In this podcast, Paul talks about how the mandate and virtue of patience is designed to confront our human habits of judging others prematurely, and of finding convenient excuses for a lack of empathy and caring love. He draws from Jesus’ parable of the “Fig Tree in the Vineyard,” found in Luke 13:1-9.

In this podcast, Paul talks about the fourth “fruit of the Spirit”—patience. He comments on Proverb’s 19:11 observation that patience comes from a person’s wisdom. It is a sign of wisdom when patience is a portion of the grid through which one engages with everyone else, remembering the Apostle Paul’s admonition to be “patient with everyone” (1 Thessalonians 5: 14).

In this third podcast on “peace,” Dr. Patton explores the idea of “peace,” the third “fruit of the Spirit,” as not just a state of mind, but also an ability to achieve that state with a steady and intentional assertiveness that provides an eternal, heavenly context for all of life’s uncertainties, griefs, and pains. He explores the Apostle Paul’s mini-workshop on the cultivation of “peace” in Philippians 4: 4-7.

In this podcast, Paul talks about envy as an obstacle to internal and communal well-being, and an enemy of the third Fruit of the Spirit, peace. In the cultivation of peace in the garden of our life, Patton asserts that the awareness of our own patterns of envy—weeds that can choke the precious plant of peace—should be acknowledged, monitored, and confronted.

In this podcast, Paul talks about the third “Fruit of the Spirit,” peace, and how the “peace of Christ” is to rule or “umpire” in our heart. As “umpire of the heart” (Colossians 3: 15), such peace—or lack thereof—tells us if our word or action is in keeping with the love and wisdom of Christ. A lack of peace in our heart or conscience would tell us that “something is wrong” and needs to be made right. Paul also addresses the healthy and unhealthy role of a “guilty conscience,” especially as it relates to experiencing the “peace of Christ” as an umpire of the heart.

I’ve devoted the last several podcasts to a new series focused the Apostle Paul’s listing of the “Fruit of the Spirit” found in Galatians 5:22 and 23. These nine fruit include: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. I have suggested that these nine are the most significant fruit to be cultivated in our life’s garden, the Garden of God. In my first podcast I focused on Agape love. My last two podcasts focused on joy. My first podcast on joy discussed how a biblical understanding of joy is not just about putting on a happy face. My second joy podcast explored how joy is often understood as a paradox, that you can experience joy and grief at the same time; Now, in this third podcast on joy, I’d like to briefly ponder with you how joy by its very nature is intimately tied to and connected with hope.

In this podcast, Paul continues with his focus on the “Fruit of the Spirit” with a second look at the God-given virtue of “joy.” He suggests that biblically informed joy is by its very nature “paradoxical,” that is, joy and grief can be experienced simultaneously. He concludes by looking at the grief and depression of Jeremiah, the “weeping prophet,” as an example of the paradoxical nature of joy. Paul points to the prophet’s mental demonstration in Lamentations, Chapter 3, of “calling to mind” an over-arching truth that gives meaning in times of despair.

In this podcast, Paul talks about the second “Fruit of the Spirit,” joy. He asserts that biblically-informed joy is not to be confused with just “putting on a happy face” or easier for the up-beat personality to experience. Paul offers that the “joy of the Lord” is associated with re-asserting an over-arching truth that even informs times of difficulty and tribulation. As the second “Fruit of the Spirit,” it is an informed empowering context that is cultivated in the garden called our lives.

In this podcast, Paul offers the “fruit of the Spirit” as the cultivated objectives in the garden called our lives. He briefly discusses the first of the nine virtures, “agape love.” He asserts that “agape love” is operationally defined as “caring about the best interests of the object of love, regardless of their response.” He further suggests that “agape love” provides an operationalizing purpose for our existence, a central “why” for our journey—to cultivate our capacity to love sacrificially. In times of cultural, community and individual distress, such biblically-informed “purposes” help us stay focused and motivated in life’s journey.

In this podcast, Paul begins to offer an interlude of reflections during these challenging, uncertain times provoked by the threat of the coronavirus. His first is to emphasize the over-arching significance of biblically-informed metanarratives that help us understand our story, especially in the midst of struggle. What are the ways we understand our journey, stories worth repeating, regularly to remind us of the “whys” of our existence and the purpose behind our faithful day-to-day persistence?