The Fruit of the Spirit - LONGSUFFERING

Longsuffering is also called patience and forbearance in the scriptures. This term conveys the sentiment of “patience to defer anger, and a contentedness to bear injuries”. The Amplified Version clarifies that longsuffering is characterized by an even temper. And in the Greek, we see the nuances both of leniency and fortitude.

Longsuffering is fairly straight forward terminology but the way in which we walk through a season of longsuffering is special.

May we engage our times of lengthy trials with the fortitude and grace given to us by the precious Holy Spirit.

The Fruit of the Spirit - PEACE

Jehovah Shalom

Phil 4: Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

The sweet peace of our God, Jehovah Shalom (Judges 6:23&24), is ours to experience. We are advised to live peacefully, pursue peace, strive for peace, seek peace, to walk in peace, to be peacemakers, to rest peacefully, and to allow peace to rule in our hearts - but the assurance that the peace of Jehovah Shalom will guard our hearts and minds is most precious. We need it as we live this tumultuous life on earth and as many of us are prone to anxiety. God’s peace, in the midst, is a dear gift.

Praise God!

The Fruit of the Spirit - JOY

In the Greek New Testament Dictionary, we find the definition for this use of the word “joy”: cheerfulness, i.e. calm delight: - gladness, greatly, (be exceeding) joy (-ful, -fully, -fulness, -ous)

The joy found in the Lord is great…exceeding…overflowing. And it is unconditional, meaning that the joy we experience by the power of the Holy Spirit is not based on outward conditions; it is within us because of the presence of the Holy One.

I believe this is why our brother Paul admonished the Philippian believers (and us, also as believers) to rejoice in the Lord always. And he immediately reiterated “rejoice”. (see Philippians 4:4) The happiness that we experience on this earth is transitory at best. The origin of the word happy is in Old English and has the sense of “lucky”. One of the definitions of happy is: having a sense of confidence in or satisfaction with (a person, arrangement, or situation). This is perfect! We see a distinct difference between joy and happiness – one is an ever-existing, internal presence while the other is a conditional experience based on how we feel about our outward circumstances.

So do you always feel joyful? I’m going to guess that you will say “no”. But based on the definitions we’ve just examined, I have asked a flawed question. A better question would be how are you cultivating the fruit of the Spirit in your life so that joy may be more full within you? You see, we cannot confuse joy and happiness. Off and on we may feel happy but we are constantly indwelt (with or without feelings) with the joy of the Holy Spirit.

So how can we cultivate the fruit of the Spirit?

1. Pray about it. Ask the Lord to allow the fruit of the Spirit to flourish in your life.

Mark 11:24 - Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

2. Resolve that you will live according to the Spirit.

Rom 8:5&6 - For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

3. Immerse yourself in the Word of God in order to understand the nature of God.

2 Tim 2:15(AMP) - Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing [rightly handling and skillfully teaching] the Word of Truth.

James 1:5 - If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.

4. Walk the walk. God will help us to walk in the Spirit and will strengthen us.

Prov 3:5&6 - Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Never rely on what you think you know. Remember the Lord in everything you do, and he will show you the right way.

Nehemiah 8:10b - Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.

Psalm 28:7 - The Lord protects and defends me; I trust in him. He gives me help and makes me glad; I praise him with joyful songs.

Joy is within you! Nurture the fruit of the Spirit that is within you and experience the strengthening joy of the Lord.

The Fruit of the Spirit - LOVE

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 - Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

I love that the first attribute of the Spirit that is mentioned is love! God is the very embodiment of love so this makes perfect sense. We read in the Word that greater love has no man than to lay down his life for a friend – and that is exactly what Christ did for us. Our Savior and the Father God love us in a manner that is unrivaled; it is perfect.

The love of God is patient; in no rush for results. In fact, the word tells us that “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (2Peter 3:9). The ultimate patience! The love of God compels Him to wait for us, His precious children, to come to Him and fellowship with Him and to become all that we are designed to be. Further, His love is kind, non-envious, not boastful or proud, it’s honoring of others, and seeks our good. He is not easily angered but abounds in forgiveness. He celebrates the truth! He is our Protector. Some translations, rather than saying “always trusts”, will have some form of “believes all things”. This is a little better way of saying that godly love is inclined to believe well of all – to see beyond the outwardly obvious and believe well of its subject. And Matthew Henry says, “…when, in spite of inclination, [love] cannot believe well of others, it will yet hope well, and continue to hope as long as there is any ground for it.” The love of God always hopes and always perseveres. This is the love of our Father and this is the love which lives inside of us. And although we are imperfect and sometimes will mess up, the love of God never fails.

Last week we looked at some life verses. This would be a great one to memorize, meditate upon, and to allow ourselves to be led by. Even in our humanity, we have the ability to love in a godly manner. So sweet.

The Fruit of the Spirit

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!

Life Verse Week

This week we will look at some scriptures that many believers adopt as “life verses” - verses they use as foundations for daily living. Have you identified some life verses? If so, share them with us.

John 14:27 - Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

Life Verse Week

This week we will look at some scriptures that many believers adopt as “life verses” - verses they use as foundations for daily living. Have you identified some life verses? If so, share them with us.

Colossians 3:23 - Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men