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.
Jesus promised the disciples, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth.” [John 14:16-17] In fulfillment of that promise, the moment we accept Christ as our Savior, the Holy Spirit moves into our hearts. When He arrives, He helps us but, rather than making the bed or washing dishes, the Spirit comforts, counsels, and convicts us. He gives us the power to share His word, the strength to do His work, and confidence in the fullness of God’s promises.
When writing about giving God the glory and how we are but instruments of God’s grace in the world, I recalled a quote by Mother Teresa having to do with being God’s pencil. Wanting to quote it correctly, I Googled it. Along with the quote, I came across several versions of a parable about a pencil. Of unknown origin, it has been around for more than twenty years. Nevertheless, the parable was new to me and this is my version of “The Parable of the Pencil.”
At first, it seems that the “Parable of the Unforgiving Servant” should be called the “Parable of the Forgiven Servant.” After all, the king forgave his servant’s debt of 10,000 talents—the equivalent of billions of dollars. While the first part of the parable illustrates the value and extravagance of God’s forgiveness, it takes a dark turn in the second part when illustrating the reciprocal nature of His forgiveness—something the servant learned the hard way!
The book of Leviticus outlined several things that could make someone ceremonially or ritually unclean. These things included bodily discharges, touching a corpse, and skin infections, as well as contact with any unclean person or thing. By Jesus’ day, even entering a Gentile’s home made someone unclean. Anything and anyone an unclean person touched became unclean and, anyone who touched them or what they touched also became unclean.
Like Christians, Hindus believe that, when the body dies, the soul does not. Unlike Christians, however, Hindus believe that, after death, the soul lives on in an astral body until it is reborn in another physical body. This cycle is continually repeated until the soul reaches a certain state of perfection (moksha) and is released from the bondage of birth and death. At that time, like a drop of water that eventually merges into the ocean, the soul will finally merge into God and become one with its creator. Of course, once absorbed by the sea, the drop would cease to exist.
Devotions of the Heart 