365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 307

I have found a three part sermon series on the fruit of the spirit that is very well written. The first part of the first sermon is setting straight that it is not fruits of the Spirit but fruit of the spirit. The nine character traits that are in Galatians 5:22: Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control are a parts of what we can have with the Holy Spirit dwelling within us. And like all fruit(s) these character traits ripen and grow over time with the guiding of the Holy Spirit and our daily walk with God. Here are two statements from this first sermon that state in a clear way what that “Fruit of the Spirit” is:

Fruit of the Spirit is a physical manifestation of a Christian’s transformed life.

Fruit of the Spirit is the visible growth in Jesus Christ.

Take some time to meditate on this today and let the Holy Spirit speak to you about your character traits and how the ripening process is going.

John 15:1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.

365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 279

In the midst of life and its inevitable sufferings, God is always with us. Despite waking up with a headache this morning, I am going to sing praises to God for guiding me and comforting me on this path to a healthy body, mind and spirit. Without the balance in all three areas, we will suffer. More time is taken right now in my food planning and preparation but I am certain that within time, it will all become easier and everything will balance out again. Praising God is a demonstration of our love for him and shines his love for us. I am singing to God today for all his goodness.

Isaiah 12: 4-5 Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted. Sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world.

365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 215 & 216

My daughter and I watched the movie The Great and Powerful Oz which ended up having a good message for all. Oz is plagued with confidence in himself. He doesn’t think he measures up enough to be with the woman he loves. He does dream of being great and that is what drives him. He chooses to forgo love for a dream of greatness. Fortunately, for him a tornado takes him from Kansas to the land of Oz. His journey in Oz will finally lead him to the truth that it isn’t about being great but about being good.

I am sure many people have this type of battle going on within them. The truth is when we accept Christ into our heart and the Holy Spirit dwells within us we have what we need to be good and to do good. Goodness is a fruit that is given to us by the Lord. This is fruit we can take and eat and let it nourish our souls. We were made in His image and he is a God full of goodness and mercy. We have the power within us to be good.  All things are possible with God.

Psalm 119:68 You are good, and what you do is good.

365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 98

I am preparing to take my first exam for my class on Basic Christian counseling. I am finding it is always good to repeat viewing a dvd class as things said the first time may not have gone in because I was thinking about the previous thing said or writing something down. I love the “oh, I get it” feeling. One of the main points of Christian counseling is about salvation. Many people have a misguided perception of what it takes to have salvation. It is not something we earn. If I am a good person does not equal salvation. It is a gift from God that we willingly take into ourselves through the blood of Jesus Christ. Our choice to believe that Jesus is God’s one and only son and that this sinless son of God died on the cross and took the punishment for our sins and his blood covers our sins and makes us presentable to God is the only way we have salvation. The Holy Spirit is walking behind us all of our days and will cover the sins that we will do keeping us clean in the sight of God. Without this belief, you will find yourself drawn down a darkened path that only leads to destruction. God will never leave or forsake us. His goodness will follow us all the days of our lives and keep us cleansed of our sins.

Psalm 23:6 Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 97

Having the fruit of goodness in us starts by ensuring we are on the right path. This has to be given thought and prayer daily as the Evil one will do anything and everything to divert us off our path towards God. Almighty Father, my life is for you. Help me to take the steps on the path today towards You. With You all things are possible. Amen.

Jeremiah 6:16 Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.

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 Praise Challenge-Day 365

It has been exactly one whole year I have been writing up my praises. This has been a tremendous blessing to me and I hope to you who have read them. I am thankful to God for the use of this blog to be able to praise Him for all he is, does and gives us. It just wouldn’t be the same writing it in a private journal. It has been an honor to share these praises with you this last year. So, what is up for the year to come? There are a few different options I have been thinking about but I keep coming back to this one so here it comes:  365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge.  The Holy Spirit is within us but we need to call on His power to work in us everyday. My favorite scripture is Galations 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  So, this coming year will be devoted to praying about these fruits, seeing these fruits in my life and striving to be Spirit-Filled everyday. I hope you will continue on this journey with me and will be Spirit-filled with all these fruits each day in the year to come.

Galations 5:25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.