In the Bible charity means love. Definition: In a general sense, love, benevolence, good will; that disposition of heart which inclines men to think favorably of their fellow men to think favorably of their fellow men, and to do them good. In a theological sense, it includes supreme love to God, and universal good will to men.
We have focused on the fruits of the Spirit, but without love it is all meaningless. The greatest is love. Love for God, family and others.
Today, let us do something special for the people we love. Then go further and do something special for a neighbor or stranger.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: Galatians 5:22&23
Temperance is Emotional Restraint or Self-Control. Do we ever get angry and loose self-control? We have a temper and it shows.
How do we conquer bad temper? Give it all to Jesus. He wants us to be in control over our emotions.
Is it sinful to be angry? Not necessarily. What is sinful is how we control that anger. If we find ourselves getting angry, it is better to walk away than to shout, yell or worse.
The old saying I’d count to ten before you react. Good advice. Today let us decide to control our temper and give it to the Lord.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: Galatians 5:22&23
Biblical meaning of meekness: Meekness is essentially an attitude or quality of heart whereby a person is willing to accept and submit without resistance to the will and desire of someone else.
What a great definition of meekness. God’s Word tells us to be willing to have an attitude of submission. That is preferring others before ourselves.
Most of all we must have a heart that is submission to God. Allow Him to change our attitude of being right to accepting another’s desire above our own.
(That does not mean we have to be submissive in an abusive situation. If you are in a relationship that you are suffering abuse, get out, pray that God will give you wisdom and show you where to go for help)
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Galatians 5:22
There is a saying that we hear quite often, “God is good all the time.” That is so true. Can others say that about you or me.
We tell our children, be good. We want them to behave, obey and choose to do the right thing.
How much more should we as Christians do good in our lives. All the time. We want the Lord to be pleased with us, as our children want us to be pleased with them.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Galatians 5:22
God gives us many fruits of the Spirit when we are saved. One of the great blessings is peace.
We do not need to be worried or afraid. God promises peace. We need to demonstrate that peace to others. We should live a peaceful life at home, in the workplace and wherever we are.
We are calm and quiet in all circumstances, not adding stress in any situation. If this is not your personality ask the Lord to help you obtain peace.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Galatians 5:22
In God’s Word we are told that we can have joy in every situation. The joy of the Lord is my strength. when we have trusted in Jesus as our Savior, we have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us. He gives us joy.
Joy is listed as the second fruit of the spirit. If you are lacking joy, feel lonely, fearful or depressed, ask Jesus to help you return to the joy you can have by trusting in Him.
This week we will look at the Fruits of the Spirit found in Galatians 5.
The first fruit is love. Every born again believer should have all of the fruits. We have the Holy Spirit living in us when we accept Jesus as our Savior.
Jesus tells us in the Bible to love the Lord first and our neighbor as ourselves. How are you doing with this first fruit?
Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Matthew 22:37-39
This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. John 15:12
Center for Evangelists 
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