By: Kacie Starr Long
My Pastor has been preaching for the past few weeks about the fruit of the Holy Spirit, and although I try to always be attentive and receptive to His messages (because I know that God speaks through him); I must admit that when he began the sermon series, I inwardly groaned.
The fruit of the Spirit? Isn't this a lesson for kids' church? I thought as I replayed the Veggie Tales Fruit of the Spirit memory song in my mind.
Thankfully I was wrong about this sermon series.
Even though the topic of the fruit of the Spirit is shared in many Sunday school classrooms and kids' churches, I am glad that God's word is: God-breathed and is useful for the teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17) so I have sat my happy self down in the front of the church on Sunday mornings, and have absorbed the word.
This brings me to our memory scripture for the week:
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! - Galatians 5:22-23
In Galatians 5, the Apostle Paul writes about the importance of living by the Holy Spirit and not our flesh.
He lets us know that our spirit and flesh are at war, but when we follow the leading of the Holy Spirit we produce good fruit in our lives that is attractive and brings God glory.
Probably the biggest takeaway from my Sunday morning services, and personal time of prayer is understanding that I cannot bear the fruit of the Spirit by the arm of my flesh.
Meaning, I can't grit my teeth and say, "Okay, Kacie...today I am going to produce the fruit of peace today. No matter what happens, I am going to force myself to be at peace with everyone around me today."
As someone who is determined and believes in hard work, I have come to the end of myself by understanding that I cannot bear spiritual fruit through the work of my flesh.
I can't fast for it.
I can't do good work for it.
Spiritual fruit is produced by the Holy Spirit and not through the arm of my flesh.
What I can do is myself so I am in alignment with God.
I can study, pray, read my Bible, and fast so I am tender and sensitive to the things of God, and the ground of my heart is fertilized and the Holy Spirit has something to work with!
I want to leave you with a short story shared by my Pastor this past Sunday that resonated with me. I'm sharing this story because it really brought home to me the value and importance of allowing the Holy Spirit to move in my life.
It is God's Spirit that does the inward transformation.
It is God's Spirit that changes hearts and produces fruit that brings Him glory.
Yes, we do our part to ensure we are positioned and available, but ultimately when it comes to the production of the fruit of the Holy Spirit, as the Apostle Paul shares in Galatians 5:22a, it is: "But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives..."
Last Sunday my Pastor shared how his wife confronted him with something he said that was hurtful. My Pastor shared how he has been dealing with life's pressures, and got snappy with his wife. He was immediately convicted by his wife's confrontation, he apologized and went to God in prayer.
As much as he loves his wife, he understood that based on his personality, and current life situations, he was not going to be able to show the fruit of the Holy Spirit - love, joy, peace, and patience....to his wife and family by his flesh. He would not be able to white-knuckle it and treat the fruit of the Spirit as some checklist.
Instead, he would have to rely on God, and the power of the Holy Spirit to fill him with love, joy, peace, patience, and kindness.. to not be snappy, and instead respond with the fruit of the Spirit.
My Pastor transparently sharing his testimony, helped me better understand the value and importance of slowing down, inviting, and TRUSTING the Holy Spirit to do what He does.
It's my prayer, that as we commit to memorizing this scripture for the week, we invite the Holy Spirit in. Let's give Him room to transform our hearts, and minds and to bear the fruit of the Spirit that can only be produced by Him.
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! - Galatians 5:22-23
PS: This year I really want to fall in love with God's word. Therefore, I am committing to memorize scripture each week. I invite you to join me on this journey, where I will email you the scripture for the week along with a short devotional. To receive these emails, please subscribe to my blog and receive an email from me each week. Let's go deeper into God's Word this year!
Hi, my name is Kacie Starr Long. I am an author, and speaker and I love to use my voice to point people to Jesus. When I'm not writing, I'm either working out at Orange Theory Fitness or sewing. God delivered me from food addiction and I have a sewing ministry, called the Sew Hope Community Sewing Room. I am the proud wife of Alfred T. Long, Sr and together we lead a non-profit that serves prisoners and their families. Connect with me at www.InspiredOverflow.com and via my YouTube page for Christian teachings and encouragement.