Fruit—Not Peaches or Watermelon

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! Galatians 5:22-23 NLT

 

I’ve always been amazed that there is ONE fruit of the Spirit with all those different qualities—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Such admirable qualities. Who wouldn’t want love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control in their lives? I’ve tried to explain to my three-year old granddaughter that Jesus wants us to sit still and be in control of our bodies—no bouncing feet and legs—focusing on pure stillness. That is “self-control.” Self-control honors God. As Paul taught Timothy, self-control is important daily and in the end times—because those lacking control won’t be honoring God and are to be avoided. Life is too short not to honor God. But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; avoid such men as these. 2 Timothy 3:1-5. Look the way the world is going…lovers of self…without self-control. With no self-control, there is no peace…no love, certainly no joy, or faithfulness. All those qualities are intertwined—just like the qualities of the fruit of the Spirit are intertwined. Do you see or seek those fruitful attributes in your life?

 

Prayer ~ Holy Spirit—fill us again with Your love and Your fruit that we would be joyful before the Lord…gratefully serving Him with faithfulness, self-control, patience and kindness towards everyone, with heartfelt goodness and a gentle, peaceful attitude. We praise and adore You.

© 2015 by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.

All scripture quoted from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) unless otherwise noted.

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