The Fruits Of The Spirit

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.  Galatians 5:22-23

      As followers of Christ, believers or Christians, there is a continual battle between our flesh and our spirit and Paul in his writings speaks of this candidly. In Galatians 5:17, Paul writes, "For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want." As followers of Christ, we cannot do what we want to do according to our flesh but we must now walk in the spirit.
      Why walk in the spirit? Well, walking in the flesh is walking in our sinful nature or being of this world. As believers, we know that we are in the world but not of the world. Furthermore, we cannot please God, our Heavenly Father, by walking in the flesh. In John 4:24 it states, "God is spirit, and His worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth." We are called to leave our fleshly desires behind and strive towards a road that leads to God.
       Therefore, to walk this road that leads us to God, there are fruits that we must bear as believers. Fruits that will identify us not only as his followers but as walking in the spirit and not our flesh. These fruits are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
       Each one of these fruits will be elaborated on here, on our blog and we have already started with kindness and not growing weary in well doing. Look out for more on this series.

God bless you! If this has been a blessing to you, share it with someone.

Believers are Salt and Light

13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. 

14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 

15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 

16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

In today's world, there is a constant search for purpose and meaning in this life. As believers, we should know our purpose, we should know who the Lord has called us to be and what we should do. In His sermon on the mount, Jesus has called those who believe in him and those who choose to follow him to be Salt and Light.

I have often wondered why Jesus compared believers and followers to salt and light. There are many insightful commentaries available, and some explanations resonate deeply. Reflecting on this has encouraged me to explore another perspective of the same scripture for our Bible study.

Jesus said "You are the Salt Of The Earth." Why did he say salt of the earth and not salt of the world? I discovered, as a young child on a trip to a local farm, that salt is used as a fertilizer. A fertilizer nourishes and aids in the growth of a plant. Jesus was saying that we are called to be that essential mineral to help with the growth of others.

When God created man, he used the dust of the earth (Genesis 2:7). This creation connects us to all mankind as God created us all. However, we are set apart as believers because we are called the Salt of The Earth. Therefore, Jesus is calling us to be that fertilizer that is necessary for mankind to truly live and grow as we are all connected to the earth. If we choose to call ourselves Christians or believers of Christ, and follow God's word then this too is a part of our mission while on this earth. As salt, we are called to help others grow in Christ, believers and unbelievers. If we cannot be the salt and light, we lose our worth and become good for nothing (Matthew 5:13)

Jesus also called us the Light Of The World.  Now when we go back to Genesis again, after creating the heavens and the earth, the first thing that God SPOKE into being was LIGHT (Genesis 1:3). Furthermore, it states that God divided light from darkness (Genesis 1:4). There has to be a separation between light and darkness, the two cannot co-exist. If we are called to be light then we cannot mix or meddle in darkness or have darkness in us. We are in the world but not of the world. (John 17:14-15)

The light that radiates from a lamp is used to light up a house. This house that Jesus refers to is The World.  He calls us to be the Light of The World. The world is filled with darkness to those who do not see the light, the unbelievers. We have to let our light so shine before men so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16). Our lives have to be examples to others. Our light has to radiate so intensely that it causes others to turn from darkness and glorify our Father in Heaven!

Brothers and sisters, God loves you and wants us to live the life and purpose He has called for us to live. We need to spend time in prayer, meditating on the word of God, and developing our relationship with God. Therein lies the true meaning of life and the keys to fulfilling our purpose.

Take care of each other, truly love each other, pray for each other and be the Salt and Light Christ has called you to be and that He in his infinite knowledge knows that we can be.

God bless you!

Gifts Given to Jesus

Matthew 2 describes what happened after Jesus' birth in Bethlehem and how the wise men were on a search for Jesus, The King of the Jews. They went to Herod the king, thinking that a king should be born in a palace but however he was not there. Herod and all of Jerusalem were