Bible Reading: 1 Kings 1; Galatians 5; Ezekiel 32; Psalm 80
Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
The Holy Spirit moves into your life when you trust in Christ. Like a seed planted in a field the Holy Spirit begins to grow and bear fruit in the life of Christ-followers. Here is what comes from the Spirit of God.
Love – Since God is love (1 John 4:8) if he lives in you, love will come from you.
Joy – The realization of forgiveness of sins and the hope of eternity with Christ bring joy to even the most difficult circumstances.
Peace – The tranquility of spirit that God brings is supernatural. The follower of Jesus will have peace knowing that God is in control.
Longsuffering – The ability to put up with difficult circumstances and difficult people comes because of God’s longsuffering in us.
Gentleness – Like a horse that is gentle there is no loss of strength or power but a spirit of quiet obedience longing to do the Master’s will.
Goodness – Since God is good, the life of a believer will flow with goodness.
Faith – The humble walk day by day that trusts in Jesus for everything will be yours since the Holy Spirit lives in you.
Meekness – A humility that desires for Christ to be exalted and to have the glory for everything will permeate your walk.
Temperance – A life under control without excesses will be yours. The Holy Spirit will help you to exhibit control in your actions.
The great tragedy is when someone attempts to accomplish these things on their own. These are attributes of God that he manifests in us! We cannot do this on our own. The key is to abide in Christ.
John 15:4-5 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
We are branches; Christ is the vine. We cannot bear fruit we can only be fruit bearers. The life giving sap of the vine flows from Jesus through us and produces the beautiful fruit that is so valuable to life. He is the producer. Apart from him we can do nothing. Abiding in him, he can accomplish in us everything he desires.
In Christ,
Rody
