Warrior For The Cross

                                                          SELF-CONTROL Self-control... helps us to resist temptation and avoid conforming to the things of this world. It guides our decisions and correlates with her how we show the other fruits in our lives. Jesus Christ gives us the perfect example of self control, because He lived a sinless life and possessed every fruit of the spirit. Self-control is the last fruit, it is certainly not the least. In fact,  it takes a great deal of self control to exercise the eight other vitures. We will all face temptation to sin in our own lives. People often lack self restraint to stop when they should. Many of us find ourselves tempted to overeat, over drink, over spend, over indulge. Some people mistake self control with patience, however, they are different. Self control allows you to keep your min...

                                                                      Gentleness                               T he quality of being kind, tender or mild mannered Gentleness, showing care and respect for others in the way that you act and speak.                                                     What is the Spirit of Gentleness? Gentleness comes from a state of humility.  Therefore, someone who lacks Gentleness is often prideful and easily angered, or feels the need for revenge. In order to be gentle we must not view ourselves as better than someone else. The fruit of the Spirit is essentially  the char...

                                                            The 7th fruit of the Spirit Faithfulness: the Bible is filled with God's  promises and examples of His Faithfulness in our lives. Because God is faithful to us, we should continue to learn to be faithful to Him. It requires trust and loyalty. Our Faithfulness allows us to trust in His promises to us. Faithfulness: has two different meanings,  if we mean the Faithfulness of God, it refers to steadfastness, honesty, firmness and God's  utter dependability based on His unchanging character. If we mean human Faithfulness, it refers to our steady allegiance to God and our trust in Him. A faithful man is full of faith; He believes in the reality of God as revealed in Scripture. Faithfulness: is part of the fruit of the Spirit, it is created within us. When we allow the Sp...

                                                           GOODNESS The goodness described as a fruit of the Spirit is not merely moral behavior,  B ut of excellence of character. This goodness is only possible through God's grace and mercy,  we often say in church "God us good call the time"...it means that God is practicing the fruit of the Spirit  of goodness----Godliness. What is goodness ?   As the Holy Spirit works in our lives our character is transformed into the area of our lives where we once held onto sin, which reflects  our human nature. We can now possess the fruits of the Spirit and reflect God's character. I think the true meaning of " goodness is commonly overlooked, though." Goodness is action, it's not something we do only for the sake of being virtuous. When we strive to be " good"  only fo...

                                                                       Kindness   Galatians 5:22-23 The fifth fruit of the Spirit is KINDNESS,   kindness is selfless, compassionate and merciful. It's greatest power revealed in practice to our enemies and amongst the least of these, Love your neighbor, show kindness to everyone. Kindness means being considerate, courteous, helpful and understanding of others. God's  kindness began out of His love for us! Kindness is "the virtue of showing love and the qualities of having a sympathetic, affectionate, warm hearmed and considerate  nature.                KINDNESS BEGINS IN THE H EART Some equate kindness with weakness. Others may think little acts of kindness are frivolous and unimportant. Our world is fu...

                                                                        PATIENCE Patience  is waiting with grace and it's what enables us to live in this demanding world and still have love, joy, peace, and all the fruits of the Spirit.... ROM. 8:26  says, " But if we have hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.  In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness." Take a moment to stop what you're doing, slow down and focus on Jesus. Pray and ask Him to open your eyes to see as you read the Scriptures and to open your ears to hear as you wait on the leading of the Spirit. Sometimes I really struggle with being patient. How about you?.  I bet there are areas in all our lives where we feel impatient at times. For example...waiting in line at the grocery store, sitting i...

                                                                PEACE So when the verse in Galatians says that the fruit of the Spirit is peace. It is knowing that when we have the Spirit in us and among us, We are able to sit in peace. The overwhelming peace that can comfort you during this time comes from the Holy Spirit within us. Peace is knowing that our God is in control. The 3rd. Fruit  of the Spirit is peace. The word peace appears 429 times in the Bible, which helps us understand why the phrase " Peace Be With You " is so important in the faith community. Over the past year and some, we have experienced unprecedented global anxiety. People are stressed about finances, children,work, relationships, sickness, the list goes on. It's difficult to find peace during these circumstances. Phil. 4:6-7--- Be anxious for nothi...

                                                                          JOY Gal. 5: 22-23 " The Spirit produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulnes, Gentleness, self control. You may have heard about the fruit of the Spirit and wondered what it is and how it relates to our Christian faith. Just like physical fruits need time to grow, the fruit of the Spirit will not ripen in our lives overnight. As we mature in our faith our spiritual  fruits will grow as well. The 2nd. Fruit is Joy. Joy appears nearly 200 times in the bible, that shows us just how important this second sweet fruit really is, Joy is a condition of the heart. The Greek word for joy is 'Chara' The important attribute of Joy is that you can find joy in adversity which can be difficult to grasp because joy might...

 Fruits of the Spirit Love                             Goodness Joy                                 Faithfulness Peace                           Gentleness Patience                      Self Control                Kindness  Gal. 5: 22-23  Tells Us........ The Spirit produces love. Agape  is a perfect love from God. When God's  Spirit is at work in a person, amazing things happen. The person's  whole life blossoms and bears beautiful fruit, and the most wonderful fruit of all is the giving and receiving of true love. John 13:34,  A new command I give you; Love one another . So what's new about it? As I have loved you, so you must love...

 Physical Infirmity: JOHN 5: 1-9 Later, Jesus went  ( up) to Jerusalem for a special  feast. In Jerusalem there is a pool with five covered porches, which is called Bethesda ( a pool of water north of the temple thought to have curative powers) in the Hebrew language  ( referring to Aramaic, the native language of the Jews at the time) This pool is near the  Sheep gate. Many sick people were lying on the porches beside the pool. Some were blind, some were crippled, and some were paralyzed, and they waited for the water to move. Sometimes ( at a certain time; From time to time) an angel of the Lord came down to the pool and stirred up the water. After the angel did this, the first person to go into the pool was healed from any sickness he had. A man was lying there who had been sick ( an invalid, disabled) for thirty eight years. When Jesus saw the man and knew that he had been sick for such a long time, Jesus asked him, Do you want to  be well? The sick man...

 MIRACLES of physical healing A leper    Mt. 8: 2-4, Mt. 9: 2-8,  Mk. 1: 40-45, Mk. 2: 3-12, Lk. 5: 12-15, Lk. 5: 18-26 Mt. 8: 2-4 Then a man with a skin disease ( leper: term does not refer to modern leprosy ( Hansen's  disease) but to various skin disorders; ) came to Jesus. The man bowed down (knelt) before Him And said " Lord, you can heal me ( make me clean such skin disorders rendered the victim ceremonially unclean) If you will ( choose, are willing). Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man and said," I will ( do choose; am willing). Be Healed (cleansed)! And immediately the man was healed from his disease. Then Jesus said to him, Don't  tell anyone about this, but go and show yourself to the priest and offer the gift (offering, sacrifice) Moses commanded for people who are made well, (Lev. 14: 1-32). This will show the people ( a public testimony to be evidence for) what I have done. So many of us suffer with physical ailments, WHY? Jesus sai...

 WHAT IS HOPE? A feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen...a feeling of trust. Hope is commonly used to mean wish. In the Bible Hope is the confident expectation of what God has promised and it's strength is in His faithfulness. WHY DO WE NEED HOPE???? Research indicates that hope can help us manage stress and anxiety and cope with adversity. It contributes to our well being and happiness and motivates positive action. Hopeful people believe they can and have a positive impact. ACTS 26:6 And now here I am on trial because I believe in the Hope of God's promises made to our ancestors. 2 Corn. 4:18  Because we don't focus our attention on what is seen but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but the unseen realm is eternal. Wherever Jesus went people felt the presence of Hope.Time and time again we see Jesus welcoming the outcasts, (who decided they were outcasts? ) healing the sick, restoring those who were spirituality  or emotionally ...

 WHAT IS God's  Unmerited Favor? Grace is the unmerited favor of God. His undeserved kindness that He shows  through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for the sins of the world. Faith is simple Trust that clings to God's  grace, holding Him to His promise of salvation in Christ.  Unmerited means: Not adequately earned or deserved. Grace is the free, unmerited Favor of God, working powerfully on the mind and heart to change lives.  (Timothy Keller) GRACE... Expresses two complimentary thoughts: God's  unmerited Favor to us through Christ, and God's divine assistance to us through the Holy Spirit. ( Jerry Bridges) Eph. 4: 4-9,  John 1:16, Eph. 1:2-4, Eph. 1:23, Col. 1:19, 2:9 John 1:16; And from the overflow of His fullness we receive Grace heaped upon more grace. Out of His fullness we are fulfilled that is, every believer receives from the fullness of Christ a divine completeness. We are given from Him whatever each requires for the perfe...

 I have learned that pain has purpose, which at the peak of excruciating discomfort, brings me little consolation.  Hindsight, though, has often proven pain's value. In fact, I have found pain to be one of life'so most effective teachers. It gains one's  full attention. It takes lessons down to the bottom line. ( Patsy Clairmont ) Our hearts respond to God's  love and mercy in individual  ways. God's  love may be changeless. , but our love for Him changes and deepens as we grow. Read Luke 7: 40-47. Take the time to consider just how long you have been loved. God knew you when you were small. He knew you before you were born. He knew  you before He'd  even created the first man and woman. He knew you before time had begun. And all that time He Loved You! Thank God for His love, that your life might reflect that love. DOUGHNUT: doughnuts are delicious, hot fresh right from the source. God is love, the source of love. Our love has limits, but, God's...

 What does it mean that God is infinite? The infinite  nature of GOD means that God exists outside of and is not limited by time and space. Simply means without limits. To say God is infinite  is to acknowledge that He is not limited to constrictions. GOD is infinite in power,knowledge,His presence, and His eternal existence. HE is immeasurable,Omnipresent. He is not confined, nor is He bound in any sense.God's  infinity is, that God is metaphysicallying necessary, morally perfect, omnipotent,omniscient, eternal. An umbrella of sort to cover all of God's  superlative attributes. GENESIS 1:1 "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" REVELATIONS 1:8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega ( the beginning and the end ) PSALM 147:5 applies the concept of infinity  when it reveals that our Creator's  understanding is " beyond measure." 1 CORINTHIANS 2:9 " but as it is written, " What no eye has seen, nor ear has heard, nor the heart of man...

                                                            ENCOURAGING GROWTH  I realize the Bible says we are like sheep, but sometimes like chickens. God leads us along, even though we act like chickens. It doesn't  take much to turn our head or send us flapping in circles. Our heavenly Father finds ways to coax us onto the path He wants us to take. As we walk in His ways, we discover kernels of encouragement He's scattered before us. These encouraging  moments simply for pleasure? No, they serve a purpose as well. They keep us headed in the right direction, and encourage us to grow in the directions He has planned. We need to know what we are chasing after and where our path will lead us. ACTS 18:23  After spending some time there Paul continued on through Galatia and Phyrgia in central Turkey. And wherever he went ...

 PEACE is calm, settled, gentle security.  Peace is Jesus, Jesus is perfect peace.    To have perfect peace, you need to have your mind locked onto Jesus. He is the immovable cornerstone. He will keep you in perfect when your mind is fixed on Him. You don't have to hold for dear life, fight for peace or anything else. God does the keeping when you fix your mind on Him. Jesus spoke words of such peace to His friends after their last supper together (John 14) When he prepared them for the events that would soon follow. His death, resurrection, and the coming of the Holy Spirit.  Describing a peace unlike anything the world can give. He wanted them to learn how to find a sense of well being even in the midst of hardship. When Jesus appeared after the resurrection, He greeted them saying "Peace be with you" (John20:19)  Read: John 14: 25-31  He leaves us a gift; peace of mind and heart. The gift of peace the world cannot give you. I pray you all find the p...

 Forgiveness,  One of the most widely misunderstood doctrines of Scripture. It is not to be confused with humans forgiveness that merely remits a penalty or charge. Divine forgiveness is one of the most complicated and costly undertakings, demanding complete satisfaction to meet the demands of God's  outraged holiness. I have a situaton in my life where I am having a hard time forgiving someone, my flesh tells me oh if you forgive him, it will be like you are letting him get away with all the nasty, uncaring, things he has done. But it was brought to my attention that that person didn't do all that stuff to my family he did it to God, and if God can forgive him, who am I not too. You see he doesn't care or even know how it effects me, he is going on about life with out a worry in the world. So right now I am forgiving him, and myself for holding on to this for so long. Because I need forgiveness  too. Psalm 51 is all about forgiveness.  My favorite verse is 10-1...

 What is the Power of Prayer? "True prayer is neither a mere mental exercise nor a vocal performance. It is far deeper than that--it is a spiritual transacton with the Creator of Heaven and Earth" (Charles Spurgeon). Just what is the Power of prayer? How does prayer comfort, heal, restore? Why do we pray for our spouses, children for protection. How can praying make an impact? How can it change lives of those who don't know Jesus? The answer is simple, In Matthew 18:18-20, Jesus tells us about the power of prayer. "Truly, I say to you whatever you  bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you,  if two or three of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or more are gathered in my name there I am among them." I think if we realized just how much power we have when we pray we would do it more often. It is our fiercest weapon ag...

 "I will thank you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done. I will be filled with joy because of you. I will sing Praises to your name, O Most high." (Psalm 9:1-2) God takes great pleasure in receiving our thanks. He loves to hear from us. Talk to Him. Tell Him everything that is on your heart. He understands, He cares so deeply about everything that concerns us and wants to meet our needs. How great is His love for us. How awesome is His deeds. Let's be thankful to Him and bless His name. God is good and His mercy endures forever. "...your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow  will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today. (Mat. 6:32-34) We need to stop and give thanks to God for all He has given us. We are blessed. Everything we want may not be i...