Galations 6:9

July 8 07 - Epistle at Mt. Olive - Galations 6:9

NIV: Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

NLT: So don't get tired of doing what is good. Don't get discouraged and give up, for we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time.

Thoughts about why we would become weary in doing good:

• Do we feel taken for granted and under appreciated?
• Do we get tired of doing good because we think we are the only ones doing good?
• Are we doing good for brownie points - or just to work off a list - and we don't engage in the moment we spend in this good deed? And therefore we would simply become tired working off the list?
• Are we looking for a reward every time we do something good? Know anyone like that? Could it be that is our attitudes, too?

Some reasons to do good:

• There's a lot of satisfaction in doing good when you don't need to. I have better days and sleep better at night.
• Doing good sometimes produces rewards later down the line, when I need a reward (a helping hand from someone else).
• Doing good produces friends, and who doesn't need a friend? I surely need all my friends!
• Doing good is what God expects of me. After all, none of my "doing good" will ever equal the good he has done for me. When I do good, it's my response to the good God has done for me, even when I don't deserve that good.
• I am disappointed in myself when I do "bad" to someone, whether it's a harsh word wrought from my own exasperation or frustration or an opportunity to help someone who is in need.

Note to self: Doing good doesn't always mean being "nice." "Nice" and "good" are not necessarily the same thing. But "not nice" should always be delivered in and with love and acceptance.

Galations 5:15 - Devouring each other

From the epistle reading at Mt Olive on July 1: Galations 5:15:

NIV: If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be
destroyed by each other.

NLT: But if instead of showing love among yourselves you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another.

Does this verse speak to our critical spirits? A few examples that occurred to me:

• When two or more of us criticize the lack of work others do in the church.


• When we express our dissatisfaction with the hymns for the day.


• When we have expectations that others should behave as we think we do and we voice our dissatisfaction about their behavior.


• When we judge before we learn.

Things to think about:

• Is there a cure for the critical spirit?


• Whose responsibility is it to lead the way to change?


• Can we make this change on our own?


• How do we stomp the critical spirit within our own selves?

Isaiah 65:1 - Finding God by accident

Old testament reading on June 24 07 at Mt Olive - Isaiah 65:1

NIV: I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me; I was found by those who did not seek me.

NLT: People who never before inquired about me are now asking about me. I am being found by people who were not looking for me.

Thoughts:

• How amazing that God puts himself in our way so that we stumble across him and find him. I personally am blessed that it happened to me.
• Who would know God if he didn't reveal himself to us on purpose? Would we ever actively seek him if we had never known about him?
• Are we seeking something when we stumble across God, or does God just pop up in our way and we stop and take notice?
• Is it in our human nature to seek? Is it inevitable that we come across some one or some thing to identify with?
• Why is it that some refuse to believe or have a face to face with God? Is the reaction a void? Or is it a face to face "I see you, but I don't believe you exist" reaction?