“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 5:22-23
(This photo was taken in August of 2016 at Sapphire Point near Dillon, Colorado)
“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 5:22-23
(This photo was taken in August of 2016 at Glacier National Park in Montana)
“Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The Lord is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made.”
Psalm 145:13
(This photo was taken in August of 2016 near Arches National Park in Utah)
“Not to us, O Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.”
Psalm 115:1
(This photo was taken in July of 2016 in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming)
The unconditional love a mother has for her child and her thoughts, words and actions she will express for that child in order to see them grow up and become caring adults is proof alone for me that God exists and is actively working in our lives everyday.
Thank you to Mom’s of all kinds that are all over the earth for your continued love and support to children of the world. May God’s peace be with you today and everyday. Amen
“The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”
Deuteronomy 31:8
(This photo was taken in July of 2012 in a neighborhood near Minneapolis, Minnesota)
“Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.”
Psalm 143:8
(This photo was taken in October of 2014 while exploring the north shore of Maui)
No matter how you are feeling today, look to follow Jesus…
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
Isaiah 9:6
(This photo was taken in June of 2016 at a lake near Minneapolis, Minnesota)
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”
Romans 10:9-10
(This photo was taken in August of 2016 at Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming)
It does not surprise me that this is the last thing listed in the Galatians 5:22-23 writing about the Fruit of the Spirit…why? Because as with all aspects of faith it all comes back to us…our attitude, our perspective and most of all our choices. We are blessed with free will, free to choose how we will act in this world.
Free to choose Love or hate
Free to choose Joy or sadness
Free to choose Peace or fighting
Free to choose Patience or hurriedness
Free to choose Kindness or be mean
Free to choose Goodness or cruelty
Free to choose Faithfulness or distraction
Free to choose Gentleness or be unbalanced
Free to choose to use the Fruits of the Spirit using Self-Control
Our guide for all of this is Jesus. God sent him so that reconciliation with God is always available. He loves us and wants us to choose to love him. Self-Control is not easy, I know from experience and I struggle with it as much as anyone.
Getting better at Self-Control is a choice in itself…it is choosing to live a healthy life style. Start by doing devotions in the morning and/or at night every day. Make those 5-10 minutes a priority and be quiet and calm with the Word every day. Given time it will help…then look at how you are physically caring for yourself…be sure you are eating regularly, getting rest and sleep and take a walk for exercise. When you feel things are out of control stop and pray. All of this is possible for anyone; it does not take a large financial investment just commitment. I know how the world we live in will try to distract and dissuade you from continuing…don’t quit. Even when you fall down and feel like you are failing, God is still right there saying “I understand, my own Son experienced frustration and temptation in the world. You are forgiven.”
“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. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.”
Galatians 5:22-26
I pray we all we seek to live using the Fruits of the Spirit in all we do every day.
Take a look at the picture above one more time…choose to see what is on the other side through that opening…
May God’s Peace be with you
So what does this look like or how can we practice Faithfulness? If you were to look up the definition one of the choices to define it would be “complete trust” and another would be “loyalty”. For me Faithfulness has two elements. First is stating or committing to the fact that you Faithfully follow or believe in something. The second element of Faithfulness is the actions that you perform that show your Faithfulness.
I think there is a popular phrase to describe this…”that is easier said, than done”. It is always easier to say I am a Faithful to this or that than to do things that show your Faithfulness. Because of this many of us are very particular in stating what we are Faithful too. Look at relationships in life… Who would you say is Faithful to you? Who would you say you are Faithful to?
Faithfulness is critical in having a close relationship with others. It means they can depend on you no matter what the circumstances. You are available to spend time with them, you can be trusted and you are consistent in your interactions and when you have a close relationship with another person they give you the same Faithfulness. This type of close relationship opens us up and makes us vulnerable, so if we are ever betrayed by someone it makes it even more difficult to be Faithful again. There is only one relationship that you can rely on to be consistently Faithful and never let you down…that is your relationship with Jesus Christ.
You can trust him, you can believe he will do what is best for you and he will never ever leave you. The key is learning to be Faithful to him. Start with prayer…pray Faithfully…be consistent. Do it everyday, give him thanks, praise him, ask him for help and sit quietly and listen.
“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality”.
Romans 12:12-13
Start and end each day Faithfully talking to God and practice turning to him first for challenges and problems or thanking him first for joyful moments.
Tomorrow we will discuss Gentleness.
Peace.
Take Your Faith With You 