Fruit of the Spirit: Self-Control

   I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend! Now on to our last fruit of the spirit...Week 9!

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.

SELF-CONTROL.

   Self-Control is a word that we use a little more often then some of the other words in the fruit of the spirit. But lets start off with learning the definition of self-control. Self-Control is the ability to control oneself, in particular one's emotions and desires or the expression of them in one's behavior, especially in difficult situations.

   Now...how can we use Self-Control? Well...the holiday season is fast approaching, so putting self-control in to use should be easy.

   Like, I'm sure with the holidays there is some kind of dessert some where in your house.  Using self-control would be not keeping it all for yourself because you think you need it, but instead giving it to your neighbors.

   Another way to show self-control is when you go into stores and you see that one thing that you really want.

   DON'T GET IT! Christmas is right around the corner you don't need to be buying yourself things that you don't need to survive.  Wait for Christmas and see what other people have bought you before getting that one thing.

   That way if some one does get you that one thing you will be more grateful for it, then you might have been if you had got it for yourself.

   So this week I'm challenging us all to have Self-Control this holiday season, and see what it can change in our life.

   I hope by now you have all the fruit of the spirit memorized.  And in the last 9 weeks you have used them a little more then you have had in the past.  I encourage you to keep using them in your daily life and see how it changes you.

   Till next time
    LiveTheTruth :)    

Give Thanks

   So it's almost Thanksgiving!

   Which means the craziness of the holidays have begun. But in this season we have to pause and give thanks to God for everything he has gave us: our family, friends, house, job, ect. There is SO MUCH we can be thankful for, for what God has given us.

    Psalm 107:1 (NIV) Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.

 
   Did you know that this verse is not only in Psalm it is in other places in the Bible too? Many of them are in Psalm but not all of them are.
 
   Think back to when the first Thanksgiving happened... people gathering together that didn't know each other, but they still were together and gave thanks. What would have happened if the pilgrims and Indians didn't put aside there differences to help everyone survive?
   Would we be here today? Would there be more wars then there already are? Would we have Thanksgiving?
   God knew all of this before it happened, and that is just one reason why we should be thankful.

   So I am going to challenge ALL of us (me included) to set aside some time in this crazy holiday season to write out 50 things we are thankful for. They can be as broad or specific as you like.

   I  am also going to challenge us that after we write the list, as the weeks go by we pull the list back out and read it and thank God for EVERY thing you wrote down.

   Till next time
    LiveTheTruth :)  

Fruit of the Spirit: Gentleness

   Week....8!

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.

   GENTLENESS.

   what is Gentleness? Well...the dictionary says gentleness is the quality of being kind and careful.

   So how can we show gentleness with the holiday season coming up? If you look at the first part if the definition it tells you.  BE KIND.

   How can we be kind to people this holiday season? Well...Thanksgiving is Thursday, (That's why I posted this today instead of Thursday) and that whole day is about giving thanks and being thankful for things.

   So be kind to people help them out.  If you don't host thanksgiving at your house offer to do the dishes after lunch or dinner (when ever your family meets).  Offer to come over earlier and help the host finish the food, set the table, or even any last minute cleaning they need done.  Just help them out in anyway possible.

   Now on to the Christmas/Holiday season.  Being kind at Christmas is easier then you might think.  Because there are so many things going on around the Christmas season that you can be a part of.  So I'll list a few things.

   First, most of us probably bake Christmas cookies.  But how many of you are still eating them after the New Year? I know I am.  Something you can do is take some of those cookies to your neighbors. Or you can take them to family and friends.

   Second, they're so many different organisations that give toys, food, coats, ext. to people who need them around Christmas.  That is a great way to show gentleness.   If you don't know where to start looking for this, ask around at churches (sometimes they even do that stuff), they might know some places around where you live.

   And lastly, if you can't find an organisation around your town, or you just want to do extra.  You can give stuff to homeless shelters, or if you know of a family in your town that are struggling to get by this holiday season.  You can buy some stuff for them and deliver it to their door.  

   I hope this gave you a few ideas on how you can show Gentleness this holiday season. Have a great Thanksgiving!

   Till next time
    LiveTheTruth :)

Fruit of the Spirit: Faithfulness

   Week 7!!!

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.

   FAITHFULNESS.

   As you guys/girls probably already know, unless you're new (If you are welcome!), I had already wrote a post on Faith awhile back.  So feel free to read that one also for some more on this topic.

   Now...what does faithfulness mean? The dictionary says that faithfulness means: the quality of being faithful; fidelity.

   So what do you think God wanted us to learn from this? I think the dictionary is right on this one.  I think God wants us to be faithful, to tell the truth and not lie.  But it's not just our words that we have to be faithful in, we need to be faithful in our actions too.

   Psalm 40:11 (NIV) Do not withhold your mercy from me, Lord;may your love and faithfulness always protect me.

   As it says in the verse above, David asked God that His love and faithfulness would always protect him.  But what do you think David was meaning by saying your 'faithfulness always protect me'?

   I think he was talking about that God would always be there for him, and He'd be there for David when he needs Him.  But remember I'm not an expert this is just what I think.

   My challenge for you guys this week is, I want you guys to try and be more faithful this week.  Be somebody people can count on.  keep your word.

   Till next time
    LiveTheTruth :)
  

Fruit of the Spirit: Goodness

   Week 6!!!

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.

   GOODNESS.

   What is Goodness? according to the dictionary Goodness is the quality of being good, in particular. 

   So what does God want us to learn from this? Well...I think the word Goodness, is a lot more then we think at first glance.  There is so much more to it then we give the word credit for.

   Goodness can mean a bunch of things having a good attitude at all times, being good in spirit, having a good heart, or the more popular one: just being good in general.  To name a few.

   So what do you think God wants us to learn from this? Kind of like I said in my Fruit of the Spirit: Love blog post.  We are to have a good heart at all times and have a good attitude at all times.  Instead of loving all people all the time.  (Although that is just as important at this topic).

   This is a big ask from us.  We so easily forget about this, by thinking badly about someone.  Or getting mad at something.  That are once good heart and attitude starts to get ugly.

   So lets all try keeping our good hearts this week.

   Till next time
    LiveTheTruth :)

 
 

Fruit of the Spirit: Kindness

   Week 5!!!!

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.

   KINDNESS.

   What is kindness?  According to the dictionary kindness means, the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate.

   So what does that mean for us? Well...kindness is probably one of the hardest things for us to do.  At least for me any ways.  Sometimes it just seems easier to just walk away and never talk to the person again.  But that's not the right thing to do.

   God wants us to be kind to everyone.  Going back to my fist blog post, Happy Endings, I talked about loving your neighbor.  That is the kindness that God wants us to have.  He wants us to love and be nice to everybody, no matter what.

   Sometimes I think that we think that we don't have to be nice to someone because they're not nice to us, or they aren't Christians and sin too much.  And that's not true at all.  We all sin, yes ALL of us.  We all have those days when you just don't want to talk to anybody.  But we don't want those things to get in the way of being kind to others.

   So I want to challenge us all this week to pick ONE person you have problems being nice too.  And talk to them, nicely.  Be kind to them, do stuff for them.We are called to be servants of God.  So be a light to that person this week and show them God's love.

   Till next time
    LiveTheTruth :)