Drawing you into a deeper relationship with God - Part Six

Written by Rachael

Come to Me, who are heavily laden, and I will give you rest

ok when asking God what He wanted for this week, i just kept getting the fruits of the Spirit, in context of falling back onto or into them

that through whatever we go through in life, whatever life throws at us, the fruits help us to praise Him through the storms as well as the calms of life

they help us to keep the focus off the bad, and keep our focus on God, in our hearts and in our minds, so that our whole being is focussed on God, knowing that we can do all things through Him who strengthens us

now the fruits are something which naturally develop through the working of the Holy Spirit within you yes, but if you can focus on them in your mind also, you are tackling things from the inside out aswell as the outside in

that tho you may be stood in the middle of a battle, that all seems like it is crumbling apart around you, that the battle belongs to the Lord, you have, do and will overcome, that in your weakness He is your strength

so lets look at the fruits

Galatians5...22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control.

ok so we are going to break this down and look at each fruit individually, we will start with love...now with love, many of the other fruits come naturally with it, so will look more at love

now i think that the bible' definition of love is great here..

1Cor13:4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.8Love never fails.

now whatever we face in life, if we meet it with love, our viewpoint is already changed, we are not letting sadness or chaos rule us,

getting impatient, we are not getting mean, we are not envious or boastful

we are not letting pride get in the way, we are not being rude, seeking things out for selfish reasons alone, slow to anger, we are not bringing up our yesterdays, carrying on arguments from times past

we are turning away from evil and turning to Good, we rejoice and seek the truth, speak the truth, turn away from falsehood

but mostly we have conviction and faith, that love never fails, even if it takes perseverance with something, or it is taking longer than you would hope to sort out, love never fails, it conquers all

when we are struggling with things, we can say Lord help me see this with love in my heart, God is Love and dwells within you, you can draw from that Love within, remembering we are a temple of the Holy Spirit, He will never leave nor forsake us

Psalm37...7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;

do not fret when men succeed in their ways,

when they carry out their wicked schemes.

8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;

do not fret—it leads only to evil.

9 For evil men will be cut off,

but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.

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now we look to joy...

Psalm5:11But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you.

rejoicing in the Lord always, drawing your joy from the strength of the Lord is such a releasing thing, knowing that you can do all things and get through all things through the strength of the Lord

acts 20 finishing the race with joy, how much that testifies to God is immeasurable, and a huge testimony to people

is there ever a time where you have let sadness take you over, where you lose focus on God, now in these times if we can take our eyes out of the pit and focus them on the heavens, let your joy be from His joy

remember.. 1Cor6:20I am united with the Lord, and I am one Spirit with Him -

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now we look to peace...

John14:27Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

now im sure we can all remember times when our lives have felt nothing but chaotic, may even feel like that now, but amongst all that chaos, focus on Gods perfect peace, which surpasses all understanding, do not let fear steal your peace, do not troubles of this world take away

your peace

there is nothing that you cannot do, with God, there is no mountain too high to climb, no valley too low, He has redeemed you, He has called you by name, you are His

nothing can separate you from the Love of God, trouble, hardships,persecution, famine, danger, sword...in the knowledge of this, keep your peace, the gift of perfect peace from God

remember...I have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind - 2Tim1:7

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now we look at patience and self control

now this can be a hard one, keeping our patience, it is so easy to get impatient, not only with people but God, when things are not done as and when we want them to be done, learning to be patient, waiting on the Lord, teaches you patience in life also

you are slower to anger, slower to get impatient, you dont get 'offended' as easily

the battles dont seem so huge, your endurance rises, being strengthened with His power, remember we once was in Egypt, and was shown mercy and led out of it, Christ had high patience, went to all to save as many as possible, looked beyond what was on the outside and into the heart of people

look to Jesus, the perfector of your faith, as an example, of how patient you can be with another

remember paul here...

2Tim3:10You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, 11persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them.

yet the Lord rescued me from all of them..

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now we look at kindness...

now in kindness, we need to remember Gods kindness to us, that we can turn from anything back to God, due to His kindness, His Grace

His understanding, patience and kindness, in the spirit and sincere love, when you see someone in need, any kind of need, do we reach out to them as He reached out to us, do we show the hand of kindness

when someone does an act of kindness on you, what effect does that have on your heart, it is edifying to the soul, it can help give people hope, a hope that God gave you, we are to be as christlike as possible, look to the examples of kindness in Jesus life on earth

imagine the heart of the leper, the murderer, the prostitute, the adultress, when Jesus reached out a hand to them, went where no other would go, do not let fear keep you from helping another in need

His love and kindness reaches to the heavens, faithfulness stretches to the skies, His righteousness like a mammoth mountain, justice flows like an oceans tides

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now we look at goodness...

goodness can be seen as enrichment, enrichment from God, through His Word, through living through the spirit of God, complete in knowledge, competent to teach, to edify, to work as a body, when one part is struggling, coming together to help the part back up, to help to aid

looking at His promises, so that through them, you can take on the nature of God, constantly moving away from the corruption of the world

2Peter1:3His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

goodness showing mercy on another

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now we look at faithfulness...

faithfulness that through anything you may endure in life, that your faith stays firm, steadfast in God, as He is steadfast for you

that whatever temptation or trial may come your way, you stand firm in your faith, that He will not let you fall beneath the waves...

His love and kindness reaches to the heavens, faithfulness stretches to the skies, His righteousness like a mammoth mountain, justice flows like an oceans tides

Psalm36:5 Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens,

your faithfulness to the skies.

6 Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,

your justice like the great deep.

again remembering that nothing can separate you from the Love of God, look to the armour of God, to help keep you on your feet

through Jesus' faithfulness to the will of God, for the children of God, He suffered and was crucified, His faithfulness bought you your freedom in Christ

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now we look to gentleness....

now there are many times, that we have needed peoples gentleness, of words and actions, it has helped calm the anger, take away the bitterness, softens the heart...

Proverbs15:A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

Matthew11:Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls

learn from Him, be humble, you will find rest, instead of getting angry with someone, be gentle again it will soften hearts including your own, it helps keep your focus, when you get angry, your mind is not focussed on peace, it doesnt rationale that well

If He sets you free, you are free indeed! ............ you shall know the Truth and the Truth shall set you free

dont let anything or anyone steal your peace