The Presence of the Fruit
Monday, September 19, 2022
The First Practice
Galatians 5:22 speaks about the fruits of the Spirit. One of the fruits of the Spirit is joy and it's in the Holy Spirit. We tend to think of joy as a feeling, emotion, or experience. Joy isn't spoken here as an emotion, experience or feeling. It's a fruit and it's important. The word in Hebrew is "periy - a fruit." If there's a banana in the fruit bowl, it's not an experience, feeling, or emotion of a banana in the fruit bowl. It's a banana in the fruit bowl. It's a real thing, a presence. That's the joy that God has for you in the Spirit. Fruit isn't an experience, it's a presence; a reality. Forget about experiencing highs, about trying to have an experience of joy. Rather comprehend the reality of joy, the presence of God, the presence of joy which is always there even in tough times, when you're not feeling so good. It's like the fruit in the bowl. It'll still be there tomorrow morning. You can rejoice always, because the joy that God gives you is at least as real as a banana.

Today's Mission
Discover the joy that is not simply an experience, but an abiding reality.

Galatians 5:22
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.

Legalism is helpless in bringing this about; it only gets in the way. Among those who belong to Christ, everything connected with getting our own way and mindlessly responding to what everyone else calls necessities is killed off for good—crucified.

Have a blessed day and week.
May Yeshua Hamashiach bless you,
Love, Lizzy