~ A Key Spiritual Fruit is Patience ~
Overview Scripture ~ “For
you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness,
righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful
works of darkness, but rather expose them” (Ephesians 5:8-11).
Series Scripture ~ “But the fruit
of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering [patience], kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,
self-control. Against such there is
no law. And those who are Christ’s have
crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in
the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22-25). It is
important to note that while this passage lists nine fruits of the Spirit it is
not a complete list—which includes “all
goodness, righteousness, and truth” as seen above in Ephesians 5.
Comment ~ There
is an old prayer, “Please Lord give me patience and give it to me right now!” This sums up where many of us are. It’s something like humility—as soon as you
think you’ve gained some, you just lost it!
Natural Man
~ The key question is do you demonstrate
patience, even to those make you angry fighting the Truth found in Scripture? “He who corrects a scoffer gets shame for
himself, and he who rebukes a wicked man only harms himself. Do not
correct a scoffer, lest he hate you; rebuke a wise man, and he will love you.
Give instruction to a wise man, and he
will be still wiser; teach a just man, and he will increase in learning” (Proverbs
9:7-9).
Jesus said, “If the world
hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would
love its own. Yet because you are not of
the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you” (John
15:18-19).
“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing
that the testing of your faith produces
patience. But let patience have its
perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing” (James
1:2-4).
~
Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT
LIFE NOW blog.
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