The Fruit of the Spirit

As I fondly look back on experiences in my life, I see that the Holy Spirit continues to slowly replace in me the negative attributes of my personality with His spiritual fruit recorded in Galatians 5:22-23…”But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”

What do these words mean:
Love – affection for others
Joy – exuberance about life
Peace – serenity
Patience – willingness to stick with it
Gentleness – compassion from the heart
Goodness – kindness that pervades our entire being
Meekness – humility and service
Self-Control – guided by the Spirit
Faith – trust that God knows what He’s doing
  
Now look at their opposites, these negative characteristics:  Envy, strife, hatred, bitterness, self-centeredness, pride, criticism, worry, depression, quitters and complainers, backbiters, and people who put work and fun ahead of God (2 Timothy 3:1-5).

Take a moment to go back over this list of negative characteristics. Read each one and think about it before you go to the next characteristic. Do you see any of these negative attributes in your self? Are you willing to submit this area of your life to God? Are you willing to allow Him to replace these negative traits in your life with the fruit of His Spirit?  

The Good News is that Jesus Christ sanctifies us moment-by-moment! Let Him replace: hatred with love, depression with true joy, discontentment with peace,  irritation with patience, criticism with gentleness, backbiting with goodness, pride with meekness,
excess with self-control, and worry with the faith of God as we are controlled and guided by His Spirit.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, help us to walk in obedience to Your Spirit, filled with your fruit, so that we do not fulfill the lusts of the flesh or exhibit any of these ungodly characteristics in our lives. Help us to overflow with your spiritual fruit so that we splash out Your goodness on everyone we meet.

Thought for the Day:
Fruity people make the best friends.

He Remembers Them No More

Read: Psalm 103: 9-13

“But with you there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence, serve you.” - Psalm 130:4

God is collecting His anger over the sin of mankind in a cup of wrath. He also declares that He will not always strive with us or harbor His anger forever. God does not want anyone to perish (2 Peter 3:9). His desire is that everyone will spend eternity with Him. He does not even make us pay the consequences we deserve for our sins. Once we repent, He covers us with the blood of Jesus and He casts our sins

as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12).

Imagine a plane flying north. Once it reaches the North Pole, and follows the curve of the earth, it will begin to head south. So, if God removed our transgressions from us as far as the north is from the south, there would be a definite limit to His forgiveness.

Now, imagine a plane flying east. When does it start to fly west? At what point does the east meet the west? It never does. There is no polar axis going through the earth from east and west as there is going north to south. The plane continues flying east until it lands or runs out of fuel. It never, ever meets the west. That is exactly how far from us God removed our sins. They will never ever catch up with us. They will never be returned to us or thrown back up into our face. They are gone forever.

Our Heavenly Father has compassion on those who fear Him. Once we recognize the omniscience, the omnipresence, the omnipotence of God, we realize how truly great He is. Jesus paid a debt, which He did not owe. He suffered persecution and crucifixion for sins, which He did not commit.

When we realize the great sacrifice, which He made for us, we have no recourse but to fall on our face and repent of our sins. We are humbled by His love, grace and mercy, which we do not deserve. We reverence Him as He deserves to be worshipped. At some point we ultimately make up our mind to serve Him with every ounce of fiber in our being, because of the obligation we owe the perfect Lamb without spot of blemish for paying our sin debt for us.

Having an eternal viewpoint of our life on this earth, gives us a whole new perspective on what we experience. The carnal world and fleshly desires fade away, and we focus on doing the will of God (1 John 2:17). We learn to be content just as Paul did when he was shipwrecked, beaten, imprisoned, hungry, exhausted, lonely and forsaken by everyone he held dear (Philippians 4:12).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, we will rejoice in You always (Philippians 4:4). Help us to trust in You, instead of relying on our human wisdom (Proverbs 3:5). This way we will walk in Your perfect will for us moment by moment throughout the day.

Thought for the Day:

As Christians, we receive such a feeling of oneness with our Creator, such fulfillment from helping others in their time of need and such a deep joy in His love that it defies description (1 Peter 1:8). 

Gladness and Joy

Read: 1 Peter 1:8-9

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." -  1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

There are so many unhappy people in the world. They despise their job, disrespect their spouse, are irritated with their children, want a better house and car and wish they could go to some exotic island for vacation. They live vicariously through books and movies, trading this figment of their imagination for reality. They are usually so busy working to get more stuff that they do not have time to attend church and to develop their spiritual life.

Sadly, some Christians often fit into this category as well. We put our own pursuits above God’s directives. We lay up more treasure for our earthly tabernacle than we do our heavenly one. At other times, we are so involved with searching for God's will that we are often frustrated when God seems silent on the topics we address with Him in prayer. God’s will is simple. He wants us to be transformed into the image of His Son (Romans 8:29). If we keep our mind on Him, He will keep us in perfect peace (Isaiah 26:3). If we seek Him first, He will take care of every other component in our life (Matthew 6:33).

When we live each moment of the day in gratitude for what He already provided, He continues to abundantly supply our needs for that day as well. No matter how desperate the circumstances are in our life, He promises to work them out for our good (Romans 8:28) in His timing and in His way. As we live our life with open communication with His Spirit, He puts us in the right place, at the right time to give and to receive a blessing.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, although Your love is too great to fully comprehend, let us experience this love each day as we follow hard after You (Psalm 63:8). Let us be made complete in You, with all the fullness of life and power that comes from You (Ephesians 3:19). Give us Your shield of victory and sustain us throughout the trials of this life with Your mighty right hand (Psalm 18:35).

Thought for the Day:

Gladness and joy will overtake us, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.- Isaiah 35:10

The Joy Set Before Him

Read: Genesis 29:15-29

“So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed only a few days to him because of the love he had for her.” Gen 29:20 NKJV

In a world of uncertainty and peril, courage and comfort often elude me. Although Paul promises they are simply "light and momentary afflictions" (2 Corinthians 4:17), my trials often feel heavy and insurmountable. I try focusing on eternal promises rather than my current issues, but sometimes hope fades away.

Jacob worked seven years to earn Rachel for his wife. Instead of focusing on the time and labor ahead of him, he allowed their love to comfort him. His bliss made the time pass like days. The promise of Rachel gave Jacob the courage and comfort he needed to persist through the pain and burden of the years of toil.

Even though Jacob ended up working fourteen years for Rachel, he endured the time with joy in his heart and he trusted God to bless him financially as well. When Jacob felt God’s call to return to the Promised Land, he took with him more wealth than he left behind. God always gives to us abundantly, if we trust in Him.

Jesus also changed His focus in order to endure the suffering of the cross. He put his mind on the joy set before Him (Hebrews 12:2) instead of the pain. Jacob and Jesus and even Paul, who changed his focus from the earthly realm to the eternal, give us examples of how to change our focus and live in joy.

Jesus promises us a personal, eternal relationship with Him, which starts the moment we confess our sins and ask Him to save us. He moves in by His Spirit and resides in us, giving us heaven on earth. The Spirit starts working in our lives – manifesting His fruit in our thoughts, words and deeds. (Gal 5:22). His love makes it easier for us to lay aside temptations, to have hope in our trials and to look forward to His great and true promises. 

Prayer:

Lord, thank you for loving us, even when our faith fails us. Help us to focus on the joy that You set before us. Help us to be faithful with a little so that You can bless us with much (Matthew 25:23).

Thought for The Day:

God wants you all for Himself.

Standing Up

Read: Luke 21:14-19

“But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me. - John 15:21 (NKJV)

Sometimes, when we stand up for Jesus, our relationships with others fall down. Even close family members reject Him and may reject us as well. However, when we live with an eternal mindset and vision, the carnal, temporary life holds little value in the whole scheme of what is truly valuable.

A few years ago, my daughter told me that if I respected her, I would never mention Jesus Christ or scripture to her or her friends again. I explained that Christianity is not what I do, but who I am. Therefore, I could not take it off and put it on again. It is permanent. She chose to end our relationship because of what she perceived as my lack of respect for her.

I take comfort in the fact that the world rejected Jesus also. I also continue to pray that once she knows Him who sent me, our relationship will be restored.

Prayer:

Lord, I pray for those I love who do not know You as their Lord and Savior. Thank You for revealing Yourself to them now and always.

Thought for the Day:

Sometimes life demands that we let go in order to receive.

Life's Treasure Chest

Read: Rom 8:34-39

“…Be happy, for when the way is rough, your patience has a chance to grow. So let it grow, and don't try to squirm out of your problems. For when your patience is finally in full bloom, then you will be ready for anything, strong in character, full and complete.”  James 1:2-4 TLB

Sometimes, the life we encounter on this “blue marble” we call earth is overwhelming! We craft clearly laid out plans and goals, but in spite of our preparations, events often careen out of our control. We rarely end up seeing the total realization of our dreams. We often fail to triumph over obstacles too high for us to scale. In spite of these bitter disappointments, however, God tells us that His grace gives us sufficient strength to face our trials and weaknesses (2 Corinthians 12:9).

After 60 years of walking through life’s interruptions, I discovered that there are actually clues to hidden treasure within each difficulty we face. God brings these assets from deep within each one of us as we put one foot in front of the other on our arduous journey through life (Matthew 13:44). There are keys to buried riches contained in each trial and tribulation that comes our way (2 Corinthians 4:7). The proverbial silver lining in every cloud and pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is just waiting to be discovered.

Our God of hope fills us with abounding joy and enduring peace every step of life’s way (Romans 5:13)! He abundantly rewards those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). His Word and Spirit reveal even more hidden treasure, when we seek Him through His scripture and when we place our trust in Him. God also promises that when those who love and obey Him pass over the threshold of heaven, we will all receive the treasured crown of eternal life (James 1:12).

We may not have this world’s goods, but our life both now and in heaven contains an enduring treasure that rust and moths cannot ever destroy (Matthew 6:20).

Prayer:

Lord, help me to treasure every second of life and to see You in the midst of every event. Help me to look at my trials as You see them, and to look for the miracle, which You hide within each one. Keep me from looking too far into the future, which I cannot predict anyway, and to seek You one moment at a time.

Thought for the Day:

The real treasures in life are found in nature, literature, music, art, family and enduring friendships; but primarily in the gift of a personal relationship with the King of kings and the Lord of lords, Jesus Christ.

Baker's Dozen

Read: Mark 4: 30-32

“If you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” - Matt 17:20-21 NKJV

Life usually flows as smoothly as a river following its natural boundaries, until it unexpectedly throws us a sharp curve or rocky rapids for which we are unprepared. This sudden inconvenience often hits us right between the eyes and throws us for a loop, if it doesn’t knock us out completely. Sometimes we lose our faith, even for a short time. At other times, however, Satan sends one too many negative circumstances, which will cause people to curse God and walk away from Him before they ever had a chance to form an intimate, personal relationship with Him.

To set the stage for the point of this post, let me explain the origin of the phrase, “a baker’s dozen’. England has a long history of regulation of trade. Bakers or brewers who gave short measure could be fined, pilloried or flogged. Therefore, bakers were afraid of selling bread that was underweight. They gave an extra loaf when selling a dozen in order to avoid being penalized for selling short weight. It did not take long for this practice of giving thirteen instead of twelve in any transaction to be called “a baker’s dozen”.

Recently, I read about an elementary school art teacher that had several very talented young students. One student in particular was very expressive in her drawings and usually had deeply contrived meaning behind her work. When this child drew 13 petals on all of her flowers in one of her projects, her teacher asked her, "Why?" 

She answered,“My mommy says thirteen is called a baker’s dozen. God never gives us only what we need, but He always gives to us abundantly.”

Her teacher, stunned by this prosaic answer, could only smile in return.

Oh, to have the faith resembling this little child’s. Simple faith to realize that God always gives us a baker’s dozen, even when circumstances suddenly take a turn for the worse.

Prayer:

Lord, we often take You for granted, and we forget to acknowledge Your provision for us each and every day. Remind us to thank You for Your abundant blessings in our lives. Thank You for giving us this day our daily bread.

Thought for the Day:

All who call on God in true faith, earnestly from the heart, will certainly be heard, and will receive what they have asked and desired. – Martin Luther