Puddle Jump Through Life With Us - Living... Loving... Growing... washed in the love of Christ

Puddle Jump Through Life With Us - Living... Loving... Growing... washed in the love of Christ

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Wednesday, December 14, 2016

25 Days of Joy for Christmas - Fruits of the Spirit Day 14


And, the fruits of the Spirit are:

Love

J O Y

Peace
Patience
Kindness
Goodness
Faithfulness
Self Control

Look at that!

The second fruit listed is Joy! Joy is a fruit of the Spirit. What is the fruit of the Spirit?

The fruit of a tree is the produce, the end result of that plant coming to fruition. An apple tree produces apples. A peach tree produces peaches. The purpose of that tree is to produce a specific kind of fruit.

The Bible says that we shall know His disciples by their fruit.

This means that our lives are going to produce a certain kind of "fruit", whether that fruit stems from our sinful nature or reflects the presence of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit has certain characteristics that are revealed in us when we walk in the Spirit. These characteristics are called fruit.

If we are lacking any of these fruits, we probably need to draw nearer to God and be open to allowing the Spirit into our hearts. After all, I'd hate to be planted as an oak tree but instead of acorns produce pumpkins or figs or cabbage. While, I love pumpkins and cabbage, and there's nothing wrong with figs, there would be something terribly strange about an oak tree producing these crops. Its branches were not designed to hold up the weight of a pumpkin. The strong acid in the oak would probably turn a fig bitter, and cabbage is meant to be grown and protected by the soil in the ground, not hanging from a branch for birds to devour.

When I refuse to walk in the fruits of the Spirit, I deny the very nature of what I was created for.

I choose joy! How about you?

Is joy something you can muster up all by yourself? I really don't think so. I really believe that true joy is only found when we are in the presence of God. The Bible says:

You will make known to me the path of life;

In Your presence is fullness of joy; 

In Your right hand there are pleasures forever. Psalm 16:11







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