Change Me...Part Four

EMBODY THE FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT:

          Lesson Seven, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. Galatians 5:22-26. NIV.

          We should make the effort to be a representative of all the characteristics of the Fruits of the Spirit.  The Apostle Paul gave this list to show us what Christ-like attributes we need to enter the Kingdom of God.

·        Love- "Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily. It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God's love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong]. It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail. Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything without weakening. [Love never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end]. Love never fails." (AMP) 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

·        Joy- Joy is of the Lord.  It is a gift given to us to establish us through the difficulties of this life.  It is the Holy Spirit working in us that makes us experience true “joy”.

·        Peace- A tranquility of the soul that is unaffected by outward circumstances.

·        Patience- To be patient is to be able to wait on God and go through your difficulties, even if it takes longer than you want it too.  Hebrews 10:36, “For you have need of endurance, so after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise.”

·        Kindness- Acting for the good of people regardless of what they do.  This is not the same thing as being nice. Nice being agreeable. Strong’s definition is the ability to act for the good of someone taxing your patience.  Think about all the people that get on your nerves.  Would you be willing to do something for them knowing that you will never get anything in return?  That is being kind.

·        Goodness- the best part of anything.  The essence of something.  Essence being a set of attributes that make you what you are.

·        Faithfulness- I learned something interesting about faith today.  Faith comes from the word “pistis” in Greek.  It stems from the word peitho which means to persuade or to be persuaded.  Now that is not the fun part.  What I learned is that faith is always received from God and never generated by us.  Wow! Kind of extreme thinking.  The Lord continuously births faith in the yielded believer so they can know what He prefers.  I.E. the persuasion of His will.(HELPS word studies) Romans 12:3 states, “God allotted to each a measure of faith.”  I never understood this before now. Another thing I learned is that faith is not the same thing as belief, but that is for a different day.

·        Gentleness- Defined as power and strength under control. (New Spirit Filled Life Bible) The ability to pardon injuries, correct faults, and rule your own spirit well. 

·        Self-Control- to have possession of your own behavior.  Proverbs 25:28, “Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control.”