Love..a part of the fruit of the Spirit.

As I venture into waters that are unchartered for me…I want to encourage you to do the same. If you feel God has been nudging you to do something to further His kingdom then just take that 1st step! To be a part of leading a bible study has been such a blessing to me! I don’t love speaking in front of people… I never felt like I was “smart enough” about the bible. You know what though….I discovered that it wasn’t about ME to begin with!!! It is all about Jesus and what the Holy Spirit wants to reveal. I pray every time before I speak or share that only what God wants me to say will be said. Trust me when I tell you…the good Lord can definitely shut your mouth. 🙂 I was all prepared for a study and for some reason (the Holy Spirit) I couldn’t think what to say …and I even had my notes in front of me! Needless to say, it all worked out.

While I am a lot more comfortable with this blog thing…it is still a little unnerving to me. The reason being: I want to only speak/write what God wants me to speak/write…not what “Heather” wants to speak or write about. With that being said, I am going to begin this journey with God leading the way. I invite you to come along with me.

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

I would like to begin with taking each aspect of the fruit of the Spirit and discussing them and what the Bible says about them. I will begin with LOVE and as God leads me I will share about the others.

LOVE

When referring to LOVE …That would mean to love like Jesus loves…not like we want to love. As human beings we tend to love selfishly. We also tend to hold back our love, or show what we call ” love” when we can get something out of it. Sure there are times when we love like Jesus…but the fact is that Jesus loves the same ALL of the time! He never changes!
Hebrews 13:8 ~ Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
John 15:12 ~ This is my command: Love one another as I have loved you.
Yep I am going there…He said to love your enemies!!
Matthew 5:44 ~ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.

Man that sound like a lot of requirements huh??? Why is it so hard sometimes??? Why do we think we deserve God’s love and mercy any more than somebody else?? Let’s not forget what it says in. Matthew 6:14~ For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do NOT forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. So….looks like LOVE and FORGIVENESS go hand in hand…don’t ya think??

Another one of my favorite passages that sums up Love and Forgiveness…
Colossians 3:12-15 (NKJV) ~
Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, long-suffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you must also do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.

So….we should love like Jesus and forgive like Jesus…we may not always feel like the other person deserves it, but the fact is that if you are a child of God, you were given the gifts of mercy, love and forgiveness from Jesus Christ..even though you didn’t deserve those gifts either. It’s real easy to say you love or forgive someone, but your actions will prove it! Let’s not just be hearers of God’s word…let’s be doers! (James 1:22-24)

Until Next Time!
Heather Dawkins 🙂