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Think on These Things
Fruit of the Spirit Friday: Loving Others
The other night Precious (one of our Great Pyrenees) tore up my laundry room. She ate through a wicker basket, left a pound of sand on the floor (from the dried mud after the rain), ate a shoe, tore open a package of paper plates, ripped an Amazon packing box into nine thousand pieces, you get the idea.
She looked at me, tail wagging, with those big eyes. I hugged her big neck, gave her kisses, let her out and cleaned up the mess, swept, and mopped the floor. Our homeschool began almost an hour late.
Later the same day a person upset me, really hurt my feelings. After I cooled off I asked God’s forgiveness for getting angry. My mind went to the morning incident with Precious. (I believe the Lord led me there).
Why wasn’t I the least bit upset when Precious added an hour of work to my day? I asked myself, “Why do I let people get under my skin and not my animals? ” Is it because they didn’t mean it? Is it because I know my animals love me no matter what I do?
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:8
Phil 4:8 says to think on the good stuff. When I saw the mess in the laundry room I laughed. I know my sweetie Precious didn’t purposely make extra work for me. Why can’t I have the same grace with people? God continues to love us and allowed us to enjoy His grace and mercy no matter how many times we have failed Him.
The Greek word for “think on these things” is logizomai (Strong’s 3049) which implies concentrated, focused effort.
Since we all have a sin nature you could choose any person and focus on their sinful nature to justify the sins of bitterness and anger. We have the option to focus and think about the evil or praiseworthy things .
Your Neighbor, Your Spouse, Your Children, Your Parents, Your Friends
When you think about you neighbor, your spouse, your children, your parents, your friends, do you focus on the negative or do you focus on the praiseworthy things? Do you think whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable?
Thoughts are powerful; “as he thinketh, so he is” (Prov. 23:7). Wrong thoughts will lead to resentment and discouragement, but spiritual thinking will lead to peace. This is stress reduction at its best.
Are you a “see the glass half empty” or “half full” person? Does it depend on the glass? Do you prejudge people? There certainly are a lot of unlovable people in this world. It’s so easy to love the lovable ones. Sometimes unlovable people are our own making because we labeled them as such. Thank God He doesn’t do that with us. God’s love for us is not dependent on our performance. He loves us because that’s WHO HE IS.
Jesus lives within us and should flow through us. If we try to see people through His eyes we can love others, even the obnoxious lady ahead of you in line at Wal-mart with the nasty attitude to the cashier. If we allow Christ to be the Living Water and flow through us, instead of getting disgusted we can actually feel love and experience the peace of God; this is living in the Kingdom of God.
I began the Fruit of the Spirit Friday Meme, to encourage myself to study this topic each Friday. I encourage you to join me. Write a post on a fruit you are seeking and join Mr. Linky below.
The fruits are listed in Galatians 5:22: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
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Here is a link to my “Joy of the Lord” blog post: http://rosenick.wordpress.com/2008/08/29/the-joy-of-the-lord/
Have a blessed day!
Rose’s last blog post..The Joy of the Lord
Hey Robin,
Thanks for the reminder to focus on the good stuff!
How sweet of (adorable!!) Precious to give you such a great object lesson!
The photo is priceless, btw!
I love this line:”God’s love for us is not dependent on our performance. He loves us because that’s WHO HE IS.”
Have a great weekend!
Pam
Thanks for the idea Robin!!!
talk to you later,
bob
Christian Finances’s last blog post..$25 Amazon Gift Card giveaway!
Hi Robin,
believe or not, I just had one of those days you have described above with the exception of the dog mess. I was so frustrated with a person on-line, that it took everything out of me, the more I thought the more angry I got….then, I begin to talk to the Lord about it, and think through it, trying to process the whys of a person like this and I could hear the Holy Spirit saying, if you respond to her angry accusations and prejudices you will be putting your self out to be just like her. I could hear hear Him saying “Be patience, workout your own salvation with fear and trembling…You are not the Holy Spirit”….. Isn’t God amazing? I’m so glad I stopped by today, glad to know I am not the only one who has frustrations with others. I love the way you describe things.
I should do this meme,
Blessings on your Shabbat,
Katia
Katia’s last blog post..Oh, where…..????
We see not only ourselves (adults) live life in this way but also in our children. Your post will be read to my 2 oldest sons who continue to focus on the not so pleasent traits of the youngest brother, age 3.
They have great respect for Our Lord and when they know it is not from my mouth that words come but from The Lord himself-I believe they will see things differently.
Thanks again for all you do.
Blessings,
Kristina
What a cute puppy :). Our dog is 3/4 pyr. 1/4 akbash.
You always write wonderful posts :).
Would you consider adding your blogs to the Christian Carders group that is forming over at my blog? Drop by anytime for details :).
Jennifer @ Quiverfull Family’s last blog post..Sticky Post
hi Mrs. Sampson,
I am so glad that I am able to get back on your site. I wasnt able to leave a comment because of the popup warning.
This was such an encouraging post. Thank you for sharing.
I had just signed another linky and so my information was saved in it, when I clicked on your page I accidentally click the submit, becuase I wasn’t paying attention to where I was clicking to scroll. Sorry!
I did not mean to sign the linky.
Have a great day!
Miss Amanda
Miss Amanda’s last blog post..The Simple Woman’s Daybook Page 4
YAY!!!! there is no warning on your site and I’m able to visit again.
I’m so glad.
I also linked the Feelin’ Feminine site for the FOTS. Miss Sharla, my friend, has been posting them for the past 3weeks, but she forgot to link herself!
Love
MJ
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What a great post about your dog. Patience is really a gift of the spirit, and Satan will jump at any chance to pull us off the mark. You was so patient with the dog and then he wanted to make sure he got you later that day. He is so cunning, he did not think you was paying attention but praise God you have the mind of Christ and was able to still call our heavenly father’s name when your patience wore thin.
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