365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 217

There are lots of different kinds of fruits to eat in our world but there is one fruit of the spirit. In doing some digging on this topic of fruit, I found that there is some contention on the definition of the fruit. Was it meant to say there is only one fruit that have 9 different aspects or is it 9 different fruits? I believe there is one fruit which is the Holy Spirit within us. The nine attributes within this Spirit are within us but as all fruit needs cultivating with sunshine, good soil and water. And much like it is in our world, there will be places where the fruit ripens beautifully and there will be other places where the fruit is lacking quality because it didn’t get enough water or insects got into them. We, too, have to cultivate these attributes of the Spirit within us. All these attributes of the Spirit are within us but we have to allow them to grow until they ripen and can be harvested. They are individual attributes but all have one common goal to be like Jesus Christ. I think these 9 listed attributes are only a starting point as there are many other attributes that Jesus has that we should strive for like compassion, consideration, humility. It is all about becoming more like Christ. The more we know and understand who Jesus is the more we will understand what we need to cultivate within ourselves to become more like Jesus.

Philippians 2:1-5 If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.

365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 94

I am delving into the fruit of goodness. What does it mean to be good? The dictionary defines it as a quality of being, moral virtue, righteous. But if you really think about it what good means to you may mean something a little different to someone else. It can be subjective based on who is doing the defining but we have to look at what God tells us goodness is. Our source for truth is always in his Word. So, start thinking about what goodness means to you and let’s see how it compares to what the Word tells us goodness is.

John 17:17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.

365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 92

Sometimes during a sermon my thought process sticks to one word said and the rest of it becomes a blur. The word that had me going off in my own thoughts was convicted. It is likely many words we use and hear and understand the meaning but couldn’t put it into a definition. So, I got onto the handy dandy Google site and got the definition of convicted or conviction: a fixed or firmly held belief. Conviction isn’t just about belief but about the groundedness of that belief, the solid foundation of that belief, the belief that doesn’t waver in the sifting sands of this world. I remember an when an earthquake hit in southern California when I was about 16. Usually, the earthquakes always came in the early morning hours and you slept right through them so this was my first experience of the ground beneath me shifting in this jolting rolling motion. I was drying my hair in the bathroom when it hit and immediately tried to get to the doorway where we were always taught you would be safer if the building/house collapsed. The ground was not what it always was. It was all over the place and walking those 4 feet the doorway seemed to take an eternity and be the greatest of challenges. By the time I made it to the doorway, the earthquake has stopped and my emotions bubbled over into a torrential rain of tears. It was hard walking those few feet with the shifting foundation below me which is what is like when our spiritual foundation is not solid. Would you rather walk on a solid surface or in a jungle where there may be quicksand in any step you take or on an icy driveway where you slip and fall? I want my walk to be on solid ground and that solid ground comes from the one and only Jesus and the Word of God. How convicted am I of what I believe? I can honestly say that my convictions have been on shaky ground at times but the more I am in his Word and working on living out the Word within my life the more I feel the foundation getting stronger. I think it will always be a life-long process of working on keeping the foundation strong and building it stronger but that is where the Spirit will help us in giving us patience, perseverance and hope to keep going, keep fighting the fight, keep walking the walk.

Romans 4:18-22 Against hope Abraham believed in hope with the result that he became the father of many nations according to the pronouncement, “so will your descendants be.” Without being weak in faith, he considered his own body as dead (because he was about one hundred years old) and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. He did not waver in unbelief about the promise of God but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God. He was fully convinced that what God promised he was also able to do. So indeed it was credited to Abraham as righteousness.

365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 10

For the next week or so I am going to pick apart and study the famous wedding scripture 1 Corinthians 13:4-13. When I did my two read-the-bible-in-a-year stints on-line with other family members several years ago, one thing that I found that helped me understand the scripture I was reading sink in was to focus on a word that stood out. In that same thinking, I will focus on the little pieces throughout this scripture and really look at them in depth. The first word study will be on patience. It is always amazing to me to look up a definition of a word and get it put into other words that make you go ah-ha. Patience: the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset; the quality of being patient, as the bearing of provocation, annoyance, misfortune or pain, without complaint, loss of temper or irritation or the like. Some good synonyms for patience are long-suffering, resignation, forbearance. I think that being a parent has probably taught me the most when it comes to patience and I am pretty sure most all parents out there would agree. Parenting is a lot of sacrifice that I think we aren’t prepared for. I can remember when my daughter was learning to use the toilet. My expectations were really high because I thought her being a girl and from all that I heard girls just got through this easier. Well, that was far from what happened with my darling girl. It was a long-suffering battle of my expectations not being met and cleaning up after the mess. I can look back and see how my patience was worn so thin and there were times that like a volcano I didn’t totally blow but I let off some steam. My daughter is sensitivity and my yelling greatly affected her. I prayed for patience with her even though my mother-in-law always told me never to pray for patience because than you would really need it. But being patient with others is a piece that shows your love for them. If you are losing your temper, yelling at your kids or husband or complaining about how you can’t take it anymore, than it is time to pray, pray, pray. What you need is patience and the Holy Spirit has that to give you! Look to Jesus as the ultimate example of patience.

King Jesus, you are the perfector of patience. Help me to look to you and the Word of God when I am about to blow-up with anger. Remind me that being patient with one another shows my love. With You All Things Are Possible, Amen.

1 Timothy 1:16 But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.