The Holy Spirit helps us to live a life that bears fruit.
Praise God for giving us the Holy Spirit, for it is only by His presence we can come to know the beautiful characteristics of Christ. God’s purpose for you and I is to become just like Christ. He wants all of the wonderful traits of Jesus, the “fruit,” to be evident in our lives. He wants our love, thoughts, actions, faith and obedience to be just like His.
When we become part of God’s family, we need to learn how to live as God’s children, showing Jesus to others through how we live our life and share our faith. In this way we bring glory to God in all we do. We can’t do it with a life that does not bear fruit and that is just one of the reasons the Father has given us the Holy Spirit. If we allow Him to, He will help us accomplish God’s purpose through the fruit our lives produce.
This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. John 15:8
What is the fruit of the Spirit?
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Galatians 5:22-23
When we possess the virtues of Jesus, we show the world our faith, not just to encourage fellow believers but also to bring light to those who don’t believe. The fruit in our lives will bless those around us, especially our loved ones. We let the light in our heart shine bright in a world often overcome by darkness. When Christ resides in our heart, He is the light that this dark world sees. The more like Jesus we become, the brighter the light shines and it becomes a beacon for others. When people meet you, your spirit really does glow. When you meet someone else who has that same light, you sense it immediately. Light loves light. I see it in church, Bible study, among my sisters in Christ and even in my own family as they welcome Jesus into their hearts.
We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 2 Corinthians 4:7
The treasure is Christ, the jar of clay – you and I; when we are full of love, joy, peace, forbearance (patience), kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control . . . how can we NOT glow? How could our light NOT shine brilliantly and make a difference in a fallen, desperate, detached and hopeless world? Is it no wonder why this is so important to God? Part of God’s plan of salvation is for you and I to show the world what a changed life looks like, where we increasingly demonstrate outwardly the inward transformation of the heart, so others may see and meet Jesus too – through us!
I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Ephesians 4:1-2
I am still wrapping my head around this incredible gift of grace God calls salvation. I find it so amazing the level of love God has for His children. He does not look at our failures; He takes the ordinary person and does the extraordinary through them. In fact, no life is ordinary when it is in the hands of God.
He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. Titus 3:5
When someone comes to the Father and professes their sincere faith and love for His Son, Jesus; when they confess their sins and turn away from them, God gives His great gift of salvation. This wondrous gift is made possible through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus, Who reconciled us to God and paid up all the debt of all our sins, past, present and future. When we receive salvation, God expects us to yield our life to our Lord, Jesus Christ, so He can reign and rule in our lives. No maybes, not sometimes, when we invite Him into our hearts to take control, Jesus comes in as the Holy Spirit, to transform us from the inside out. He will one day at a time help us to become more like Himself and less of who we were. We don’t have to navigate alone through the transformation; we simply give over control to the Holy Spirit, who knows the road ahead. He knows the pitfalls, the “easy” way that can entrap and derail us, He already knows the end of the story, so why would we want to rewrite it or try and figure it out on our own?
Is the gift of eternal life worth giving the Holy Spirit control of our brief present life? God gives us His gift on the front end, expecting you and I to honor and do His will. His will cannot be known or accomplished without intentionally giving the control over to the Holy Spirit. The moment I accepted Christ into my heart I was no longer one person. The Holy Spirit is also inside of me and He gets top billing. I am the physical body, the earthen vessel for Christ’s work, His truth, and His life to become real inside of me here in this life on earth. Christ gave His life for us and we give Him our heart. Our heart becomes His.
Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us. 2 Timothy 1:14
The Holy Spirit will transform you and I from the inside out when we fully surrender. We will be tuned to God, listening for Him, recognizing when and where He is at work around us and then we ask to join Him. As God reconciles a lost world to Himself through His Son, Jesus Christ, He invites us to become involved too. And as we do God’s will, not only will we come to know God in a way we’ve never known or experienced, the world around us will come to know God in a way they’ve never known or experienced – through the Living Christ who lives inside you and me!
I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:17-19
When we are part of God’s family, we are given the most amazing opportunity to become part of something epic. Think of it as an opportunity to collaborate with the Creator. God is the great Composer, Who has created the most amazing masterpiece and we get to take part in bringing it to life by being His cherished instruments. God’s love is the symphony and He wants it to reach the ears and hearts of those He wants to call His children. He wants to draw them to Christ through His symphony, through His faithful instruments. The song is His Word, His gospel, His message of salvation, His will for our lives, our testimonies, our words of encouragement and our love expressed for Jesus and for those around us.
We praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us. Ephesians 1:2
Is it any wonder we need the Holy Spirit to give us a new mind, will and emotions? How could we ever be part of God’s great masterpiece with the old stuff? We can’t; everything about the former self is contrary to God. We need to embrace the help of the Holy Spirit and begin to live a new life in the new nature He gives us. It doesn’t mean the old self leaves, it’s still there, but as the Holy Spirit helps us produce fruit in our lives, the new self will be revealed and become dominant. And as we live by the new self, it will be the new self God chooses to take part in His amazing plan. To think, the God of all creation wants you and I to be part of His work; I just find that so humbling.
The Holy Spirit will be actively creating a heart that believes God’s Word, wants to hear from God, and wants to join God in His work. If we trust the Holy Spirit He will give us the faith and confidence we need to respond immediately when God speaks; to make the right choices, just the way Christ did. We need to believe in our hearts that we can live His life because He lives inside us.
“That Christ may make His home in your hearts through faith.” Ephesians 3:17
The Holy Spirit will guide us to know who Jesus really is, so we can become more like Him every day, fulfilling God’s purpose and plan, helping us to always bear fruit in our lives. We cannot become like Christ if we are not a branch in His vine.
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5
Pray to Jesus and ask Him to help you keep your focus fixed in the direction He is taking you. We can have Him in our hearts yet stray from Him if we don’t adjust our lives to join Him in what He is doing and where He is going. Ask Him to strengthen your faith and trust as you walk this walk with Him. He is the way, the truth and the light and without Him we will never find our way to the Father.
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6 Next month, join me as we continue the discussion on the many ways the Holy Spirit affects our life.
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