Mitchell Landress

Love is the difference between faith and unbelief. Genuine faith loves God, brother, neighbor and enemy. Genuine faith also loves the Scriptures and the church. So, what do you do if you have no desire for these things? A good place to start would be this question: Have you ever loved them? The answer may be no, especially if we are being completely honest. Or, perhaps you are in a bit of a lull. You have loved God, church, Scripture – and in a very genuine way – yet the love seems to have fizzled out recently. The more important question is this: Do you want to desire God more? Do you want to love both God and the things of God? If the answer to that question is “yes,” then we are in good shape, because the Bible holds a great promise for us. “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” (James 4:8a) “for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.” (Psalm 9:10b) The hope in these two verses is tremendous, because Jesus said that “no one can come to me unless the Father who...

There is a saying in church circles – mostly spoken in jest – that a Christian should “never pray for patience.” The reason being, if you pray for patience the Lord will bring circumstances into your life to teach you patience. We understand the point of the joke. We are impatient people and wish to avoid any situation where we might have to be patient. But we must see this as a joke and dismiss it as a joke, hoping that no one actually takes it seriously. The truth of the matter is we should pray for patience, practice patience, and desire to be patient people. Why? Because patience is a fruit of the Spirit. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23a, ESV). The fruit of the Spirit is not like the gifts of the Spirit. Spiritual gifts are given to believers by the Spirit for the work of the church. Every Christian has at least one. But the fruit of the Spirit is the evidence of the Holy Spir...