Fruity Spirits Day 8: Gentleness

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Day number 8 of our journey through Galatians 5:22-23 is here!  Today we touch on gentleness.  If you missed any of the first 7 days of this series make sure you check it all out HERE.

I think one of the most challenging "spiritual virtues" that we have touched on in this series so far is the one we're discussing today...gentleness.  It's challenging in the sense that describing gentleness or rather defining what it means isn't really an easy task!  After all...what does it really mean to be "gentle" anyways?!?!

Take a moment to ponder the question - what does being "gentle" look like? - and see how you would define it.  

What comes to mind?

When I think "gentle" I naturally think little fluffy kittens, but hey that's just me.  Hopefully you had something a little more defining in the sense of our own human gentleness come to mind!

In the broader sense of gentleness I think we get a glimpse of how God demonstrates gentleness every single to our very own beings when we look at the way he loves us.  The way he loves on us, shows patience towards us, and gently molds us into who He created us to be is an incredible picture of gentleness.    

Gentleness can most beautifully be shown when we are embodying the previous fruits of the Spirit that we have talked about here.  When we are embodying love, patience, kindness, goodness, all those things, we tend to have this gentle ambiance radiating from us.  In the same way that the Lord actively practices those virtues and shows gentleness in His works, we too can do the same as we learn to embody all the Fruits of the Spirit and begin to practice them in our own lives.  

Being patient and kind and loving on those around us is the first step to becoming "gentle".  Are you starting to see how it all comes together?!

To walk around with a loving, open, God serving heart, we start to naturally relate to others in a more gentle way; not judgmental, not "I'm better than you", not dominance, not anything but just gentle, humble, love for one another in Christ Jesus. 

Sounds like a wonderful thing doesn't it?  

What is one step that you can take today to begin living with a more gentle heart and life?

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control."

- Galatians 5:22-23

 

Fruity Spirits Day 7: Faithfulness

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Hello day seven!  We've moved along through Galatians 5:22-23 discussing the different Fruits of the Spirit and now find ourselves ready to discuss the seventh Fruit of the Spirit; faithfulness.  Missed the first 6 days?  Check them out using this link here:  Fruity Spirits Series

Faithfulness...what a big word.

Faithfulness can be applied to many different things in life.  

A few things that faithfulness can be attributed to are:

• A husband to his wife (and vice-versa!)
• A dog to its owner (that's how the old saying goes at least, isn't it?)
• A parent to their child
• God to us
• An employee to their long standing employment at a certain job
• To our friends
• Faithfulness to.........you get the point, lots of different things!

With so many things that faithfulness can be attributed to we often forget that we are even practicing the art of being "faithful"!  

The best example of faithfulness though is God's faithfulness to us.  Not only does God say He is faithful; He proves it each and every day.  He means what he says.  He never leaves us.  He is THAT faithful.

So here's a challenge question for you:

Are we being as faithful to God as He is being to us?  

God doesn't walk away from us when times get tough.
He is always faithful.
God doesn't just say that He is going to be faithful to us.
He is always faithful.
God isn't only faithful when He feels like it.
He is always faithful.

...So why then do we choose when to be faithful and mostly only do it when we feel like it or when we have nothing left but to give God our most faith?

Let us truly be faithful to God and never leave His side just as He never leaves ours!

Allow us to practice faithfulness in all aspects of our lives (work, play, relationships, etc.) but let us start by first and more importantly living out our faithfulness to God!  

It's not a matter of "I'll be faithful later" or "God wouldn't really like to see me like this, so I'll just come back to him in a minute"....NO.  Make faithfulness the unending bond between you and Jesus.  God deserves back what He shows to us every single moment of every single day, and though the list of those things is endlessly long...faithfulness is one of them.

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control."

- Galatians 5:22-23

Wicked Inspiring | Zach Sobiech

"...I want everyone to know, you don't have to find out you're dying to start living." -Zach Sobiech

As did many others, I began watching this video with no intentions of sitting through the entire 22 minutes of it......but you guessed it.....22 minutes later I found myself still watching.  Zach's outlook on life is so inspiring.  His story is a reminder to all that we need to live in the present and enjoy life while we can.  Things can happen so fast and change everything in the blink of an eye.  Take a moment to sit back and be inspired by Zach Sobiech and then make the decision to start living because life is a gift from God and oh so fragile and that's something that I know I sure take for granted much too often.   

 

Fruity Spirits Day 6: Goodness

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 After a brief hiatus here we are back on track for day 6 of the fruity spirits series.  Reading on in Galatians 5:22-23 we arrive at the sixth fruit of the spirit; goodness.  Missed the first 5 days?  No worries!  Check them out by clicking HERE.

Goodness.  Answering the question "what does it mean to be GOOD?" is not an easy task.  We initially attribute being "good" as what keeps us out of trouble.  But again, what DOES that MEAN? How do we do it?! Being "good" can be done in SO many different ways and can mean SO many different things to so many different people.  In the eyes of a kindergartener being good means sharing, being nice, and using manners.  For a full-grown adult being good looks a whole lot different. 

Tackling the task of stating what exactly it means to be good is one that cannot simply be done in a few mere words.  If something can be stated in just a few simple words it's this:  God is good.  Not only is God good...He is good ALL THE TIME.  

So maybe this post is going in a little bit of a different direction that the previous posts.  The way I look at, who am I to sit here and tell you how to be "good"?  I can only tell you what I know, and that's the fact that there is no better example of goodness than God's goodness.  

No matter what happens in our lives, no matter how disappointed we get, no matter how upset we are, hurt, mad, sad, or confused, we can assuredly rest in the fact that God is STILL good.  

There is no circumstance in life that can change the fact that He is good.

That problem you're facing?  God is still good.
That disappointing news you just received?  God is still good.
That devastation you feel?  God is still good.
The hurt you feel?  God is still good.
Whatever it may be...God is STILL GOOD.

Here's the thing with God's goodness...it doesn't go away, it doesn't change, it always remains.  It doesn't grow weaker; only stronger.  He isn't good only when He feels like being good.  He's always good.  He's constant.  He's consistent.  He doesn't change.  He's even good when we aren't.

Imagine if we were the same in our behaviors.  Imagine if we were good, all the time.  Never disobedient to God's leading and the life He set out before us.  

What would that look like?

Challenge Question:  What does "being good" look like to you?  How would you define it?

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control."

- Galatians 5:22-23

 

Fruity Spirits Day 5: Kindness

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 Well hello and welcome to day 5 of our 9 day journey through the fruits of the spirit!  Today we talk about kindness as we march on through Galatians 5:22-23.  If you missed any of the first 4 days of this series be sure to check them out using these links:  Love, Joy, Peace, Patience.

Today as we reflect on kindness and what it means to be genuinely kind I want to take a moment to think about kindness.  

What IS kindness?  

When I think about kindness I personally think first and foremost about generosity.  I think of kindness as an outpouring of happiness and love.  Kindness is a universal tool that can be shown through so many different mediums.  Kindness can show through our words, our actions, and even our thoughts!

How would YOU define kindness?

Take a moment to check out this previous post about kindness as it ties in PERFECTLY with today's fruit of the spirit (click the link):  RANDOM KINDNESS

Kindness goes beyond the random acts of kindness, kindness is a way of life.  Choosing a life of kindness is choosing to live not for yourself.  

Kindness can manifest itself with something as simple as a smile...give it a try!  

Here's a challenge for you:  For an entire day make the conscious decision to be aware of little bits of kindness.  How much kindness can you spot in your day to day life?  It can be your own kindness that you are outpouring or it can be the kindness of others you observe.  Keep track and see just how many accounts of kindness you can see in an entire day - I think you'll be surprised!  Remember no act of kindness is too small!  

Take a serious look at your own life...not only in the random acts of kindness department...but in the overall kindness department.  Are you a kind person?  Are your words, thoughts, actions, and motives kind?  

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control."

- Galatians 5:22-23

  

Fruity Spirits Day 4: Patience

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Greetings to day number four out of nine of our Fruity Spirits series!  The journey in Galatians 5:22-23 continues today as we talk about the word no one really enjoys hearing...patience.  If you missed any of the previous day check them out using these links:  Day 1  Day 2 Day 3

Let's be honest...whether you're 5 or 95 you're not really fond of the term "patience".  Nobody likes waiting and nobody REALLY enjoys being patient...if you do then I admire you greatly!

Patience is so universal in our lives when it comes to WHAT we have to be patient with.  Sometimes its a person, sometimes its ourselves, sometimes it's God....the possibilities are endless.  Patience comes in all ways, shapes, forms, and not always at the opportune time.

Whether you're 7 and have a REALLY cool story to tell your mom but instead are tested in patience when you find out that she is having a conversation on the phone or you're 87 and you're asked to be patient as you wait for your prescriptions at the pharmacy...no matter how old you are you've experienced SOME kind of situation where PATIENCE was asked of you.

As Christians walking in a relationship with Christ we are often tested in our patience, especially our patience in God's timing.  Learning to have patience in the Lord's timing is a task that I am starting to become convinced takes a lifetime to acquire.  Unfortunately, I think learning to be patient means using a great deal of patience (uh-oh....).

I'm hopeful though because I am almost positive that I am not the first person to ever struggle sometimes with being patient in God's timing. 

So what do we do when we're over here being all patient waiting on the Lord and His timing?!

We worship.
We work.
We serve.
We praise God.

Living patiently in the Lord's timing is saying "While I wait Lord, I'm going to serve you.  I'm going to work and I'm going to praise you.  All while I wait...patiently!"  

"Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him..."

- Psalm 37:7

 

This song says it all perfectly:

 

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control."

- Galatians 5:22-23

Fruity Spirits Day 3: Peace

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Here we are on day three of our nine day journey through the fruits of the spirits series entitled "Fruity Spirits".  If you missed the first two days take a moment to check them out now:  Day 1: Love , Day 2: Joy  Today we move on in Galatians 5:22-23 and discuss peace!

PEACE.  

If you're thinking along the same lines as me you most definitely just pictured a bunch of hippies with their two fingers up in the air declaring the peace sign.  Or maybe you thought of peace on a completely different level and wafted off to a peaceful place in your mind where you were spending an afternoon snoozing in the hammock....seriously though lets chill for a second and for the sake of this post talk about peace on a more literal sense.

Let's talk about peace as a trait of our character.
Let's talk about peace as a way of life.
Let's talk about BEING at peace.
Let's talk about living IN peace.

To be at peace it means we have no worries, no second thoughts, no apprehensions about what may come.  Being at peace is knowing full well that God has it ALL under control.  

Peace is the ability to rise in the morning, lay our heads on the pillow at night, and fill all the moments in between by saying "it is well with my soul".  

Peace is knowing IT'S GOING TO BE OKAY.

Peace is saying "God there's so many things in my life that I should be scared to death about but because of your precious hand on my life I can breathe and know that there is no need to worry because YOU HAVE A PLAN".  

Being at peace is having full confidence in God's plan for your life.
Being at peace is having no doubts that there IS a plan for your life.
Being at peace is having awareness that there IS a BIGGER PICTURE.

Being at peace is saying "God whatever comes my way I'm trusting that you have a plan".  
IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL.

We begin to live peacefully when we are at peace with the realization that God's hand guides our path, not our own.  God's plan overrules ours.  And whatever comes our way, must be for the glory of God...somewhere, somehow, all in the bigger picture that only God can see.

Laying our burdens, worries, and fears down and saying "God, I trust you." is the first step to living a peace filled life.

" For our God is not a God of disorder but of peace."

- 1 Corinthians 14:33 

I urge you and challenge you to examine your own life and ask yourself, am I living IN peace?  Is it well with MY soul?

"Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way.  The Lord be with all of you."

- 2 Thessalonians 3:16

 

And finally, since we've talking about peace so much it just wouldn't feel right to end this post any other way....

Peace out! 

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control."

- Galatians 5:22-23