"THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT"

22-23~But what happens when we live God's way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.


23-24~Legalism is helpless in bringing this about; it only gets in the way. Among those who belong to Christ, everything connected with getting our own way and mindlessly responding to what everyone else calls necessities is killed off for good—crucified.

25-26~Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives. That means we will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse. We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. Each of us is an original.
Gal. 5:22-26 (MSG)

The Holy Spirit is vital to the Christian life. Read about the fruit of the Spirit in today’s passage, and ask, Can I be such a good person on my own? We need divine intervention to live as God expects. That’s why He gives each believer a Helper, whose job is to produce Christ-like character.

The heavenly Father knows that His children need assistance to comply with His commands. Even Jesus Christ’s most faithful followers were, on their own, helpless to obey—for instance, Peter, who pledged to be loyal until death, denied even knowing Christ (Matt. 26:69-75).

Just before returning to heaven, Jesus ordered the disciples to put their missionary work on hold until the Holy Spirit arrived (Luke 24:49). Only with the Spirit’s aid could Peter the Coward become Peter the Rock and preach a challenging sermon that convicted many (Acts 2).

The Holy Spirit enters a believer’s life at the moment of salvation and immediately sets about the work of producing spiritual fruit. This is the outward expression of a transformed heart. When we yield to God’s nurturing hand, our actions and attitudes become more loving, more joyful, more kind, more gentle, . . . He reaps a harvest of service from our life—good works that grow our own faith and expand His kingdom.

Allowing the Holy Spirit to bring forth Christlike character is not passive. Our part is to meditate upon the Bible so that we can identify righteous qualities. Then, instead of satisfying our flesh, we must make wise decisions each day that allow the Spirit to develop godliness in our life.
 
BE BLESSED & BE A BLESSING TO ONE ANOTHER!
 
DAWN