One of the things I remember as a kid was watching "Destruction Derbies" on our black and white TV. Yeah, that's how long ago it was! My dad and I would plop on the couch, and they would have about a couple dozen old cars in a dirt arena and the idea were that the cars would crash into each other and try to knock out the other cars. The drivers would often drive the cars backwards because if they hit with the front of their car, it would more than likely damage the radiator and cause the engine to seize up. It was great fun for us to see those cars smashing into each other and then eventually stall and eliminated out of the contest. The last car running was always pretty beat up and when they were declared a winner, the dirt arena looked like a disaster area with parts of cars everywhere and the wrecks scattered across the arena. When I think of that contest now, it makes me think of how we tend to treat each other in our world today. A lot of folks embark on their own destruction derby and purposely or even accidentally crash into the folks around them. And it keeps going until one of them is just too beat up to continue. The Apostle Paul reminded us that the acts of people who live out their lives without a relationship with the God of the Bible are often caught up in sexual immorality, hatred, jealousy, rage, rivalries and divisions and envy. And they end up banging into people around them every day...and leave behind a string of broken or beat up hearts and souls and feelings. But he tells us that a life lived with God bears a different kind of fruit. He calls it the fruit of the Spirit and it brings love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Life doesn't have to be one long destruction derby, and God makes a way for us to live and experience life and love and even laughter in a brand-new way. Smashing up old cars was pretty entertaining to watch. But the smashing of people around us...not so much. Let God take you out of the destruction derby that is going on all around you and replace it with something rich and good and free...a life that is transformed by the person of Jesus Christ.
Here's our Bible verse for today...
Gal 5:19-23 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery; (20) idolatry and sorcery; hatred, discord, jealousy, and rage; rivalries, divisions, factions, (21) and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. (22) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, (23) gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Remember I'm praying for you!
With love, PJ
Here's our Bible verse for today...
Gal 5:19-23 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery; (20) idolatry and sorcery; hatred, discord, jealousy, and rage; rivalries, divisions, factions, (21) and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. (22) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, (23) gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Remember I'm praying for you!
With love, PJ