Thursday, November 27, 2014

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Love (The Fruit of the Spirit in You)

Love                                                                                        Day 28

44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? 48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.                                                                                       
Matthew 5:44-48

Following the Spirit requires that we not follow human nature, but instead, follow a spiritual and godly nature. According to worldly and human nature, it is fine to hate someone, especially if we consider that person an enemy. In fact, the world suggests that it is appropriate to hate your neighbor, co-worker, or any other person who says spiteful things about you or stands in your way.

When we live according to the Spirit, however, we do not live by human nature, but Jesus’ nature. Jesus taught us that instead of hating, we should love. We should love others regardless of what has been said about us or done to us. Love will motivate us to turn around and pray for those who are against us.

Loving those whom we feel do not deserve our love is being like Christ. We could never be worthy of His salvation and grace, but He still loves us. Regardless of whether anyone else sees it or not, let us desire to love others as Christ loved us. Let us reveal the fruit of the Spirit in us through our love for others.

 See more at www.thefruitinyou.com



Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Monday, November 24, 2014

Love (The Fruit of the Spirit in You)

Love                                                                                   Day 27

He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
John 12:25

What is truly important to you? Many of us are focused on achieving goals simply to keep up with others or to say what we have accomplished. Some are obsessed with attaining more money and possessions, so that they (and others) can look and see all they have done. Others want more free time to only do things that make them happy, no matter the impact. We may even feel pressured to change our opinions about following God’s Word because we find it important not to be considered religious relics, living in modern times.

Ultimately, our principles and how we use our time, talents, and money, will reveal what is truly important in our lives. What will our receipts, schedules, and associations say about what we deem to be significant? Just as in a criminal investigation, the evidence will leave a trail to the truth.

The evidence surrounding Christ shows that He left a trail of blood and sweat as He carried the cross on His way to be crucified. In love, He gave His life that we all may have eternal life and forgiveness. We must decide, for whom and for what we are living. When we take an account, we may discover that we are forsaking our eternal lives only to glorify our earthly lives. Let us not love our lives so much that we forsake our life Creator.

See more at www.thefruitinyou.com


Thursday, November 20, 2014

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Love (The Fruit of the Spirit in You)

Love                                                                                   Day 26

Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart,
1 Peter 1:22

                Years ago, who would have imagined that there would be so many different types of water: sparkling, distilled, spring, mineral, etc.? Each claims to hold its own purities and benefits. None, however, will change the way a person thinks or treats others, unlike the purity of the Holy Spirit.

In accepting Christ and receiving the Holy Spirit, our wrongs are forgiven. Our sins are erased. With this cleansing, the filth of our past is distilled and filtered from our hearts. God treats us as if we never committed any sin before in our lives; but how do we treat others?

Do we treat others with pre-conceived notions? Do we respond to others based on lessons we learned during sinful experiences in our past? Have we learned to treat people as a response to the mistreatment that we received from others? Have we succumbed to insecurities we have developed because of sin, or do we, instead, interact with others with a pure desire to love?

Let us choose to separate ourselves from sinfulness and its after-effects, just as Christ separated us from sin when He died on the cross. Let us remove the stained fingerprints of sin that affect our interactions with others. Let us love others with pure hearts.   

           See more at www.thefruitinyou.com

   


Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Monday, November 17, 2014

Love (The Fruit of the Spirit in You)

Love                                                                                        Day 25

10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and   sent   His   Son  to  be  the  propitiation  for  our  sins.
11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
1 John 4:10-11

The beginning of a long term dating relationship often follows a common pattern. As two people get to know one another, the two share their thoughts and seek ways to express their affection. This may be with cards, gifts, or kind words to express a growing connection. However, instead of sending chocolate or flowers, God showed His love for us by sending His Son to suffer on our behalf.

There are many things we may think of asking for, but Christ gave us the unimaginable gift of His love. Now, we have the opportunity to live our lives loving Him, after He first loved us. Just as with others, we can show God our love. We do this by living lives that are pleasing to Him.

It pleases God when we love others, regardless of who they are. No matter what a person or group has done or what those around us say or believe, we have received spiritual instruction. We are to love.

There is no need to take an offering of sacrifice (or chocolates) to God now in order to receive forgiveness. If God loved us so much to send His Son, let us show our love for God and love one another.


       See more at www.thefruitinyou.com



Thursday, November 13, 2014

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Love (The Fruit of the Spirit in You)

Love                                                                                        Day 24

18 My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. 19 And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him.
1 John 3:18-19

Real life stories of abuse and domestic violence are becoming more exposed with each passing year. Commonly, the excuse of love is provided as a faulty explanation provided by parents who abuse their children and by spouses who perpetrate physical and verbal violence towards another spouse. These abusers fail to recognize that love is not simply spoken, but is shown.

Speaking the word love does not equate with the real quality of love that should exist in our actions and hearts. While we, hopefully, do not go to the extreme of abuse, we too can look to our actions to examine whether we truly show love to those around us. For many, the problem is not in showing appropriate love to associates in public. The problem is in showing and acting out love to those who are closest to us. Let us aim to reveal a Christ-like loving spirit to all.

Christ showed His love for us and took abuse for us. He did not abuse others. Because of what Christ did, we know the pure heart of the Son. What would an examination of our hearts reveal about our love? Do your actions show the fruit of love?

See more at www.thefruitinyou.com

Monday, November 10, 2014

Love (The Fruit of the Spirit in You)

Love                                                                                        Day 23

Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.
John 15:13

It is easy to become focused on the busyness of life. By the time we are finished doing the things we have to do, there often is little time left for the things we want to do. For some, work becomes the singular focus of life. It seems that they live to work. For others, their lives revolve around their time away from work. They proclaim that they live for the weekend, television, or whatever relaxes them.

Christ laid down more than all of this in His sacrifice for us. He gave His actual life. Instead of living for work or for the weekend, He lived and died for us.

What are you willing to put aside to show the love that you have for others? Our culture tells us that there is nothing wrong with keeping the focus on ourselves. Jesus, however, leads by example. He tells us that there is no better way to show our love than to lay down our lives for another.

It is unlikely that we will face the challenge of physically giving our life for another. The question does remain, though, what are you willing to put aside to help another? Are you willing to give up time at work or time in front of the television to help another? What are you willing to give up to lead someone else to Jesus?

See more at www.thefruitinyou.com

Thursday, November 6, 2014

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Love (The Fruit of the Spirit in You)

Love                                                                                        Day 22

Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.
1 Corinthians 13:8

The love of a parent towards a child is unique. Through ups and downs, successes and failures, and all types of circumstances, parents tend to continue loving their child, no matter the child’s indiscretions. This power of love can be seen in God’s love towards us.

Paul writes that the spiritual gift of love never fails and persists through various circumstances. Prophecies, tongues, and knowledge may fail or no longer be necessary. God’s love towards us, however, is everlasting.

So, why don’t we take the time to have an ongoing love toward others? Through love, we have the opportunity to help others in need, to seek peace with enemies, and to rebuild relationships. Love can serve as an unfailing engine for us to do God’s will.

Because the gift of love never fails, there is comfort in knowing that God’s love for us will always prevail. Therefore, let us remember that no matter the circumstances and no matter our failings, there will always be an opportunity for us to show love to others. Because we know that love never fails, let us not fail to love.

See more at www.thefruitinyou.com

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Monday, November 3, 2014

Love (The Fruit of the Spirit in You)

Love                                                                                        Day 21

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
John 3:16

Humanity can be inhumane. In every century, there have been attempts to lessen the value of certain individuals. Today, certain people are still demeaned due to their race, income, nationality, gender, lifestyle, etc.

On occasion, those who are different are presented as having lives of lesser value than others. Even in news reports about distant wars or events nearby, the deaths of certain individuals are often reported as being less newsworthy than others (or not newsworthy at all). When it comes to sin, some Christians even seem to suggest that people who have committed specific acts, have various addictions, or have lived certain lifestyles are unworthy of salvation.

While we continue to attribute value based on particular categories, God subscribes to a different valuation system. God has a whoever valuation approach. No matter the origin, history, past mistakes, or present circumstances, whoever believes in Christ has everlasting life. God so loved the whole world that he made salvation available to whoever.

Do you live by a whoever kind of love and treat others with love, whoever they are? Do you love beyond biological, social, and economic barriers? Can you see beyond sin to love a sinner? Falling short of living by God’s standard does not stop God from loving us. What is your excuse? Let us all learn to have a whoever kind of love.


See more at www.thefruitinyou.com