What does it mean to be full of truth? We know that God spoke everything into existence by merely speaking. And we know that Jesus is the Word made flesh. So, how are we able to communicate the truth (God's truth) to those around us? Speaking truthfully can be challenging. Even though our tongue is a small organ, it is sometimes the hardest to control. We would challenge you that if you're able to control your tongue and your words, then you can take control of the rest of your body as well (actions, attitudes, etc.). The Bible says that out of our hearts, our mouths will speak. So let's make sure what we are planting in our hearts is what we want to grow and mature and come out of our mouths.

"A person who voluntarily serves another or acts as his minister." This is why Jesus called Himself a servant. He came to voluntarily serve and act as our minister during His time on earth. He set the ultimate example of service and sacrifice. Serving in today's culture and climate, we are able to choose when, where, how, and whom we serve–we stay in charge. Jesus didn't choose when, where, how, and whom–He met needs as they came to Him.

"Nearly every moment of every day we have the opportunity to give something to someone else–our time, our love, our resources. I have always found more joy in giving when I did not expect anything in return." S. Truett Cathy

What is love? And why is that such a difficult question to answer in today's culture? We open this episode by comparing 1947's dictionary meaning and today's dictionary meaning to see how far away we've come from love centered around God.

God is love, but that love is only to be viewed and seen in light of all of His other virtues. God's primary virtue is holiness, so we cannot separate the two. God's love "is a static disposition of the will towards His people that is always unchanging."–Knowing Fatih Podcast

We are so thankful that God is more committed to Himself and His covenant than just a feeling towards us.

Love is found when we look at its corresponding object. If we love what God loves, then our love is morally good. But, if we start loving what God hates, then our love has become a twisted sin. If we suggest "love is love" apart from a corresponding object, then we have rendered it as an idol and removed it from its moral anchor: the one true and living God.

At the end of the day, do we define love, or does God?

From the very beginning God set the stage for good work. Even before the fall God designed Adam and Eve (man and woman) to work and take care of what He had created. It wasn't until after the fall that our attitude and behavior became tilted towards this stewardship. When we work, we are working for the Lord.

Laziness ultimately boils down to idolatry. So is its opposite: workaholism. Both of these vices are a form of self-worship. We can either think too low or too highly of ourselves, which therefore affects how we treat work. These vices are sinful, but they are more-so a symptom of a deeper sin issue: worship. Where our affections are set, is where our behavior will follow. So if our affections are set toward comfort, we will praise being comfortable over working for God.

It is impossible to be faithful to God and lazy. Godliness takes hard work.

We know that we have each been gifted with different abilities and talents. These unique things should be fostered and practiced so that we can use them for God. The body of Christ is made up of such a diverse group of believers, so it is imperative that we use those things to point to Christ. The purpose of our talents is not for self-gain, but ultimately for serving others and glorifying God. When we diligently develop our talents, they can open doors of opportunity to impact society and people who would otherwise not take notice of God. However, our work should be motivated by our love for God and not for the spotlight it might afford us. We can help our children identify their God-given talents by asking the following questions. What is a task that comes easily to them? What are they naturally good at? What are some of their biggest character strengths?

How do we break down our time? How do we set our priorities? How we think about this shows were our worship and idols lie. The Bible tells us to "look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time. (Ephesians 5:15-16) If we give God the adoration and reverence that He deserves, then we will give Him ultimate control over every aspect of our lives. We must live our lives in dependence on Him. When we choose wisdom, we will make the most of each day, being faithful to however many of them God grants us to live. Worship is an aspect of our faith that we can just reserve for Sundays, but we challenge you to think about how worship can be incorporated into your life every day. Especially so your children will see. Making time with God a priority will bring opposition, but is such an important decision to make. Setting your purpose for spending time with God will encourage you to seek Him more often and will help you cultivate your relationship with Him.

God made us to be relational beings. Because He is a triune God, it is only fitting that we have need for others since God Himself has never been alone. Even when the world was perfect in the Garden of Eden, Adam was given Eve to do life with. Adam needed someone when the world was in its perfect state, so how much more should we need others now that we live in the fallen world. Community helps us sanctify ourselves because people push us to change and be more Christ-like. When we're in a faith-filled community, we're able to remind each other of God's truth in any situation. We can share what God is doing in our lives, we can unite in prayer for one another, and we can serve together to make a bigger difference. As we live our lives in committed community with other believers, we model Christian holiness for our children. Some statements to remember: We belong to God. We no longer belong to the world. We belong together in the church.

Peace—it's not just about the absence of conflict, it's also about positive blessing. How can we practice this virtue and not be agitated with passion or undisturbed? Sometimes it can boil down to sacrifice. We might have to sacrifice pride or the thought of "being right" in the moment in order to create a peaceful environment. God's peace isn't a magic wand, it only comes when we exercise faith. When our eyes are fixed on God, there is a peace this world cannot rob from us. We know that we can trust God amidst any turmoil or uncertainty.

Unruffled, endurance without murmuring, constitutional fortitude–is that what comes to mind with you think of patience? It is definitely more dense of a definition then we normally default to. This episode covers how to have true patience and understanding not only with our children, but with ourselves, and other people. "it is not the patience which grimly waits for the end, but the patience which radiantly hopes for the dawn." - William Barclay. We wrap up by talking about God's patience and how it's hard for us to see what's happening beneath the surface even when we don't see progress. We are thankful that God is not slow, but that He is patient.

As we continue our third category, we are talking about attitudes and behaviors that stem from our heart. "Out of the heart the mouth speaks." We want to display the Fruit of the Spirit in how we speak and act. Gentleness gives people dignity of birth and allows them to see tenderness that comes from Christ. We discuss how gentleness surprises people, dignifies them, and ultimately gives them a picture of Christ. Since we are the closest thing to Jesus Himself that people will see, how we treat people is what they will believe we think Jesus is like. We are able to offer hope when we encourage other believers in the faith. When we encourage one another we are not just trying to make them feel better, we are also strengthening their heart for the task at hand.