Today’s featured fruit: PEACE.

Peace with God? Sin damages our relationship with God. So, first we need peace with God. That’s exactly why Jesus – the Prince of Peace – came. His sacrifice on the cross wiped out sin’s penalty and gives us access to peace with God by grace through faith (Romans 5:1).

What exactly is peace? God’s peace is more than just absence of conflict. The Old Testament word – shalom – actually means “completeness” or “wholeness.” The New Testament word – eirene – describes harmonious relationships.

Inner peace? The Bible tells us not to be anxious or fearful but instead to pray and let the Holy Spirit fill us with “the peace of God, which transcends all understanding” (Philippians 4:6-7). Over and over, Jesus greeted his disciples with these simple words: “Peace be with you!” He wants the same for us.

Peace on earth? Peace isn’t something we should keep to ourselves. God wants it to overflow from our hearts into the world around us. “For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility (Ephesians 2:14). We’re told to work with the Spirit to promote unity among believers and to “make every effort to live in peace with all men” (Ephesians 4:3, Hebrews 12:14).

Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
(Matthew 5:9)

PEACE BE WITH YOU!

Today’s featured fruit: JOY.

What exactly is joy? Joy isn’t an emotion. It isn’t happiness. It isn’t pleasure. It’s waaaaay deeper than that.

Joy comes from God. It’s available 24/7, no matter the circumstances.

What does the Bible say? Joy is a major theme in the Bible. It sings in the Psalms, graces the Gospels, epitomizes the Epistles and reverberates in Revelation. Here’s just a sampling:

• “Shout with joy to God, all the earth!” (Psalm 66:1)
• “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4)
• “[T]he joy of the Lord is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10)
• Jesus told His disciples: “I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.” (John 16:22)
• “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.” (James 1:2)
• “Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory!” (Revelation 19:7)

C. S. Lewis called joy “the serious business of heaven.” Billy Sunday said: “If you have no joy in your religion, there’s a leak in your Christianity somewhere.”

LET THE SPIRIT
FILL YOU WITH JOY TODAY

Today’s featured fruit: LOVE.

Why love? There’s a reason love is first on the list. At its heart, the Bible is one gigantic love-fest. In fact, God IS love. The Bible says:

Dear friends, let us love one another for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. (1 John 4:7-8)

What exactly is love? It’s not a feeling. It’s not a sentiment. It wasn’t invented by Hallmark or Hollywood.

Here’s God’s definition:

Love is patient,
love is kind.
It does not envy,
it does not boast,
it is not proud.
It is not rude,
it is not self-seeking,
it is not easily angered,
it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil
but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects,
always trusts,
always hopes,
always perseveres.
Love never fails.
(1 Corinthians 13:4-8)

LET THE SPIRIT FILL YOU
WITH LOVE TODAY

It’s SPIRIT WEEK 2013 here on GUWG where each day we’re taking a deeeeeep dive into what the Bible says about the Holy Spirit.

Today’s topic …

THE FRUIT TEST

Our flesh is direct conflict with the Holy Spirit. Who’s winning in your life?

Consider these two rather different lists …

1.  Fruit produced by the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21):

• hatred
• jealousy
• discord
• idolatry
• impurity
• selfish ambition
• fits of rage
• drunkenness
• sexual immorality

2. Fruit produced by the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22):

• love
• joy
• peace
• patience
• kindness
• goodness
• faithfulness
• gentleness
• self-control

Here’s the test: Would the people around you say they see more of List #1 or List #2 in your life? Be honest. Think deeeeeeply. Put yourself in their shoes.

GOT FRUIT?

Here are today’s verses, straight from the mouth of Jesus:

I am the true vine,  and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:1-2, 4-5)

I love it when the Bible paints pictures.

The Father is the gardener. Jesus is the vine. We’re the branches. The Holy Spirit is the life-giving sap that runs from the vine to the branches. If the branches stay connected to the vine, they live and grow fruit. If they don’t, they die. It’s that simple.

So, what “fruit” does the Holy Spirit help us grow? A cornucopia of fabulous stuff:

• love
• joy
• peace
• patience
• kindness
• goodness
• faithfulness
• gentleness
• self-control

We’ll talk about each of these in detail in the next few days. Until then:

REMAIN IN THE VINE

In preparation for Pentecost Sunday (May 19), it’s SPIRIT WEEK 2103 here on GUWG, where we’re focusing on one of the most important but misunderstood (at least by me) topics in the entire Bible: THE HOLY SPIRIT.

Some quick facts to get us started …

The Holy Spirit is a person. It’s critical to understand that the Holy Spirit is a person — not an “it” or some impersonal force that we can manipulate. He has a mind (Romans 8:27), emotions (Ephesians 4:30) and will (1 Corinthians 12:11).

The Holy Spirit is God. He’s part of the Trinity, along with the Father and Jesus (Ephesians 4:30). He’s omnipresent, eternal and loves us more than we can possibly imagine.

What does the Holy Spirit do? The Father sent the Holy Spirit to help us live the Christian life. He lives in us (1 Corinthians 6:19). He guides (John 16:13), teaches (John 15:26), leads (Romans 8:14), warns (Acts 20:23), assures (Romans 8:16), helps (Romans 8:26), convicts (John 16:8-11), gives us spiritual birth (John 3:5), prays for us (Romans 8:26) and makes us holy (1 Corinthians 6:11).

What do we do? The Bible puts it simply and directly: “be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18). Put another way: “You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you.” (Romans 8:9)

Get to know the Holy Spirit. Listen to him. Talk to him. Let him teach you and guide you. Ask him to fill every nook and cranny of your life — your thoughts, emotions, work and relationships — so that his love can flow out of you and into the world.

BE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT

LOVING FATHER:

We pray for our mothers,
who cared for us
when we were helpless,

who comforted us
when we were hurt,

whose love and care
we usually took for granted,

as we often take
your love for granted.

God our Creator, we also pray:

for new mothers,
coming to terms
with new responsibility;

for expectant mothers,
wondering and waiting;

for those who are tired,
stressed or depressed;

for those who struggle to balance
the tasks of work and family;

for those who are unable
to feed their children due to poverty;

for those whose children have physical,
mental or emotional disabilities;

for those who have children
they do not want;

for those who raise children
on their own;

for those who have
lost a child;

for those who care
for the children of others;

for those whose children
have left home;

and for those whose desire
to be a mother has not been fulfilled.

Bless all mothers,
that their love may be deep and tender,
and that they may lead their children
to know and do what is good,
living not for themselves alone,
but for God and for others.

AMEN

(Author Unknown)

]]> http://getupwithgod.com/mothers-day/mothers-day-prayer/feed/ 2 Mother's Day Prayer http://getupwithgod.com/mothers-day/mothers-day-prayer/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GetUpWithGod/~3/givx5LLjMss/ http://getupwithgod.com/prayer/sunday-prayer-24/#comments Sat, 11 May 2013 08:03:32 +0000 GUWG http://getupwithgod.com/?p=3766 PRAYER-O-RAMA 2013 continues here on GUWG, where all week we’ve been praying through some of the most inspiring sections of Scripture together.

We’ll close today where we started, with a Psalm from David – a man after God’s own heart. Pray through it with all YOUR heart:

Hear, O Lord,
and answer me,
for I am poor and needy.

Guard my life,
for I am devoted to you.

You are my God;
save your servant who trusts in you.

Have mercy on me, O Lord,
for I call to you all day long.

Bring joy to your servant,
for to you, O Lord,
I lift up my soul.

You are forgiving and good, O Lord,
abounding in love
to all who call to you.

Hear my prayer, O Lord;
listen to my cry for mercy.

In the day of my trouble
I will call to you,
for you will answer me.

Among the gods
there is none like you, O Lord;
no deeds can compare with yours.

All the nations you have made
will come and worship
before you, O Lord;
they will bring glory to your name.

For you are great
and do marvelous deeds;
you alone are God.

Teach me your way, O Lord,
and I will walk in your truth;
give me an undivided heart,
that I may fear your name.

I will praise you, O Lord, my God,
with all my heart;
I will glorify your name forever.

(Psalm 86:1-12)

AMEN!

]]> http://getupwithgod.com/prayer/sunday-prayer-24/feed/ 0 Pray from the ♥ http://getupwithgod.com/prayer/sunday-prayer-24/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GetUpWithGod/~3/aKHUI1e2CE4/ http://getupwithgod.com/prayer/gods-secret-wisdom/#comments Fri, 10 May 2013 08:03:21 +0000 GUWG http://getupwithgod.com/?p=3762 PRAYER-O-RAMA 2013 continues here on GUWG, where all week we’ve been praying through some of the most inspiring sections of Scripture together.

Here’s a rather mind-blowing thought: we have the mind of Christ.

That’s not my idea. That’s straight from today’s passage. Pray through it with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and with all your mind.

We declare God’s wisdom,
a mystery that has been hidden
and that God destined for our glory
before time began.

None of the rulers
of this age understood it,
for if they had,
they would not have crucified
the Lord of glory.
However, as it is written:

“What no eye has seen,
what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind
has conceived” –
the things God has prepared
for those who love him–

these are the things God has revealed
to us by his Spirit.

The Spirit searches all things,
even the deep things of God.
For who knows a person’s thoughts
except their own spirit within them?
In the same way
no one knows the thoughts of God
except the Spirit of God.

What we have received
is not the spirit of the world
but the Spirit who is from God,
so that we may understand
what God has freely given us.
This is what we speak,
not in words taught us
by human wisdom
but in words taught by the Spirit,
explaining spiritual realities
with Spirit-taught words.

The person without the Spirit
does not accept the things
that come from the Spirit of God,
but considers them foolishness,
and cannot understand them
because they are discerned
only through the Spirit.

The person with the Spirit
makes judgments about all things,
but such a person is not subject
to merely human judgments, for,

“Who has known
the mind of the Lord
so as to instruct him?”

But we have the mind of Christ.

(1 Corinthians 2:7-16)

AMEN!

]]> http://getupwithgod.com/prayer/gods-secret-wisdom/feed/ 0 Mind of Christ http://getupwithgod.com/prayer/gods-secret-wisdom/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GetUpWithGod/~3/SC-ebMoFpIs/ http://getupwithgod.com/jesus/jesus-prayed-for-you/#comments Thu, 09 May 2013 08:03:04 +0000 GUWG http://getupwithgod.com/?p=3743 It’s PRAY-O-RAMA 2013 here on GUWG, where all week we’re praying through some of the most inspiring sections of Scripture together.

What was the last thing Jesus did before he headed to the garden to be arrested? He prayed for his disciples — and then, get this: he prayed for you and me.

Wow.

Since Jesus took the time to pray for us, I humbly suggest that we take the time right now to pray through each and every one of His precious words, asking Him to help us live them out in our lives.

I am coming to you now,
but I say these things
while I am still in the world,
so that they may have the full measure
of my joy within them.

I have given them your word
and the world has hated them,
for they are not of the world,
any more than I am of the world.
My prayer is not that you
take them out of the world
but that you protect them
from the evil one.
They are not of the world,
even as I am not of it.

Sanctify them by the truth;
your word is truth.
As you sent me into the world,
I have sent them into the world.
For them I sanctify myself,
that they too may be truly sanctified.

My prayer is not for them alone.
I pray also for those who will believe
in me through their message,
that all of them may be one, Father,
just as you are in me and I am in you.
May they also be in us
so that the world may believe
that you have sent me.
I have given them the glory
that you gave me,
that they may be one as we are one:
I in them and you in me.
May they be brought to complete unity
to let the world know that you sent me
and have loved them
even as you have loved me.

Father,
I want those you have given me
to be with me where I am,
and to see my glory,
the glory you have given me
because you loved me
before the creation of the world.

Righteous Father,
though the world does not know you,
I know you,
and they know that you have sent me.
I have made you known to them,
and will continue to make you known
in order that the love you have
for me may be in them
and that I myself may be in them.

(John 17:13-26)

AMEN!

]]> http://getupwithgod.com/jesus/jesus-prayed-for-you/feed/ 2 Jesus Prayed For You http://getupwithgod.com/jesus/jesus-prayed-for-you/