Living with the fruit.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)

How do we know if we "have" the fruit of the Spirit?
Do we feel different with the Fruit of the Spirit or do we act differently, talk differently or can others see that we "have" the fruit?

The fruit of the Spirit isn't about what we do, but its about who we are. It means that we are not effected by our surroundings or situations. The fruit has been implanted into our souls as this what the Holy Spirit has done within us.

This doesn't mean that we don't feel pain, sorrow and hurt but it does mean that, within, we are much stronger to deal with something. It also helps in how to deal with an issue and how to overcome an issue.
The Holy Spirit draws us back to obedience rather than letting us fall to the wayside. He will convict us of any wrongdoing.
But...it is our choice to grow in the Fruit. God will never force anything on us. It is our choice to allow the Holy Spirit to empower us to deal with situations.

We have to grow the fruit of the Spirit within us. Some fruit will be stronger than others, in fact, some will be seriously lacking but throughout your life they all grow. We have to be patient of ourselves and allow the fruit to grow, but in the meantime we have to be graceful to others while they watch us grow. We must know that every ones "fruit" is different and everyone is stronger and weaker in different areas...
The thing is that together, we are one family and God wants to use all of our strengths and weaknesses together as one.

We cannot grow the fruit ourselves. We are not equipped to do so. God is the only one who empowers us. We are called to surrender to God and grow the fruit in conjunction with God. We cant leave it up to Him nor can we try and accomplish it ourselves.

Our words and actions are the most important way that we can display the fruit of the Spirit within us. What we say to others or how we do things clearly shows our strengths and weaknesses. We need to choose, everyday, to let the fruit of the Spirit show in our lives.

We need to stay connected to the vine all the time.
Yes, we will fail many times, we will not show joy at times and often we will not be patient (hits home in my life)....but you know what, we are so blessed to have a God that is gull of grace. We repent and we ask for forgiveness. Allow God to transform us from within.

The apostle Paul said in Galatians 5, "Walk in the Spirit . . . If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit" (verses 16, 25). God's Spirit enables us to act according to God's principles—to live a godly life!

Blessings

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