GPS Guide – November 7, 2019
GENEROUS GIFTS
Thursday
Read: Galatians 5:22-25; 2 Peter 1:4-8
” 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. ” (NIV Galatians 5:22-25)
Study: To the Galatians, Paul described the positive qualities that come when we let the Holy Spirit bear his fruit in our lives. (Fruit, of course, is what people harvest from vineyards and orchards. And we are God’s vineyard.) Although Peter didn’t specifically use “fruit” language, he pointed to the way in which our energy and effort work with God’s power to transform our inner being to bear the qualities God desires for us. Does the kind of life portrayed in today’s readings sound appealing to you, or not? Think through the reasons for your answer. Do you find yourself expressing or acting out love and generosity in ways that were not characteristic of you in the past? Take a personal inventory of how present each of the “fruit of the Spirit” qualities is in your life. Prayerfully ask the Holy Spirit to help you identify one or two of the areas you most need to grow in.
Pray: Lord God, guide me to the choices and activities I need to bear the kind of fruit in my life for which you have “planted” me. Amen.