Joy Is A Fruit Of The Spirit
The fruit of the Spirit is joy... Against such there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. - Galatians 5:22-23
Where do you go to get an apple? You go to an apple tree. Where do you go to get an orange? That's right, you go to an orange tree. Where do you go to get joy? You go to the joy tree of course. That's not as ridiculous as it sounds. If the fruit of the Spirit is joy then the tree upon which joy grows is the Spirit. When we are in Christ, Christ is in us and the fruit, or evidence of that is joy.
We sometimes watch people trying to put the fruit of joy on the tree of their life. They try really hard. They paste on a smile and use kind words, but something is missing. Somehow plastic smiles and kind words through gritted teeth just don't seem to be natural fruit. It's like putting ornaments on Christmas trees. No one believes the ornaments are natural to the tree; we all know that they are just put there for show. Is our joy just for show, or is it really fruit of the Spirit?
The way we produce the fruit of the Spirit is for our life to be an extension of the Spirit, just as a branch is the extension of the trunk of a tree. So how do we do that ? In verse 25 of this chapter Paul encourages us to "keep in step with the Spirit." I think what he means by that is to be sure that we are walking side by side with him and that we are submitted to his leadership.
We must stay connected to the tree (Holy Spirit). To do that we must maintain regular contact so Holy Spirit life can flow through us.
Prayer: Lord, I've tried putting on the fruit to show my spirituality, and it didn't produce joy. Grant me the grace to stay connected to the trunk. In Jesus name, amen.
Message: The fruit of our life comes from our core values. To change the fruit we must change our values. We must stay connected to the tree (Holy Spirit). To do that we must maintain regular contact so Holy Spirit life can flow through us.
Affirmation: I am focused on changing my values so my life will produce desirable fruit. I will stay connect to the tree so Holy Spirit life can flow through me.
Reflection: How do I make my life an extension of the Spirit, just as a branch is the extension of the trunk of a tree?
Where do you go to get an apple? You go to an apple tree. Where do you go to get an orange? That's right, you go to an orange tree. Where do you go to get joy? You go to the joy tree of course. That's not as ridiculous as it sounds. If the fruit of the Spirit is joy then the tree upon which joy grows is the Spirit. When we are in Christ, Christ is in us and the fruit, or evidence of that is joy.
We sometimes watch people trying to put the fruit of joy on the tree of their life. They try really hard. They paste on a smile and use kind words, but something is missing. Somehow plastic smiles and kind words through gritted teeth just don't seem to be natural fruit. It's like putting ornaments on Christmas trees. No one believes the ornaments are natural to the tree; we all know that they are just put there for show. Is our joy just for show, or is it really fruit of the Spirit?
The way we produce the fruit of the Spirit is for our life to be an extension of the Spirit, just as a branch is the extension of the trunk of a tree. So how do we do that ? In verse 25 of this chapter Paul encourages us to "keep in step with the Spirit." I think what he means by that is to be sure that we are walking side by side with him and that we are submitted to his leadership.
We must stay connected to the tree (Holy Spirit). To do that we must maintain regular contact so Holy Spirit life can flow through us.
Prayer: Lord, I've tried putting on the fruit to show my spirituality, and it didn't produce joy. Grant me the grace to stay connected to the trunk. In Jesus name, amen.
Message: The fruit of our life comes from our core values. To change the fruit we must change our values. We must stay connected to the tree (Holy Spirit). To do that we must maintain regular contact so Holy Spirit life can flow through us.
Affirmation: I am focused on changing my values so my life will produce desirable fruit. I will stay connect to the tree so Holy Spirit life can flow through me.
Reflection: How do I make my life an extension of the Spirit, just as a branch is the extension of the trunk of a tree?
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