FAITH and FAITHFULNESS
as gleaned from the Word of God and A Gardener Looks at the Fruit of the Spirit by Phillip Keller

Because faithfulness is part of God's character,
it is an expression of His selflessness.
His faithfulness is not influenced by us or our behavior
but by His commitment to us in relationship.
God, because He sees value and worth in us,
willingly invests all that He is
into us.

God's knows that His love, His light, His truth,
His presence, His patience, His goodness, His kindness,
His constancy through time
will stir,
in open hearts and humble, responsive spirits,
an awareness that His love is one of unrelenting love.
As His faith in us continues and is coupled with His faithfulness,
we find the darkness in our lives giving way to the light,
despair shrinking and hope being born,
and we find ourselves desiring to be more faithfully committed to Him.
Our confidence in Him (and His ability to do what we cannot) increases,
and we grow in our ability to push on, persevere through the difficulties that are,
and live a life that is unshaken by fear.

God's demonstrated commitment in relationship with us,
has shown us the healing and transforming power
of His generous and faithful love.
We start seeing, in others, the potential that God sees
and we are drawn to pour ourselves out in selfless ministry,
sharing with them the blessing we have so graciously received.
And God's faithfulness has found another channel
into the lives of those in our life spaces!

~ Prayer ~

We see that we are but stewards of that which we call “ours”
~ our time, energy, focus, possessions, learning, affection.
We want to “possess loosely” so that You can use them
in ways that will glorify You and benefit others.

We thank you for your faithfulness when we have let You down.
We see that You have been steadfastly at work
doing what is right and best in any given situation
to draw us closer to You,
to encourage us to grow, more and more into Your likeness.
We want the Holy Spirit to continue translating our prayers,
whatever the words we speak,
to reflect our heart's deeper desire,
to be fully committed to You and to Your mission!
Amen

Twila Charles Leichty
July 2, 2010

Good and evil are at opposite ends of the continuum.
God's GOODNESS is synonymous with His God-ness.
Everything about God is good and His goodness is abundant.
His goodness is summed up in His generous grace.
When we sinned, we deserved to be stripped of all
that He had so gloriously designed for us.
We ignored His law and willed to disobey.
He could have cut us off.
God, in His omniscience, knew that we would do so,
and while saddened and disappointed by our choice,
He devised a plan for our salvation.

God is a just God. The sentence of sin is death.
We stand condemned before Him, a victim of our own choice.
We have been trapped in Satan's snare and our death is certain.
That's when Jesus, God's Son, One unblemished by sin,
stepped in and volunteered to take upon Himself our sin
and suffer the wrath of God's justice in our place.
And God's love for us said "yes" to Jesus.

Our acceptance of God's goodness, Jesus' death in exchange for ours,
provides us with the opportunity for a restored relationship with God.
Justice was satisfied and, as recipients of God's forgiveness,
we experience God's profound goodness
in the peace that comes with freedom from guilt.

God's goodness is strong yet gentle, just but inviting in its appeal.
It cost God the sacrifice of His Son, separation from a part of Himself,
for our benefit,
that we can be the recipients of all that is His!
The cost to us is humility,
acknowledging our brokenness and need for forgiveness
provided by God's great self-sacrificing heart and the death of His Son.
And, it is this humble attitude,
awareness that we contributed nothing
to our own salvation,
that enables the fruit of goodness to grow in our own lives.
We see ourselves as conduits of His goodness,
not blessed by His gracious generosity to hoard,
but to open our hearts, our hands, and our homes
to those in need.

~ Prayer ~

God, you are good, and every good thing comes from You.
We are not the originators of any goodness.
We are simply recipients of Your goodness,
graciously and generously bestowed upon us,
so that we can open our hearts, hands, and homes to those
You choose to bless through us, Your humble servants.
Yes, we are soaking in Your goodness as a sponge,
so that when we are squeezed by others
we can release it, graciously and generously,
assured that there is an abundance of Your goodness available at all times
to assuage our emptiness.

Twila Charles Leichty
June 26, 2010

Redemption is really about Jesus' willingness
to pay the price to buy us back
from the master we'd chosen when we sinned, Satan.

PEACE is not passive but perceptive,
presenting man with an opportunity to embrace God's love,
but recognizing God's love has a polarizing effect
and being at rest in the midst of adversity.
(according to Phillip Keller, author of A Gardener Looks at the Fruit of the Spirit)

God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit
are at one, united in effort.
There is no conflict because their desire
is one: for our redemption, our renewal and our restoration.
God comes with His arms outstretched, inviting us into a relationship
that has, as its goal, our well-being.

It is my response to God's love that determines whether I enter into that peace
or find myself provoked by circumstances and the behaviors of others.
It is choosing not to take things or another's lived-out attitude personally
but remembering that the ways of man are self-serving,
as he seeks to embrace that which he desires or thinks himself entitled to,
those things that look good and feed pride.

It was Jesus' connection with His Heavenly Father
that enabled Him to be “serene, strong, and stable”
in the midst of adverse circumstances, around antagonistic and rejecting people.
And “it was the impact of this peace that touched and transformed people...”

Peace is being at rest, knowing that all is right between God and myself.
It comes as I allow the Holy Spirit access to my life
and ask that God work in me first
to uproot all that is self-serving, self-protective, and self defending
so that He can work through me,
making me an instrument of His peace,
providing the world with an alternative way of relating,
that of love!

Peace is not the absence of conflict
but a quietness, a stillness, a serenity even when others are hostile.
It is evidence that I am no longer trying to juggle God's interests and mine.

~ Prayer ~

Jesus was at peace with others even when they were at odds with Him.
Otherwise, others would never have seen God's love.
He had no need to argue, defend, or prove Himself.
He knew that His will was one with God's
and a love's focus on redemption and restoration
is more powerful than force to win back man's allegiance.
Help us to remember that as well. Amen.

Twila Charles Leichty
May 20, 2010

Joy ~ a fruit of the Spirit,
“one of the most significant hallmarks of God's people”
(according to Phillip Keller, author of A Gardner Looks at the Fruit of the Spirit).

Not dependent on what's happening in my life or the world around me,
not determined by the behaviors of others or my emotions,
joy is a visible indication of God “at work.”
It is indication that I believe God is who He says that He is,
that I believe that He is a faithful God and that He keeps all His promises,
regardless of what is currently happening.
It is a deep awareness that God is present, though I do not see Him,
that He is at work even when I fail to understand what He is doing.
This gives my life a stability that enables me to continue on;
it produces a settledness, a confidence that God's hand is working,
though circumstances scream their loudest
to convince me that what is seen and known in this time frame
is all that ever will be
and that despair would be a more logical choice than hope.

Yes, joy is freedom from the shackles
that circumstances would place on my mind and emotions.
It is freedom to feel all that that I feel,
understanding that what I feel is not always related to “what is in the larger frame”
but determined more by my limited view and perceptions here and now.

Happiness and joy may present themselves in the same time frame,
but happiness absconds when things are not as she would like.
Joy has the ability to “stick around” when things are difficult,
confidently and maturely waiting to be shown
how all will be fitted together
to show God's mighty hand, reveal His wisdom, and bring Him honor and glory!

Joy is evidence that I am harmonizing with God
while happiness is often pleasure with my own performance or that of those around me.

~ Prayer ~

God, keep us seeking to know You and Your Word better.
Thanks for recording the ways You've worked in past “impossible” situations
to show Your heart of love for us,
Your attentive care when You've seemed absent.
Thanks for Your ability to see beyond the frequent focus of our eyes,
for Your victory over death.
Help us to harmonize our voices with Yours
rather than delighting in our own efforts
and applauding only what pleases us.
Amen

Twila Charles Leichty
May 18, 2010

I am wearing my shirt with this printed on it:
A Blood Donor Saved My Life!
Matthew 26:28
And I am thinking about the truth of that statement.

My condition was terminal.
I would die unless a donor was found whose blood was the type I needed.
That blood needed to be pure, untouched by sin.
The blood that coursed through the veins of all those who would have donated in my behalf,
family, friends, or some beneficent stranger,
was similarly infected by the disease that was dictating my certain death.
There was no remedy...
until God saw my helplessness and the hopeless situation
and decided on the costliest of interventions.
He conferred with His Son, Jesus,
and Jesus agreed to the plan.

The plan was this: that God would send Jesus to earth,
conceived by the Holy Spirit in human form within the womb of a woman.
His blood would remain uncontaminated by the sin in the world,
for He was one with His Father and His heart was pure.
The human blood that ran through His veins was cleansed by His heart
that pumped with the single motivation of serving His Father
and bringing glory to Him.

Jesus was a gentle man who taught mankind about His Father
and revealed His Father's heart of love in actions
that blessed those who opened themselves,
acknowledging and revealing their need.
There were miracles that evidenced His connection with His Father, God,
but none that equaled His blood donation that provided me with everlasting life.

The conditions at His donation on Calvary's Cross
were so unlike those at Red Cross donation sites today.
He had lost a lot of blood by the brutal flogging He'd already endured
before He walked to the site on the hill of Golgotha where He was crucified
and His side was pierced by the sword, spilling out the rest of His blood.
It was there that He died for sin, mine and that of all mankind.
Many who mocked and scorned Him resisted seeing their need of His blood;
others who had walked with Jesus for the past three years watched sadly and helplessly,
not yet fully comprehending how His death was part of the life-giving process.

Three days later, these individuals who believed in Jesus were enlightened,
amazed and elated with His resurrection,
with fresh understanding and infused with new life.

The disease of sin, and its crippling guilt, that coursed through my being was eradicated
as I embraced Jesus and accepted the gift of healing, forgiveness,
that was provided through His blood.

Oh, if only everyone who is dying could know about this Blood Donor, Jesus,
and His one time donation for all mankind!

Twila Charles Leichty
April 3, 2010

JAMES 4: 13-17, 5:1-6

Be careful that you do not count on that which is not yours, like time!
Your life is as a vapor, present but passing.
You do not know the future
so don't set your plans in concrete.
Commit your life to God and trust Him with tailoring it to fit His purposes.
It may actually look very different from how you've planned it.
Live mindfully, aware that you are not the One in charge.
Speak in ways that accommodate to His Lordship, His direction.
Then, you won't find yourself distressed.

Boasting about your plans, all that you will do,
is not acknowledging the One who created and redeemed you,
the One who has the right to be supplying the agenda
for your life, learning and service opportunities!

Choosing to do things that are forbidden by God,
things that are hurtful to others,
are not the only things that are designated as sin.
When you know what is right and good
and you do not do it, it is sin.

Inevitably, those things that you fashion as a “god” and choose to serve
will not serve you well in the long run.
If your focus has been to have what you want
without regard to God's commands
and without respect to those in the world around you,
the time will come when you will see that what you have
will hold no value.

Prayer:
God, you are the creator and giver of TIME.
Our times are in Your hands.
But, so often we take control, sit in the driver's seat, think ourselves the navigator,
and fail to acknowledge or consult You, our GPS (God Positioning System).
No wonder that we get off track.
Forgive us.

Help us to remember that sin is more than doing what is wrong.
It is knowing what is good and right to do
and choosing not to do it.

Again, we commit to following and serving You.
Dislodge any “god” that we have allowed entrance into our lives.
We know it has nothing of value to offer us
and will sit in judgment against us in the end.

Twila Charles Leichty
February 28, 2010

JAMES 4:1-12

Where does conflict come from?
Do we not know ourselves?
It is the result of pride, self-will that wants what it wants
and isn't shy about asserting itself,
even becoming aggressive in seeking to find some way
to make it happen.

James says that when we don't ask for what we want
or we ask and don't receive what it is our hearts yearn for,
it is with good reason.
We are to look hard at our motivation for wanting what we do.
Scripture points out that self has a way of pushing it's own agenda,
perhaps hoping, or even insisting, that it must also be God's agenda.
Perhaps we have some awareness that our requests are selfishly driven
and so we seek to get our way without laying our want before God
in the way that Jesus did:
God, this is what I want, but if my want interferes with Your will,
if it will not be honoring to You,
if it will not fit into the bigger picture that You already see,
if it does not draw others to You,
then I relinquish my will and choose Yours.

To whom have we honestly committed ourselves?
We can't be loyal to God if what we want shoves Him from center stage.
He is, rightfully, a jealous God,
having given all in pursuit of a relationship with us!
He is a gracious God and provides us grace
but He will not dwell with pride.

Those who are proud argue against the truths of God;
they do not follow the laws of God;
they do not trust the provision of God.
Therefore, God resists, as a magnet, the proud,
but is drawn to those who are humble, acknowledge their dependence on Him,
and seek to honor Him in all their ways.

Yes, we need to settle the question of our loyalty,
return to our first-love,
repent of motives and behaviors that are self-seeking
and lay them out for God's cleansing work.
Humbling ourselves makes us pliable in His almighty hand
so that He can shape us into vessels that display His character.

James reminds us where we stand in relation to each other and God.
We are brothers and sisters, none of whom are fully mature.
When we put each other down, we are acting as a judge.
We are to remember that there is but one Lawgiver,
God,
and He alone is able to judge.

Prayer:
God, help us to remember that we need to look within
when there are conflict problems.
Help us to level with You about our hearts.
Too often our words and behaviors show us to be divided in our loyalty.
But we want to be totally committed to You!

Point out those times when we are praying “in Jesus' name”
to secure what we want
rather than telling you what we want or what we deem best,
then submitting to Your will, whatever that is,
and choosing to trust You,
knowing that Your ways are beyond our ability to see and know.

We acknowledge that Your jealousy is a rightful jealousy.
You are totally committed to us, having created and redeemed us,
even when it meant the sacrifice of Your Son, Jesus.
Help us to sacrifice those things of lesser value
for the “pearl” of a relationship with You, both now and for eternity.

Keep us humble, keep us honest.
Help us confess our wrongs.
We want to experience Your cleansing, from the inside out.
Mold our wills to do Your will.
It is the only way that we can truly honor You.

Twila Charles Leichty
February 19, 2010

JAMES 3:13-18

There are two kinds of wisdom, both of which have their own “reward.”
There is worldly wisdom, the kind that the serpent introduced in Eden
when he planted the idea that God was selfish
and choosing to withhold what was good from His children.
He had his own agenda and presented
what he thought would entice mankind to embrace it.
Cloaked in the bold and lofty pretense of concern for man, he succeeded.
However, within a very short time, man realized that what seemed good to him
was but a way for another to reach his own goal.
They had been manipulated!
That's the way worldly wisdom is, so be on guard.
Research its past history. Check out its fruit.
You'll find it delivering only that which confuses, wounds and kills,
both individuals and relationships.

Godly wisdom presents differently.
It is attired differently, in a coat of humility.
When viewed closely, one sees that its verbal presentation
is matched by behaviors that are gentle, kind, patient, and merciful.
There are no patches of favoritism or hypocrisy,
but a genuine concern for the well-being of all.
Others find it attractive and seek to know the Designer of such simple elegance!
It is in line with Scripture, never contradicting or twisting what God has spoken,
so study the Word
and you will be able to discern which is which!

Prayer:
God, we want to be people who know You and Your Word
so that we can rightly differentiate between
that which presents as wisdom in our world
and that which is Godly wisdom.
Help us to “live out” what we have been and are being taught by You!

Twila Charles Leichty
February 15, 2010

Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon.
And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts,
and cried unto him, saying,
Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David;
my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.
But he answered her not a word.
And his disciples came and besought him, saying,
Send her away; for she crieth after us.
But he answered and said,
I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Then came she and worshiped him, saying, Lord, help me.
But he answered and said,
It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs.
And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs
which fall from their masters' table.
Then Jesus answered and said unto her,
O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt.
And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.
Matthew 15:21-28

Jesus and his disciples traveled to the coasts of the north
when a woman from that area approached Him.
She recognized Him as the Jewish Messiah
and acknowledged Him as Lord
before pleading for mercy and presenting her need.
The fact that He did not respond to her did not cause her to turn away;
her persistence was fueled by her daughter's desperate need for healing.
But His disciples, tiring of her pursuit, asked Him to send her away.
Jesus responded that His mission was to the Jewish people.

She was not put off with His comment.
In her culture, it was common for people to pray to more than one god.
She had exhausted all of the resources known to her.
It was not difficult for her to kneel before this One, Jesus,
and further plead her case.
Jesus told her it was not right to give the food of children to dogs,
and she acknowledged the truth of that,
but she knew that dogs took their food from that dropped upon the floor,
and she boldly said so!
She wanted not what rightly belonged to another
but what was not claimed by those for whom it was intended.

She knew His heart, was driven to Him by her need;
she was totally dependent upon Him, His word and action.
It was the kind of faith that Jesus longed to see in the Jews,
but they were dropping their morsels upon the ground.
Jesus granted her request.

Prayer:
God, we were once outsiders as this woman,
and we thank You that the Bread of Life was broken for all of us.
We are eternally grateful!

Twila Charles Leichty
February 2010

JAMES 3:1-12

Think twice about teaching others!
Yet all of us are teachers.
All of us are impacting the lives of others -
family members, friends, co-workers, acquaintances.
Teachers have influence,
and those with greater influence have more responsibility.
And while we all stumble in many ways,
those with greater influence will impact the lives of more people when they stumble.

Those who do not sin with their words are considered perfect or mature,
because the tongue is the most difficult member of the body to train.
The powerful horse can be taught obedience through a bit in the mouth
and large ships, blown by mighty winds, can, by the captain's hand,
be turned by a small rudder.
Similarly, a small member of the body, the tongue, has great influence.

The tongue is likened to a forest fire, capable of vast destruction,
even when one's words are few.
It can incriminate the whole body by its utterances.
While man can tame every kind of animal,
the tongue continues to be like a beast with fangs full of venom, waiting for victims.

Yes, the tongue is capable of praising God and cursing man, God's creation.
Isn't that the same as lashing out against God?
How is it that both blessing and cursing come from the same source?
Two kinds of water, sweet and bitter, can not possibly come from the same spring!

Prayer:
God, we recognize that we are all teachers,
impacting the lives of those in our own spheres of influence.
Yet we struggle with our tongues.
We know we often stumble.
Our tongues sometimes tattle on us,
letting us know that we are not the people we desire to be,
wounding others,
failing to provide refreshment and encourage growth in those around.
Change our hearts, so that our words bless both You and others.
We need an infusion, a massive dose, of Your heart's compassion.
We want to be a people who build up,
according to the needs of those in our lifespaces,
rather than another member of the devil's demolition crew.
Help us. Show us the way.

Twila Charles Leichty
February 2010

And when he was come into his own country,
he taught them in their synagogue,
insomuch that they were astonished, and said,
Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?
Is not this the carpenter's son?
is not his mother called Mary?
and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?
And his sisters, are they not all with us?
Whence then hath this man all these things?
And they were offended in him.
But Jesus said unto them,
A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house.
And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.
Matthew 13: 54-58

* * * * *

My world view, when I am the focus, lends itself well
to thoughts, attitudes and behaviors that are self-protective,
designed to take care of me in some way.
It leaves no room for God.
We seek safety, the comfort of the familiar, what is known to us,
rather than seeking to know God
and finding safety in relationship with Him
during the stretching experiences
He allows to enter our lives.

I wonder whether those in Jesus' hometown of Nazareth
weren't stuck where we so often find ourselves.
They knew what they grew up with.
Life seemed to have a rhythm that was familiar.
It required little thought.
Neighbors were known; patterns of relating were practiced.
Then Jesus came back home and entered their synagogue.
What He said and what He did not fit together well
with what they knew and understood.

His family had lived in the community for years.
Jesus was not who they expected Him to be.
What He said and how He said it, what He did,
these were different.
Because it was different, they were offended.
Yet, He spoke truth.

Do we, too, find it difficult to embrace newly revealed truth,
choosing instead to be offended?
Or do we risk to look deeper,
seeking to find Scripture that supports it,
knowing that letting go of what we have always known and believed
may be needful if we are to continue to learn and grow?

Maybe we are as guilty of rejecting Jesus
as were those in His hometown of Nazareth?
Are we blocking God's work among us here and now
in some similar way?

Prayer:
God, you have so much to teach us.
Help us not to close our eyes to seeing truths you present
because we are a patterned people,
and You are a God who often works differently than
what we expect or are comfortable with.
Open our ears to hear more of your truth
and to accommodate to it
rather than to choose the route of offense
that blocks you from manifesting Yourself among us here and now.

Twila Charles Leichty
6. February 2010

GOD’S PRESENCE in the present
is what we need most.

God’s presence in the past
is recorded in Scripture.
We read of it,
our awareness of His presence
is strengthened
by what happened as each story unfolds.

Sometimes His presence
was evidenced
by a change in attitude,
an uncommon knowledge,
a rebuke,
some revealed direction,
an unanticipated outcome,
or peace in a difficult situation.

God’s presence will be better known
to future generations
as we continueto be a growing, faithful people.

Blessings to you
as you cultivate a daily, hourly awareness
of God’s intentional presence in your life.

Purpose to believe that
He is all you need Him to be,
He is doing all that you need Him to do,
so that your life will “prove” His presence
to those who still need to see Him
and know His heart of love!

Twila Charles Leichty
January 2010

YOU ARE A WRITER

Your life is a journal of many entries.
You are the one who determines
what is recorded therein.
The events of each day
may not always be those of your choosing,
but your response to all that is
will often have greater influence
in your own life
and the lives of those around
than will the actual events.
Know that the pages of your journal
will be read by those presently a part of your life
and those of future generations.

* * * * *
I wonder if the journals of Adam and Eve
would be any different
had they known that
they were writing for all to read?
I wonder how many, in making their entries,
considered the far-reaching effect
of their “journaling”
on future generations?

In the Bible we read from the journals of many:
Abraham and Lot, Jacob, Joseph,
the Pharoah of Egypt,
Moses, David, Goliath,
Naomi and Ruth,
Esther, Nebuchanezzar, Daniel,
Joseph and Mary, King Herod,
JESUS,
Andrew, Peter, John,
a lad with the lunch of five loaves and two fish,
Martha and Mary,
Caiaphas,
Barnabas, Paul, and Lydia.

I pray that the entries you make
in your life journal
throughout the coming year
will be ones that you can look back on
without regret.

Twila Charles Leichty
January 30, 2010

PATIENCE is the ability to
withhold judgment,
praying that another will see
his wrong, turn from it,
and learn something valuable
from the experience.
It is refusing to put oneself
in the position of judge,
but walking alongside another,
sharing my experiences
and what I have learned
so that the other can learn
from my wrong choices.
Patience is thinking beyond myself
and my discomfort;
it is knowing myself,
my strengths and weaknesses,
and it is taking the time
to learn to know and understand another
before I speak.
Patience is not quickly acquired.
It is often acquired
through humbling life experiences.

Another word for patience is longsuffering.
It is earning the right to speak
into another’s life,
“hanging in there”
until the other is ready
to view things differently.

Patience is a fruit of the Spirit.
It takes time to grow and develop.
We cannot grow it in our lives,
but we can co-operate with the Gardener
as He cultivates the soil and prunes our limbs,
so that the fruit of patience grows.

Twila – June 2006


Gardens are a part of summertime activity.
We anticipate the growth of what is planted
but we cannot make it grow.
Our job is to cultivate the soil, pull the weeds,
protect the plants from foragers,
see that the water supply is adequate,
and wait for God to do what He alone can do!
Our involvement in the process is not a passive one;
we are to be active in our waiting!

JAMES 2:1-13

Favoritism is is not fitting attire for followers of Jesus.
If our receptivity to those who appear to have money and influence is greater
than our openness to those who are poor,
if our way of relating is preferential or discriminating,
then we have set yourselves up as judges of others.
And it is evidence that we are not living by the law of love
and that is sin.

Do we not see those of humble circumstance but rich in faith
as heirs of the kingdom with all that love God?
Do we not see that the rich in terms of this world's wealth and influence
are really controlling us, using us to their advantage?
We need to look hard at how we are relating to others:
Are we loving others as Christ loved, unconditionally?
Do we look only at what is visible,
or do we see all as valued and having something to contribute to the whole?
What is more influential in determining how we relate ~
our needs or the needs of the other?

Favoritism is sin and when we are influenced by the external
we stand condemned,
for unless we keep the whole law perfectly,
we are a lawbreaker.
Know that we will all be judged as we judge.
Do we want judgment without mercy?
To receive mercy, we need to be merciful.
The law of divine love dictates that mercy
needs to win out over judgment in our relationships.

Prayer:
God, we are a people who find ourselves divided within ourselves.
Help us to see ourselves as you see us, so often reacting to external factors
rather than responding to others as Jesus did,
seeing their God-given value,
recognizing and addressing their underlying needs,
acknowledging and affirming their God-granted giftings.
We so often judge and relate without mercy.
Help us to be mindful that we are all transgressors of Your law
and we have need of Your mercy.
Yes, help us to give to others
what we've experienced in relationship with You!


* * * * * * * *

JAMES 2:14-26

Our tongue and our hands are part of the same body.
When we say one thing and do something different,
it is evidence of a divided heart.
Unless what we say and what we do is consistent,
others are right to question the validity of what we say!
We can not divorce our profession of faith from what we do.
Abraham's faith in God
was followed by his preparation to offer Isaac on the altar,
as directed by God.
His action, consistent with his belief,
was evidence of genuine faith, and he was called God's friend.
Likewise,
Rahab's faith led her to provide lodging and an escape route for the spies,
and secured her salvation when Jericho was destroyed.
What we do brings our faith to life and into the light!

Prayer:
Jesus said that a house divided against itself cannot stand
and we know that our faith, without actions that show it to be genuine,
will acknowledge a divided heart.
God, grant us singularity of heart, tongue and hand!

Twila Charles Leichty
January 26, 2010

Matthew 11:25-29

At that time Jesus answered and said,
I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent,
and hast revealed them unto babes.
Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight.
All things are delivered unto me of my Father:
and no man knows the Son, but the Father;
neither knows any man the Father, save the Son,
and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.
Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me;
for I am meek and lowly in heart:
and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

God's truth is hidden from those who are considered the wise and learned,
those who believe they already have the answers.
Their pride and expectations of how things should be
blind their eyes and close their minds to further revelation of truth by Jesus.
However, those who are as children, open and responsive to instruction,
sensing the heart of the Message-bearer and soaking in the Word,
are those who eagerly grasp Jesus' teaching
and adjust their thinking and behavior to newly revealed truth.

It is hard to comprehend the unity between God and Jesus.
God has committed all things to Jesus.
They know each other intimately.
Jesus is the One who helps us know God better,
but what He reveals is limited by our heart's receptivity.

Those of us who are exhausted and overwhelmed
are told by Jesus to come to Him.
He wants to give us rest.
We are invited to slip into the yoke alongside Him, to let Him disciple us.
He knows us well for He walked among us.
He is gentle and humble in heart,
allowing us to draw on His strength when we are weak.
He does not expect us to “go it on our own”
and willingly shares with us whatever it is we need.
For that reason, we find His yoke easy and the load lightened,
ourselves refreshed.

Twila Charles Leichty
January 23, 2010

James 1: 19-27

We are to be quick to listen, slow to speak,
and slow to become angry.
Listening means that we take time to hear what others are saying,
asking questions that draw others out,
encouraging them to think, examine and share with us.
It means letting go of our initial impressions or judgments,
maintaining a receptive attitude toward the other,
being empathetic and active in the process,
clarifying and summarizing what is said.
Anger is an emotion that can be quickly elicited
and the handling of it, tricky.
It can do immeasurable damage,
hurting others and destroying the good that God desires.
It is necessary to throw away
every thought, attitude, and behavior
that is not God-honoring
and willingly, humbly take in and live out the word of God,
which is able to deliver, save, protect,
and bring both us and others into wholeness.

We are not to be people who only talk about
what is good and right, what the Bible tells us,
we are to DO it,
taking what we have heard and say we believe,
putting our work clothes on and translating it
into a language that others can easily understand.
If we don't do this, we deceive ourselves.
(Others already see the discrepancy, our hypocrisy.)
Our only hope is to stay “in the Word”,
remembering who we are and always being cognizant that
blessing comes when
hearing and doing are walking hand-in-hand with each other!

It is easy to do the things
that make others think we have a relationship with God.
However, there is a test ~ the test of the tongue.
If we do not control our tongue, we are providing evidence
that shouts duplicity.
Pure worship, the kind that can not be faulted by God or man,
is that which seeks to help those who are distressed and in need
and that which keeps us from allowing the dirt of the world
to pollute our thoughts, attitudes and behaviors!

Prayer:
You are a God whose Word is truth.
Jesus came to earth, spoke Your words, and translated it
into a language that we could understand.
Help us not to be people of duplicity.
We want to be people of integrity, like Jesus.
We want our words, attitudes and behaviors to be consistent
with what we profess.
Help us see ourselves as you see us.
Give us the will and strength to involve in true worship
through the way we live out what we have heard.

Twila Charles Leichty
January 20, 2010

James 1:1-18

James is speaking to us as he would speak to an equal, a fellow Christian.
He does not “use” his relationship, as brother of Jesus, as clout
but warmly embraces us as brothers and sisters.
We are scattered and living apart from each other.
He is using this letter as a way of encouraging us,
challenging us to grow where we are and not to despair.
When we are surrounded with difficulties of many kinds,
we are to face them with an inner calmness and confidence,
embracing the experience,
realizing that it can be used in bringing us to full maturity and wholeness in Him
as we persevere, believing that God is the supplier of all we need,
and allow God to work within us to develop character traits
that are God-honoring.

If any one of us lacks wisdom
(can't figure what God wills to do through the experience),
James encourages us to boldly approach God and ask,
reminding us that He is a generous God and will not find fault with such a request.
However, when we ask, we are to do so with a single focus,
to grow more and more into His likeness,
not wavering in our desire and wanting the knowledge for selfish reasons.

A Christian in humble circumstance is a person who should value it,
knowing that it is working for his good in character building.
Similarly, a person who is rich should value it
but be aware that his possessions can disappear
as quickly as a flower dies in the heat of the sun.
God can and will work through all circumstances
to build within us those character qualities
that reflect Jesus' attitude and behavior.

Those people who continue steadfast in their love for and walk with the Lord,
persevering through the difficulties,
are promised a lasting reward.

When we are tempted, we can not say that God is tempting us.
God is not one who can be tempted by evil, and He tempts no one.
We are all tempted by our own desires
and we are the ones who give in
to wrongful thinking and behaviors that work toward our destruction.
Desire selfishly satisfied gives birth to sin
and when sin is full-grown, it brings about death!

We should not allow ourselves to be deceived.
Every good gift and character-building experience
(that which brings about wholeness and maturity)
comes from God above.
Our heavenly Father is a God of light,
consistently revealing to us where and how we need to grow
and making manifest Who He is and what He does.
He does not change.

Of His own will, He brought us into being by the word of truth,
that we might be a kind of first fruits (first to ripen and be harvested) of His creation,
an offering that acknowledges Him as our source.
How we live,
who we are and what we do,
is a way of expressing our gratitude to Him

Prayer:
Thank you, God, for showing us that experiences that are difficult
are to be embraced,
that growth and maturity is birthed through them.
When we don't understand what You will to do through the difficulties we face,
help us to bring our questions to You and believe that You will show us
what we need to know, how we need to grow,
so that we can more fully honor you through our attitudes, words and actions.
Help us to remember that we are our worst enemy,
that our self is prone to grasp for things
that appeal to our appetite, give us a sense of power,
and we honor what we think will provide well for us in the future.
We choose to be your bond servants,
humble, loyal, and obedient.

Twila Charles Leichty
January 15, 2010