Counterfeit Peace

(excerpts from Desperate Dependency by J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis)

What will it take for you to find "Peace on Earth" during this season?

In Galatians 5:22–23 (NLT) God assures us, “The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” if we “follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives” (Gal. 5:25 NLT). The fruit of the Spirit encompasses the distinctiveness of God. No human plantation can create a vineyard such as His. God is the divine husbandman. He plants the vine and prunes it precisely to produce the fruit He wants. This fruit completes His portrait so the watching world can see a glimpse of Christ through our lives.

In this current series of blog posts we are assessing the fruit God wishes to produce through His Spirit. But in our desire for independence we attempt to counterfeit God’s fruit with our own design. Desiring all He has for us but not willing to give all we are to Him, we endeavor to circumvent His plan by producing our fruit of the flesh. Our miserable efforts culminate in disastrous results: emptiness, futility, turmoil, and frustration to name a few. Obtaining an education as a fruit inspector will prepare us to distinguish between the authentic fruit of the Spirit and the counterfeit fruit of the flesh.

Peace > Comfort > Turmoil
Peace is the fruit of the Holy Spirit that supplies security in Christ, who provides all that is needed for life and godliness. It is the evidence of one who is dependent on Christ to provide the ability to cope with the problems, pain, and perplexities of living. In the midst of conflict we can experience the absence of fear, dread, and impending doom as we rest in the presence of His safety, tranquility, and contentment. A continuous relationship with Jesus Christ overflows with peace that comes from entrusting every struggle to Him. There is strength in knowing that while all around us is in flux and failure, Jesus provides a spiritual stability beyond the normal boundaries of this existence. We experience peace in the presence of finding Christ relevant to our situation even when we cannot be in control.

Peace resides when the soul has been brought to balance by the work of Christ calming the turmoil of the heart. It is achieved by the release of self to the care of a trusted Savior, who in turn assures the individual of a promise of safekeeping that moves one to believe all is well.

“You will keep in perfect peace
      all who trust in you,
      all whose thoughts are fixed on you!
Trust in the LORD always,
      for the LORD GOD is the eternal Rock” (Isa. 26:3–4 NLT).

Humanity desires a Christ-less comfort. Submission is too demanding and taxing and infringes on our sense of control. We choose rather to be at ease by creating an environment where the circumstances and situations favor us. Our relational connections to people, positions, and possessions serve to vanquish stress and strain. The pursuit of comfort most assuredly leads to all we have sought to avoid, and results in turmoil. While attempting to evade the pain of life, our quest for comfort brings the consequences of sin and illicit dependencies. Apart from God’s empowerment, we settle for the feeble counterfeits of God substitutes. If you find yourself experiencing the symptom of turmoil, consider what means of comfort you are employing to counterfeit God’s fruit of peace.

This is what the LORD says—
      your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
“I am the LORD your God,
      who teaches you what is good for you
      and leads you along the paths you should follow.
Oh, that you had listened to my commands!
      Then you would have had peace flowing like a gentle river
      and righteousness rolling over you like waves in the sea.” (Isa. 48:17–18 NLT)

We will evidence the fruit of peace when we cease our pursuit of comfort with its resulting turmoil and find our security through Christ instead.

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:6–7 NLT).

Consider:
What methods did I employ to find comfort when needing peace?
What were the results?

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Counterfeit Joy

(excerpts from Desperate Dependency by J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis)

Are you looking forward to your Thanksgiving meal to give you joy? Are you expecting your family gathering to give you joy?

In Galatians 5:22–23 (NLT) God assures us, “The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” if we “follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives” (Gal. 5:25 NLT). The fruit of the Spirit encompasses the distinctiveness of God. No human plantation can create a vineyard such as His. God is the divine husbandman. He plants the vine and prunes it precisely to produce the fruit He wants. This fruit completes His portrait so the watching world can see a glimpse of Christ through our lives.

In this current series of blog posts we are assessing the fruit God wishes to produce through His Spirit. But in our desire for independence we attempt to counterfeit God’s fruit with our own design. Desiring all He has for us but not willing to give all we are to Him, we endeavor to circumvent His plan by producing our fruit of the flesh. Our miserable efforts culminate in disastrous results: emptiness, futility, turmoil, and frustration to name a few. Obtaining an education as a fruit inspector will prepare us to distinguish between the authentic fruit of the Spirit and the counterfeit fruit of the flesh.

Joy > Pleasure > Futility
Joy is the fruit of the Holy Spirit that reflects reliance on God. Jubilantly, a soul connected to Jesus gives tribute to God’s redemptive work. When the conflicts of the heart have been resolved, joy is the result. Such a condition is simply the outward testimony that all is well within.

Joy is the expression of the trusting heart experiencing God—His power to live, His freedom from bondage, His promise of eternal fellowship. The transforming hand of God liberates a life from the prison of oppression when we yield to His design, resulting in joy.

People seem content to counterfeit joy with pleasure. The shackles of the sensual amusements of the world, the flesh, and the devil draw us through the lust of our hearts and the vanity of our lives and bind us in strongholds.

Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever (1 John 2:15–17 NLT).

Pleasure, however, does not have to be blatantly sinful. Yet all pleasure becomes sinful when we seek to be complete in it. When Jesus is left out of our lives, the pain of insatiable desires results in depriving us of the hope of fulfillment—futility. If you find yourself experiencing the symptom of futility, consider what means of pleasure you are employing to counterfeit God’s fruit of joy.

“I said to myself, ‘Come now, let’s try pleasure. Let’s look for the ‘good things’ in life.’ But I found that this, too, was meaningless” (Eccles. 2:1 NLT).

God’s solution to the meaninglessness is found in our connection to Jesus.

Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.

Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.

I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! (John 15:4–11 NLT)

We will evidence the fruit of joy when we give up our futile pursuit of pleasure and choose reliance on God.

“I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 15:13 NLT).

Consider:
When have I sought pleasure instead of relying on the Spirit’s fruit of joy?
What were the results?

Counterfeit Love

(excerpts from Desperate Dependency by J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis)

In Galatians 5:22–23 (NLT) God assures us, “The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” if we “follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives” (Gal. 5:25 NLT). The fruit of the Spirit encompasses the distinctiveness of God. No human plantation can create a vineyard such as His. God is the divine husbandman. He plants the vine and prunes it precisely to produce the fruit He wants. This fruit completes His portrait so the watching world can see a glimpse of Christ through our lives.

In this current series of blog posts we are assessing the fruit God wishes to produce through His Spirit. But in our desire for independence we attempt to counterfeit God’s fruit with our own design. Desiring all He has for us but not willing to give all we are to Him, we endeavor to circumvent His plan by producing our fruit of the flesh. Our miserable efforts culminate in disastrous results: emptiness, futility, turmoil, and frustration to name a few. Obtaining an education as a fruit inspector will prepare us to distinguish between the authentic fruit of the Spirit and the counterfeit fruit of the flesh.

Love > Self-Centeredness > Emptiness
Love is the fruit of the Holy Spirit that enables us to value others with the distinguishing characteristic of sacrificial giving for the best interest of another. God places within us the ability to value Him and others, producing the capability to give while expecting nothing in return. True love can be seen at the cross, where Christ willingly sacrificed everything to be in a relationship with us to fulfill the Father’s purpose. Love promotes the work of God rather than the will of the individual. It is God’s heart in action through us.

“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance” (1 Cor. 13:4–7 NLT).

God’s fruit of love perfects our hearts with abilities that are alien to the human condition. We are not simply better versions of what we were; we are now something altogether different because of the Holy Spirit’s work that moves us to Christlikeness.

Apart from God, the human heart has no capacity for love. Left to our own devices, we offer only a counterfeit version laden with self-interest as a means to secure our self-centered pleasures. We strive to attain value and worth through people, positions, and possessions, believing we can find fulfillment apart from Christ. This illicit love masquerades in forms that may look noble, but the chief concern is how something will impact self. The ideal of giving to another has been replaced by the idea of gaining for oneself.

By pursuing self-interest we contend with the toxic effects of frustration, hurt, fear, anger, and bitterness. The results of such are fatigue, resentment, depression, anxiety, the disintegration of relationships, and the ever-looming desire for more. These negative consequences perpetuate the unending cycle of spiritual and emotional depletion. This pursuit of self-centeredness leads to emptiness. If you find yourself experiencing the symptom of emptiness, consider what self-centered means you are employing to counterfeit God’s fruit of love.

We will evidence the fruit of love when we resign from the self-centeredness that culminates in emptiness and then allow the Holy Spirit to enable us to value others. “Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love” (1 John 4:7–8 NLT).

Consider:
What self-centered means have I employed to find love?
What were the results?

Potter and Clay

(excerpts from Desperate Dependency by J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis)

I want to do it my way! (Stomp your foot here!)

Man’s desire is for God to empower life on our terms. From this perspective, all of life, including eternal life, is a pursuit of unending self-indulgence, unlimited pleasure, and unparalleled comfort. Our physical lives exist for our purposes; we believe we deserve everything we want. The perceived ultimate quality of life results from having the freedom to live life the way we think best.

Driven by the delusion that we can attain independence, we are convinced our fulfillment can only be addressed by our creative solutions. God may have a plan, but we don’t see Him at work in our lives, so we will attempt to achieve satisfaction independently. We attach expectations for God to bring about our plans by employing all His power to accomplish our desires. Deceived, we come to the notion that God is perfectly okay with what we want. The delusion expands to accommodate the idea that our plans are equal to His will. From this perspective God exists for our gratification.

Our desire for independence clashes with the truth that only God is independent. We wrestle with futility as we strive to convince God that our plan should be His plan. With dashed hopes and thwarted expectations we grow resentful of God and stand in judgment of Him, doubting His love for us.

“What sorrow awaits those who argue with their Creator.
      Does a clay pot argue with its maker?
Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying,
      ‘Stop, you’re doing it wrong!’
Does the pot exclaim,
      ‘How clumsy can you be?’”

This is what the LORD says—
      the Holy One of Israel and your Creator:
“Do you question what I do for my children?
      Do you give me orders about the work of my hands?
I am the one who made the earth
      and created people to live on it.
With my hands I stretched out the heavens.
      All the stars are at my command.” (Isa. 45:9, 11–12 NLT)

God responds that His will is not equal to our plans. Deafened by our delusions, we insist. Pretending to be sanctioned by the Lord, we amplify the deception moving us to a deeper level of darkness. “And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools” (Rom. 1:21–22 NLT). The battle intensifies between His will and our way.

      The LORD gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, “Go down to the potter’s shop, and I will speak to you there.” So I did as he told me and found the potter working at his wheel. But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so he crushed it into a lump of clay again and started over.
      Then the LORD gave me this message: “O Israel, can I not do to you as this potter has done to his clay? As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand. If I announce that a certain nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down, and destroyed, but then that nation renounces its evil ways, I will not destroy it as I had planned. And if I announce that I will plant and build up a certain nation or kingdom, but then that nation turns to evil and refuses to obey me, I will not bless it as I said I would.
      “Therefore, Jeremiah, go and warn all Judah and Jerusalem. Say to them, ‘This is what the LORD says: I am planning disaster for you instead of good. So turn from your evil ways, each of you, and do what is right.’ ”
      But the people replied, “Don’t waste your breath. We will continue to live as we want to, stubbornly following our own evil desires.”
      So this is what the LORD says:

“Has anyone ever heard of such a thing,
      even among the pagan nations?
My virgin daughter Israel
      has done something terrible!
Does the snow ever disappear from the mountaintops of Lebanon?
      Do the cold streams flowing from those distant mountains ever run dry?
But my people are not so reliable, for they have deserted me;
      they burn incense to worthless idols.
They have stumbled off the ancient highways
      and walk in muddy paths.
Therefore, their land will become desolate,
      a monument to their stupidity.
All who pass by will be astonished
      and will shake their heads in amazement.
I will scatter my people before their enemies
      as the east wind scatters dust.
And in all their trouble I will turn my back on them
      and refuse to notice their distress.” (Jer. 18:1-17 NLT)

“People ruin their lives by their own foolishness
      and then are angry at the LORD” (Prov. 19:3 NLT).

Are you willing to be a moldable piece of clay, or will you be a hardened lump?