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There’s More Than One Pie

“You bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.” - from Galatians 5:15

In the previous verse, Paul reminds us that, “the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Paul’s metaphor of biting and eating one another is the contrast to loving one another.

Do we see life as more of a competition or as more of a cooperation? If we see life primarily as a competition, we think of it like a single pie. There’s only so much to go around. A larger slice for me, by necessity means a smaller slice for someone else.

If we see life primarily as a cooperation, we understand that the bakery has the capacity to make more pies. No one has to do without. The bakery must be kept fully stocked and in good working order. The recipes must be carefully curated and followed.

If we understand that we are more like workers in a bakery than we are contestants in a pie eating contest, everyone is going to get enough to eat.

I’m Horace McMillon. This is 60 Seconds of Hope. Peace be with you.

#60secondsofhope #Devotion #inspiration #dailydevotion #dailyinspiration #dailymeditation #discipleship #positivemindset #dailydevotional #positivity #growth #personaldevelopment #Galatians5 #fruitofthespirit

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From Love and Joy to Peace

“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (from Galatians 5:22-23)

I find the order of Paul’s list of attributes to be fairly significant. Everything starts with love, love for God, love for self, love for neighbor as one’s self. Rooted, grounded, and surrounded by the love of God, friendships, and community we experience a deep joy that emerges from our gratitude for the love we experience.

When our lives are full of love and joy, regardless of the circumstances we find ourselves in, we have peace. It’s a peace that the Gospel of John describes as surpassing all understanding. It’s a peace that external circumstances cannot rob or ruin.

Everything else flows from peace. When we have peace we can be patient. When we have peace we can be gentle and kind. When we are at peace we can faithful and self disciplined. When we are truly at peace we become generous in every aspect of our lives.

If we embrace love and joy, we will find peace. Once we have peace, we will discover we already have everything else.

I’m Horace McMillon. This is 60 Seconds of Hope. Peace be with you.

#60secondsofhope #Devotion #inspiration #dailydevotion #dailyinspiration #dailymeditation #discipleship #positivemindset #dailydevotional #positivity #growth #personaldevelopment #Galatians5 #fruitofthespirit

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Be Sure to Read the Middle Part…

In Galatians 5, the Apostle Paul sets up a contrast or dichotomy to describe what our lives look like when they are Spirit led and when they are not. The non Spirit list begins with sexual immorality and ends with drunkenness. Many readers treat these two as the entirety of the list without seriously considering what’s in between:

“idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy…” (from Galatians 5:20)

Idolatry: Making what’s not most important our top priority and concern in life. Be it financial security, economic or social status, our popularity or influence, these cannot become our gods.

Sorcery: Using improper means to obtain the things we need or mostly just want.

Enmities, strife, quarrels, dissensions and factions: In other words we need to stop keeping up mess, creating unnecessary drama, and stoking division.

Anger, Jealousy, and Envy: Others may well have what we want, but we trust God to provide us what we need.

Let’s consider the whole list and apply it accordingly in our lives.

I’m Horace McMillon. This is 60 Seconds of Hope. Peace be with you.

#60secondsofhope #Devotion #inspiration #dailydevotion #dailyinspiration #dailymeditation #discipleship #positivemindset #dailydevotional #positivity #growth #personaldevelopment #Galatians5 #fruitofthespirit

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