Next Step #6...

It's Friday and time for our next "Next Step" in Living in the Holy Spirit.  Today, let's focus on the "fruit" of the Spirit found in Galatians 5:22-23, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  Against such things there is no law."  Notice that the Apostle Paul said this is the "fruit" (singular) of the Spirit, not the "fruits" (plural) of the Spirit.  That means that when the Holy Spirit is in control of our lives we demonstrate the nine character traits Paul lists.  Sometimes we think we need to be more loving or more patient (and we probably do!), so we think that we need to emphasize the "fruit" of love, or the "fruit" of patience, but actually the "fruit" of the Spirit is ALL nine characteristics.  I point that out simply to remind us that while we may find ourselves thinking that we need one or two of these traits more than the others, when the Holy Spirit is in control of our lives ALL nine begin to manifest themselves more and more. 

In fact, one of the easiest "tests" we can give ourselves to determine whether the Holy Spirit is in control of our lives is to see how much "fruit" is evident in us as we go about any given day.  Are we more loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle and self-controlled TODAY than we were yesterday, or right NOW than we were an hour ago?  As we call on the Holy Spirit to fill and control us, we can wonder whether He is truly in charge OR we can take an honest look at how our lives are becoming more "fruitful" or not, and then we can KNOW if He is filling and controlling us, or if we are losing the battle.  If He IS filling and controlling us, then the "fruit" will be evident and we can pause to praise and thank Him for that. If we are resisting that filling and control, then we must go back to the first role of the Holy Spirit--the conviction of sin, and let Him convict us of our sin, so that we will REPENT--turn around--and move back into His presence and power.  The process is on-going, and sometimes it seems painfully slow.  The KEY is to let the Holy Spirit control and fill us more and more and more, day by day by day, and when we fall short, to recognize it.  I know this seems awfully simple, but as Pastor Randy Marshall once put it, "The Christian life says easy and does hard."  It "does hard," more often than not, because we try to do it ourselves instead of letting the Holy Spirit do it in us!