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Archive for April, 2005

Here Is My Body

Posted by bobbycohoon on April 24, 2005
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Here is My Body

The apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 11:23-24 that, “…The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” That bread was broken was symbolic of the body of Christ that was broken and beaten and made to suffer death on a cross because of our sins. When he broke the bread, it was symbolic of his body being broken. A body that was the bread of life was broken because of our transgressions. And though he suffered to redeem us of our sins, today we continue to symbolically break His body every time we act contrary to His word, thus showing that we need a savior.
In Matthew 22:36, Jesus said that the greatest commandment was, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” When Moses was given the Ten Commandments, the first was to have no other Gods, but the one true God. Today the body of Christ is broken when we have other gods except or in addition to God. One might ask in a monotheistic world how a person could have more than one god, the answer is simple. We make other gods. We worship things other than God. WE place other things as more important than God.
To many people money is there god. One way this is done is by not giving to the church. They make the money and their greed causes them to not give to God, or they try amass great wealth and not worry about their neighbor who might not have anything. James addresses this problem. He calls this faith without deeds, DEAD FAITH! In James 2:14-17 James says, “What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” That very thing happens now by those who put their greed for wealth above helping a brother/sister in need.
To many people their goal in life is not to live a life that’s pleasing to God, but to live one that is nothing but working constantly to gain more and more wealth to live lives that are not in line with the Gospel preaching. Using money to engage in every type of sinful activity and not using any for the purpose of God.
Other people make Food their god. These people live to eat. Not for the nutritional value but their life is wrapped around food. The Apostle Paul speaks about these people in 1 Corinthians 11:20-22, “When you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, for as you eat, each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else. One remains hungry, another gets drunk. Don’t you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you for this? Certainly not!” These people aren’t looking to honor or glorify God, there god is food.
Other people break the Body of Christ through their sin. In 1 Corinthians 6:12-20, “Everything is permissible for me”–but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible for me”–but I will not be mastered by anything. “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food”–but God will destroy them both. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit. Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.”

We live in a society that has all but abandoned morals. We allow all types of filth into our homes via television and other forms of media. You may say that it is the media itself and that we have no control, but our patronizing their sponsors allows it to continue. Just because it’s there doesn’t mean we have to watch it. We live in a society that has in many ways given its approval to homosexual unions. We live in a society that allows a president of questionable moral character to define “sexual relationships.” The same president said his first act as president would be to allow homosexuals into our armed forces. We say we disagree with all of this, yet, when it was time to be reelected he had no problems serving a second term.
Little by little as society allows more “questionable” behavior to become mainstream, we as Christians seem to accept it. We allow the media and the ungodly to define what is normal for society, and each time we do we get farther away from the teachings of the Gospel. Each time we do, we break the body of Christ.
We allow untold numbers of false teachings into our houses by way of television evangelist.
Each time we do we begin to drift a little farther from the shore. We accept what they say because they are after all preachers. Revelation 16:13, tells us in the last days there will be false prophets. And when we listen to teachings that are contrary to the Word of God, we are lead away by there false teachings. The Episcopal Church has ordained a homosexual. Some accept this, they are lead away by false teachings. Even the Baptist Church doesn’t even hold Baptism in high esteem anymore. The Apostle Paul warned us in his letter to the Galatians, “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!( Gal.1:6).” Yet, everyday countless scores are led away by false teachings. Teachings that instead of being inline with scripture are inline with the lifestyle the person wants to live. So he/she finds a perverted teaching that teaches that the lifestyle is accepted by God. When this happens, we break the body of Christ.
That night Jesus instructed his disciples on eating the bread in remembrance of Him, of his broken body, of His body that would be crucified for our sins. That body that they were to remember was sacrificed for sins that had yet to be committed, by people who had yet to be born.
People who would “break” the body of Christ. But that same night Jesus gave more instructions to his disciples, and for us. “In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me” (1 Cor.11:25). This “New Covenant” was the blood that would redeem us when we repent from our sins, when we stop “breaking” the body of Christ.
Under the new Covenant we could be set free from the sins that would have led to death under the old way. Christ sacrifice of his beaten and broken body was the sacrifice of atonement that would give us eternal life with our savior and set us free from the sins that lead to death.
We are given instructions on how we are to be saved. We must have faith and Romans 10:17 says, “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.” After hearing the Word of Christ, we have to believe. Acts 16:31, “They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus you will be saved…”
We have to repent of our sinful ways. “[Jesus] tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish” (Luke 13:3). We also have to confess Jesus as the son of God before man. Romans 10:9-10 says, “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” One also has to be baptized unto the remission of sins. This act washes away the sins. Acts 22:16 says, “And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.’
Every time we sin we break the body of Christ. Or world today is full of temptations that can lead us away from the teachings of Christ and into a world of sinful nature that breaks His body.
But through his word we are given a way to be free of those sins. His body was broken for us. It was beaten and then crucified to pay a ransom for the sins we will commit. All we have to do is hear the word, believe it, repent form our sinful nature, confess Jesus as lord before man, and be baptized for the remission of our sins.

‘TIL DEATH DO YOU PART

Posted by bobbycohoon on April 24, 2005
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‘Til Death Do You Part

Jack and Pearl were slaves. Jack awoke every morning with but one mission: to serve his master. Pearl stood by her man for better or worse. There were some days that Jack didn’t feel as well as others, yet he arose to be at his master’s beckoned call. Pearl was right beside Jack in sickness and in health. Jack went where his master told him, Pearl by his side. If the master said go to the right, even though Jack had an inclination to go left, he went right with Pearl at his side. Pearl never tried to lead Jack, she went where he did. If the master said go here, and Jack desired to go there, a little nudge from Pearl in the right direction would keep him on the right path. Jack and Pearl were not a married couple, they were mules.

Every married person is familiar with those words, “until death do you part.” Vows are taken to live with each other in sickness and in health, for better or for worse. In spite of these vows, today in America nearly one half of all marriages end in divorce. The “carnal mindset” in America today has not only paved the road for all types of sin to become accepted, but has allowed those sins to be responsible for the breakdown of the family and for the high divorce rates that we now see.

Marriage was the first institution ordained by God. God united man and woman even before the priesthood. And, though there was divorce in the Old Testament, divorce was not something that Jesus condoned. Jesus gave one reason for divorce: sexual immorality. In His sermon on the mountain Jesus said, “Furthermore it has been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery” (Matthew 5:31-32).

America has let all types of sexual immorality become mainstream. And, many Americans are drinking from this immoral fountain. The liberal attitudes that prevail in America today threaten to weaken the institution of marriage. When marriages begin to have trouble, instead of seeking the counsel of God, couples turn to the ways of the world. They drink from the wrong fountain. They drink from the fountain of that world that does not satisfy.
One adulterous affair leads to another. Husbands seek the comfort of a prostitute. The first visit doesn’t satisfy; instead it leads only to the second visit. Pornographic magazines and videos lead only to self-gratification and the natural relations with the wife are foregone, replaced with fantasies that can never satisfy. Instead of drinking from a fountain that satisfies, many people continue to drink from the fountain of the world and it keeps them wanting more until it ends up being their undoing.

Many couples seek material gain as a way of measuring the success of their marriage. A spouse will spend endless hours and days away from the other to gain more money as a way of buying into happiness. The happiness they buy is only short lived as that money can fade away. They seek mansions, high priced cars, and all types of “earthly” treasures instead of “[laying] up for [themselves] treasures in Heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:20-21).

America threatens to weaken the institution of marriage even more by allowing the union of same sex couples. Even in institutions that claim to be of God, same sex marriages, a direct conflict with the word of God, are recognized and blessed. Husbands and wives that have been married in the eyes of God, leave each other for unnatural relationships with others of the same sex. The ungodly union of the sodomite threatens to be put on even keel with the God sanctioned union of a man and a woman.

In John chapter 4:5-26, Jesus meets a woman at the well. This woman has had five husbands and the man she is with now is not a husband. She has been in five relationships, and now in the sixth still trying to find happiness. This woman is drinking from the fountain of the world. She is searching to find something that is not to be found. She is thirsting for something she can not attain by her own means. Each time she finds something she is not fulfilled and needs more. She went through five husbands, and now is with the sixth man.

But in verses 10 through 13 Jesus gives her the key to fulfillment. Jesus tells her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water” (John 4:10). Jesus goes on to tell her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:13-14).

Today many relationships are built on worldly things. Be they wealth, success, or whatever other worldly temptation, these marriages are not built on the one thing that will satisfy. When they get in one relationship they are not satisfied so they look to another, still building on the wrong principles.
For relationships to be successful they have to be built on the water that satisfies. Remember the vows, “for better or worse.” When it gets worse, and it can, too many couples begin to drink form that fountain of the world. Some unite with prostitutes, knowing the Bible teachings, “You shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14). Many turn to homosexuality, which is again in direct opposition to the Bible’s teaching, “If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination” (Leviticus 20:13). Many turn to their work and try to amass great amounts of money, most of us are taught to measure a man’s success by the amount of money he has, knowing that “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows” (1 Timothy 6:10). People turn to every kind of vice they can find, yet very few turn to the one place where they will get fulfillment, Jesus Christ.

Jesus told the woman at the well that whoever drinks the water he gives will never thirst again and will be satisfied! Married people need to set their focus on Jesus Christ. Instead of following the way of the world, they need to begin drinking the water that Jesus gives water that will lead to satisfaction and fulfillment. The focus of all lives should be on Jesus Christ. In every aspect of life it should be on His teachings. “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). If married couples were to turn and live for the one who ordained their marriage, and put their focus on Him, then we could stop this D-I-V-O-R-C-E.

Bobby Cohoon
Poplar Branch, North Carolina, USA

FAITH

Posted by bobbycohoon on April 16, 2005
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FAITH

Bobby Cohoon

The day started just as any other. And, as the afternoon progressed it was no different than the normal rut I stay in; coaching the softball team then taking my niece to her play practice. I had spoken with my mother around 20 of seven, so when her phone call of 7:20 came I was totally shocked, scared, upset, worried; I basically ran the gamut of emotions. My mother had gone totally blind in a matter of a few minutes (she has been blind in one eye for a few years; this infirmity attacked her “good” eye). Her world, our world, the world, had been turned upside down. Her independence was gone. Having always been a woman of faith, she immediately sent up prayers. She had to now put her trust in many unseen things. She had to put her trust in me and others to lead her from room to room. She had to put her trust in a doctor she had never met, and even now, having met him, has never seen. She had to have trust that someone would fix her food, draw her insulin, check her blood sugar and help her with everything that just a few minutes earlier she could do for herself. All she could do was nothing; she was helpless. All she had was faith; faith in God to give her strength to get through this trial.
The Apostle Paul wrote in his second surviving epistle to the church in Corinth about thorn in his flesh. We don’t know what this thorn was, but we know Paul prayed for its removal: Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me (2 Corinthians 12:8). Many speculate that Paul’s thorn, like my mother’s, was failing eyesight. Paul wrote to the Galatians, “See with what large letters I have written to you with my own hand” (Galatians 6:11). This was a reference to his large writing due to poor and failing eyesight. Yet, he never lost faith but continued to work for the glory of God. It could have been easy for Paul to loose faith and curse God, or to even retire from the evangelistic scene, yet Paul choose a higher path, one of prayer and faith.
When Job was stricken with boils his wife told him to curse God (Job 2:9). Job, like Paul, took a higher road and remained faith to God saying, “Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity” (Job 2:10). Through all his trials Job’s faith remained strong. He never gave up on God.
We all will face trials with our health and it would be easy for us to question God at those times. But, James offered us better advice when we face trials: My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience (James 1:2-3). Paul wrote that God that “comforts us in all our tribulation” (2 Corinthians 1:4). God’s comfort builds our faith. The prophet Habakkuk wrote that “the just shall live by his faith” (Habakkuk 2:4).
Many people say when we are faced with health trials that we have to have faith in the doctor. Yet, faith is reserved only for God; we can trust the physician but our faith is to be in God. It was recorded in the book of Sirach that we should “giue place to the phisitian, for the Lord hath created him: let him not go from thee, for thou hast need of him” (Sirach 38:12 KJV AV1611). Sirach went on to record that we are to “Honour a Phisitian with the honour due vnto him, for the vses which you may haue of him: for the Lord hath created him” (Sirach 38:1KJV AV1611). Our faith is not in the doctor, but in God and God’s use of the doctor. Our faith is not in the medicine but in God’s use of the medicine for “The Lord hath created medicines out of the earth; and he that is wise will not abhorre them” (Sirach 38:4 KJV AV 1611).
The now none canonical book of Sirach offers us a glimpse of hope; My sonne, in thy sickenesse be not negligent: but pray vnto the Lord (Sirach 38:9 KJV AV 1611). In regards to Paul’s thorn, he prayed to God three times asking for its removal (2 Corinthians 12). Never was it recorded that Paul had faith in anything else but God in this matter. Job only went to God. Though my mother put her trust in doctor(s), a profession created by God, her faith was only in the one true God. In each of these three cases the precipitants remained loyal to God and their faith strengthened.
There is no record that Paul’s failing eyesight was ever restored nor any record of his thorn being removed, yet throughout the remaining writings of the apostle it is evident that his faith through all of his trials became stronger and never wavered. As of this writing my mother’s eyesight has returned somewhat; though not nearly as fine as before. But, it is much better than the week(s) spent in darkness. Yet, through her weeks of total blindness her faith remained strong. Her prayers were to God, never questioning why she went blind, but having faith that he would see her through the ordeal. Of course her prayers were for total restoration of sight, but she had faith that whatever his will was he would give her strength to get through it; her faith was/is on God’s will. Jesus prayed in the garden “Your will be done” (Matthew 26:42).
When Paul had prayed three times for the removal of his “thorn,” God spoke to Paul. God told Paul “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). To this Paul responded saying, “Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Through our infirmities, our weaknesses and trials, the power of God is made perfect when we allow our faith to remain strong in God’s grace. We have faith that God will use what is at His disposal, be it doctors or medicine or whatever, to take away our dire circumstances. Yet, we rest on the assuring words God gave to the apostle Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you” (2 Corinthians 12:9). And, that grace only comes through faith; “For by grace you have been saved through faith” (Ephesians 2:8).

Bobby Cohoon
North Carolina, USA
Little_sorrel@yahoo.com
http://littlesorrel.blogspot.com/

Raindrops, So Many Raindrops

Posted by bobbycohoon on April 03, 2005
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Raindrops, So Many Raindrops….

The first few drops of a spring rain fall innocently enough. Showers that sometimes come innocent, starting with a few drops here and then turn into larger storms and begin to flood. The waters that start as spring showers give way to the larger storms, but the still seemingly innocent thunderstorms that we like to call the “garden variety” storm. As summer wears on the heat settles in and a haze from the humidity seems to obscure the vision as the big storms slip in. Monster thunderstorms with funnel clouds, those capable of not only producing severe conditions, but of causing death. But soon summer storms begin to fade and give way to the hurricanes. The monsters that are not only capable of death, the monsters that kill. The dark clouds the rise on the horizon show a force that can wipe out and entire country side. A force that man cannot stop. Only the hand of God can be so powerful as to stop such a monster. As quick as the hurricane season comes it fades in to the cool fall nights. A mantle of frost that glistens under a sky lit by the lights of the stars. The fall days give way to the winter, which comes and blankets the ground in a cold deep snow that seems to kill the last memories of the hurricanes. Under the mantle of snow dead trees killed by the storm lay and decompose fading away into memories of times before. At last the snow melts and from under the water arises new life.

A thought of sin can enter a man’s mind as simple as that first little drop of a spring rain. A carnal image, a lustful thought, and temptation to sin. Though that tiny little thought is there, man doesn’t have to act on it. Jesus was tempted in every way just as we are. The scriptures tell us, “was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). Jesus didn’t let his temptations turn from being the innocent drops of a spring rain into the deadly force of a hurricane. In Matthew chapter 4:1-11, we see Jesus fighting off each of Satan’s temptations with the Word of God.
James wrote, “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death” (James 1:14-15). We get drawn away by those first few innocent drops of spring rain. Many people can turn from then but others sin. The sin maybe likened to that “garden variety” thunderstorm at first, and often times they catch there self and repent. A garden variety storm is all they face and the return to a life of living for God’s glory.
Many others however, cannot stop there. There little spring rain drop, that quickly turned to a ‘garden variety” storm escalates to a severe thunderstorm. The apostle John wrote in his first epistle that he was writing so that we wouldn’t sin, but if we did sin we had an advocate, that being Jesus Christ (1John2:1). John knew that all men would sin: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). John was concerned with that habitual sin that leads to death. The sin that starts as that little drop of spring rain and soon escalates to a severe thunderstorm, turning into the monster hurricanes that lead to death.
The only thing that can stop those monster hurricanes in our life is Jesus Christ. John wrote, “ If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1John 1:9). Jesus not only will forgive our sins, but he will cleanse us from all unrighteousness. He will stop that monster storm. When the disciples faced a storm on the sea Jesus “arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm” (Matthew 8:26). That calm that is like the quiet of a snow covered night. A silence that can only come from the Creator.
When we are deep in sin, there is only one way to go to leave that life. We hear the Gospel message and through faith we believe. Ephesians 2:8 tells us, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.” We repent and then confess our sins, and he is faithful and just and forgives us. And, like the grass the lays dying underneath a mantle of fresh frost on the ground, we are lowered into Jesus death in baptism: “Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death“ (Romans 6:4), only to be raised to life in Him when we emerge from under the melting snow of a spring thaw: “that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4). With our old sinful life gone, and a new one beginning in Him, we confess that Jesus is Lord of our lives. Paul wrote to the Romans, “knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin (Romans 6:6).
Tiny spring rain drops come into everyone’s life, but they don’t have to become hurricanes. Through a life rooted in Jesus Christ we can avoid those storms. When Jesus rebuked the storm, men there said, “Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”(Matthew 8:27). He is the man waiting to keep your spring raindrops from becoming storms.

Thistles to Fruit

Posted by bobbycohoon on April 03, 2005
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THISTLES TO FRUIT

(Galatians 5:22-23)

The old field had sat in a state of decay for many years. The town’s people had watched it go steadily down. No crop would grow in the little patch as it was over taken by weeds that had long strangled out any good growth on the land. Even the soil no longer contained the nutrients to support the life of anything worth looking at or eating. But, and old man saw something in the field that no one else had seen. He looked beyond the thorns and weeds, beyond the poor soil. He saw life where others saw nothing. He took the field and began to work it. Vines that served only to strangle the life out of plants were one by one cut away. Little by little weeds were removed and thorns were pulled as he added nutrients to the soil and planted good seeds. The old man touched the dirt as a father touches his child; inputting the good and weeding out the bad. His eyes searched every inch of the field as a father would know his son; looking to help rid him of the qualities that held him back. His hands turned every inch of the soil with the lovingness that a parent would use to groom a child. The town’s people were amazed as the saw the little eyesore of a field turning into a beautiful garden. The fruit that came from that little field were known far and wide. It was indisputable where they fruit had come.
In our unsaved state we are no different than that little patch of ground. But, then the seeds are sown, cultivated and watered until we turn into beautiful plants full of fruit for the Word of God. Galatians 5:22-23: “the fruit of the Spirit is: love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control.”
Our lives as Christians serve to edify those around us in need. Jesus said we are to “Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in Heaven” (Matthew 5:16). The fruit of the spirit is our light shining. It is through the fruit of the spirit that we are edified and that we edify others.
As we strive to become like Christ and to follow the example He left us the Jesus we reflect may be the only Jesus some people have ever seen: The love we share with each other, over looking our differences. Seeing the person past the color of their skin or the amount of money in there pockets. The love we have for a person just as they are, for God saved us just as we were.
The Joy we share with our brothers or sisters when something good has happened in their lives. Not being envious, but being happy and sharing in their joy.
The peace we strive to attain when we feel we have been done wrong. Not looking for vengeance, but striving for peace. The peace we strive to attain be it your dog in the neighbor’s trash, or be it one country’s attempt at thwarting war with another we edify through this. Jesus said “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you” (John 14:27)
The long suffering we go through when we help others in need putting our needs second. The long nights spent as a parent sitting up with a sick child, and then years later the long nights sitting up with a sick parent edify.
The acts of kindness we do be it taking the older neighbor’s paper to them so they don’t have to go out in the weather to get it or helping with the miniscule of task.
Goodness: when we just strive to do what is right. When we strive to act in ways that are Christ like, we edify. The goodness we display not for accolades, but that we do out of love for our fellowman edify; the goodness we do out of love not out of selfishness or with the hopes of any gain.
When we display our faith in a God that saves we edify. When we display our faith in a God that has opened arms waiting for anyone who will accept Him we edify. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).
In our meekness we edify. The strongest man who ever lived, Jesus the Christ, was meek. He never fought back at the hands of those who took his life. He never raised a hand to strike those who struck him. He, though strong, was meek unto death. He was a lowly servant. “For the Son of man did not come to be served, but to serve” (Mark 10:45).
We edify when we show our self control. We edify when we do not attempt vengeance for a wrong doing. We edify when we exercise self control over the temptations to sin that we are faced with on a daily bases. We edify when we show self control by not giving into the whims of society and by holding fast to the teachings of God’s word.
The fruit of the spirit are our edification. We build up those around us by our lights shining through the fruit; the same fruit edifies us. Are you an old barren field that grows nothing but thorns, or has your field become a field that produces fruit that edifies?