Heavenly Father,
Thank you for teaching us about and through sorrow and thank you for taking our sorrows upon yourself. You have shown us that godly people can endure a multitude of sorrows and overcome in your strength and by your grace, that you will always be a help and a rock for us in times of distress.
Please help us to learn from and overcome our sorrows and for all believers to endure the pain, struggles and trials of this world. Use sorrow to better us in serving you and to show the ungodly the error of their ways that they should repent, turn to you and be saved from all their troubles.
Help us to depend on you and look forward joyfully to the bright future you have in store for us.
Please ease the troubles of all who seek you. All praise and glory to your happy name Lord Jesus.
Amen.
Monday 11 December 2017
The Sorrow of Believers
Psalm 13:2 How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me?
It is perfectly normal for believers to have sorrow, there are many examples of biblical figures having sorrow, for all manner of reasons: from riches to grief, from repentance to knowledge, loss to defeat. There are perfectly good reasons to be sorrowful, it is okay. Nobody is above it: it was alluded to that Jesus was a man of sorrows and bore our sorrow: he carried the sadness of the world upon himself.
Psalm 38:17 For I am ready to halt, and my sorrow is continually before me.
The sorrow spoken of is no small matter, it put great figures such as King David on the brink of giving up, Elijah and Jonah pleaded for God to end their lives. Thank the Lord that He kept them on course to endure to the end. Some biblical figures ended their lives: often these were disobedient or unbelieving like Saul and Judas, they reaped the fruit of their sins rather than be forgiven.
Psalm 127:2 It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.
God does not want his children to be sorrowful: as well as giving advice like not dwelling on it, such as when Jesus said do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself, He gives reasons for sorrow which we can guard against, we can avoid piercing ourselves with many sorrows through coveting riches, this is a good reason why we should be obedient and not sow bad fruits.
Isaiah 14:3 And it shall come to pass in the day that the Lord shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve,
There will be an end to our sorrows, this is God's will and He has declared it, so we should always strive onward looking hopefully towards tomorrow. Wait upon the Lord and renew your strength.
Isaiah 53:4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows:
God wants us to cast our cares upon Him, for He cares for us. We can put our faith into Him that He will not leave nor forsake us. We have a mighty advocate on our side fighting for us and we know that He will never let us down for He has a plan for us and thoughts of peace, not of evil.
Jeremiah 31:25 For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul.
God is near to those with a broken heart, He knows your pain and sorrow and can and will help you through everything you will ever face. Never give up because God can work all things for the good of those who believe, no matter how bad that they might seem. God has helped every sorrowful soul overcome and He can certainly help you also, trust Him at His word, He does not lie.
Ecclesiastes 7:3 Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.
Sorrow and sadness can actually be beneficial and better than happiness and laughter as they can bring about good characteristics in people. They can help to turn people away from harmful things and towards good things, most of all sorrow and sadness can turn people towards God.
2 Corinthians 7:9 Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner
When you are sad about sinning make sure to use it the right way, to learn from it and become obedient and lessen the sorrow in your life by living in a godly manner. Do not do as the worldly do and carry on, getting worse and never learning or changing from it, or God forbid: giving up.
John 16:22 And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.
It is absolutely normal for believers to have sorrow, do not think for a second that there is something wrong with you in particular for this. Do not believe any of the devils lies that God does not love you or that you are unsaved and there is no hope for you. Trust in God: your future is brighter than you can even imagine and He will always love you and never forsake you, He is with you always.
Revelation 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
It is perfectly normal for believers to have sorrow, there are many examples of biblical figures having sorrow, for all manner of reasons: from riches to grief, from repentance to knowledge, loss to defeat. There are perfectly good reasons to be sorrowful, it is okay. Nobody is above it: it was alluded to that Jesus was a man of sorrows and bore our sorrow: he carried the sadness of the world upon himself.
Psalm 38:17 For I am ready to halt, and my sorrow is continually before me.
The sorrow spoken of is no small matter, it put great figures such as King David on the brink of giving up, Elijah and Jonah pleaded for God to end their lives. Thank the Lord that He kept them on course to endure to the end. Some biblical figures ended their lives: often these were disobedient or unbelieving like Saul and Judas, they reaped the fruit of their sins rather than be forgiven.
Psalm 127:2 It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.
God does not want his children to be sorrowful: as well as giving advice like not dwelling on it, such as when Jesus said do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself, He gives reasons for sorrow which we can guard against, we can avoid piercing ourselves with many sorrows through coveting riches, this is a good reason why we should be obedient and not sow bad fruits.
Isaiah 14:3 And it shall come to pass in the day that the Lord shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve,
There will be an end to our sorrows, this is God's will and He has declared it, so we should always strive onward looking hopefully towards tomorrow. Wait upon the Lord and renew your strength.
Isaiah 53:4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows:
God wants us to cast our cares upon Him, for He cares for us. We can put our faith into Him that He will not leave nor forsake us. We have a mighty advocate on our side fighting for us and we know that He will never let us down for He has a plan for us and thoughts of peace, not of evil.
Jeremiah 31:25 For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul.
God is near to those with a broken heart, He knows your pain and sorrow and can and will help you through everything you will ever face. Never give up because God can work all things for the good of those who believe, no matter how bad that they might seem. God has helped every sorrowful soul overcome and He can certainly help you also, trust Him at His word, He does not lie.
Ecclesiastes 7:3 Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.
Sorrow and sadness can actually be beneficial and better than happiness and laughter as they can bring about good characteristics in people. They can help to turn people away from harmful things and towards good things, most of all sorrow and sadness can turn people towards God.
2 Corinthians 7:9 Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner
When you are sad about sinning make sure to use it the right way, to learn from it and become obedient and lessen the sorrow in your life by living in a godly manner. Do not do as the worldly do and carry on, getting worse and never learning or changing from it, or God forbid: giving up.
John 16:22 And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.
It is absolutely normal for believers to have sorrow, do not think for a second that there is something wrong with you in particular for this. Do not believe any of the devils lies that God does not love you or that you are unsaved and there is no hope for you. Trust in God: your future is brighter than you can even imagine and He will always love you and never forsake you, He is with you always.
Revelation 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
Prayer for the Word
Heavenly Father,
We thank you for giving us your word in the Holy Bible. Inspired by the Holy Spirit: perfect and preserved, inerrant and the source of our faith. The power you graciously bestowed to King James in commissioning his translation has enabled the salvation and hope of so many generations, it has yielded immeasurable amounts of good fruit around the world all thanks to your wisdom.
Thanks to you, the KJV can be used as a benchmark for all other Bibles to be measured and tested, we can study and rightly divide truth from error. Please allow those who have not experienced the power of the King James Bible to realise its might, and enable those without access to hear it.
Please prevent the perverted translations (that spread and grow worse daily, choking fruitful plants like weeds) from deceiving believers and sowing their evil seeds of false doctrines. Guide the misled to your true mighty word, containing the tree of life and seeds of the Spirit that yield the best fruits.
All praise and glory to your name that is above all names Lord Jesus.
Amen.
We thank you for giving us your word in the Holy Bible. Inspired by the Holy Spirit: perfect and preserved, inerrant and the source of our faith. The power you graciously bestowed to King James in commissioning his translation has enabled the salvation and hope of so many generations, it has yielded immeasurable amounts of good fruit around the world all thanks to your wisdom.
Thanks to you, the KJV can be used as a benchmark for all other Bibles to be measured and tested, we can study and rightly divide truth from error. Please allow those who have not experienced the power of the King James Bible to realise its might, and enable those without access to hear it.
Please prevent the perverted translations (that spread and grow worse daily, choking fruitful plants like weeds) from deceiving believers and sowing their evil seeds of false doctrines. Guide the misled to your true mighty word, containing the tree of life and seeds of the Spirit that yield the best fruits.
All praise and glory to your name that is above all names Lord Jesus.
Amen.
Sunday 10 December 2017
Why King James Only
Ecclesiastes 8:4 Where the word of a king is, there is power:
This article is going to focus on the history of the King James Version of the Bible and why it is my go-to version of choice. I believe it is preserved and inerrant, the best we have in the English language and all that we really need. God ordained King James, who ordained other authors?
Romans 13:1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
Jeremiah 30:2 Thus speaketh the Lord God of Israel, saying, Write thee all the words that I have spoken unto thee in a book.
Deuteronomy 27:8 And thou shalt write upon the stones all the words of this law very plainly.
With the masses able to read the Bible they were able to see the un-biblical practices and traditions in the established churches of the era and this led to a rapid rise of changes, Protestantism and many denominations branched off. It sowed the seeds for the Western Christian culture which was spread by the British Empire and took root in North America, Australia, and places all over the world.
Psalm 100:5 For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.
Until the 19th Century, people were by-and-large content with the KJV. The linguistics were polished (for example writing U in place of V) but the content kept the same. There were alternative versions, even before the KJV was written, the Geneva Bible contained many Puritan annotations rather than letting scripture interpret scripture. This is one of the issues that sets the KJV apart from other versions: the authors were not attempting to impart any of their views onto God's word.
This article is going to focus on the history of the King James Version of the Bible and why it is my go-to version of choice. I believe it is preserved and inerrant, the best we have in the English language and all that we really need. God ordained King James, who ordained other authors?
Romans 13:1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
The King James Authorised Version of the Holy Bible (KJV) began translation in 1604 by 47 top scholars, under the commission of King James I of England, and completed seven years later in 1611.
It was the first full translation from original sources rather than the Latin Vulgate, a vast improvement from previous English translations the Great Bible and Bishops' Bible.
Jeremiah 30:2 Thus speaketh the Lord God of Israel, saying, Write thee all the words that I have spoken unto thee in a book.
We can see the KJV has more good fruit than all other versions combined. It passed the test of time, saving souls for 400+ years, blessed to become the most widely printed and best selling book in history. Opening the gospel to all men, not only Latin speakers nor filtered through clergy.
Deuteronomy 27:8 And thou shalt write upon the stones all the words of this law very plainly.
With the masses able to read the Bible they were able to see the un-biblical practices and traditions in the established churches of the era and this led to a rapid rise of changes, Protestantism and many denominations branched off. It sowed the seeds for the Western Christian culture which was spread by the British Empire and took root in North America, Australia, and places all over the world.
Psalm 100:5 For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.
Until the 19th Century, people were by-and-large content with the KJV. The linguistics were polished (for example writing U in place of V) but the content kept the same. There were alternative versions, even before the KJV was written, the Geneva Bible contained many Puritan annotations rather than letting scripture interpret scripture. This is one of the issues that sets the KJV apart from other versions: the authors were not attempting to impart any of their views onto God's word.
Psalm 12:6 The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.
From the 19th and especially 20th Century, a flurry of new versions began to emerge. Many of these were written by individuals with strong ideological views that they wished to impart in their version. Words were changed and diverged more and more from the source material, the word of God was becoming diluted and other things were starting to creep in under the guise of better accuracy and readability. Why fix what isn't broken? Even mainstream versions have dangerous doctrinal changes that grow by the year, as is thoroughly detailed in G. Riplinger's New Age Bible Versions.
Deuteronomy 12:32 What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.
We have now reached a point where outright perversions of the Bible are being written, the intention to re-write parts that the author dislikes, regardless of if it corresponds with the true translation. One of the best example of this is the New World Translation which few (if any) serious scholars will accept. Among other things they added the name Jehovah to the New Testament to support Jehovah's Witness doctrine, but if you search the sources, the name Jehovah is never to be found.
Revelation 22:18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: 19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
We have now reached a point where dozens of new Bibles are being pumped out yearly to make money and spread falsehood rather than spread the gospel and truth, the Queen James Bible twists verses that the author dislikes regarding sodomy, and then we have really reached a low:
Genesis 1:1 (Word on the Street) First off, nothing. No light, no time, no substance, no matter. Second off, God starts it all up and WHAP! Stuff everywhere!
Genesis 1:1 (LolCat) Oh hai. In teh beginnin Ceiling Cat maded teh skiez An da Urfs, but he did not eated dem.
If we are still around in 400 years, the KJV will still be with us, but these not so much.. but I dread to think what the new versions will look like by that time! We have a choice of meats and the KJV has thoroughly matured. It is a big and juicy steak that will fill you and everyone you share it with: friends, family, even strangers. Do not chance it: please stick with the original and best.
Matthew 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
Further Reading:
Further Reading:
Prayer for Richness
Heavenly Father,
Thank you for everything you have given us, physical and spiritual. You have been so generous giving us the generous gift of life and of salvation by your grace. Please continue to be our provider, equipping us with everything we need and reminding us not to trust in money or riches, which are fleeting and a pattern of this world, used by the enemy for so much evil. We would rather love you and hate money, serve you and despise wealth.
Please help us to be content with what you consider necessary for our spiritual prosperity. It may not be as much as we would always like, but we know everything you do works for the good of those who believe and having much wealth can be a trap. It means you want us to take a greater responsibility to care for the less fortunate and to give more. Help encourage us to share our increase with the poor cheerfully in your service and for us to use all we have to your glory.
Please give us your spiritual riches and blessings of knowledge, understanding and wisdom, as well as faith, and all the gifts of the Holy Spirit. All praise and glory to your precious name Lord Jesus.
Amen.
Thank you for everything you have given us, physical and spiritual. You have been so generous giving us the generous gift of life and of salvation by your grace. Please continue to be our provider, equipping us with everything we need and reminding us not to trust in money or riches, which are fleeting and a pattern of this world, used by the enemy for so much evil. We would rather love you and hate money, serve you and despise wealth.
Please help us to be content with what you consider necessary for our spiritual prosperity. It may not be as much as we would always like, but we know everything you do works for the good of those who believe and having much wealth can be a trap. It means you want us to take a greater responsibility to care for the less fortunate and to give more. Help encourage us to share our increase with the poor cheerfully in your service and for us to use all we have to your glory.
Please give us your spiritual riches and blessings of knowledge, understanding and wisdom, as well as faith, and all the gifts of the Holy Spirit. All praise and glory to your precious name Lord Jesus.
Amen.
Saturday 9 December 2017
The Love of Money
James 5:1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. 2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. 3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. 4 Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. 5 Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.
Today I will share with you some Biblical doctrines regarding money. I have been reading J. Bakker's Prosperity and the Coming Apocalypse and I would like to share his warning, supported by scripture, regarding worldly attachments and wealth. The Bible is rich with passages on riches, so I will include a lot in this article.
Psalm 73:12 Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase in riches.
1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
These are incredibly strong statements, and true. How many murders have been committed for money, how many lies told for gain, how many drugs dealt, how much fornication, there are no limits some will go to for fortune. Judas, the treasurer of the disciples, betrayed Jesus for silver.
Colossians 3:5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth...and covetousness, which is idolatry
I myself have fallen into this snare of the devil, as I am sure many of you also have. I have pierced myself through with oh, so many sorrows for the desire of money. Deceits such as how much easier things would be if I had a little more, how much more good I could do, how much happier I and others could be. What an idol we can make of money! Surely it is a god of this world.
Proverbs 28:11 The rich man is wise in his own conceit; but the poor that hath understanding searcheth him out.
1 Timothy 6:17 Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;
Matthew 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
The problem with money is putting your reliance and faith into this instead of putting the faith into God, who is able to provide us with an abundance of things we need and enjoy, without a penny. With abundant money we rely on this, rather than depend on God- thinking we are sufficient.
James 1:7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. 8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. 9 Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted: 10 But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away. 11 For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways.
As Christians we need to be looking above this temporary fleshly kingdom to God's kingdom of heaven which lasts forever. The fruits God wants us to reap here are spiritual, not material gain. Even if we do attain the coveted riches they are still a source of great sorrow and loss in themselves.
1 Timothy 6:7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
Proverbs 23:5 Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.
If you do have wealth, please know that I am not saying this to condemn you, but I want to warn you and those who likewise seek after material wealth the many pitfalls and sorrows that follow this.
Matthew 19:23 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Luke 6:20 And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.
In God's eyes, a person is rich because he has not given enough to the poor. He is disobeying God in storing up the excess for himself rather than giving it to those who really need it, depriving them.
Proverbs 13:7 There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches.
Matthew 19:21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
Luke 3:11 He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise.
Please do not fall for a so-called prosperity gospel, the prosperity we should be seeking is solely spiritual and comes from forsaking the material gains of this world, being content and not coveting.
Proverbs 30:8 Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me:
Hebrews 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
Ecclesiastes 5:10 He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity.
Proverbs 1:32 For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.
Mark 4:19 And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.
Luke 12:15 And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.
Finally, let us talk about the riches we should be seeking: spiritual richness. Faith, wisdom, knowledge, honour, righteousness, and the greatest richness that we can receive is the grace of God.
Proverbs 11:4 Riches profit not in the day of wrath: but righteousness delivereth from death.
Romans 11:33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!
Ephesians 2:7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
Brethren, seek not a crown of gold and jewels: but Christ's precious crown of thorns, a crown of life.
Further Reading:
Further Reading:
Tuesday 5 December 2017
Prayer for Faith, Meekness and Temperance
Heavenly Father,
Thank you for showing us your wonderful fruits of the Holy Spirit through your perfect example of all of them and helping to bring them to us. Please help us to grow in all of them and more.
Please God, we believe so help our unbelief! Help to grow our faith into mustard seeds and far beyond into mighty trees yielding fruits that move mountains. Please dispel doubt and replace it with concrete faith in you and your word, so that we are capable of doing all things to your glory.
Please help us to be meek, modest and humble. Let us be presentable to you as repentant sinners who have been saved and born again by your grace. Help us not to get puffed up and to serve with humility in our hearts and minds. Give us the strength to continue in meekness, out of the vanities of this world.
Please help us to be well tempered, moderate and not taken to extremes. Let us know when enough is enough in all things, and also when is not enough. Keep us sober-minded, vigilant and alert against sin. Protect us from being drunken in body but also in mind, guarded from anger, lust, greed and more.
Please encourage us when we are weak. All praise and glory to your perfect name Lord Jesus.
Amen.
Thank you for showing us your wonderful fruits of the Holy Spirit through your perfect example of all of them and helping to bring them to us. Please help us to grow in all of them and more.
Please God, we believe so help our unbelief! Help to grow our faith into mustard seeds and far beyond into mighty trees yielding fruits that move mountains. Please dispel doubt and replace it with concrete faith in you and your word, so that we are capable of doing all things to your glory.
Please help us to be meek, modest and humble. Let us be presentable to you as repentant sinners who have been saved and born again by your grace. Help us not to get puffed up and to serve with humility in our hearts and minds. Give us the strength to continue in meekness, out of the vanities of this world.
Please help us to be well tempered, moderate and not taken to extremes. Let us know when enough is enough in all things, and also when is not enough. Keep us sober-minded, vigilant and alert against sin. Protect us from being drunken in body but also in mind, guarded from anger, lust, greed and more.
Please encourage us when we are weak. All praise and glory to your perfect name Lord Jesus.
Amen.
Monday 4 December 2017
Nine Fruits of the Spirit - Part 3
7. Faith
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Faith is fundamental to the Christian walk, it is the essence of salvation and why we are called believers. We are told to believe on the Lord Jesus and thou shalt be saved. This means to trust in God and what be has spoken, to believe in Him and His promises though we may not have seen Jesus with our own eyes and we do not know the future, He has declared it from the beginning.
Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Praise the Lord for giving us His word and the ability to have faith in Him, millions have perished throughout history in ignorance of His word as sadly even today many still do as they lack access to scripture or a media to access the scripture (even a pastor). We can look at places like North Korea or parts of the Middle East where Christianity is criminalised and Bibles treated like narcotics.
James 2:18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
As described in the previous article on Goodness, this is only possible through the Holy Spirit, with our own works being as filthy rags. Worldly logic mistakenly puts works above faith, how many times have we heard mockers saying things like "you pray for X, I'll think for X" - but judging a tree by its fruit we can see that earthly good works carried out by sight are selfish and corrupt, whereas spiritual good works carried out by faith are pure and truly good. What good is gaining worldly things, even gaining things for others, when they lose their soul?
Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Working without faith is to contravene Gods word and is sin by its very nature. Adam and Eve acted without faith when they disobeyed, not trusting God's word that they should surely die if they eat the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Instead they believed the devils lies and their own desires. If we walk in faith, rather than walking in the way of destruction and impossibility, we walk the way of life, and all things are possible to those who believe.
Matthew 21:21 Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.
It doesn't take much faith, even a grain as small as a mustard seed can work many wondrous miracles, and the more we let God grow the fruit within our spirit the greater the reward. Just think on these verses and how incredible it would feel to hear God Himself declare this about you:
Matthew 25:21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
8. Meekness
Matthew 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
Meekness is humility: to be modest and quiet, avoiding arrogance, boasting and attention seeking. Essentially it is getting on with things with your "head down", doing nice things in secret and not blowing a trumpet when you give alms as the Pharisees were said to do to get attention and praise. They have their reward in the form of praises from men, wouldn't you rather have praises of God?
1 Peter 3:4 But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.
It could be nice for men to see you doing good things and thinking what a great person you are, but this leads to vanity and puffing yourself up. What is far more important than pleasing men is making God happy, the majority of men in this world are not made happy by truly righteous things but by worldly things: money, power, sex, and so on. As Psalm 12:8 goes ...the vilest men are exalted.
Matthew 6:4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.
The best example of being meek is being what is referred to as a "doormat" - the world condemns this as a bad thing, that others are looking to take advantage of your kindness. However this is exactly what God wants of us and will reward us for: they might get a small reward from us, however we get a large reward from God. Many of the great men of the Bible were meek and let themselves be used, Jesus told us that if a man wants to take your coat let him have your cloak also .
Matthew 5:5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
9. Temperance
2 Peter 1:5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; 6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
Temperance is moderation and stability, similar to soberness. Think of tempered glass, how undergoing just the right heat and chemical treatment makes it far tougher than ordinary glass and so in a situation that regular glass would break, the tempered glass stays strong. Temperance is built upon a solid foundation of knowledge, and build patience upon a solid foundation of temperance.
Exodus 29:2 And unleavened bread, and cakes unleavened tempered with oil, and wafers unleavened anointed with oil: of wheaten flour shalt thou make them.
Another metaphor is to add just enough oil to flour to in order to temper the dough to make unleavened bread. The oil is the Holy Spirit, the flour is the body, the man is the dough and unleavened bread is his completed righteousness. It is a simple recipe, but you need to need good instruction to get it right.
Ephesians 5:18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
We should be sober and avoid things which may be excessive and cloud our judgement, whether it be alcohol, drugs, food, money, or anger. Things such as anger, lust, envy, anxiety and greed warp our way of thinking and can lead to further sin such as hate, violence and adultery. Let us guard ourselves against such temptations so not to give any foothold for the devil nor excuse for men to condemn us.
Philippians 4:5 Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Faith is fundamental to the Christian walk, it is the essence of salvation and why we are called believers. We are told to believe on the Lord Jesus and thou shalt be saved. This means to trust in God and what be has spoken, to believe in Him and His promises though we may not have seen Jesus with our own eyes and we do not know the future, He has declared it from the beginning.
Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Praise the Lord for giving us His word and the ability to have faith in Him, millions have perished throughout history in ignorance of His word as sadly even today many still do as they lack access to scripture or a media to access the scripture (even a pastor). We can look at places like North Korea or parts of the Middle East where Christianity is criminalised and Bibles treated like narcotics.
James 2:18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
As described in the previous article on Goodness, this is only possible through the Holy Spirit, with our own works being as filthy rags. Worldly logic mistakenly puts works above faith, how many times have we heard mockers saying things like "you pray for X, I'll think for X" - but judging a tree by its fruit we can see that earthly good works carried out by sight are selfish and corrupt, whereas spiritual good works carried out by faith are pure and truly good. What good is gaining worldly things, even gaining things for others, when they lose their soul?
Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Working without faith is to contravene Gods word and is sin by its very nature. Adam and Eve acted without faith when they disobeyed, not trusting God's word that they should surely die if they eat the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Instead they believed the devils lies and their own desires. If we walk in faith, rather than walking in the way of destruction and impossibility, we walk the way of life, and all things are possible to those who believe.
Matthew 21:21 Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.
It doesn't take much faith, even a grain as small as a mustard seed can work many wondrous miracles, and the more we let God grow the fruit within our spirit the greater the reward. Just think on these verses and how incredible it would feel to hear God Himself declare this about you:
Matthew 25:21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
8. Meekness
Matthew 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
Meekness is humility: to be modest and quiet, avoiding arrogance, boasting and attention seeking. Essentially it is getting on with things with your "head down", doing nice things in secret and not blowing a trumpet when you give alms as the Pharisees were said to do to get attention and praise. They have their reward in the form of praises from men, wouldn't you rather have praises of God?
1 Peter 3:4 But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.
It could be nice for men to see you doing good things and thinking what a great person you are, but this leads to vanity and puffing yourself up. What is far more important than pleasing men is making God happy, the majority of men in this world are not made happy by truly righteous things but by worldly things: money, power, sex, and so on. As Psalm 12:8 goes ...the vilest men are exalted.
Matthew 6:4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.
The best example of being meek is being what is referred to as a "doormat" - the world condemns this as a bad thing, that others are looking to take advantage of your kindness. However this is exactly what God wants of us and will reward us for: they might get a small reward from us, however we get a large reward from God. Many of the great men of the Bible were meek and let themselves be used, Jesus told us that if a man wants to take your coat let him have your cloak also .
Matthew 5:5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
9. Temperance
2 Peter 1:5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; 6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
Temperance is moderation and stability, similar to soberness. Think of tempered glass, how undergoing just the right heat and chemical treatment makes it far tougher than ordinary glass and so in a situation that regular glass would break, the tempered glass stays strong. Temperance is built upon a solid foundation of knowledge, and build patience upon a solid foundation of temperance.
Exodus 29:2 And unleavened bread, and cakes unleavened tempered with oil, and wafers unleavened anointed with oil: of wheaten flour shalt thou make them.
Another metaphor is to add just enough oil to flour to in order to temper the dough to make unleavened bread. The oil is the Holy Spirit, the flour is the body, the man is the dough and unleavened bread is his completed righteousness. It is a simple recipe, but you need to need good instruction to get it right.
Ephesians 5:18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
We should be sober and avoid things which may be excessive and cloud our judgement, whether it be alcohol, drugs, food, money, or anger. Things such as anger, lust, envy, anxiety and greed warp our way of thinking and can lead to further sin such as hate, violence and adultery. Let us guard ourselves against such temptations so not to give any foothold for the devil nor excuse for men to condemn us.
Philippians 4:5 Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.
<< Part 2
Dedication to God
Heavenly Father,
Thank you so much for everything. Thank you for another day and a new week. You do such wonderful things, way beyond what we can even realise and you are the greatest of all. Our loving Father, our generous provider, our righteous saviour.
We dedicate this day and all of our days to you. Please use your Spirit to help us make this a productive and fruitful week of service to you.
Help us to let the fruits of the Holy Spirit shine your light to the world and help us to be faithful and obedient children, using your example to set an example for the world.
Please pour out blessings upon the Christians undergoing all kinds of hardship: strengthen and encourage them and let them know you are with them always.
All praise and glory to your name Lord Jesus.
Amen.
Thank you so much for everything. Thank you for another day and a new week. You do such wonderful things, way beyond what we can even realise and you are the greatest of all. Our loving Father, our generous provider, our righteous saviour.
We dedicate this day and all of our days to you. Please use your Spirit to help us make this a productive and fruitful week of service to you.
Help us to let the fruits of the Holy Spirit shine your light to the world and help us to be faithful and obedient children, using your example to set an example for the world.
Please pour out blessings upon the Christians undergoing all kinds of hardship: strengthen and encourage them and let them know you are with them always.
All praise and glory to your name Lord Jesus.
Amen.
Prayer for Longsuffering, Gentleness and Goodness
Heavenly Father,
Thank you for showing us the marvellous extent of your longsuffering, gentleness and goodness. You have been ever so patient, gentle and good towards us. We praise you for this and wish to honour you by reflecting this to the world through the Holy Spirit within us for the glory of your name.
Please give us the faith, strength and courage to face hardship and suffering for serving you. Please let us not be discouraged and respond patiently and with joy in such cases, as we know we are serving you. Help us to endure to the end, winning as many of the lost over to you as possible.
Please make us gentle in the face of adversity, to turn the other cheek and not hit back when attacked, be it in body, deed or in word. Let us carry our stripes as badges of honour and let those who attack us be ashamed and convicted of evil: to see nothing but gentle and loving responses worthy of you.
Please give us the faith to let your Holy Spirit do good works through us, to work every kind of good and shun every kind of evil and so we, as your children and ambassadors, give no cause for disrepute and that the world will praise and glorify your name as a result of seeing this.
Please help us to keep growing these fruits and many more. All praise and glory to you Lord Jesus.
Amen.
Thank you for showing us the marvellous extent of your longsuffering, gentleness and goodness. You have been ever so patient, gentle and good towards us. We praise you for this and wish to honour you by reflecting this to the world through the Holy Spirit within us for the glory of your name.
Please give us the faith, strength and courage to face hardship and suffering for serving you. Please let us not be discouraged and respond patiently and with joy in such cases, as we know we are serving you. Help us to endure to the end, winning as many of the lost over to you as possible.
Please make us gentle in the face of adversity, to turn the other cheek and not hit back when attacked, be it in body, deed or in word. Let us carry our stripes as badges of honour and let those who attack us be ashamed and convicted of evil: to see nothing but gentle and loving responses worthy of you.
Please give us the faith to let your Holy Spirit do good works through us, to work every kind of good and shun every kind of evil and so we, as your children and ambassadors, give no cause for disrepute and that the world will praise and glorify your name as a result of seeing this.
Please help us to keep growing these fruits and many more. All praise and glory to you Lord Jesus.
Amen.
Nine Fruits of the Spirit - Part 2
4. Longsuffering
2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Longsuffering is to patiently endure things we dislike for extended periods of time. God is most often referred to as longsuffering in the Bible, on account of His hate for sin but His love for sinners. As previously described in the section on love we went over how to love is to put others before yourself. In this sense we should be prepared to endure things we do not like in order to help set others right.
Numbers 14:18 The Lord is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression...
Proclaiming the Gospel we may find ourselves mocked, insulted, falsely accused, persecuted, fired, imprisoned, attacked, tortured, or at worst killed: but these are no reasons to not do it. We should put aside our aversions to negative worldly consequences of faithfully serving God and helping others.
1 Timothy 1:12 And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; 13 Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. 14 And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. 16 Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.
As we can see from the case of Paul, if we carry on with endurance and forgiveness we can see even the worst of sinners transformed into some of the greatest servants of God. Ultimately it is a win-win situation when you boldly preach without concern for yourself: if we suffer we win glory for God, and if we successfully reach sinners then we win souls for God.
Luke 23:34 Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do...
5. Gentleness
James 3:17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.
Christianity is truly a religion of peace: God hates violent and bloody men. We should aim to not hurt others, taking Jesus as our example we can see that physical fighting was never an option for him. Though his apostles took up the sword and Peter cut a mans ear off in defence of Jesus: he immediately faced rebuke for this, and Jesus helped to heal a man who was to lead him to the cross.
Matthew 5:39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
There may be a number of Christians out there who see self-defence as a viable option, however this goes against the teachings of Jesus who was very much pacifistic in his commands and this leaves little interpretation when we are commanded not to kill: if we find ourselves in a case of "us or them" dying, then - unless the Lord intervenes - it is for us to lay our lives down rather than our enemies.
Luke 3:14 And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages.
We can actually expand on gentleness here, in that it is not only our physical actions where we are to be gentle but also in our speech. Words such as false accusations can indeed be harmful and we should strive to not engage in such things as lies, condemnation, insults, and so on.
Proverbs 15:1 A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.
It is wise to seek to be softly-spoken and sensibly season our speech with salt, in order to avoid turning encounters ugly. We do not want to escalate situations but to keep things mutually-gentle whenever possible and in so doing we can be called peacemakers.
Matthew 10:16 Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
6. Goodness
Pro 20:6 Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man who can find?
Goodness like the rest of these fruits is another attribute of God. As the Proverb goes, everyone generally thinks there are good, however this is rarely the case when the Psalms tell us that there is none that doeth good, no not one. We are unable to do good things without being born again and acting through the Holy Spirit who does the good works and makes us righteous and justified.
Romans 1:17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
It is through faith that we can let the Holy Spirit do good things through us. This is not earthly wisdom but spiritual wisdom because we are not saved by works. Our own good deeds are as filthy rags- when you try to wipe the blemish off the window you only smear and make it worse.
Romans 4:5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Longsuffering is to patiently endure things we dislike for extended periods of time. God is most often referred to as longsuffering in the Bible, on account of His hate for sin but His love for sinners. As previously described in the section on love we went over how to love is to put others before yourself. In this sense we should be prepared to endure things we do not like in order to help set others right.
Numbers 14:18 The Lord is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression...
Proclaiming the Gospel we may find ourselves mocked, insulted, falsely accused, persecuted, fired, imprisoned, attacked, tortured, or at worst killed: but these are no reasons to not do it. We should put aside our aversions to negative worldly consequences of faithfully serving God and helping others.
1 Timothy 1:12 And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; 13 Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. 14 And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. 16 Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.
As we can see from the case of Paul, if we carry on with endurance and forgiveness we can see even the worst of sinners transformed into some of the greatest servants of God. Ultimately it is a win-win situation when you boldly preach without concern for yourself: if we suffer we win glory for God, and if we successfully reach sinners then we win souls for God.
Luke 23:34 Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do...
5. Gentleness
James 3:17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.
Christianity is truly a religion of peace: God hates violent and bloody men. We should aim to not hurt others, taking Jesus as our example we can see that physical fighting was never an option for him. Though his apostles took up the sword and Peter cut a mans ear off in defence of Jesus: he immediately faced rebuke for this, and Jesus helped to heal a man who was to lead him to the cross.
Matthew 5:39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
There may be a number of Christians out there who see self-defence as a viable option, however this goes against the teachings of Jesus who was very much pacifistic in his commands and this leaves little interpretation when we are commanded not to kill: if we find ourselves in a case of "us or them" dying, then - unless the Lord intervenes - it is for us to lay our lives down rather than our enemies.
Luke 3:14 And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages.
We can actually expand on gentleness here, in that it is not only our physical actions where we are to be gentle but also in our speech. Words such as false accusations can indeed be harmful and we should strive to not engage in such things as lies, condemnation, insults, and so on.
Proverbs 15:1 A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.
It is wise to seek to be softly-spoken and sensibly season our speech with salt, in order to avoid turning encounters ugly. We do not want to escalate situations but to keep things mutually-gentle whenever possible and in so doing we can be called peacemakers.
Matthew 10:16 Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
6. Goodness
Pro 20:6 Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man who can find?
Goodness like the rest of these fruits is another attribute of God. As the Proverb goes, everyone generally thinks there are good, however this is rarely the case when the Psalms tell us that there is none that doeth good, no not one. We are unable to do good things without being born again and acting through the Holy Spirit who does the good works and makes us righteous and justified.
Romans 1:17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
It is through faith that we can let the Holy Spirit do good things through us. This is not earthly wisdom but spiritual wisdom because we are not saved by works. Our own good deeds are as filthy rags- when you try to wipe the blemish off the window you only smear and make it worse.
Romans 4:5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
There are many ways that righteousness can be demonstrated, through keeping the commandments and hating evil is chief, serving others, charitable actions, restraint and so on. To fully express the righteousness of God we need to keep studying the Bible and having the word in us in meditation day and night and so that the Spirit can call to remembrance occasions where we can do good, or avoid not doing good.
Titus 2:2 That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience. 3 The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;
4 That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, 5 To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.
6 Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded. 7 In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, 8 Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.
Titus 2:2 That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience. 3 The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;
4 That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, 5 To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.
6 Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded. 7 In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, 8 Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.
<< Part 1 Part 3 >>
Sunday 3 December 2017
Prayer for Love, Joy and Peace
Heavenly Father,
We thank you for all the gifts you have given us. You have given us the chance to bear fantastic fruits in your name. Please help to cultivate the fruits of the Holy Spirit: within us. Help us grow in the self-sacrificing love that you taught us through not least through your sacrifice on the cross.
Encourage us to grow in love for you and our neighbours, our friends and enemies, and to diminish our love for the wrong things such as money. Help us to show the love you have shown us to everyone as a good example and so that your love is known and praised throughout the world.
Please help us to grow in joy and thankfulness for everything you have done, to be joyous and full of praise for you always. Help us to appreciate all of your greatness and to grow in faith of the plans you have for our future with you. Help us to share this joy with everyone around us.
Please help us to grow in peace, knowing that you have saved us and are protecting us. You have freed us from the slavery of fear and the condemnation of hell and shown us the true spiritual peace that is in you. Help us to not fear and to direct others to the greatest peace, that you give.
Please help us grow these fruits and more. All glory and praise to your precious name Lord Jesus.
Amen.
We thank you for all the gifts you have given us. You have given us the chance to bear fantastic fruits in your name. Please help to cultivate the fruits of the Holy Spirit: within us. Help us grow in the self-sacrificing love that you taught us through not least through your sacrifice on the cross.
Encourage us to grow in love for you and our neighbours, our friends and enemies, and to diminish our love for the wrong things such as money. Help us to show the love you have shown us to everyone as a good example and so that your love is known and praised throughout the world.
Please help us to grow in joy and thankfulness for everything you have done, to be joyous and full of praise for you always. Help us to appreciate all of your greatness and to grow in faith of the plans you have for our future with you. Help us to share this joy with everyone around us.
Please help us to grow in peace, knowing that you have saved us and are protecting us. You have freed us from the slavery of fear and the condemnation of hell and shown us the true spiritual peace that is in you. Help us to not fear and to direct others to the greatest peace, that you give.
Please help us grow these fruits and more. All glory and praise to your precious name Lord Jesus.
Amen.
Saturday 2 December 2017
Nine Fruits of the Spirit - Part 1
John 15:5,8 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
To follow on from my last post about being watered with the Holy Spirit to bear fruit I wanted to go into more depth with these spiritual fruits. It's quite in depth so I will break it down into parts.
Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
1. Love
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
There are many examples of love in the Bible, it fits as first on our list as it is also the first and great commandment: to love the Lord with all of our heart, soul strength and mind and the second great commandment of loving our neighbour as ourselves. Other important mentions include loving our brother, friends and the most touching being to love our enemies.
John 13:35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
Most of the reference to love are good but we are warned against loving the wrong things: such as vanity, ourselves, sleep, pleasure, wine, darkness, evil and death. The thing to watch out for most is the love of money, which has the worst thing said about it: being described as the root of all evil.
John 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
Love is practiced by putting others before yourself, the more you love the more you will be willing to sacrifice. Jesus best demonstrated it by making the ultimate sacrifice to save us from our sins. We should practice this by putting God and everyone else above ourselves.
1 John 4:8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
2. Joy
Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.
God wants his children to always be happy and rejoice in Him as the source of our happiness. We can describe this joy as being thankful for what he has done for us and to enjoy his gifts. There are so many great things He has given us and done for us, it is hard to count, so we should set aside time to reflect upon this and to be thankful for the greatness of God, new things will come out daily.
Psalm 51:12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.
Praise God for giving us salvation! This is the first and primary thing that we should be thankful for: God has overcome the world and saved us from the pit we dug for ourselves and has opened the door to us. He has given us the light of life and enabled us to experience delights beyond measure.
Psalm 16:11 Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
We have yet to experience the greatest joy of being with Him in paradise. We should remember to stay hopeful for this and remember just how great a future He has for us in His plans: eternal happiness is given to us and what a gift that is to await, we should be as children counting down until the arrival of Christmas! How much better is the gift of God compared to the gifts of men!
Luke 6:21 Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh.
3. Peace
Judges 6:23 And the Lord said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die.
Peace in the Biblical sense is the absence of fear, worry and anxiety. God has given us his assurance of salvation and so we should put our trust in Him with faith and no longer worry about worldly things, and ultimately death. We can rest, assured knowing that He is in control and has a plan for us.
Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Jesus is the prince of peace, thanks to him we no longer have to fear anything. When unsaved, the first thing to fear should be God, because His wrath is upon the children of disobedience and they are at a very real risk of hell with no such assurance as His children. When we have accepted Him, His love casts out the fear and replaces it with peace.
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
The world may offer peace in various forms, for example absence from war, even medication and drugs can make people more peaceful, but this is only a mere worldly form of peace that is not a deep-down peace of the spirit, nor is it lasting. Be wary of worldly offers of peace as they are not all that they are cracked up to be. True peace comes from the prince of peace, anything else is a lie.
1 Thessalonians 5:3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
Psalm 4:8 I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety.
To follow on from my last post about being watered with the Holy Spirit to bear fruit I wanted to go into more depth with these spiritual fruits. It's quite in depth so I will break it down into parts.
Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
1. Love
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
There are many examples of love in the Bible, it fits as first on our list as it is also the first and great commandment: to love the Lord with all of our heart, soul strength and mind and the second great commandment of loving our neighbour as ourselves. Other important mentions include loving our brother, friends and the most touching being to love our enemies.
John 13:35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
Most of the reference to love are good but we are warned against loving the wrong things: such as vanity, ourselves, sleep, pleasure, wine, darkness, evil and death. The thing to watch out for most is the love of money, which has the worst thing said about it: being described as the root of all evil.
John 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
Love is practiced by putting others before yourself, the more you love the more you will be willing to sacrifice. Jesus best demonstrated it by making the ultimate sacrifice to save us from our sins. We should practice this by putting God and everyone else above ourselves.
1 John 4:8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
2. Joy
Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.
God wants his children to always be happy and rejoice in Him as the source of our happiness. We can describe this joy as being thankful for what he has done for us and to enjoy his gifts. There are so many great things He has given us and done for us, it is hard to count, so we should set aside time to reflect upon this and to be thankful for the greatness of God, new things will come out daily.
Psalm 51:12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.
Praise God for giving us salvation! This is the first and primary thing that we should be thankful for: God has overcome the world and saved us from the pit we dug for ourselves and has opened the door to us. He has given us the light of life and enabled us to experience delights beyond measure.
Psalm 16:11 Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
We have yet to experience the greatest joy of being with Him in paradise. We should remember to stay hopeful for this and remember just how great a future He has for us in His plans: eternal happiness is given to us and what a gift that is to await, we should be as children counting down until the arrival of Christmas! How much better is the gift of God compared to the gifts of men!
Luke 6:21 Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh.
3. Peace
Judges 6:23 And the Lord said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die.
Peace in the Biblical sense is the absence of fear, worry and anxiety. God has given us his assurance of salvation and so we should put our trust in Him with faith and no longer worry about worldly things, and ultimately death. We can rest, assured knowing that He is in control and has a plan for us.
Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Jesus is the prince of peace, thanks to him we no longer have to fear anything. When unsaved, the first thing to fear should be God, because His wrath is upon the children of disobedience and they are at a very real risk of hell with no such assurance as His children. When we have accepted Him, His love casts out the fear and replaces it with peace.
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
The world may offer peace in various forms, for example absence from war, even medication and drugs can make people more peaceful, but this is only a mere worldly form of peace that is not a deep-down peace of the spirit, nor is it lasting. Be wary of worldly offers of peace as they are not all that they are cracked up to be. True peace comes from the prince of peace, anything else is a lie.
1 Thessalonians 5:3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
Psalm 4:8 I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety.
Part 2 >>
Prayer for Watering
Heavenly Father,
Thank you for sharing your Holy Spirit and your word with us and making it possible for us to make offerings of fruits worthy of repentance. We are thankful that you have grafted us in to your precious tree of life rooted in you.
Please continue to care for us to help us grow big and strong: prune off our bad parts and feed us with your clear pure water of Spirit to fatten and ripen our olives with nutritious and precious oil to fuel our lamps. Let the storehouses overflow with good fruits belonging to you for the day of harvest.
Please keep growing those rooted in you. All praise and glory to your tree of life name Lord Jesus.
Amen.
Thank you for sharing your Holy Spirit and your word with us and making it possible for us to make offerings of fruits worthy of repentance. We are thankful that you have grafted us in to your precious tree of life rooted in you.
Please continue to care for us to help us grow big and strong: prune off our bad parts and feed us with your clear pure water of Spirit to fatten and ripen our olives with nutritious and precious oil to fuel our lamps. Let the storehouses overflow with good fruits belonging to you for the day of harvest.
Please keep growing those rooted in you. All praise and glory to your tree of life name Lord Jesus.
Amen.
Growing Spiritual Fruit
John 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
We can all nourish the the Holy Spirit within us by reading and studying the words of the Holy Bible, it contains the very words of God which are mighty and bring faith by hearing and life by believing. When scriptures is written on our hearts and we live by them we are filled with the Spirit. The Bible is the inspired word of God, written and preserved by the Holy Spirit, the living word.
Ephesians 6:3 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand... 17, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
When man lives not on bread alone, but every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, arm ourselves to do battle against the devil and to yield every kind of good work as the fruit of the Spirit. Man is often likened to a tree: we hear of gentiles grafted in to the tree of life with the root being God, and any bad bits that come out are pruned back to increase the harvest of good fruits.
Psalm 1:1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. 3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
Meditating day and night in the law of the Lord brings forth both fruit and prosperity. The water is figurative for the Holy Spirit flowing through the tree and into the fruit to make it good and juicy.
Isaiah 32:15 Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest.
John 4:14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
Proverbs 11:30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.
We can all nourish the the Holy Spirit within us by reading and studying the words of the Holy Bible, it contains the very words of God which are mighty and bring faith by hearing and life by believing. When scriptures is written on our hearts and we live by them we are filled with the Spirit. The Bible is the inspired word of God, written and preserved by the Holy Spirit, the living word.
Ephesians 6:3 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand... 17, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
When man lives not on bread alone, but every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, arm ourselves to do battle against the devil and to yield every kind of good work as the fruit of the Spirit. Man is often likened to a tree: we hear of gentiles grafted in to the tree of life with the root being God, and any bad bits that come out are pruned back to increase the harvest of good fruits.
Psalm 1:1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. 3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
Meditating day and night in the law of the Lord brings forth both fruit and prosperity. The water is figurative for the Holy Spirit flowing through the tree and into the fruit to make it good and juicy.
Isaiah 32:15 Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest.
John 4:14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
There are many different fruits that the Holy Spirit yields from dry wilderness, continue to let God water you with his words, plunge into the keep growing and yielding increasingly bigger and better fruits in him.
Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
Proverbs 11:30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.
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