Tuesday 14 May 2013

Tuesday Reading: Galatians 5:22-26

Key Verse: Galatians 5:24
24  And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

Devotion:
We often like to talk about the fruits of the spirit and how they should make us so much better off than we were when we lived our lives in the world, but it goes much further than that because it is how we live our lives along with those fruits of the spirit. Just because we believe in Christ and feel like we want to do what is right, does not always mean that we are going to do right!

When we accept Christ into our lives He does bring a whole lot of joy and peace into our lives. What we do with that joy and peace is then up to us because we can revel in it and enjoy it by ourselves or we can share it with others in the way that God has intended it to be shared. When we keep that joy and peace to ourselves the only gain from it is to our own feelings for a while, but when we share it with others we a whole lot more happens.

God gives us joy so that it may be shared. It is a joy that needs to be shared because it is more than any one of us can store up inside of ourselves. When we begin to share that joy we begin to change from the inside out by displaying more of the fruits of The Spirit. This is how God changes us from the inside out and it is a joy in itself to live with. The more that we are able to see how God is working in our lives the more faith we display and the more of an encouragement we are to others who are seeking that joy in the first place.

I thank my God always that He continues to give me joy and peace because I know I can then go out and share His love with others. There is no way that I can put up with the people around me unless I have God helping me every step of the way – and for those of you who are close to me please don’t take that the wrong way! It is not me that shows the love, care, kindness, patience and other fruits toward others, but rather God through me. I am just another (ab)normal person who is willing to give God room in my life to work with others.

Points to Ponder:
What do you like sharing?

Are you sharing God?