By their fruits you shall know them. Matthew 7:20
God is the only one who knows our inner-most thoughts...our hearts (he even knows us better than we know ourselves!). So while we can't read each other's minds or see into each other's hearts, God told us that we can know something about a person (or, ourselves) by...our fruits.
THE FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT:
Love. Joy. Peace. Patience. Kindness. Goodness. Faithfulness. Meekness. Self-Control.
When we fill our lives with the things that turn our thoughts toward God (being very selective with what we view through our eyes and listen to with our ears together with the activities we participate in and the people we choose to hang around with and call friends), "who we are" starts to be reflected by evidence of the above nine characteristics in our lives.
To start this series on my blog about the fruits of the Spirit, I invite you pray this prayer with me...
"Lord, please fill me with Your fruits of the Spirit, so that I can glorify You in every aspect of my life. Search my heart and wherever there is hate, replace it with love; wherever there is sadness or depression, replace it with Your joy; when I am anxiety-ridden, replace it with peace; overcome my irritability and impatience with patience; replace any mean thoughts I may have with acts of kindness; where I might choose to be unlike you in any way, cause me to choose goodness; replace any doubts I may have with faithfulness; break my pride and fill me with a gentle and meek spirit; and give me self-control over any lusts of the flesh or eyes. Amen".
(click image below to see enlarged)
Teri - what a wonderful blessing it is to have you writing on this blog again! I look forward to joining you in this journey of prayer and study of the Fruit of the Spirit.
Posted by: Linda J | April 09, 2010 at 12:47 PM
Hi Linda! So good to 'see' you!!! I've missed you! xoxo
Posted by: Teri | April 24, 2010 at 06:15 PM