27TH JANUARY
Galatians 5: 25
“If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.”
Give out of what you have been given!
Margaret, a friend of mine, refuses to go to anyone’s house without taking something with her. It doesn’t matter whether she is going to her friends’ house for dinner or she is on a pastoral visit she makes sure that she picks something up because she feels it’s rude to turn up to someone’s house without a gift.
Did you know that you have gifts to give?
There is a tendency to believe that the fruit of the Holy Spirit are for us to enjoy and keep for ourselves. However, the fruit of the Holy Spirit, just like the gifts of the Holy Spirit aren’t for us. They are for the people around us.
Our verse for today says that if we live by the Spirit we should also keep in step with the Spirit. That implies that the Holy Spirit isn’t stagnant—he’s moving! The Spirit always wants you to move and minister to people, so get going! Move! Go! Be with the people in your world who need Jesus! And when you go, never turn up empty handed. Even if you can’t buy them chocolate, you have divine fruit to give – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
When you meet up with a friend, or when you go to someone’s house, take a moment to ask God: What fruit does this person need to eat the most? What fruit has this person been deprived of?
MAKE IT PERSONAL:
Ask God to reveal to you which fruit of the Holy Spirit you need to bear more of.