How do we get from our very human selves with our angers and fears and judgments and ego-centricity—all grounded in the world’s ways– to expressing the fruit of the Spirit in all that we do? How can we humans bring peace, joy and love, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control/humility to all whom we […]

Gratitude to God is the foundation, the very basis of our love for God. Without gratitude for all that He has done in our lives, for the privilege of living on this beautiful earth, for the life He had given us, for the companions we have along our journey—family and friends and others who inspire […]

October 12, 2020 My blog posts at By the Waters the last week in September and the first week of October were about the Holy Spirit. To me He is the One who dwells in us and in the world around us, who communicates with us constantly whether we are aware of His voice or […]

As I began to wake up one morning a few months ago, it was on my mind that the more I wished blessings on someone else, family or friends or even unknown others, the more I would be reaping blessings in my life.  This is a basic principle of our lives by which our actions […]

This week I want to highlight more experiences with the Holy Spirit, this time from readers who shared their stories of encounters with the Holy Spirit after reading last week’s post. I have only done some minor editing. I apologize for the length of this post, but I wanted to include them all.   Whether […]

The third stage of the journey in Christ has to do with His followers becoming disciples. To review what I wrote last week: in the first stage of the journey believers profess their faith in Jesus Christ, but may not realize all that Christ calls us to do in their lives. During the second stage […]

When I think of this journey with Christ, I think of it having three stages:1-Believing in Christ, 2-Following Christ and 3-Discipleship.   Believing in Christ, the 1st stage, is where we have to really work at being obedient in following the 10 Commandments in what we say and do. This stage is more ego-and-mind-driven, as […]

When I think of this journey with Christ, I think of it having three stages:1-Believing in Christ, 2-Following Christ and 3-Discipleship.   Believing in Christ, the 1st stage, is where we have to really work at being obedient in following the 10 Commandments in what we say and do. This stage is more ego-and-mind-driven, as […]

            We don’t think of love as nonviolence. Or as compassion. Or valuing another person and all they’ve been through which formed them as they are. We don’t think of love as embracing our enemy, listening to them, seeing everyone as a child of God. We don’t look at the Ten Commandments as teaching us […]

The gifts of the spirit listed in Galatians 5:22-23 are the result of our transformation from being attached to the world to an attachment to God with a great love for God in our lives. These gifts result from our following the Indwelling Spirit of God wherever He would lead us. First, we allow God […]