The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses. [Galatians 5:17-18 (NLT)]
As Christ’s followers, we are saved through our faith and God’s grace. God takes us soiled sinners just as we are because there is no way we could be good enough to earn salvation. Nevertheless, just because God welcomes His immoral, angry, impatient, bad-tempered, anxious, sinful, and selfish children doesn’t mean He wants us to stay that way. When Jesus saved the woman caught in adultery, He told her to, “Go and sin no more” and, when we are saved, He tells us the same thing!
Unfortunately, to “sin no more” is easier said than done and the new saved us still looks and acts a lot like the old sinful one. Accepting Christ doesn’t instantly make us into loving, joyful, serene, patient, compassionate, virtuous, faithful, humble, and self-disciplined individuals. Satan doesn’t disappear when we’re saved and our old sinful self is still there, relentlessly trying to assert itself. There’s a war going on and the enemy whispers into our ears with words of envy, anger, spite, fear, jealousy, lust, dissension, despair, pride, irritation, worry, and self-centeredness. The good news is that God has not left us defenseless—which is where the Holy Spirit and His fruit enter in!
When the Holy Spirit enters our lives, He not only presents us with a Gift of the Spirit but He also plants the Fruit of the Spirit in our hearts. While His gifts are uniquely designed for each one of us, every believer receives the same Fruit—the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
When Paul spoke of this fruit, we know it’s not going to be found in any farmer’s market. Fruit can be seen, touched, and tasted; it contains vitamins, minerals, and fiber beneficial to our well-being. Rather than nutrients essential to our health, the Fruit of the Spirit contains virtues essential for our spiritual health. Although it can’t be touched, tasted, or seen, the positive effects of the Spirit’s fruit are visible to the world around us.
The Holy Spirit plants this one beautiful fruit in our hearts. We could call it the “love-joy-peace-patience-kindness-goodness-faithfulness-gentleness-self-control fruit,” but that seems rather cumbersome. Because the characteristics of this fruit describe our Savior, perhaps a better name would be the “Christlikeness fruit.” These nine virtues could be said to summarize the attributes of a person living in accord with the Holy Spirit. Rather than following guidelines or obeying laws, it is the presence of the Fruit of the Spirit in our hearts that enables us to become like more and more like Jesus in our daily walk.
Of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament, thirteen are attributed to the Apostle Paul. We know he wrote another letter to the Corinthians and the prolific letter writer probably wrote letters to believers in places like Damascus, Caesarea, and Jerusalem, but these thirteen are all that remain. Considering Nero’s persecution of Christians, the violence during the Jewish revolt, and Domitian’s persecution of Jews and Christians, all of which happened before the end of the 1st century, it’s a wonder that any of Paul’s letters survived! God, however, saw to it that these thirteen ”God-breathed” epistles were preserved and became part of the Christian canon.
Effortlessly skimming over the water, the bird occasionally dipped its bill into the water before gracefully rising, circling the pond, and returning to skim along the water again. Even though I’d never seen one inland, the bird’s large bill, distinctive black and white coloring, and unique flight identified it as a black skimmer. Although skimmers usually spend their lives around sandy beaches and coastal islands, sometimes they feed in inland lakes during nesting season and I was thrilled to watch several skimming over our lake just before sunrise.
Our sons recently visited to celebrate their father’s birthday. As I watched them work their culinary magic in the kitchen, I marveled at how the boys who once thought Kraft mac n’ cheese to be haute cuisine became gourmet cooks. For that matter, when did they get so tall or those wrinkles appear around their eyes? At what point did the tow-headed boy’s hair darken and start receding or his brother’s turn grey? The changes I observed weren’t just physical. As we talked, I wondered when my once irresponsible boys became so sensible and wise. None of it happened overnight and yet each little change was so subtle it barely was noticed. But, when I thought back to the children and young adults they once were, the change was enormous.
Devotions of the Heart 