When we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, the Holy Spirit comes
to live inside of us…to guide us daily…to strengthen us as we live this life...to
help us fulfill our calling…to help us reflect the nature of God. The fruit of
the Spirit is the nature of God being manifested in us. And like literal fruit,
we can help that fruit to grow by reading and submitting ourselves to the word
of God. We are born into sin but according to 2 Corinthians 5:17 “if anyone is
in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all
things have become new.” We no longer are slaves to the old, sinful nature
(also referred to as “the flesh”). Now that the Holy Spirit lives in us, we are
strengthened to fight those old desires and live according to the new creation
we have become. This is what Paul writes:
You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do
not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in
love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your
neighbor as yourself.” If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will
be destroyed by each other. So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify
the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit,
and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each
other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the
Spirit, you are not under the law. The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual
immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord,
jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy;
drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who
live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit
is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and
self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ
Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by
the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. (Galatians 5:13-25)
Over the next several days we will take a closer look at the
fruit of the Spirit. See you tomorrow!
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