Galatians 5:16-23 NLT
So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. 17 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. 18 But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.
19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
Fruit doesn't appear overnight on a young tree. The tree needs to mature before it will produce the really good fruit. In order to mature, the tree needs manure. (Sorry, couldn't resist.) The tree needs to be fed and watered and pruned. It takes time and work.
Likewise, when we give our lives over to Jesus, we aren't automatically given the ability to produce the fruits of the Spirit. We have to work at it. We have to be fed and pruned. We are fed through fellowship with other Christians, Bible Study, attending Church Services and a conscience effort to follow God's will. It's an ongoing process that doesn't stop until we are standing before the King. We are pruned by God removing the unwanted parts of our lives. The old ways, the old influences in our life that keeps us from fully producing and the fruit God desires from us. It can be painful at times but trust Him, it's necessary.
What kind of fruit are you producing? Is it full, beautiful, desirable fruit or is it only half of what it could be? Sometimes we need a little manure and pruning in order to produce. And don't forget the water, it helps the nutrients in the manure soak into the roots.
Blessings, Cecilia
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