Fruits of the Spirit

Hi guys and welcome back to Daily Manna daily.

My first entry/article back was supposed to be something completely different than what it is now, but this isn’t the first time my topic has been changed and I’m sure it won’t be the last.

As you can see from the title I’ll be talking about the fruits of the Spirit, what are they and why they are so important. There are 9 trait that are given to us by the Holy Spirit that make us better followers of Christ, this is because they are all attributes He possessed and was able to reflect this in his daily life. Not everyone is able to have these fruits because it requires the Holy Spirit living within you, as He is the one that produces it. Think of us as a seed. An empty seed is just a shell and will never grow or a bad seed will not produce good fruit, but when the Holy Spirit is within us, we are no longer empty or damaged and are able to produce the right fruit.

Although the fruits are different, they all fall under the same umbrella, love. Without love in your heart, you will never be able to experience the fruits the Holy Spirit has been sent to give you. In Romans 5:5 it says ‘GOD has poured out HIS love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit whom HE has given us’, it shows that the love needed to access these fruits comes from GOD and HE sent the Holy Spirit with this so we may be closer to HIM.

Love:

Love is all over Jesus’ teachings there are so many different examples of how to love in the bible, from how Jesus treated those around Him, His sacrifice, The parables and how he treated himself. Jesus cherished love so much He even made it another commandment (John 13:34), without it, there’s not a lot you are able to do in terms of progressing with the Holy Spirit, your works and gifts will be made pointless (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).

Joy:

There are a lot of people that think we have a ‘serious’ and ‘boring’ GOD, but in the bible there are a lot of examples that show us HE intends for us to enjoy the things he has given us. For example, in Ecclesiasts 9:7 HE tells us to ‘eat your bread with joy and drink your wine with a merry heart’. Without joy, we are unable to appreciate and be grateful for the good that GOD has given us.

Peace:

Peace is the freedom from disturbance, it gives us the opportunity to stop being busy and be together/at one with GOD. No matter what is happening around us, remembering that we have GOD on our side, and HE is JEHOVA NISSI gives us a sense of peace (psalm 46:10). In psalm 4:8 it says, ‘in peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone LORD make me dwell in safety’. We know that the type of peace GOD offers us is unlike any found on Earth (John 14:27), it is the type of peace that offers safety and protection, it puts trust in GOD.

Longsuffering/patience:

This is a quality that GOD shows very well in this day and age because sometimes we really be testing his patience. One of Jesus’ famous teachings ‘turn the other cheek’ shows a great way of being longsuffering when acts have been committed against you. It encourages you to seek resistance instead of retaliation. Another great example of longsuffering is Job, who showed how to wait when you are walking through the valley of the shadow of death (psalm 23:4). He showed a great amount of patience when it came to enduring the hardships that were put against him. Without the gift of longsuffering, you will never be able to stand firm with every test that GOD gives you or you may even struggle to have faith during the hard times.

Kindness:

Kindness is something GOD cherishes dearly; we see it all over Jesus’ teachings. He encouraged us to give without expecting anything, he taught us to help the needy and vulnerable and even said love your enemy. Those who are unable to show kindness are at risk of never finding life (proverbs 21:21), not just any life but spiritual life, the life that will never let you thirst again (John 4:14), this life comes from Jesus Christ himself for He said, ‘He is the way the truth and the life’. Because GOD loves kindness so much, those who are unable to show it do not fear The LORD, this is because in Job 6:14 it says, ‘he who withholds kindness from a friend forsakes the fear of The ALMIGHTY’. Kindness is not an option to us; it is a necessity to following Christ.

Goodness:

The goodness of an individual is determined by the heart, if there is not a complete renewal of it, evil is not too far off, for in Jeremiah 17:9, it says ‘the heart is desperately wicked’. We however know through psalm 51:10 and Ezekiel 36:26 that we can receive a ‘new heart’. Romans 12:21 talks about overcoming evil with good, therefore we must take every opportunity to do good for in Galatians 6:10 it says, ‘so then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone’.

Faithfulness:

Think of a relationship, you would want your partner to be faithful, right? But faithfulness doesn’t just apply to cheating, its about maintaining loyalty, consistency and believing. This is the kind of relationship we must have with GOD. Not only must we have unwavering faith for GOD (proverbs 3:3) but HE is faithful to us (2 Thessalonians 3:3). HE loves us without bounds, with consistency and mercifully. If Job was not as faithful to GOD as he was, he would have cursed GOD like his friends told him, but he stayed loyal, consistent and believed in GOD and his faith was rewarded. Don’t have faith in GOD hoping to be rewarded like Job, do it for the right reason, you’re not faithful to your partner in hopes of getting something in return, you’re faithful because he is, and you love him. When we show that unwavering faith in GOD, he is happy, be someone GOD is willing to brag about to all HIS angels.

Meekness:

When people think of meek, they usually think of being timid, shy and weak. But to GOD this is a strength, to be meek is to be humble and gentle, something Jesus demonstrated very well. Jesus knew exactly who he was/is even if others didn’t. He had no problem with telling them, but he was still humble about it. In moments where Jesus could have been boastful, he remained humble (Matthew 11:29) and that’s why he is the Son of GOD. Theres’s power and strength in Jesus being fully aware of the abilities he had and still felt no need to show off, even to those who refused to believe. We have nowhere near the amount of glory that Jesus had/has, but if the King of Kings, who had every reason to be boastful chose to stay gentle and humble, why can’t we? If you are unable to be meek, you start to wonder into sin such as pridefulness and arrogance which is pheresis territory. These cause you to look down on people and think you’re better than everyone and unfortunately you could subconsciously start thinking you’re better than GOD. We look at people like king Saul, King Nebuchadnezzar and of course the pheresis who were in positions of power, and all had issues with pride, and we see GOD dealing with them accordingly. Don’t be arrogant about a place GOD put you in because it can very easily change.

Self-control:

Self-control doesn’t just apply to anger, there are so many things. There are also soooo many people in the bible that show us why self-control is important. The first and biggest example is Adam and Eve. If they had stood firm in what GOD had told them, we all could’ve be enjoying a very nice garden. If Samson had been able to control not just his lust toward Delilah but revealing sensitive information, he may have lived a longer life. If lot’s wife had a bit more control for her love of her old life, she wouldn’t have turned into a pile of salt. And finally, if Esau had a bit more self-control when it came to his hunger, he wouldn’t have sold his birthright for a bowl of stew. These are just a few example and there are many more, people who both had time to repent and others who died in their sin (you don’t want to be the latter). Proverbs 25:28 says ‘whoever has no rule over his own spirit is like a city broken down without walls’. Now think of the wall of Jericho, Joshua and the Israelites could not penetrate the city until the walls came down. Lack of self-control leaves your walls down and the enemy will take advantage of that.

It’s not easy to have all the fruits of the Spirit, some things we may be able to carry better than others. The only way we will succeed is through prayer, asking GOD for help daily. Depending on the FATHER The Son and The Holy spirit. In order to receive and keep something from someone, you need to be close to them, there’s a reason why Jesus said abide in him (John 15:4). You can’t have His fruits if you are not part of His tree. And finally repent. GOD knows we sometimes fall short (that’s why he sent Jesus), but we need to remember each time to ask for forgiveness and ‘take up your cross’ daily (Matthew 16:24).

Hope you enjoyed this one