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Ring of Truth provides 366 daily ‘proofs’ that the Bible is consistent throughout from Genesis to Revelation, and relevant for our lives today!
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Galatians 5:22-24
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.”
The proof of the pudding is in the eating. It’s a ‘Ring of Truth’!
The nature of the tree is known by the fruit. The character of a life is revealed by its fruit. Truth will out. The true ‘colour’ of a person, like that of a tea bag, is revealed once they get into ‘hot’ water. Unfortunately, fruit is genuine – it reveals the truth, not what we hope for or necessarily believe we are like.
Often we reveal our true selves only when we are relaxing alone at home – or when we are away from home on our own. What do we do? What occupies our thoughts and what desires do we give in to? I know when I have been truly alone, often unseen, the enemy and my ‘old self’ have a field day – it is then that I have to cry out to God for me to die, so that He might live by His Spirit through me.
Remember David? When he should have been leading his troops in war – he stayed home and gave in to adultery and later murder (see 2 Samuel 11). When we stop remembering we are in a war against the enemy, Satan, and start to relax, we will succumb to his temptations.
We all get tempted but as the old adage goes – “I can’t stop a bird flying over my head, but I can sure stop it building a nest in my hair.” God is far more interested in developing our character than in our convenience. Fruit is more than a passing phase or fleeting moment. God expects us to reveal “the fruit of the Spirit” continuously.
Jesus criticised the Pharisees on one occasion, remarking that they produced the fruit of their heritage – their father (Satan) (see John 8:44). The Jews were very particular about their diet, whether the food was kosher (clean) or not, and whether their hands were ceremonially washed clean before eating. Jesus said character is the real issue. “What goes into a man’s mouth does not make him ‘unclean’, but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him ‘unclean’” (Matthew 15:11).
Paul gives a graphic list of our ‘normal’ sinful (pre-‘born again’) behaviour – “The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the Kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:19-21).
Serious stuff, isn’t it? Sounds like our national daily paper, the women’s magazines, T.V. soap operas and chat shows. Listen, if we fill our lives and satisfy our appetites with that sort of junk, that is what will become visible in our fruit. Rather, let us shun all known evil – put it away and abandon it.
The fruit of the Holy Spirit is the opposite. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are single but often given in clusters. The fruit of the Spirit is singular and should be revealed as a bunch together.
You don’t have love without gentleness or peace without self-control. Patience and faithfulness go in harmony. They were all perfectly displayed in Jesus. They are all perfectly existent in the character of God. They are all perfectly existent in the character of the Holy Spirit.
If the Holy Spirit is in you and me – then the same characteristics are available to us and should be seen in us. They will show up in greater and greater measure as we allow the Holy Spirit to dominate our lives, as we fall in love with Jesus, and are ‘sold out’ for Him.
Then they will flow on out to others around us.
How’s your flow?
Don’t forget to come back here for a ‘check-up’ every now and then – at least once a year.
Download the above Ring of Truth devotion as a PDF.
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