Articles
Fruits of the Spirit
Yesterday in the Love & Respect class, there was in a story about a husband and wife that unfortunately can be all too relevant in our daily relationships with God. The story started out with a spouse attempting to communicate to the other about an exciting part to their day. The other spouse is busy with chores as the one proceeds to share the good news. While still doing the chores, the other spouse replies with, “That’s nice, honey,” and not another word.
This story is a good example of being self-controlled, but toward the wrong entity. How often are we self-controlled toward anything else instead of God during a given day? Whether it be the chance to say a prayer, give encouragement, read the Bible, praise God with singing and other abilities, etc. When we act on these chances, how often are we ungodly in the way we do them?
In Galatians 5:13-26 and 2 Peter 1:3-11 we are given three life-changing insights by our Holy Father. The first being, to live a life that is one with the Holy Spirit of our most powerful Father. The second is how to live a life that conquers the desires of the flesh and puts our Lord first. And finally, we learn just how powerful and wonderful committing to a life living with the Spirit can be for us. I urge you to read these passages right now and to reflect on the messages regarding the fruits of the Holy Spirit from our past few song and scripture services. Right now, let us pray!
Our Loving, Merciful, and Almighty Father,
We come before you today to ask for forgiveness of the moments in our lives when we forgot to put You first. You protect us, guide us, and revitalize us every day and right now we would like to say thank You. Humbly we ask You to help us remember all the blessings You give. We are not perfect and yet You deem us worthy enough that You sacrificed Your own son; You both went through so much pain so that we may be blessed with peace and love for all eternity. Thank You for Your power and Your mercy, and when we struggle help us to remember that we are worthy and that You made us who we are. We are stronger with You in us; help us to not just know that, but believe it! You will get us through today and You will get us through tomorrow. We love You, and with You we hope to make You proud. In Jesus’ Holy name we pray, Amen.
