"...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."  Galatians 5:22-23

A few months ago I was blessed to be able to attend one day of my church's women's retreat being held in a picturesque little town near my home.  Not only was it lovely to be able to spend the day learning from God's word with other women from my church, but our speaker gave some helpful insights into the topic of the fruit of the Spirit.

Love Magnets by Wild Apple Design

In this section of Galatians, Paul has been writing about not living by the sinful nature and contrasting this with what it is like to live by the Spirit.  One of the points our speaker made, which particularly struck a chord with me, was that while many may think of the "fruit of the Spirit" in the plural, it really is just one fruit with several aspects.  In other words, while we may display or put into practice one or more of these traits better than others, we need to work at every aspect of the fruit of the Spirit.


 For me, this means that I should not be making excuses for my impatience or shortcomings in other aspects of the fruit of the Spirit.  As a believer in Christ, I should be making the best efforts to display ALL aspects of the fruit of the Spirit, not just the ones I "like the most" or the ones towards which I feel God has particularly inclined my nature.
As you look through our CAST Friday finds for this week, perhaps you can think about the fruit of the Spirit in your life.  Which aspects do you feel you are more inclined to display?  And which ones do you need to work on and pray about?



Peace glass tile pendant by New Hope Beads

Patience necklace by Echoes of Stars' Designs

Bee kind charm necklace by Sissy's Pretties

Fruit of the Spirit tote by his love endures forever

Faith ornament by Wordz of Life

Fruit of the Spirit bracelet by Simply Grace Designs

Fruit of the Spirit tag necklace by Bracelets by Linda

Comments (9)

On December 31, 2010 at 9:38 AM , Christie Cottage said...

We should all display and enjoy the fruit of the spirit!

Let's make their our New Year's Resolution!

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On December 31, 2010 at 10:39 AM , Sue Runyon said...

Thanks, Deb. So true. Thanks for helping us ring in the New Year on a good note. Lovely items!

 
On December 31, 2010 at 10:52 AM , BijiBijoux said...

Amen to that!

Yes we we need to work at every aspect of the fruit of the Spirit. Thank you!
Happy New Year full of his peace,strength ,and his love!

 
On December 31, 2010 at 1:33 PM , MYSAVIOR said...

Deb - this is a fabulous message and I am going to pass this on to many of my friends.
Thank you so much!

♥♥♥
Sue

 
On December 31, 2010 at 2:20 PM , watercolors said...

Deb, you always have such nice applicable posts.
Great finds to represent the Fruit of The Spirits.

Happy New Year,
Roxanne

 
On January 1, 2011 at 8:14 AM , Unknown said...

Great first message for the new year.
It's the Fruit of the Spirit that sets us apart and enables us to live a successful life.

 
On January 1, 2011 at 8:15 AM , SHEILA said...

Wonderful reminder for the New Year! Thank you :)

 
On January 2, 2011 at 4:26 PM , His Love Endures Forever said...

Great post! My husband and I have been teaching the fruit of the spirit to our T&T group in Awana. God never ceases to amaze.

 
On January 7, 2011 at 12:20 PM , Teresa Stern said...

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the finds! Checking out the shops right now and getting connected. Thanks for all you do!
Blessings-
Teresa