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 :)    

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 :)    

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 :)