In Search Of A Better Tomorrow

A Daily Devotional on the Fruit of the Spirit

Time Alone with God daily devotionals

by Phil Stout, JAXNAZ lead pastor, Jackson MI
Saturday, July 2
Read: Galatians 5:22-25

Galatians 5:22-25   New International Version (NIV)

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

Consider: This is a passage of scripture we should all commit to memory—the Fruit of the Spirit. Simply reading the list inspires us. It brings a yearning for a life like that and a world like that.

Let’s remember that the Fruit of the Spirit—the result of the Spirit’s presence in our lives—is given to us in the midst of a larger conversation about freedom. Freedom is not listed here, but it is the topic under consideration. The freedom we have in Christ is a gift and an accumulation of gifts.

As we saw in yesterday’s passage, we cannot avoid sin through our own efforts. Our victory over sin is the result of the Spirit’s presence in our lives and our willingness to walk in step with the Spirit. The same is true when it comes to the Fruit of the Spirit. I cannot manufacture these in my life. They are gifts.

When I receive them as gifts—rather than seeing them as demands—I’m liberated to receive them from the One I love and the One who loves me. I ask for them. I ask for wisdom in how to live them. I give my best effort to honoring God with them. But they are not of my own making. They are gifts.

And the gifts are the result of the Gift—the One Jesus called “the gift my Father promised” (Acts 1:4).

Pray: “Lord, teach me to find liberation by finding you—by seeing you every moment of my life. I choose today to dwell with you, to be aware of your presence with me, and to be grateful for the Gift you are and the gifts you give.”

Phil Stout, JAXNAZ Lead Pastor, Jackson, MI