Hello Readers!
A believer’s character is apparent, that is through adorning the Gospel of Jesus. The bible states there are two kinds of fruit a person can bear: one is of the Spirit; the other is of the flesh.
When you are a believer (of Christ Jesus), the fruit of the Spirit blooms the following traits in you:
§ Love, Joy, Peace, Forbearance, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-control
And, the opposite traits of the Spirit- what we call as the fruits produced by the flesh- are as follows:
§ Sexual immorality, Impurity and debauchery, Idolatry and witchcraft, Hatred, Discord, Jealousy, Fits of rage, Selfish ambition, Dissensions, Factions and envy, Drunkenness, Orgies (and similar things)
It is clear to see by the above characteristics which fruits are being nurtured in a person. The desires of the Spirit and the flesh are battling against each other. They do not mesh well together. Yet, it is better to follow the Spirit than give in to the flesh, because when you act in the ways of the flesh, it is acting against the Spirit and taking you farther away from God.
We need to let the fruits of the Spirit grow, paying careful attention to the word of God and cautioning ourselves from dangerous acts, but it is really hard to do so in this fallen world. The way to combat the devil’s evil snares is to build up our personal relationship with God. This means truly focusing on the best way we can get to know God.
Make sure to devote your time specifically to Him. We need help to do this. It seems simple enough to decide to read the bible, pray, and go to church. However, sometimes life gets in the way and stops us from accomplishing those things- because reading the bible, praying to God in the name of Jesus, and attending church is something that the ruler of the earth (Satan- for now) does not want you to be doing.
But let us never fear the devil. God has a plan and help for us. There is also a church that calls you to learn from them and to serve with them. A little-known fact: Satan doesn’t mind you going to church. But, Satan’s plan is to twist God’s word against you to make you head towards acts of the flesh. (Never mind about him but keep going to church and reading up on the bible and praying.) Perhaps therefore when we pray to our Father God in Heaven and read the Gospel of Christ Jesus, it reinforces the bible-based lessons we learn in church so that we can stand against the devil’s temptations and attempts to destroy our lives.
I am probably preaching to the choir, but we the elect know that the world we live in will continue to accept a people complacent with less courtesy, less etiquette, low morals, no standards, and no quality. Our society will continue to be complacent with entitlement, lack of empathy, and inequality. Nowadays, we are too agreeable with lies, with too few fighters for justice- not only in the legal sense but in relationships with the people around us- at home, at our jobs, at schools, in our communities, or whatever our case may be. When we are a society built up of people who are bearing the fruits of the Spirit, then shouldn’t we all be blessed?
As it stands, the world has left the believers in a tough spot. Therefore, believers should not falter, because we ultimately know beyond a doubt that we have a savior in Jesus Christ and we have been forgiven of our sins that we made through our acts in the flesh, because we do them every day, although it is hard to avoid them. Yet, we continue to work on ourselves in the hopes that the Spirit will bear fruit in us and make us stronger than the day before. If God could turn Saul into Paul, the Apostle- a man who delighted in the murdering of believers before he fell at the sight of God and turned to praising Him and preaching the Gospel- don’t you think that God will forgive you for the sins you’ve committed and let you start fresh each new day?
What I would like to say is that as a human being, relationships and communication are important to live. These things contribute to our growth, personality, how we handle certain situations and how we treat people. Overtime we develop a way of life, sense of standards, and a type of spiritual health- which can be in good or poor standing- due to the choices we make by living in the Spirit or by acting from the flesh. But how would our walk through life appear if we did not have God as our guiding Father and Jesus Christ faithfully walking by our side, even when we don’t have faith in ourselves? Jesus never-ever loses faith in himself. Moreover, when you humble yourself and your ego in action, deed, and thought, you will without a doubt gain more access to God. This is because God communicates well with those who pray and read the word- which has been passed on through the bible.
Let us stand still and bear fruit with God. Allow ourselves to grow. Let’s be courteous to all and proudly blossom in full view of everyone. Our growth will be clear and cannot be denied by anyone, and this will put them to shame. Your growth in the fruits of the Spirit will have others wanting what you have and asking how to be like you. There are people, though, who will be afraid of you and intimidated by your gifts so much that they may try to provoke you. Just know that they are acting in the flesh. Although they act with evil towards you, do your best to not repay evil with evil, so as not to lose your cool. Either come up with a way to relate with them as best as you can bear or remove yourself from the toxic people and/or environment- as it clearly states in the bible to avoid such people- so you will not take on their habits.
Fight back? Don’t fight back? Turn the other cheek? Well, this is what we do as believers: we fight by humbling ourselves to God first. We pray for God to divinely intervene. Then, abiding in God’s word and He in us, God will fight for us. God is our Heavenly Father who loves us always, even when the world is tough, and we can’t see past it or love ourselves enough. So, we must give God a chance to love us by showing him we love him and are thankful for showing us His mercy and for that, we seek to communicate with Him and have a genuine relationship with Him. He is waiting to prepare a place for you and will pour out His Spirit, and then, you will bear plentiful fruit- the kind that there is no law against and will not lead you to death. Therefore, the one we should all be concerned about getting to know personally is God through acknowledging Jesus Christ and his death to be our savior. For he is risen and has forgiven us, and his mercy is upon us now. We must bloom in the fruits of the Spirit and he will not withhold his blessings from our harvest.