We’re looking at the fruits of the Spirit as written by the Apostle Paul in Galatians 5:22-23. Today, we’ll focus on self-control. Benjamin Franklin invented many things and served as a founding father, but he also struggled with ordinary matters of self-control such as temperance, moderation, and chastity. The solution, he decided, lay in the establishment of several daily habits of virtue that might improve his life. He created a list of twelve areas (or virtues) that he could measure daily and turn them into regular habits. The Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 that “…in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize. So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.” Be like Franklin. Or even better like Paul. Practice self-control. Run to win the prize.

We’re looking at the fruits of the Spirit as written by the Apostle Paul in Galatians 5:22-23. Today, we’ll focus on gentleness. Have you heard of someone characterized as a gentle giant? Typically, they mean someone of great stature and power, yet they show a gentle spirit. They could wield a powerful weapon with their strength, but they practice gentleness. In a way, we’re all like that. We all have power over others. With that power comes great responsibility. We can use that power to be gentle. Nice. Kind. Respectful. Proverbs 15:1 says that “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” That “soft” or “gentle” word is sometimes all it takes to diffuse a situation. Gentleness can have a lot of power. Be a gentle giant today.

We’re looking at the fruits of the Spirit as written by the Apostle Paul in Galatians 5:22-23. Today, we’ll focus on faithfulness. One of the most challenging times for our faith is when something bad happens. Someone might innocently say, “just have faith.” Hebrews 11:1 gives us a description of faith. “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” We have things we hope for and things we can’t see. Faith is us having assurance in them. From the Old Testament saints to us today, we have faith in God for salvation. For his plan for our life. We don’t trust in “chariots” and “horses” as stated in Psalm 20:7. “We trust in the name of the Lord our God.” That trust and that hope is faith.

We’re looking at the fruits of the Spirit as written by the Apostle Paul in Galatians 5:22-23. Today, we’ll focus on goodness. How many of us received a kiss on the head from our mom as we headed to school and she said, “be good.” What does that mean anyway? Is it about morality or just not being bad? It can certainly mean doing the right thing and having strong virtues and some describe this as love in action. That certainly makes sense, especially if we reverse that. If we do good things for others, that should increase our goodness. It doesn’t make us perfect, but it helps us follow God’s command to do good things. The Apostle Peter tells us to add our faith-goodness. Much like kindness, we should do good things for others. In essence, mom was right. Be good.

We’re looking at the fruits of the Spirit as written by the Apostle Paul in Galatians 5:22-23. Today, we’ll focus on kindness. In the 1980s, the phrase, “random acts of kindness” was popularized. The concept was, and remains, simple. Do something kind for someone else. We want this to be default nature, that we’re automatically kind and doing kind things for others. It says in Micah 6:8 to “love kindness.” If we set out during our day to do something kind for someone else, we might just make someone’s day. The Bible gives us several verses encouraging us to practice kindness. We don’t always need a thank you or expect any kind of benefit. Simply acting with kindness is a benefit in itself and may open the door for you to share Christ with another.

We’re looking at the fruits of the Spirit as written by the Apostle Paul in Galatians 5:22-23. Today, we’ll focus on patience. Don’t you hate it when someone says “just be patient.” Many of us want what we want when we want it. We pray and ask the Lord for that new job or healing from sickness. One thing we can pray for while we wait is for strength. Remember Isaiah 40:31 “but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” God won’t necessarily answer every prayer the way we want, but we do know His will for us is more important than our will for our own lives.

We’re looking at the fruits of the Spirit as written by the Apostle Paul in Galatians 5:22-23. Today, we’ll focus on peace. Some days, it seems as if everything and everyone is trying to disrupt our peace. From the guy on that road that deters your peaceful drive to work, a call that disappoints us, or we hear something on the news that is depressing. We’re never promised a problem-free life. When things like that happen, take a deep breath, and remember where your peace truly lies. Remember the words of Jesus in John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” That’s so important to remember.

We’re looking at the fruits of the Spirit as written by the Apostle Paul in Galatians 5:22-23. Today, we’ll focus on joy. In the third book of John, Paul said that he has no greater joy than to hear his children walking in the truth. That is, the truth of the Gospel. Being recipients of the Gospel should bring us joy. That doesn’t mean we don’t experience bouts of sadness or fear but can always return to joy. We can always remember that we have a home in Heaven. Because of that, we can practice joy throughout the day. By our joy and cheerfulness, we’ll attract others and can explain what we have joy in. Isn’t that a wonderful way to share the Gospel? Remember Psalm 118:24.  This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

We’re looking at the fruits of the Spirit as written by the Apostle Paul in Galatians 5:22-23. Today, we’ll focus on love. This one seems so simple, right? Or is it? We love others all the time. We love our spouse, our kids, or our parents. Maybe we love a few friends. But what about loving everyone. Even those, who may be hard to love. 1 Corinthians 13 is sort of the go-to “love” chapter. We read there things like love is patient and kind. Love bears all things. Love never ends. That chapter ends with verse 13 that says, “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. Jesus says in the book of Matthew that we’re to love our enemies and pray for those that persecute us. That seems like a tough standard but we must remember that God loves us even when we’re not so easy to love. We’re called to a higher standard. We’re to walk in love. Practice love today.

For the next ten days, we’ll look at the fruits of the Spirit as written by the Apostle Paul in Galatians 5:22-23. Each day, we’ll focus on one of those fruits. For today, let’s understand why we need them. We often refer to how we go about our day as our Christian walk. Paul began that passage by telling us to walk by the Spirit. You’ll find other verses where the term walk is used. So, you may be walking to work, or riding, or driving, or maybe walking to your home office from your kitchen. Paul tells us to walk by the Spirit so that we don’t gratify the desires of the flesh. He names some of these such as impurity, strife, fits of anger, sexual immorality, envy, and drunkenness. Those are the fruits of the flesh. He then gives nine fruits of the Spirit. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  and gentleness. Knowing these, practicing them, and living them will, as Paul says in verse 25, “...live by the Spirit,  . . . [and] keep in step with the Spirit.