Effie Darlene Barba

On the vine of our life in Christ, another fruit of the Spirit is Joy.  This is not the fleeting moments of joy when all seems well in our life.  Rather this is an abiding steadfast joy that the chaos and pains of this world cannot destroy.  Isaiah spoke of the coming Messiah, in whom our joy is founded.  The Holy Spirit within us, filling us with God’s Joy shone brightly to us and within us through His love. Therefore, this is God’s promise to all who know Him, to all who have accepted His wondrous gift of salvation through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross.

            The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound. To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God. Comfort all that mourn. To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion (and) give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning. (His) garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified (Isaiah 61:1-3).

Because it is His overflowing oil of joy  He pours forth, the mourning of our spirit and soul is erased by His steadfast joy.

The Fruit of the Spirit is Joy

Continue reading “The Fruit of The Spirit Is Joy”

The first fruit of the Spirit named in Galatians 5:22 is love.  But as we have already looked at in the previous posts, our human hearts ability to truly love is dismal.  Our hearts are often hardened, impenetrable because of our own selfish desires, preoccupation with fulfilling our own need to feel loved and pride.  We seek to “be” apart from God.  Our heart desperately needs to feel that we are loved because of our own merits.  We constantly seek for others to “love us just as we are.”  That desperate need to be loved can only be fulfilled in a close relationship to the very essence of love itself-God.  “For in him we live, and move, and have our being” (Acts 17:28).  Apart from Him, we merely exist, floundering in our desire to be exalted as God of our own life with no hope of true love.

Jesus Christ, the perfect righteous son of God, God Himself in the flesh came to suffer, die, to bear the penalty of our sins and then to rise from the grave victorious over sin and death for all who would believe and accept this gift of love.  Therein, God displayed His perfect love for all who would lay aside their pride filled desire to be “god” and accept His gift of salvation. This He offers to all who would believe.  Furthermore, Jesus declared as He spoke to the Father in John 17: 23.  I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

God the Father, loved us with the same degree of love as He has for the son? Imagine that for a moment.

Displaying the fruit of the Spirit Love. How?

Continue reading “Displaying the Fruit of the Spirit Love. How?”

PERFECT IN LOVE

Perfect in love, oh how can that be?

When bits of my heart think only of me

I bid you now Lord, to set my heart free

From selfish desires, to then truly see

The cost of your love for my liberty

To an old rugged cross, you went willingly

Leaving your throne, your comfort and glee

Choosing the pain, for love of me, humbly

You counted it joy to die on that tree

My redemption to buy, that was your decree!

To offer forgiveness, that was your plea

Though I was the one, hands and heart guilty

You left everything with no thought to flee

You ran to my side providing for me

A chance to see You in all Your Glory

Wrapped in Your love eternally

 

So, now that I hear your voice bid me go

To places unknown, Your Glory to show

To hearts shattered, broken whose lights lost their glow

The pains and the sorrows of life made them low

My Precious Lord, how could I say no

Your perfect love commands I bestow

Upon them Your Love, as I’ve come to know

 

You go now beside me, You are my guide

In Your Perfect Love my heart will abide

 

Your perfect love casting out fear

Replacing it with Your Joy and Your cheer

Perfect in Love

Anyone who has read I Corinthians 13, must confess that their own hearts ability to love falls far short of perfect love.  Without the help of the Holy Spirit, we fail in perfecting our own love.  Were it not for the life-giving sap provided us by Jesus Christ’s love, grace and forgiveness, there would be no hope.  Look once more at I Corinthians 13 in the Expanded Version.  Consider your own heart.  Ask God to transform you into the gracious image of Jesus Christ.

⁴ Love is patient and kind. Love is not ·jealous [envious], it does not brag, and it is not ·proud [arrogant; conceited; puffed up]. ⁵ Love is not ·rude [disrespectful], is not ·selfish [self-serving], and ·does not get upset with others [is not easily provoked/angered]. Love does not ·count up [keep a record of] wrongs that have been done (against you or others) ⁶ Love ·takes no pleasure [does not rejoice] in ·evil [wrongdoing; injustice] but rejoices over the truth. ⁷ Love ·patiently accepts all things [^Tbears all things; or always protects], ·always trusts [^Tbelieves all things], ·always hopes [^Thopes all things], and ·always endures [^Tendures all things].

DO YOU KNOW CHRIST AS YOUR SAVIOR?

If you don’t know Jesus Christ as your Savior: I urge you to go to my page titled How to Be Saved by clicking on this link.  There is nothing more important than this; Because, He is the way, the truth and the life. Therefore, I urge you to seek Him today.

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Books Available

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Previous Posts to Consider

How Does God Prepare the Soil for Growth?

What Fruit is the Garden of Your Heart Producing?

How to Discern the Voice of God from Yours?

POEMS

Love has Won the Victory

Thanksgiving Day Song

©Effie Darlene Barba, 2018
Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned except for my own books. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Credits

Expanded Bible (EXB)

The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.

 

It is no wonder that the first fruit of the Spirit mentioned in Galatians 5:22-23 is love. After all, we know God is Love (I John 4:8).  Within the holy trinity exists a perfect relationship of love.  One that is self-less.  As Jonathan Edwards explained in Treatise on Grace, Jesus Christ is the perfect echoing of the Father-His Word made flesh.  The perfect echoing of God’s own thought.  The Holy Spirit exists as full essence of that perfect love and joy the Father and Son have in each other.    It is no wonder, that when God created mankind in His image, He created us body, soul, and spirit.  This being the aspect of our existence allowing us the ability to reason, to love, and to even have a creative nature.  Yet, our fruit of love apart from the Spirit is bitter and selfish.

Apart from the spiritual nature of our Creator infusing life into our spirit, our fruit of love becomes focused only on self as the primary love.  We become preoccupied with love as “what can this love do to make me feel better about myself.”  This is in direct contrast to the Perfect love of God. It is no wonder we find this very thing called “love” within our human race brings such heartbreak.  Broken marriages and relationships because each person is concerned only with self-fulfillment.  When the other person, with their own brokenness, cannot fulfill our needs or further inflate our ego we must exit in search of another “love”.   In other words, without the Holy Spirit infusion of perfect love, our fruit of love becomes shriveled and bitter. There are times when unbelievers do display unselfish love. Even this is God’s Grace intervening, revealing Himself to the world.

The Holy Spirit’s Fruit of Love

Continue reading “Is Your Fruit of Love Sweet or Bitter?”