Blooming Spirit

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

This Scripture ought to move and excite a child of God! So exciting that we want to be rooted in Him, deeply! The "fruit of the Spirit" which has a tendency to make Christians agreeable to one another and this was very suitable to the caution or exhortation he had before given (Galatians 5:13), that they should "..not use their liberty as an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.."

God exhorts us to:
Love: love God and love our neighbors
Joy: this is much better than happiness, a delight in God regardless of any circumstances
Peace: with God and conscience and in behavior toward one another
Patience: this refrains from anger
Kindness: courteous, and easy to be under restraint when any have wronged us
Goodness: a readiness to do good to others (all) as we have the opportunity
Faithfulness: justice and honesty; in what we profess and promise to others
Gentleness: this governs our passion and resentments
Self-control: depending on the circumstances, do not in excessiveness and immoderate in use of them.

Let's pray:

Lord, grower of spiritual fruit,

Let the fruit of the Spirit blossom, mature, and ripen in my life: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these.

Let me possess them!

Since I belong to Christ, I have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

Let me live by the Spirit.
Let me walk by the Spirit!
Let me show no self-conceit, give no provocation, have no envy toward anyone else.
Let me live in, through, and for Christ Jesus, as he lives in, through, and for me and his whole church.

In the name of Jesus I ask you to perfect us, whatever that may take, and give us the grace to endure your renovation process so that the Spirit in every faithful Christian may bloom!

Amen!