The last part of the fruit of the Spirit is self-control. On the one hand, we need self control. On the other hand we need to deny ourselves and surrender to Christ. How do we do both? I think the more we surrender to Christ, the better we can have self-control. As we follow Him, not only are we declared righteous by what He did for us, not by our own doing, but our lives and desires will be changed and we will want to do what is righteous and overcome temptation through the Holy Spirit. That to me is what self-control is about.
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Patience and Longsuffering
Patience is such a hard one. It is part of the fruit of the Spirit, and I don’t know about you, but it is probably the one that I struggle with the most. We have heard, “patience is a virtue.” How true. And, “Lord give me patience and give it to me now!” Of course that is jokingly, but we don’t like to go through the trials and challenges that will lead to patient. We are (or at least I am) impatient people. We’ve heard that we live in a microwave society. We are just too uptight. We don’t like to wait. I imagine maybe this is less so in other countries? Anyways, then there is longsuffering. What is the difference? They seem to be interchangeable.
Continue reading “Patience and Longsuffering”Rejoice!: The Fruit of the Spirit
What brings you joy? Do you have joy? It’s not the same as happiness. To me, happiness is a feeling based on circumstances. Joy is contentment regardless of circumstances. That is what Jesus gives us through the Holy Spirit. That is what He gave me. Though sometimes I just need to remember His goodness, listen … Continue reading “Rejoice!: The Fruit of the Spirit”
What brings you joy? Do you have joy? It’s not the same as happiness. To me, happiness is a feeling based on circumstances. Joy is contentment regardless of circumstances. That is what Jesus gives us through the Holy Spirit. That is what He gave me. Though sometimes I just need to remember His goodness, listen to the Holy Spirit, and show it.
Continue reading “Rejoice!: The Fruit of the Spirit”Have faith
We all have faith in something. What or whom do you have faith in? What is faith? In our last discussion we talked about hope, and hope is closely related to faith. Without faith there is no hope. With faith, we can do many things. Through faith in God, we can move mountains. We have hope. And our hope is in the Lord.
Continue reading “Have faith”What Do You Hope For?
This is the season of hope. What are you hoping for? A nice gift? Quality time with the family? The greatest gift was given to us some 2000 years ago. The gift of hope. The gift of salvation. The gift of grace. God gave each of us the opportunity to accept that gift. That is hope. It’s not just a wish. It’s confidence, trust, expectation. As believers, we have that confident expectation that one day we will be in heaven with Christ. Not because of anything we have done, but because God loved us so much He sent His only Son to pay for our sins, to die on the cross, and to be raised from the dead, giving us victory over sin and death. It’s not just looking forward to it; it’s already been done.
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My Daily Scriptures 