Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Fruits of the Spirit

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law…  Galatians 5:22-23

This week we are going to be studying the Fruit of the Spirit.  When we are living in the Spirit, the fruit that comes out of our lives will reflect the Holy Spirit, but when we are living in our sinful nature, the fruit in our lives will reflect our sinful nature.  This week as we look at the different attributes of the fruit of the Spirit, open yourself up to the Holy Spirit and ask Him to produce good fruit in your life and to help you overcome your opposing sinful nature.

Love
It has been said that Love makes the world go round.  Well, there is some truth in that statement since we are human and as humans, we crave love.  Love is generally associated with feelings and feelings are important.  God wants us to really feel love for Him and others, but more than that, God longs for us to experience a greater love, beyond any human emotions. 
This incredible love can only come from one place and that is from God.  1 John 4:7 says Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.  God showed His love for us first by giving us life and a beautiful world to live in. Then He gave His son as the ultimate sacrifice of love for us.  He has shown us mercy and grace and wants us to show love, mercy and grace to the world, the fruit of the spirit flowing from our lives.  God wants His love to stay in a continuous stream from Him, to us, out of us to others and to Him. 

Joy
Let’s face it, there are just some days that are very hard days and the thought of exuding joy is crazy.  Joy in a sense, goes hand in hand with peace.  When we have peace and know that God is in control when everything is spinning out of control, we have a sense of joy. This is not the giddy, laughing hysterically joy that you may feel at a party once in a while.  This is a feeling of knowing that you have a purpose and a place in Christ and that He is going to take care of you.  Even in times of suffering you can have joy.  Even in times of uncertainty you can have joy.  Being a Christian doesn’t mean life will be easy and we will not suffer hardships.  It means we have an anchor.  It means we know that God is in control when we are not.  We can have hope because we have a different perspective of eternity and people around you can see the fruit of joy in your life. 

Peace
Peace - now that is definitely something I could use more of.  These days we all live such hectic, crazy lives that we have filled absolutely every second with something else to do.  The busier I get and the more “crises” I have to deal with in my life, the more I cling to God for the peace I can get only from Him.  He can give me calmness, confidence, and inner contentment even when the storm is raging fiercely around me. This is only possible through the Holy Spirit and His presence in my life.  It is a fruit of the Spirit in my life that I can exhibit to the world around me with my example of how I react and handle the catastrophes of life.  How do people make it through these hard times without the blessed assurance of the Holy Spirit and His love for them? l 

Scripture to Claim:
“The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life” Proverbs 11:30

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