| Fruit and Gifts of the Holy Spirit The twelve Fruits of the Holy Spirit are works that we can perform only with the aid of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the performance of such works is an indication that the Holy Spirit dwells in the Christian believer. The twelve Fruits of the Holy Spirit are charity (or love), joy, peace, patience, benignity (or kindness), goodness, longanimity (or long suffering), mildness, faith, modesty, continency, and chastity. http://catholicism.about.com/od/beliefsteachings/f/FAQ_Fruits_HS.htm?p=1 It is essential to clearly understand the fundamental difference between the two expressions. 'Fruit' is the natural result of an inner principle of life brought forth through a process of constant growth. 'Fruit' requires time to develop and comes to perfection with the help of many external factors like water, light, sun, etc. In comparison, 'gifts' can come through the liberal actions of a giver. They are usually found in a completed condition even though their use can be made more perfect through the recipient in the course of time, e.g. when someone receives a camera as a gift. The quintessence of our present observation is that 'fruit' comes gradually from inside, whereas 'gifts' come all at once from an outer source. This is only a rough definition, but it helps to clarify the difference that is to be made between the two expressions. The fruit of the Spirit, therefore, appears as an expression and result of a godly life which was given to the believer when he was born again. The fruit may show almost instantly in some characteristics, but will generally only appear gradually through the process of 'growing in grace'. Its development is promoted through external means of grace like Christian fellowship, spiritual service, external circumstances, but especially through the reconciliation of the soul with God. This 'fruit' has an ability for growth during the entire period of Christian life and, from that point of view, a constant growth in holiness should be taking place. In comparison, the gifts of the Spirit can be given suddenly at any stage of the believer's life. The New Testament shows clearly that a gift was given to some believers when they first received the Holy Spirit. Other gifts were imparted at various turning points of the Christian walk (i.e. 1 TIMOTHY 4:14 - most likely due to Timothy being chosen for spiritual service - ACTS 16:1-3). Again, other gifts could be desired and asked for at any time (1 CORINTHIANS 12:31 and 1 CORINTHIANS 14:13). The promise of the gifts of the Holy Spirit therefore appears to be unrelated to the maturity of the believer in the 'growth of grace', providing, of course, that the person in question is counted worthy of them by the Lord. They do not primarily arise out of the inward life but are sovereign acts of a great Giver. http://www.cai.org/bible-studies/fruit-and-gifts-holy-spirit Bottom line – God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, will be letting you know very clearly what good, positive and godly qualities He will want to try and “put on” into your personality, and what negative qualities and vices He will want to try and “put away.” Once all of this knowledge and information has been given to you by the Lord, then it will be up to you as to whether or not you will want to work in cooperation with the Holy Spirit to get all of this accomplished. If you are willing to work with the Lord in the specific areas that He will target – then the Holy Spirit will start to do the miraculous and supernatural work of removing all of the bad things that He will not want operating in your personality and life, and then impart all of the positive and godly things that He will want have operating in your personality and life. And once this starts to happen, God the Father will then start to transmit and impart part of His very nature and personality right up into your mind, soul and spirit. God’s love, joy, peace, patience, boldness, goodness, gentleness and kindness will all start to move up and mesh into your personality – increasing your ability to be able to walk, live and operate in these saintly and godly qualities. When this starts to happen, you will have officially entered into a true progressive sanctified state – where the very life of God Himself will now be flowing through you and out of you so that you can reach others with His message of eternal salvation and His message on how to properly live this life the way He wants His people to live it. http://www.bible-knowledge.com/sanctification-article/ |
| "May the words of my mouth, and the meditations of my heart be acceptable to You, Oh Lord, My Rock and Redeemer." Psalms 19:14 Dearest Lord of my being, Thank you for blessing me with all that I need to be the best that I can be. I am so grateful for your love, light, and peace. May I always be aware of your presence and may I love and honor you above all things. I need you in my heart, in my soul, and in my life now and forever. Amen |
| astrologizing.net Sabbath Devotionals The Sabbath; Sat. May 29, 2010 |
| BIBLE READING NEW TESTAMENT Galatians 5:22 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” |
| BIBLE READINGS OLD TESTAMENT Isaiah 11: The gifts of the Spirit listed here: "wisdom, understanding, counsel, power, knowledge, righteousness, and faithfulness." |
| HOMILY: What is Your Gift of the Holy Spirit? It appears that there is a difference between the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Once we discover our particular gift, we work with it until it is a part of us and then we are blessed with the fruits of the Holy Spirit; bestowed by the Holy Spirit. Peter mentions love, self-control, perseverance, hospitality, clear mindedness, humility, and speaking God's words with strength". See 1 Peter 4: 7-11 & 1 Peter 5: 6. Peter says to "love each other deeply because love covers over a multitude of sins." 1Peter 4:8. Therefore, love can be considered both a gift and a fruit of the Holy Spirit. We could begin with what the Old Testament said concerning love, You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart, with your whole soul, and with all your mind” (Deuteronomy 6:5). Jesus stated that as the first great commandment and the second; ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ (Leviticus 19:18). It might be stated, then, that everyone begins with the gift of love; everyone has that written in their hearts. It is so basic that Isaiah didn't even bother to mention it. It is among the other gifts of the Spirit listed by Isaiah and Peter that we may find our own gift to develop; wisdom, understanding, counsel, power, knowledge, righteousness, self-control, perseverance, hospitality, clarity, humility, and strength of God's word. To consciously develop our gift of the Holy Spirit is to honor our Father in heaven and our Lord and brother, Jesus Christ, as well as all of our brothers and sisters in Christ who are ever striving to "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." Matthew 5:48 |