Psst... Pass It On!

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Did you ever play that game when you were a kid called "Telephone"? Essentially, one person comes up with a phrase or saying and then whispers it to another person in the room. The second person has to take what they heard and whisper it to the next person and so on throughout the whole room. When it gets to the last person, that person tells everyone the message they received and guess what? ---it is completely different from the original! Why is that? Because each person has a different perspective, different experiences, different abilities to hear and remember and different ways to communicate. The bottom line lesson from this game is clear: unless you get information directly from the source, your information may be flawed. This same phenomenon can happen with our faith.

In the Old Testament, God gave Moses the law for all the people to follow. Over time, however, various people like the Pharisees and Sadducees read the law, gave their own interpretations and then taught others from their own perspectives. As time went by, the law became reduced to a series of rituals and behaviors and lost much of the spiritual impact that God had intended.

We can also see the same phenomenon in Christianity today with our many different denominations and factions. Differing interpretations about baptism, communion, rituals, forgiveness, family, etc. have all become issues for separation and debate. But, while having different views is not a bad thing, we have to realize the impact it can have on our faith. Like the game of "telephone", listening to mixed messages can confuse us about the true basis for our faith and lead us away from real spiritual growth. Therefore, we must always be vigilant to test what we hear with the true source... the word of God.

Jesus made the basis of our faith crystal clear in John 3:16-17 when he said:

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."

Have you been playing "telephone" with your faith? If the message you're holding onto has been changed dramatically from Christ's words above, maybe it's time to talk directly to the source. He's dying to set the record straight.

Jill Cohen

Vice President, Kohath Ministries

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That dirty word... Patience!

For more information, please visit www.kohath.org.

Galatians 5:22 tells details clearly what is called "the fruit of the Spirit" -- the characteristics of Christ that we can experience for ourselves if we allow the Holy Spirit to guide and direct our lives. The passage tells us:

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control."

Now, I definitely want to live by the Spirit and grow into the likeness of Christ. That is my life goal. But why does that one dirty word --- PATIENCE --- have to be there? The rest are so peaceful and happy and outwardly focused, but patience just gives me pain to hear the word!

Yes. It's true, I've always struggled with patience. When I get my mind focused on something... I want to see it come to fruition! While that's true in lots of different parts of my life, I think the hardest times for me are when God's promises are clear, but the results are slow. Or at least slower than I think they should be. It's in these times it's easy for doubts to arise and frustrations to set in much like they did for the Israelite people.

In the Old Testament writings, the prophets spoke of a Messiah who would come to save God's people and establish his kingdom forever. For a nation plagued with captivity and unrest from neighboring peoples, this was indeed a promise to count on. Yet, between the time of the prophets writings and the birth of Jesus there were more than 400 years of waiting -- simply waiting for God's promises to be revealed! The truth is, during this time, many people lost patience and fell away from trusting God, and sadly as a result, they missed the glorious fulfillment of God's promises in Christ Jesus.

You see, having a lack of patience tends to make us take our own approach, seek our own path and take over control ourselves. But having godly patience ensures that we keep our eyes on what God's doing and don't miss out on the blessings he has for us. No, it's not easy, but the apostle Paul tells us that such patience -- or "perseverence" -- is key to a life in Christ. He puts it this way:

"...but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit whom he has given us"

Romans 5:3-4

So, I guess there's good reason that "patience" is part of the "fruit of the Spirit" -- because it builds our hope and trust in God to deliver his promises in our lives. Promises that are always true, can never be forsaken and cannot be matched by any other source!

Hmmm... guess it's not a dirty word after all!

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