Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
As born again believers in Christ Jesus, the Holy Spirit indwells us to lead and guide us. The result of the Spirit being in our lives are the nine behaviors of the fruit of the Spirit. Note that as Christians, we should have all of the fruit in our characters. For example, we should not have joy and peace but no gentleness or have kindness and goodness but no self-control and so-on. On the other hand, ideally, we should not practice any of the works of the flesh. As we grow in our walk with the Lord and go from glory to glory, the evidence of the Holy Spirit at work in our lives should be more and more obvious.
Jesus said in Matthew 7:16, “You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?” And in John 15:1-4, He said: “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.”
By the time of our next inspirational post on Monday, April 12th, the official beginning of Spring and the celebration of the resurrection will have taken place. What an honor it would be to the one who paid the ultimate sacrifice for us to examine ourselves with humility and honesty and open ourselves to be pruned that we may bear more fruit.
The staff of Ritchie & Johnson prays that you enjoy the beginning of the Spring season and have a blessed Resurrection Sunday. Please reach out to us if you are overwhelmed in grief; we are here for you. You can contact us via email at our Contact Page or call us at (304) 252-4115 if you need assistance or have questions. Remember to view our Facebook Page and LIKE and SHARE our posts. Our next scheduled inspirational blog post is the 2nd Monday in April.