there is nothing to fear

“Be patient and stand firm…because the Lord’s coming is near”

2 Peter three says “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise”

“He is patient” so believers should not doubt as did Thomas

God wants “everyone to come to repentance”, per verse nine

“The day of the Lord will come like a thief” says the next line

“And the earth and everything in it will be laid bare”

By living “holy and godly lives” we will not despair

“Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation"

This pearl of wisdom Paul also shared in many a quotation

2 February 1014 - Fruit of the Spirit (part one)

Galatians five says “the acts of the sinful nature are obvious”

Including debauchery, selfish ambition, and other acts devious

“But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness”

Along with goodness, faithfulness, self-control, and gentleness

And about fruit, in Luke six Jesus did to his disciples say

“No good tree bears bad fruit” whether Monday or Sunday

“Each tree is recognized by its own fruit”, He went on to state

That people do not pick “grapes from briers” Jesus did relate

“The good man brings good things out of the good” in his heart

And “out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks” its part

“I love you, O Lord, my strength” David wrote in Psalm eighteen

Jesus’ thoughts on loving God in Mark chapter twelve are seen

To love Him with all of one’s heart, mind, strength, and soul

For “there is no greater commandment”, that is the real goal

In John thirteen, a new command Jesus Christ did share

We should “love one another” in both actions and prayer

He told his disciples to love each other as he loved them

By doing so, others would know them and not condemn

God’s chosen people, Paul wrote in Colossians three

Should clothe themselves with compassion and humility

Paul continued with “and over all these virtues put on love”

“Which binds them all together in perfect unity” from above

In Exodus thirty four, “the Lord came down in the cloud”

He stood with Moses and said his own name out loud

“I am a compassionate and gracious God”, He did proclaim

“Forgiving wickedness, rebellion, and sin” all the same

Yet God does not leave unpunished the guilty nations

The punishment can carry on through several generations

“For God so loved the world that he gave his…only Son”

Per John 3:16, this supreme act of love cannot be undone

So “that whoever believes in Him shall not perish”

“But have eternal life” which is everyone’s wish

In Romans five, something similar Paul did write

“Christ died for us” sinners to make things right

Paul was convinced, per Romans chapter eight

That from the love of God nothing can us separate

Per First John three, “God is love” is a kind of synonym

For “whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him”