Fruits of the Spirit: Final Bite

GOODNESS:

"Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever." (Psalm 23:6) The Lord is good and righteous, and we must seek to be good. Goodness has a drawing power that commands respect. It is neither manipulative nor untrustworthy.

FAITHFULNESS:
“Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies.” (Psalm 36:5) The Lord’s faithfulness is greater that we can imagine. This quality helps us stay loyal to friends, family, and to God because He is watching for those who will be faithful to Him forever. 
 

GENTLENESS:

"With gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth" (2 Timothy 2:25) We must handle opposition with gentleness instead of condemnation. This is a divine characteristic because it is easy to fight with others when we are trying to help them. We must be gentle and understanding when we are trying to establish a relationship with another person.

SELF-CONTROL:
“A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.” (Proverbs 25:28) We all need self-control in order to resist the temptations of this world. We need to learn how to walk in the Spirit in order to not give into the temptations that come our way each day.

                       

Now that I know what the fruits are, what do I do now?

You grow in Christ, and allow the fruits of the spirit to be visible in your life. The fruits of the spirit are the natural overflow of a life spent focused on God and how He wants us to live. So do your best to live for God each day, and allow the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control in your life to influence those around you.

 

-Andrea Niles, National Acteens Panelist

Fruits of the Spirit: Bite 2

Fruits of the Spirit continued.

Peace:

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27) Through Christ, we can receive a peace that surpasses all human understanding. Without peace, our lives can be easily shaken and knocked off course.

Patience:

“But if we hope for what is still unseen by us, we wait for it with patience and composure.” (Romans 8:25) God’s timing is impeccable. He knows what is best for us when we do not. We need to be patient and wait on God’s best plan for our lives. Can you imagine how patient God has been with us? Think of all the times we disregard Him, disobey Him, and disrespect Him time and time again. Yet, just like a loving parent, God is patient with us—waiting for us to grow and mature in Him. We should try to show the same patience as we wait on God.

Kindness:
"Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:32) Forgiving someone who has wronged you can be hard, but Christ can give us the strength to do it. Forgiving one another is an act of kindness, and through it we not only will be able to be an example to others, but we will also be examples to ourselves. 
 

-Andrea Niles, National Acteens Panelist

Take a Bite out of the Fruits of the Spirit

In order to not overwhelm you, we at Blume decided to break up this post over a period of time; it will allow you to easily digest each of the pieces rather than over-indulging.

Fruit of the Spirit
 

“²² But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!” Galatians 5:22-23 (NLT)

The Fruit of the Spirit are qualities that God wants us to show when we become Christians. These fruits of the spirit are qualities of God’s nature, and as Christians, our desire should be to grow in Christ and Christ’s likeness, so that the fruits of the spirit flow through us as we strive to live out the Gospel each day.

The first fruit is LOVE:

What is love? “⁴ Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud ⁵ or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. ⁶ It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. ⁷ Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7) Through Christ, our goal is to do all things with love. 
  

The second is JOY:

The Bible says that “the joy of the Lord is our strength” in Nehemiah. Because it is God’s joy flowing through us, He can magnify it. Without joy, our lives would be dull and going to church and reading our Bibles every day may start to seem like a chore.

By: Andrea Niles, National Acteens Panelist

Forever Young

I’m sure you’ve heard it all before. You’re too young. You can’t do that. But there are examples throughout the Bible of God using young people. (David, Joseph, Jeremiah, Mary) They were all unqualified, unproven and just too young at first glance.

In 1 Timothy 4:12, Paul instructs Timothy,

“Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity.” (NLT)

What a challenge! As a Christian, there is always someone watching your life. In this text, Paul lists five ways to set an example. 

First, speech. The words you speak are a reflection of your heart. Lies, exaggeration, and gossip are common pitfalls that can be disastrous to your witness.

Second, your lifestyle. The way we live is to be a reflection of our relationship with Christ. When a pattern of godliness is missing, the power is drained out of your example. Your life is your most resonating message, and your actions reinforce the true state of your heart.

Next, love. We are called to love our neighbors, our closest friends and our enemies. This kind of love is sacrificial love. Love where you are willing to surrender your interests for others.

Next, faith. Faith is much more than just belief. Faith encompasses a steady commitment to God’s service. We must acknowledge our dependence on Him for everything.

Finally, Paul addresses purity. Purity is much more than sex, it deals with the state and intention of your heart. Purity is not just in acts, but in motives as well.

So let me ask you. Has your speech been a good example today? Did your actions back up your words? Did you love well? Did people see your faith? Are you pursuing purity? Living a life that earns respect has to be more than words. Though you're young, what is your example?

-Tara Hammett, Blume Intern

Let Your Light Shine

“Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16 (NAS)

“We can choose to follow His path instead of the world’s way. Yes, the temptation is great with everything from raunchy movies, to vulgar music and porn at the tips of our fingers. So let’s face it. It’s easy to be bad, and oh so hard to be good. That is why we need His help EVERY moment for our lives… If Christ is in us, then we have His strength and power to make God-honoring choices.” –Chandra Peele, Radiant

I don’t know about you girls, but sometimes it’s hard for me to feel like I’m making a difference. I desperately desire to shine for God, but in today’s culture that’s easier said than done. The first step is to admit that sometimes the right way isn’t the easiest way. Then it is easier to face challenges head on, with God. Let go of what the world may think of you and recognize that you have a unique spark that God carefully designed you with. Recognize that you are a radiant, priceless creation of the Father and that He cherishes you more than you can fathom. 

WOW.  Talk about a self esteem boost!

Once you ignite that spark it will be almost effortless to shine for God in this dark world. I challenge you to search for that special something that God has given you because once you pair that unwavering light with the power of God inside you; your possibilities to change the world are LIMITLESS!

Check out Chandra Peele’s books Radiant, Priceless and Cherished─ They’re a great start to finding your worth through God’s eyes!

-Anna Cox, Blume intern

Choose Love Instead of Fear

 “God gave you the honor not
only of believing in Christ

 but also of suffering for Him,

both of which bring glory to Christ.”

-Philippians 1:29

Suffering will come, but don’t worry because “perfect love drives out all fear.” (1 John 4:18) John Piper said, “getting rid of fear is the negative way of saying become confident.”

What are you afraid of? Fear can be the source of much of our suffering. If we weren’t afraid to tell people about Jesus and the consequences we might receive, how many more people in the world would profess Christianity? If we weren’t afraid to go against the current and live the way God wants us to, how much closer would we be to Him? Without fear, there is no insecurity. Without fear, there is no dishonesty.

Love stands a much better chance than fear!

Instead of being afraid of the suffering that could come with being a Christ follower, stand up to the challenge! When someone tells you “You can’t do that, you’re just a girl” doesn’t it make you want to prove them wrong?? PROVE THEM WRONG by facing the challenges that will be thrown at you as a sold-out Christian ready to change her world.

-Allison Henderson, Blume Intern

Where's my purpose?

"You have searched me, LORD,
   and you know me. "

Psalm 139:1 NIV

Everyone wonders at some point, “What’s my purpose in life?” As Christians, our ultimate purpose in life is to glorify God. We find insight and an incredible resource in the Bible. God gives us a beautiful picture of His plans and purposes for our lives in Psalm 139.

It’s easy to search for purpose through image. As girls, we often struggle with the face we see in the mirror. No matter the flaws Satan tries to point out, you were created by the Most High God! Verse 18 even says that His thoughts about you outnumber the grains of sand.

How amazing is that?

It’s easy to get distracted from your true purpose when you are desperate to be someone else’s view of perfect. So don’t get distracted by what others say about you; rely on what God says about you.

And then sometimes I think, “I’m too much of a screw up for God to have a purpose for me.” The truth is God has planned every day of your life. There is nothing you can do to screw up and mess up the plans He has for you. God already knows every mistake, and yet He loves you immeasurably.

Verses 23 and 24 show us how to plug into God’s purpose for our lives. God already knows your heart, but He gives you the opportunity to see what He sees. This verse asks you to take an active step. So ask God to show you the areas in your life that need some fine tuning and make some changes.  

Dear sister, you have a purpose!

You are loved passionately by your Savior! Now take hold of this beautiful reality, follow Him along the path of everlasting life, and He will show you the road to real purpose.

- Tara Hammett, Blume Intern