Tag: fruit of the spirit

Nine Virtues of a Christ-like Character

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In Galatians 5:22-23, the Apostle Paul outlines the Fruit of the Spirit. A collection of nine virtues that together make up a Christ-like character. These virtues, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, are the hallmarks of a life transformed by the Holy Spirit. Each attribute reflects part of Jesus’ own nature and offers a blueprint for how we are to live as His followers. Love leads us to selflessly care for others. Joy uplifts us and those around us, and peace brings harmony in our relationships. Patience helps us endure trials with grace, while kindness and goodness spur us to acts…

The Christian Kitchen Table
June 1st – Galatians 5:22-23

Examining Myself

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Today as I was listening to a sermon by Joel Richardson one of the scriptures He spoke one was the need to test ourselves. The scripture reads;

Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith.
Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about
yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? Unless
indeed you fail the test!

2 Corinthians 13:5

This is definitely something I feel I must do. So how do I check myself? The scriptures tell us that one of those ways is by ensuring we’re walking by the Spirit. Because when we walk by the Spirit it produces fruit, the scripture reads;

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness, self control; against such things
there is no law. And those who belong to
Christ Jesus has crucified the flesh with
it’s passions and desires.

Galatians 5:22,23

A few other ways I can examine myself is to ensure I’m reading the Bible daily, Pray in all situations, humbly ask God into all areas of my life, Praise and Worship Him, Rejoice in the Lord always, Give thanks for all He’s done in my life, Memorize Scripture and do the work I’m called to do. These are just a few ways I need to test myself.

Please feel free to share some of the ways in which you’ve have tested yourself, God Bless!

Living as the World

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With everything taking place in our world today, Christians must be very careful, because, we know from the Word of God we are called to walk by the Spirit. The Spirit produces fruit in our lives which appears as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

However, I’ve noticed many Christians seem to be taking on more of a worldly nature. Yes, we’re definitely living in unprecedented times, but, that’s no reason to jump in and live like everyone else. And we can tell if we’re not living according to the Word of God when the scripture reads;

But understand this: In the last days terrible times will come. For men
will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, abusive,
disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, slanderous, without
self-control, brutal, without love of good, traitorous, reckless, conceited,
lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.

2 Timothy 3:1-4

While it seems as if this world is completely falling apart, it’s also a time to be very cautious. Cause we’re not called to live as the world, but, to pick up our cross and follow Jesus. And since Christians believe in the Lord Jesus as the Son of God, who was born of flesh, sacrificed for our sins, and raised on the third day, we’re no longer a servant to this world, but, a child to the Holy of Holies, God Almighty.

Live by the Spirit

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If we live by the Spirit, let’s follow
the Spirit as well. Let’s not become
boastful, challenging one another,
envying one another.

Galatians 5:25

Our country is living in dark times with many choosing to follow the ways of this world. But distractions are nothing more than temptations used against man to push them further away from Christ. As a believer I’m called to walk in the Spirit and to embrace the fruit of the Spirit with open arms. For me to walk in the Spirit I must choose love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. All things which help me to keep my focus on Christ, on His Church and to spread the Good News of His Kingdom. When we live by the Spirit we must ensure we are walking in the Spirit with persoanl integrity, godly character and moral courage, otherwise, non-believers, will use us as their reason to continually reject Christ.

My Prayer
Heavenly Father, I pray for this world that is so full of hate, unrest and is completely divided. My heart grieves, because, I see so many forsaking the gift of salvation for worldly passions and desires. I pray that in these dark times your people will continue to be led by the Spirit so we can walk upright with integrity, righteousness and courage. That we keep our focus on Jesus, as we stand boldly facing adversity and the flaming arrows of spiritual warefare. All these things I pray in the name of Yeshua, Jesus, and through Him, Amen.

Sin in the Church

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Today as in biblical days, sin is everywhere including within the church. Brothers and sisters may say things, or act out against one another, that causes hurt feelings, resentment, anger and even jealousy. But, did you know that Jesus (Yehoshua, Yeshua) told us how to deal with sin in the church? Unfortunately, many churches have forgotten this practice, in fact, majority of the churches today have lost their way. They’ve lost their first love so instead of teaching the Gospel they’ve taken on the ways of this world. The text I’m referring to reads;

If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back. But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses. If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. Then if he or she won’t accept the church’s decision, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector. Matthew 18:15-17 (NLT)

Jesus didn’t leave us hanging, He taught us how we should live, interact with one another and even how to settle disputes when they arise. He also taught we are to love one another, which means, if a brother or sister sins against us we need to be proactive and speak to that person in private. But when we talk to that person we don’t allow our feelings to control us, NO, we speak to that person in a loving manner always being sure we exhibit the fruit of the spirit.

All Have Sinned

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During my study in the Book of John yesterday a scripture popped into my mind that I couldn’t ignore. I’m sure the Holy Spirit placed it there for me to meditate and reflect on. And, maybe to view it from a different perspective instead of just reading the words. The scripture I’m referring to says;

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Romans 3:23

Definitely a scripture I believe all Christians agree and believe in, but, as I stopped to reflect upon this scripture it holds a deeper connection for me. You see, as a Christian I want everyone to know Jesus and the sacrifice He made for each of us on the cross. But this scripture says “we ALL have sinned and we ALL fall short of the glory of God“, which means we are ALL flawed. None of us are perfect and sometimes as a Christian, I struggle. It doesn’t mean I love Jesus any less, but, it does mean as a Christian I must keep my focus on Him because for now we’re still living in this world, although we’re not of the world, we do still live in it and if we’re not careful we can be influenced.

It also helped me understand that non-believers have their own struggles and if I’m trying to witness to someone the best way to do it is just by presenting the Gospel. Not by finger pointing and telling someone how bad they are, naming off every single sin, cause let’s face it, I’ve been there and know what that’s like. I’m not here to hurt that person, to tear them down or to play games with them.

You see, I’ve realized that my job is to plant the seed about the Gospel of Jesus in a loving biblical manner that displays the fruit of the Spirit, which is;

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22,23

When I read this scripture I can clearly see there is no finger pointing, there is no judging, there is no arrogance, there is no anger, there is no outspokenness and there is no game playing. I am called to plant the seed and let the Gospel of Jesus do what it was intended to do, save non-believers.

Selfishness

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A little while ago I was watching one of my favorite Christian channels and something they brought up caught my attention. The video was centered around selfishness and how we relate to it. In fact, they brought up that selfishness brings about sin. Which, when you think about it, makes sense. Let me explain.

Selfishness is all about putting one’s own needs before someone elses. In other words, putting your wants, desires and needs before others. For instance, you may be a newly married couple, struggling financially the wife looking for work but then the husband decides to go and buy a brand new car without taking into consideration his wife’s feelings regarding this matter or their budget. That’s selfishness!

And when you think about it, selfishness really is at the heart of sin. Because if I put my wants, desires and needs first before anyone else it makes me a selfish person. Just as adultery, lying, murder, stealing and so many other sins we’re warned of in the Bible. And remember what the Apostle Simon Peter said;

But understand this: In the last days, terrible times will come. For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, without love of good, traitorous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. Turn away from such as these! 2 Peter 3:1-5

Can you see it?

Lovers of Themselves – selfishness, because it’s all about the self.

Lovers of Money – selfishness, because one will cheat, steal or trample on others to get to the top OR they will keep the money for themselves instead of sharing it with the family.

Boastful – selfishness because they brag on themselves making it about what they own, who they know or the importance of their work.

Arrogant – Selfishness, because these individuals feel superior to others and tend to exaggerate their own self worth or importance.

By now, I’m sure you can see exactly where I’m going with this.

Jesus, the Son of God, born in the flesh and raised on the 3rd day, was SELFLESS when He was sacrificed on the cross for our sin. Not only was Jesus SELFLESS, He was humble, compassionate, faithful, merciful, loving, forgiving, kind, gentle, good, patient, non-judgemental, and full of self-control.

Sound familiar?

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

The fruit of the Spirit is the total opposite of selfishness. And if you take the time to look around our communities or social media today you can’t help but notice just how selfish many are turning out to be. Oh, and don’t forget;

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty pride, but in humility consider others more important than yourselves. Philippians 2:32

No doubt we’re living in the end times…