Gifts by the Spirit

I don't know about you, but I love fruits and giving gifts.

Galatians 5:13-26, 1 Corinthians 12:1-11. The past months have been reflection months for me. We recently moved to a new house, and we all know how stressful moving could be. Packing and unpacking boxes, taking care of baby, getting our new home in order (walls, floors, lighting, etc.) and two house inspections. Throughout this process I slightly lost myself for a moment and was needless to say overwhelmed. However, in times of stress it is sometimes challenging to uphold a mature attitude. I'd found myself feeling irritated by the simplest of things and that lead me to Galatians 5:13-26. In verse 22, two of those fruits are patience and self-control.  

I recently did a bible study on what life by the spirit is and Its gifts. And as a follower of Christ I am called to not only keep the entire law but to model it as well. The one command is to ' love your neighbor as yourself '. 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 shines light on ' The Gifts ' and Galatians 5:13-22 explains what character looks like when living by the Spirit. Character and emotions go hand-in-hand. 

Emotions are a good gift from God. He created us to be feeling creatures. He has rooted emotions in our humanity to serve a valuable purpose in our lives. Our peculiar minds enable us to think, our wills to choose, and of course our emotions to respond. Many times, we desire and give into things of the flesh rather than of the Spirit. We are picky with love, patience, kindness, self-control and even gentleness. But being filled with the God's Spirit and walking in agreement with his word (asks this of us.) allows you to reap good fruit and enjoy its benefits. For if you live according to the flesh you will reap what I like to call 'weeds' which grow against Gods will >> Romans 8:13. Character led by the Spirit is what we gain in Galatians 5:22.  

I realized that good character and these gifts weren't going to fall into my lap. Striving to become a 'good person' is great but there's much more to it. Gifts are given but fruits are developed. To develop Christian moral character, I needed to reprogram my subconscious mind. My view of the world, people, values, morals, beliefs, and convictions of who I am on the inside needed to reflect what I display on the outside. The fruits balances the gifts and all of the fruit come out of LOVE...God! 

 So, if you're struggling with 'bad' character and attitude all you have to do is: implore God's help to reveal to you your character flaws, work on building Christian attitude, by applying the fruit of the Spirit to your life, and finally ask someone to hold you 'accountable' (compliment or check you) because it's easy to fall back into old ways. Hopefully, I've inspired you to represent God in the way you know you should!  

XOXO, Niki