Burunche’s Blog

Galatians 5:22-23 “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.” Gentleness has been defined as “Showing care and respect for others in the way that you act and speak, the quality of being kind and careful, being compassionate.” Unfortunately, many of us have little experience of gentleness in our lives. Perhaps our parents were not demonstrative or even absent. Perhaps we have had to struggle for years to make a way for ourselves. We have become hard and don’t know how to help ourselves.

In an article for Crosswalk.com, Molly Parker describes Jesus as the perfect example of gentleness.10 Ways Jesus is Gentle 1. His invitation is broad. “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Jesus has an affinity for the weary and burdened. He longs to be gentle with them, much like we do with our own kids after they’ve been sick all night or had a lousy day at school. But unlike our compassion, which is inconsistent at best and reserved for a certain few, Jesus’s compassion spreads far beyond his “own kids.” His invitation to “come to me” has an all-ness to it, going way back to the promise he made to Abraham, that through him “all nations will be blessed” (Galatians 3:8).

2. He provides rest for your soul. “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your soul” (Matthew 11:29). Before the arrival of Jesus, God’s people were living in a hopeless time. The yoke of Rome was weighty and oppressive. Pride and self-assertion—the opposite of gentleness—ruled in the hearts of the Jewish leaders. So when the Messiah came at last, many assumed he was going to be a cultural and political Savior, not a “gentle and lowly in heart” Savior. Little did they realize, sin was their problem. What they really needed was a Savior to rescue them, to provide soul rest.

3. His method of bringing about victory involves thoughtful and careful leading. “A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice through to victory” (Matthew 12:20). Bruised reeds and smoldering wicks? Though we don’t often squeeze such wording into our everyday lingo, it certainly portrays our gentle Jesus in a way that really packs a punch (or more fittingly, a friendly pat on the back). The point is, when Jesus finds a bruised reed, instead of breaking it off, he’s more likely to bind it together in hopes it’ll become strong again. And should he come across a barely-there flame, he’s more likely to fan it back into a radiant flame instead of snuff it out. And we can count on him acting this way “until he brings justice through to victory.”

4. He tenderly cares for the defenseless. “He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young” (Isaiah 40:11). I’ve heard it said that gentleness is a strong hand with a soft touch, a quality every good shepherd should possess. Not only does a flock of sheep need tender care, they need protection from predators—something David can attest to in 1 Samuel 17:14-36. But for those who think David’s shepherding skills are top-notch, they should first consider the Great Shepherd, Jesus Christ. He’s the true expert in all-things requiring a strong hand and a soft touch, for it was prophesied that “he will rule with a powerful arm” (Isaiah 40:10), all the while caring for his lambs—his children—by feeding, gathering, holding, and leading them.

5. His tender nature causes even the most critical audience to soften. “By the humility and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you.” (2 Corinthians 10:1) Jesus never flexed his muscles for personal gain. Rather, he did everything to the benefit of those in need and to bring glory to God the Father. And here, Paul emulates the very nature of Jesus. He models the controlled strength of Christ, for it is the basis by which Paul makes his appeal to the church at Corinth. Gentleness goes a long way in reaching a critic. Still, many in our culture think we’ve gone soft when humility becomes our go-to virtue, making it more important than ever to “do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than [ourselves]” (Philippians 2:3).

6. He has gentleness to spare, no matter how selfish, rebellious, and lost we’ve been. “So he returned home to his father. And while he was a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him” (Luke 15:20). The parable of Prodigal Son is a personal favorite, not just because of what singer-songwriter Keith Green did with it, but because Jesus paints for us a picture of what he’s like; he describes his very own character. He grabbed hold of his compassionate, generous, slow-to-anger, and gentle qualities and wove them right into the narrative of the Prodigal Son. How lovely is that?

7. His gentle ways stand in stark contrast to cultural expectations. “Say to Daughter Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey’” (Matthew 21:5). As predicted long ago by Isaiah and Zechariah, Jesus came riding into Jerusalem on a donkey. He didn’t waltz into town on the back of a stallion with fancy chariots in tow, something more fitting for a king. Instead, he entered Jerusalem humbly, in the same lowly manner he entered the world.But oh, that won’t be his style when he comes again. Pastor John Courson puts it this way: “The first time Jesus came, He came as the Suffering Servant. But the next time he comes, it will be as the conquering King.”

8. He is moved by our great sorrow and his even greater love. “So the sisters sent word to Jesus, ‘Lord, the one you love is sick’” (John 11:3). Sure, Mary and Martha had already seen Jesus perform miracles, thus boosting their confidence he’ll do another. But I wonder if it’s not the miracles that brought such assurance but what they know of his character. I wouldn’t be surprised if his interactions with others—the way he kindly and respectfully talked to people, the way his all-knowing yet all-loving eyes settled on theirs (imagine Jesus locking eyes with you!)—had more to do with the manner of their request: “Lord, the one you love is sick.” Notice the sisters didn’t say, “Lord, the one who loves you is sick.” If God’s countless acts of compassion were dependent upon our love for him, we would be in a hopeless state! Thankfully that is not the case.

9. His character doesn’t change, even under intense suffering. “When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, ‘Woman, here is your son’ . . . From that time on, this disciple took her into his home” (John 19:26-27). While he hung on that cross, he continued having precious and selfless thoughts toward others. Not even the most torturous suffering could stomp out his gentlemanliness. Though he was naked and thirsty, he thought of his mom! And he discussed her care and protection, not at a family dinner table with loved ones all around, but while he hung on the cross for the sins of the world—her sins included!

10. His gentleness is equal to his power. “Worthy is the lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing” (Revelation 5:12). Jesus is the worthy Lamb who was slain. He went willingly and silently to the cross, where by his blood he “ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation” (Revelation 5:9). He is also the conquering Lion of the tribe of Judah. He punishes evil and commands us to follow him. But hanging our hats on one aspect of his nature over the other, thinking, “I prefer a soft and gentle Jesus, not a strong and mighty Jesus,” will only lead to a lopsided, flimsy faith. Jesus is 100% Lion and 100% Lamb. We need his compassion, but we also need his resurrection power.”

How can we become gentle when we have never experienced gentleness ourselves? Ask God to send His Holy Spirit, for He is the only One who can truly make us gentle.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, we confess that we are anything but gentle. We push through our days, forcing our ways through people and events. Please change us into Your Image! Give us Your Holy Spirit and let Him change us completely. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Galatians 5:22-23 “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.”

The dictionary defines goodness as “being morally good or virtuous.” A good person has “qualities of character or conduct that entitle the possessor to approval and esteem.” Goodness is closely related to kindness, for kind people graphically demonstrate that they are good.

When we are with good people, we feel at ease and can relax. But it’s not just humans who can perceive goodness. Animals are actually far better at sensing when a person is good than humans are.

Years ago, my dad nearly died in a terrible car accident. After weeks in the hospital, Dad was allowed to come home, probably because my mother was a trained nurse. It took more than six months before Dad could get around without crutches; meanwhile, the farm work had to continue. We had an “Old McDonald” type farm with milk cows, beef cattle, pigs, and chickens. Lacking mechanization, we cared for all the animals by hand. This meant that the cows had to be milked twice a day, while all the animals had to have feed and water available.  I was only seven years old, and my brothers were four and two, so we were little help. My parents hired an older bachelor who had worked on several local farms to help out with the work, but we soon discovered a major problem: The second this man came close to any animals, they panicked! We had moved the milk cows over to my grandparents’ place, which was connected to ours by a series of back lanes. When this man entered the milking parlor, the cows went berserk and jumped every fence between my grandparents’ farm and ours to escape. My grandparents took over the milking. (Yes, Grandma helped. As a good Swedish American girl, she learned to milk cows by hand at an early age.)

When this man entered the pig pasture, the pigs immediately ran as far away from him as possible, clustering at the far end of the pig pasture. The beef cattle huddled in one corner of their pen. My grandmother was very proficient at caring for chickens, so this man never entered the chicken house. To look at this man, one would think there was nothing wrong; however, the animals knew differently. Finally, Dad assigned this man to care for the crops along with help from our neighbors, but once the crisis was over, we never employed him again.

Most of us want to be good, but persisting in goodness is tough. So many times, we fall short of doing the best thing in a given situation. We allow prejudices and pet peeves to get in the way of being consistently good to those around us. If we were to wear “Goodness Meters” around our necks, you would see the needle on the meter fluctuating wildly, depending on the time of day, how well we have slept, how work is going, how encouraging our friends and coworkers have been, etc.

Compare that erratic behavior with the goodness of God. A popular Christian song says, “God is good all the time!” This statement is true. Goodness is one of God’s many qualities, and God remains good, no matter the circumstances. God says in Malachi 3:6, “For I am the Lord, I do not change; therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.”  God chose the people of Israel, and even when the Israelites proved faithless, God continued to be good to them as long as they would let Him. God only removed the Shekinah glory from the temple in Jerusalem when idolatrous believers took over every part of the temple.

The question for us is this: How can we be good when we fail so frequently? The blessed answer is that by ourselves, we cannot be completely good. But God has promised to send His Holy Spirit to all believers. When we invite the Holy Spirit into our lives and hearts, the Holy Spirit changes us into the spiritual image of God. The more we yield to the Holy Spirit, the more radically He can change us. Such change is a life-long process; the longer we go on as believers, the more the Holy Spirit will work in us.

Want to be good? Ask God to send His Holy Spirit into your heart and then give the Holy Spirit permission to change you. You might not see the difference, but others certainly will!

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, we confess that we are sinners and there is no goodness in us at all. Please send Your Holy Spirit into our hearts to change us into Your image. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.   

Galatians 5:22-23 “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.”

Today we are looking at the quality of faithfulness. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines faithfulness as follows: steadfast in affection or allegiance, loyal, firm in adherence to promises or in observance of duty (conscientious), given with strong assurance or binding, such as a faithful promise, true to the facts, to a standard, or to an original, as in a faithful copy. 

Faithfulness is one of God’s many attributes. The Bible has a great deal to say about God’s faithfulness.

• Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:22-23reliabilitylovecompassion

• The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.

1 Thessalonians 5:24

•  Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
  bind them around your neck,
  write them on the tablet of your heart.
  Then you will win favor and a good name
  in the sight of God and man.

Proverbs 3:3-4loverewardheart

• Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

Hebrews 10:23

(For other Bible verses about faithfulness, check out https://dailyverses.net/faithfulness )

It’s relatively easy to be faithful when all around you are faithful, but how will we behave when others whom we have trusted prove faithless?

Years ago, I had a very wise friend who patiently listened to my complaints about the training program I was in, the struggles I was having, etc. Once I had finished dumping my load of grief on this kind lady, she asked me one question: “Are you acting or reacting?”

If we persist in “React” mode, we are allowing others to control our characters. We will bounce around like a new ping pong ball in a tile bathroom; in short, our feelings will be all over the place. But if we chose to act instead of reacting, we must analyze situations and then ask God how He wants us to behave. Yesterday, I told the story of how my mother won over my grandmother with persistent kindness. But today I want to tell another story from my mother’s life, a much sadder one.

My mother returned to college to complete her B.A. when she was 35 years old. For six years Mom commuted 80 miles round trip each class day, taking partial course loads as time and finances would allow until she graduated successfully in 1963. That fall Mom began teaching high school English at a local high school, proving to be one of the most successful and inspirational teachers at the school. Mom was well liked by her fellow teachers and was always telling us stories about her colleagues and her students.

Mom expected to remain at that position until retirement; however, problems arose. Mom had headed the English department for years, but when a new principal arrived, he immediately gave that position to a man who was far junior to Mom. This principal had just completed his Master’s degree and was in his first position as a principal. Even though Mom had taught at that school for 13 years and had a record of motivating failing students to complete and continue for further training, this man wanted to demonstrate that HE was in control. I seriously doubt that there was any attempt at discussion; I suspect Mom came in ahead of the school year to find the decision had been taken without any explanation and that she was just supposed to accept it. Mom’s heart was broken; she never expected to be treated so unkindly. All those years of work appeared to count for nothing. Blessedly, one of Mom’s fellow teachers had secured his Master’s degree and was now heading the Junior High School. This kind man immediately invited Mom to teach Junior High English instead, a post she held gladly for two years before retiring.

Upon reflection, I know that Mom’s basic problem was a reaction to the faithlessness demonstrated by that new principal. Had Mom trusted God and His faithfulness, she could have weathered the situation far better. Mom remained faithful to that school system, but I’m not certain she ever forgave that principal.

Two generations ago, many people would enter the workforce at a company, expecting to remain there for the rest of their working lives. These days, companies have no loyalty to their workers and workers repay that attitude by jumping from one company to another. More than 50% of marriages end in divorce. Student athletes who have been playing for one school on scholarship may enter the portal and suddenly shift to another school.

Faithfulness and loyalty appear to have gone out of style; yet, both are very necessary for any meaningful human relationship. Trust is easily destroyed but takes large amounts of time to build. We can choose to act faithfully, even when others disappoint us with their faithlessness. This does not mean that we have to offer ourselves as victims to someone who only wants to use us; however, it does mean that we will guard the reputations of others, insofar as we can. Having said this, there are times when we are forced to become whistle blowers, reporting wrong-doing even if we jeopardize our positions. Our number one loyalty must be to God and not to people.

This Christmas, why not seek out friends with whom you haven’t connected for a while? Communicate with them, encourage them, and demonstrate that their loyalty is precious to you.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to follow hard after You all the days of our lives. Please send the Holy Spirit to empower us to be faithful as You are faithful. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.  

Galatians 5:22-23 “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.”

Today is the first Sunday in Advent, the day we specially begin preparing our hearts and minds for Christmas. Last Friday was Black Friday, so-called because of the crowds and the chaos of millions of shoppers competing for bargains. Now it’s time for a heart-check: if you shopped in stores on Black Friday, how kind were you? When you saw the last one of the items you desired, did you push and shove to get it, perhaps throwing an elbow in someone else’s face? Why did you want that item or those items? Were you buying Christmas presents, and if so, did your behavior on Black Friday honor Christ?

Sadly, many of us commit countless little murders throughout our days. Rather than being kind, we settle for snide remarks, back-biting, and cutting, even with those whom we claim to love. When I was growing up, I had relatives who could reduce those around them to emotional rubble with a single comment accompanied by a raised eyebrow. Unfortunately, as a small child, I quickly copied that behavior, only to be questioned as to WHY I could possibly behave that way. Looking back, I can think of several reasons for such behavior; however, it is extremely destructive and has no place in the life of a believer.

Some of my family members emphasized being “nice;” however, niceness and kindness are two totally different things. The same relatives who made cutting remarks felt that they were being nice, but I can tell you from personal experience that they were anything but kind. And these people also felt that as long as they were being nice and socially acceptable, nobody should criticize them. After all, they weren’t doing anything wrong…except for breaking hearts.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines kind-hearted as “A kind-hearted person is one who likes other people a lot and always wants to help them.” Other signs of kindness are people who are friendly, generous, and considerate. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 tells us, “Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”  

Although these verses describe love, they are also describing kindness, for kind people will be patient, long-suffering, refusing to envy or parade themselves or behave rudely or seek their own good before anyone else’s. Kind people remain unprovoked, do not think evil about others, do not rejoice when others behave badly but rejoice in the truth. Kind people also will bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, and endure all things. Love and kindness are inextricably bound together. One cannot be loving without being kind and one cannot be kind without being loving.

These days, we have all kinds of apps on our smart phones for monitoring things. We can monitor our pulse, our blood pressure, our blood sugar, and the results of exercise programs. Given the right tablet and the right probe, we can perform ultrasounds. But one app you’ll never find on a smart phone is a kindness app. Oh, you can chart your good deeds on a smart phone; however, no smart phone has ever been invented that will analyze your spiritual state.   For that kind of analysis, we must turn to God.

As we prepare for Christmas, let us prepare spiritually as well as physically. Pray over your family members and friends and ask God to show you where you have hurt them and how you can make amends. If apologies are needed, apologize. If you have neglected someone because you were too busy, find ways to include them in your life.

When my mother married my father, she didn’t realize the complications of marrying an only child of an energetic mother. Mothers of only children are generally sure that NOBODY is good enough for their child. My grandmother expected Dad to marry a nice Swedish American girl from our community; instead, he met Mom at college, marrying someone who was Welsh/German/Irish/Scot. To make matters worse, my father’s mother was a Carlson, and those Carlsons could work just about anyone else into the ground; meanwhile, my poor mother was quite ill for the first thirteen years of their marriage. My mother’s poor health gave my grandmother the opportunity to repeatedly demonstrate that my mother was a slacker who wasn’t doing enough for her family. (WRONG! Mom did a lot, but she had three children while Grandma had had only one.) But when my mother succeeded in addressing her problems with several allergies and became healthy, she began having coffee with my grandmother every Friday afternoon. Those Friday coffee times became so precious to my grandmother that when my mother died at the age of 58, my grandmother grieved for months afterwards.

What changed my grandmother’s heart? It was my mother’s kindness. My brave mother deliberately began an unusual act of kindness AND THEN REPEATED IT FOR YEARS. True kindness cannot be a one-off thing as the Brits would say. Kindness is not only loving but persistent.

This Christmas, why not consider acts of kindness as Christmas presents? You might spend a little time and a little money, but you never know how much those acts of kindness will mean to the recipients. If you have trouble being kind to someone, ask God for help.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to be kind to all those around us, particularly to those who are difficult to love. Thank You that You have promised to send Your Holy Spirit to guide us and to empower us. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.