Warrior For The Cross

                                                           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 for our own benefit, it is not truly goodness that we possess.  In Greek, the word goodness  "Agathosune" means an uprightness of

                                                                       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 full of people who cut in line, insult those  around them, laugh at others misfortunes and try to show their superiority by dragging others down. Unfortunately, people who base their thinking on a " Survival of the fittest&

                                                                        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 in traffic, etc.. Patience can be one of the most  challenging fruits of the  Spirit to cultivate. It's hard to wait on God and others. When you find yourself in the waiting room

                                                                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 nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with Thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God, and the peace of God, which surpasses all

                                                                          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 be the last thing you are feeling when facing struggles. God knows our sorrows, heartache, and fears, and He calls us to rejoice anyway.  "WEEPING MAY ENDURE FOR A NIGHT

 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 one another. Jesus' teaching about love set the highest standards ever (Luke 6:26-38) He backed them up with His perfect example, showing a love greater then the world has ever seen! 1ST...Consider how Christ was willing...for the sake of mankind..to sacrifice His heavenly glory and power to be incarnated to a mere human being. (Phil. 2: 5-

 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 answered  (Him) Sir there is