Thursday: In Matthew 7:15-23, Jesus tells his disciples to be on the look out for false prophets (that is, people pretending to be of God). Basically, he reminds his followers to use good sense--to look at the "fruits" of the people to whom they are listening. An evil tree can't produce good fruit, he says, just like a good tree can't produce evil fruit. Likewise, as Spirit-filled followers of Jesus, we should also produce "fruit" that reflects this. What "fruits" in thought, word, and action would you expect from a Christian? This week we'll be reading what Paul wrote to the Galatians about the fruits of the Spirit. Paul is talking about the Holy Spirit, a third facet of God that was sent to us after Jesus died. The Holy Spirit is supposed to be our comforter; he is sort of like our conscience, prompting us to do the right thing. When we become Christians, the Holy Spirit fills us up; as a result, we bear fruit that reflect the Holy Spirit. Remember, though, that fruit takes time ripen. The fruit of the Spirit also takes time to ripen. As we continue to walk with God, the fruits in our lives will be more evident.
Friday: Since there are nine fruits of the Spirit described by Paul in Galatians 5: 22, we'll talk about three each day for the next three days. The first fruit is love. Because it comes first, we can infer that this is the most important, most prominent fruit of the Spirit. To define love, we can look at the example of Jesus; by dying for our sin, he showed the ultimate expression of love. When we put others before ourselves--when we sacrifice for the benefit of someone else--this is showing love. Joy is the second fruit. We often equate joy with happiness, but they are actually very different. Happiness is based on circumstance; a certain situation can make you happy. But joy is deeper. Joy comes from knowing God and being sure of his love and concern from you; even in bad situations, you can have joy. The third fruit is peace, and it is related to joy. Like joy, peace doesn't come from a particular situation. Peace comes from knowing that God has a plan for your life and that he loves you.
Saturday: The fourth fruit of the Spirit is patience, and it seems like it takes a long time to develop! The website www.spirithome.com defines patience as "the quality or capacity of being patient; to endure something with calmness; the ability to willingly accept or tolerate delay or hardship." Patience means that being sure of God's purpose for you, sure that he will answer your prayers, and sure that all things in your life work for your good...eventually. And it's that "eventually" that makes it so hard. We view life temporally--that is, we live very much in the moment--but God lives outside of time, in eternity. What seems like a long time to us is the blink of an eye to him. The fifth fruit is kindness. Kindness refers to our relationship with others. By being kind to others, we model God's love and kindness for us; this kind of modeling will lead unbelievers to God. The sixth fruit is goodness. The Greek word used in this verse (agathosune) doesn't just refer to moral goodness ("doing the right thing"); it also refers to being useful or beneficial. In other words, having integrity or being moral doesn't do much good unless you put it into action. That's what the Spirit will help you do.
Sunday: See you at church!
Monday: The last three fruits of the Spirit are faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Like the other fruits, by having faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, we mirror a side of God for those people around us. Faithfulness can refer to being faithful to God, but it can also mean being faithful to other people. In other words, we should not waiver, going from one side to another; when we give our word, we should stick to it. Gentleness is very similar to meekness, and Jesus taught us that the meek will inherit the earth. Being gentle doesn't mean that you always go along with everyone else; rather, it means making a choice to avoid anger or rashness. Gentleness lets you keep your cool when you're upset. This goes hand-in-hand with the last fruit, self-control. Self-control can refer to many parts of our lives: it can refer to our bodies (like sexual self-control or not being a glutton at the dinner table), to our tongues (like not gossiping or saying hurtful things), to our actions (like paying tithes even though it means giving up something else), or even to our thoughts.
Tuesday: The Hebrew word mitzvah (מצווה) is used to talk about two things. First, it refers to a commandment from God to the Jews given in the Torah (what we know as the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy); there are a total of 620 commandments or instructions. Second, it refers to an act of human kindness. This kindness is not merely a one-time act. The term mitzvah refers to someone who is characterized by kindness; that is his or her way of life, and it is done for the glory of God. By examining the fruits of the spirit, we can see that this is the kind of life that they Holy Spirit can help us develop: a life devoted to human kindness--putting others before ourselves--for God's glory. In your prayers today, ask for opportunities to be kind. As you go into the world, look for these opportunities, and take advantage of them.
Wednesday: See you at church!
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