Dear ,
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control."Galatians 5:22-23a NKJV
In Galatians chapter five the Apostle Paul lists nine traits that are representative of the Holy Spirit's activity in our lives. These traits are all relational qualities that improve our ability to succeed in our marriage, family and other relationships.
Simply put, these nine relational qualities are the personality of God. When we allow the Lord into our lives, His personality and character are manifest through us by the power of the Holy Spirit. The result is an improved ability to relate to others as well as being a good witness for the Lord.
The way we develop the fruit of the Spirit in our lives begins with a humble admission of weakness and need. Even though God commands all of us to "…love our neighbor as ourselves…" we don't have the inherent ability to do so. On our own, we are all wounded from our pasts, insecure and emotionally frail in the face of relational challenges.
Unless we humbly admit our weaknesses and ask God to fill us with His Spirit, we will try on our own to make up for our relational and emotional deficiencies. This typically means turning to behaviors such as:
A prideful and aggressive exterior to mask our insecurities
Moodiness, self-pity and outburst of anger to protect our emotional wounds
Manipulation and control to try to produce relational results on our own
The problem with all of these types of behaviors is they simply don't work. They all create more problems.
What works is the power of God's personality working through us. I regularly pray at the beginning of each day for God to fill me with His love and to use me to love others beginning with Karen. I openly admit to the Lord that I simply don't have the power to love as I should. I need the Holy Spirit.
This daily prayer has made a dramatic difference in my life and I believe it will help you also. Begin each day and each challenging encounter with another person with a humble prayer for God to fill you with the power of His love. He will and the fruit of the Holy Spirit will work miracles in your marriage, family and other important relationships.
Blessings,Jimmy Evans
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control."Galatians 5:22-23a NKJV
In Galatians chapter five the Apostle Paul lists nine traits that are representative of the Holy Spirit's activity in our lives. These traits are all relational qualities that improve our ability to succeed in our marriage, family and other relationships.
Simply put, these nine relational qualities are the personality of God. When we allow the Lord into our lives, His personality and character are manifest through us by the power of the Holy Spirit. The result is an improved ability to relate to others as well as being a good witness for the Lord.
The way we develop the fruit of the Spirit in our lives begins with a humble admission of weakness and need. Even though God commands all of us to "…love our neighbor as ourselves…" we don't have the inherent ability to do so. On our own, we are all wounded from our pasts, insecure and emotionally frail in the face of relational challenges.
Unless we humbly admit our weaknesses and ask God to fill us with His Spirit, we will try on our own to make up for our relational and emotional deficiencies. This typically means turning to behaviors such as:
A prideful and aggressive exterior to mask our insecurities
Moodiness, self-pity and outburst of anger to protect our emotional wounds
Manipulation and control to try to produce relational results on our own
The problem with all of these types of behaviors is they simply don't work. They all create more problems.
What works is the power of God's personality working through us. I regularly pray at the beginning of each day for God to fill me with His love and to use me to love others beginning with Karen. I openly admit to the Lord that I simply don't have the power to love as I should. I need the Holy Spirit.
This daily prayer has made a dramatic difference in my life and I believe it will help you also. Begin each day and each challenging encounter with another person with a humble prayer for God to fill you with the power of His love. He will and the fruit of the Holy Spirit will work miracles in your marriage, family and other important relationships.
Blessings,Jimmy Evans
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