Fruit of the Spirit: Forbearance

 

 Week 4!!!

Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 

   FORBEARANCE.

   So first question what even is forbearance? lets look at a different version of Galatians to find out.

 Galatians 5;22-23 (NLT) But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

   So forbearance is patience.  Now what does patience mean? Well...the dictionary says, the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset. 

   Now this probably wasn't what you were thinking of when you thought of patience.  You might have thought of something from your childhood.  Like, When your Mom or Dad told you to be patient and wait for the food to be done. Or the hardest one of all as kids, being patient for Christmas to open your gifts.

   But I don't think that is what God was thinking when he told Paul to write the Fruit of the Spirit.  What the dictionary said is probably closer then what we normally use the word for.  So what is God telling us to do?

   I think to be slow to anger and to be patient in what God is doing through you, is what God was more so talking about.  How many times do we all react too soon and become angry too fast? When we should keep calm and hear out the person or the situation.

   This happens so many times in our lives.  We judge the situation all to quick and let anger get the best of us.  So lets try to be slow to anger and to be patient in what God wants.  And lets see how that changes us.

 

   

Fruit of the Spirit:Peace

 

Week 3 here we come!

Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

   PEACE.

   What is peace? Freedom from disturbance; quiet and tranquility.
   
   What do you think of when you think of peace? Do you think of what the definition above says? For me when I think of peace I think of being home alone in the house with no distractions.  But if you're like me that rarely happens, speciously if you have pets. :)

   But what kind of peace is God talking about in Galatians 5? I personally think he is talking about not worrying and to be at peace with things.  Below are a few verse on why I think this way.

1 Peter 5:7 (NIV) Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

Philippians 4:6 (NIV) Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

   So what does that say for us? What are we suppose to do about it? Well...I think that God's telling us not to worry and to fill our mind and heart with peace.  The Bible says "Fear Not" tons of times in the Bible.  If God didn't want us to do it, he wouldn't have put it in the Bible so many times.

   So how can you be more peaceful? Well...that question only you can answer.  But, we can start by not worrying about things and putting our worries in God's hands. Because when we give our worries to God our lives will be a lot more peaceful.

   Till next time
    LiveTheTruth :)

Fruit of the Spirit: Joy

 

Week two! This week I'll be talking about Joy.  So lets get started.

Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

   JOY.

   So what is Joy? A feeling of great pleasure and happiness.  Well at least that's what the dictionary says about it.
   When you think of Joy what do you think about? Well, for me I think of being happy, having a smile on my face, just enjoying the moment.

   So if that's what we think of when we think of joy.  What in our lives gives us joy? That question can be answered tons of different ways.  It all depends on you.  Maybe it's your family. your friends, being on the football team, being in band, having people like you in school/work, ext.  The list could go on and on.

   But is that what we should put our joy in? Yes and no.  Yes, we should be happy to do or have these things, but we should not put our joy in them.  We are to find our joy in Christ. But do we do it? Well...that's up to you.  I know it's really hard to.  The world just distracts us with a bunch of other things, that we start to forget where our joy comes from.

   This week I want to challenge you guys with something.  Think about where your joy comes from. It can be anything, from something I said above or something else.  Now after you think of that I want you to think why it gives you joy.

   Because that is when our joy shifts from God to self.  Take Singing for example, do you sing because people like it? You are getting popular from it? Or because God gave you a gift and you want to share it?

   Now I'm not saying just because you are not finding joy in the right things, you have to stop doing it.  I want you to try changing the way you think of these things.  Find your joy in God with these things and see how it changes you.

   Till next time
    LiveTheTruth :)    

Fruit of the Spirit: Love

 

 From reading the title you know that today I'm writing about the Fruit of the Spirit.  But I'm not going to be talking about them all today, I'll be doing them one at a time, so this will take 9 weeks!
   But don't worry you may learn some things that you never knew before.  So lets get started!

Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 

   LOVE.

   what is love? Well according to the dictionary love is: an intense feeling of deep affection.  But if we look at the Bible we'll get a little different answer.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (NIV) Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.  

   So what does that mean for us? Well...we are suppose to live out the Fruit of the Spirit.  Which means we are to love.

   But who or what are we suppose to love? God tells us to love ALL people.

 Luke 6:27-28 (NIV) “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you

   I know this is a BIG ask.  But God knew that this would me hard for us.  If he thought is would be easy, do you think he would have asked us to it? Probably not.  Go back and read 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 again but this time change the word love for God.

   It all describes God, doesn't it.  The love God wants us to have and share is the love that He has.  That He is.  Are we always going to get it right? No.  But God wouldn't have put love in the Bible 551 (NIV) times if He didn't want us to do it.

   So lets try to love more, in the little things and the big things.

   Till next time
    LiveTheTruth :)