Fruits of the Spirit: Day 8 - Faithfulness

Galatians 5:22-23 -- "But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!"

Faithfulness means being reliable, trust worthy, and constant. It means adhering to truth and being true to your word. These characteristics are not natural. These are characteristics that we know because of our constant, trustworthy, and always perfect God. He is unchanging and has proven over and over again the extent in which we can rely on Him. He deserves our faithfulness, in fact, He demands it.

2 Corinthians 5:7 -- "For we live by believing and not by seeing."

There is a saying that I have loved for years: "Seeing isn't believing, Believing is seeing." Even ones who witnessed the miracles Jesus performed first-hand had hardened hearts and did not understand that this was God, on earth, sent to save His people. However, when we, by faith, believe that God is ever present in our lives, seeks out a personal relationship with us, and still works miracles everyday, we see God in everything. It is when our faith outweighs our doubt that we can see God's hand in everything because He is always there.

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But what does faithfulness mean to us? How can we possibly obtain this characteristic that we use to define our Almighty God? I have long ago learned not to put too much faith in people. That sounds harsh, but we are human and we all make mistakes. No matter how many Fruits of the Spirit we master, we are still imperfect. However, we can seek to be more like Christ in every way and ask forgiveness from Him and from others when we do make mistakes.

Proverbs 28:20 -- "The trustworthy person will get a rich reward, but a person who wants quick riches will get into trouble."

I will only put my faith in the Lord who always guides and guards me. But I do seek to be a faithful person - I want to be reliable, trustworthy and constant. I want to be someone that others can count on and come to for encouragement and support.

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Luke 16:10 -- "If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities."

Over time, our faithfulness grows. We cannot expect others to trust us immediately, we must earn respect. Even from God, we must be diligent and obedient in the small things before we can do something great. Over time we can prove that we are reliable, trustworthy and constant. As we show these characteristics in the small tasks, we will see greater opportunities and tasks to overcome.

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The Fruits of the Spirit do not come to us immediately. We have to learn and grow over time to be more like Christ. These are characteristics that help us in our journey to be more Godly and seek God in all we do. When we faithfully seek out our source of love and life we can love others faithfully and bring light to darkened places. We can show God's love and light to others.

Day 1 - Introduction

Day 2 - Love          

Day 3 - Joy            

Day 4 - Peace        

Day 5 - Patience     

Day 6 - Kindness    

Day 7 - Goodness   

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Wordless Wednesday *Linky* Pinewood Derby

Our church does a Grand Prix (like a Pinewood Derby) every year through the Awanas program. This year Zoey and my husband worked really hard on her car. They cut out the car together and then Zoey painted it all by herself. It was "rainbow" with lots of glitter! She did really well in the race. She won 3rd for design and 1st for speed for her class (2-4 year olds) and was 2nd overall in speed (out of about 60 cars). I am excited she did well, but more importantly she learned something, had an opportunity to be creative and proved her diligence in finishing it with her Dad. And the best part - she had so much fun! We all did!

Link up and join me in the Wordless Wednesday fun!

Also, Check out my Daily Devotions!

  

Fruits of the Spirit: Day 7 - Goodness

Galatians 5:22-23 -- "But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!"

Goodness is a more difficult Fruit of the Spirit to grasp, at least for me. When I think of good, I think of good grades, a good meal or a good day. It's an adjective of some other noun, but what does goodness mean as an action of faith?

Goodness is the act of being good, choosing right instead of wrong and having moral excellence.

James 1:5 -- "If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking."

It is easy to get lost in the world, but we can seek God for His guidance. When you do not know right from wrong in any given situation - ask God. He will answer you. Not only will He show you the way, but He will grant mercy on you and remind you of His eternal love.

Isaiah 63:7 -- "I will tell of the Lord’s unfailing love. I will praise the Lord for all he has done. I will rejoice in his great goodness to Israel, which he has granted according to his mercy and love."

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God has an eternal perspective and a perfect plan for each of His children. When we are deciding which way is right, we need to look no further than God's direction. If we stay faithfully on the path the Lord sets before us, we will always be in the right. When we walk in obedience with God, we will always be doing what is right in the eyes of the Lord.

1 Peter 2:9 -- "But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light."

Goodness is a long term state of being. You can be good, but it takes being good again and again to exert goodness. It is a definition of your character. Goodness is an outward reflection of your relationship with Christ. Goodness is pouring ourselves and what Christ has given us into others. When we invite Christ to come into our lives and change our heart, our desires, actions and reactions all begin to exert our goodness, our faithfulness in walking with the Lord. It means we not only consciously choose the right, Godly way, but that, over time, it becomes easier to always choose that way.

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Psalm 119:40 -- "I long to obey your commandments! Renew my life with your goodness."

When we walk in obedience with the Lord, He will fill us and renew us in goodness. Then we can share everything we know about God with others and share His shining light and love with the world.

Day 1 - Introduction  

Day 2 - Love            

Day 3 - Joy              

Day 4 - Peace          

Day 5 - Patience       

Day 6 - Kindness      

Day 7 - Goodness     

Day 8 - Faithfulness   

Day 9 - Gentleness    

Day 10 - Self-Control

  

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Fruits of the Spirit: Day 6 - Kindness

Galatians 5:22-23 -- "But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!"

Kindness is beautiful. There are so may small acts of kindness you can perform every single day just by being aware of the needs of people around you. The best part about kindness is that nothing is lost, you gain from God just as others gain from you.

Proverbs 11:17 -- "Your kindness will reward you, but your cruelty will destroy you."

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Kindness goes beyond just the acts of kindness, beyond only going out of your way to help others. It is also in your reactions to others, especially when you are hurt or upset, and even when you are excessively happy. Our reactions, our words, our tone all affect others. When we say disgruntled, degrading and mean things, we are being negative - this is not kind. When we are prideful and boast excessively of our accomplishments we are not kind.

However, even when we are sad or happy, if we are conscious of how our words and actions affect others we are being kind. This generous, merciful way to respond to others is the way God would have us treat others - with love.

2 Thessalonians 3:13 -- "As for the rest of you, dear brothers and sisters, never get tired of doing good."

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It is not always easy to put our own feelings aside to be kind to others, but that is why God gives us kindness as a Fruit of the Spirit. It is not natural, it is divine and Godly. We can ask God to show us opportunities to be intentionally kind to others and show us where we need more help. Jesus will give you that help. No small act of kindness is ever wasted. God can turn a small kindness into a huge reward.

Day 1 - Introduction  

Day 2 - Love            

Day 3 - Joy              

Day 4 - Peace          

Day 5 - Patience       

Day 6 - Kindness      

Day 7 - Goodness     

Day 8 - Faithfulness   

Day 9 - Gentleness    

Day 10 - Self-Control

  

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Fruits of the Spirit: Day 5 - Patience

Galatians 5:22-23 -- "But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!"

To me, patience is the trickiest of the Fruits of the Spirit. If you haven't heard it before, you will hear it now: don't pray for patience! I mean you can, but be prepared for a difficult, sometimes long trial to teach this very important characteristic. I say this mostly in jest because the experience gained from a trial teaching patience is unforgettable and useful. The Bible has a lot to say on patience, so we know that it is a very important characteristic to learn and to live out.

Romans 12:12 -- "Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying."

Patience is needed mostly when we are doing or going through something we don't want to in the first place, a tribulation. One of the most important things to remember about learning patience is to pray -- constantly, unceasingly and fervently pray. It is your communication to God a source of hope when your situations begin to look never-ending. Have patience, keep hope and pray that your trial and greater understanding of God's plan for you will bring forth great blessings and good for the Kingdom of God.

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At the end of a trial-to-learn-patience, you will feel lighter, more hopeful and more sure of your Great Creator and His love for you. When we patiently endure, we will be greatly rewarded in Spirit and body and renewed by the Holy Spirit.

Isaiah 40:31 -- "But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint."

Patiently enduring through trials and overcoming adversity changes you, with God's influence for absolute better. Through our trials and relying on God through them we come closer to God and gain characteristics that line up with His plan for us.

James 1:12 -- "God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him."

Learning Godly patience is hard, but when we can embrace it and live in it, there are great rewards for s in God's Kingdom.

Day 1 - Introduction  

Day 2 - Love            

Day 3 - Joy              

Day 4 - Peace          

Day 5 - Patience       

Day 6 - Kindness      

Day 7 - Goodness     

Day 8 - Faithfulness   

Day 9 - Gentleness    

Day 10 - Self-Control