Cultivating the spiritual fruit of self-control — “Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control.” (Proverbs 25:28, NIV The difficulty in practicing self-control has plagued man ever since he took his first steps in the Garden of Eden. In fact, it could be argued that the first recorded sin in the…

Cultivating the spiritual fruit of goodness — “With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith.” (2 Thessalonians 1:11, NIV) Goodness is one of the…

Cultivating the spiritual fruit of kindness — “And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you…

Cultivating the spiritual fruit of gentleness — “…Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect…” (1 Peter 3:15, NIV) Today we are considering the spiritual fruit of gentleness. In order that we might better understand what…

One body with many important parts — “Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.” (1 Corinthians 12:12, NIV) Every kid I knew growing up had a Mr. Potato Head toy. This plastic spud came with a vast array of interchangeable body parts…

Cultivating the spiritual fruit of love — “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:13, NIV) The word “love” gets thrown around a lot these days. We love all kinds of things, from types of food to our favorite sports teams, from movies and shows on T.V. to…

Cultivating the spiritual fruit of joy — “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” (James 1:2–3, NIV) Today’s post is all about joy, one of the fruits of the Spirit as listed in Paul’s epistle to the Galatians…

Cultivating the spiritual fruit of peace — “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” (Romans 12:18, NIV) In the above verse, the Apostle Paul includes not one, but two conditional statements when it comes to living at peace with others. First, he writes, “If it is possible…”, then…

Reflections on Micah 6:8 — “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8, NIV) God spoke to his chosen people of Israel through a series of prophets. Micah is often…