Tag Archives: gentleness

Let Us Also Keep In Step With The Spirit

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The Spirit Empowered Life - Day 135 - Galatians 5:22-26 - Let Us Also Keep In Step With The Spirit - Growing As Disciples

The Spirit Empowered Life – Day 135 – Galatians 5:22-26 – Let Us Also Keep In Step With The Spirit – Growing As Disciples

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.  And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.  If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.  Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. Galatians 5:22-26 (ESV)

Keep In Step

I will keep in step with you. I will follow you to where you lead me. I will do what you ask of me. What have I asked of you? Where have I led you? You have asked me to leave my old and sinful life. You have asked me to crucify my flesh along with all its passions and desires because I now belong to Jesus Christ. He is my Savior and Lord. You have asked me to leave conceit and provocation and envy far behind me. That is correct. Where have I been leading you? I will answer that in a way that may be unexpected, at least by me. You have been leading me into a deeper relationship with you. You have been helping me to listen to your voice guiding me through life. You have been leading me into a life of intimacy with you. You have been helping me to rely on you. You have been helping me to place all my faith and hope and trust in you. That is also correct. That is exactly where I have been leading you.

How will you know if you are on track? How will you know if you are keeping in step with me? What will be the outcome of your living in an intimate relationship with me? Your fruit will develop in me. I and others will see that the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control is growing in me. That is true. There are a few things I want you to know. What’s that? My fruit does not grow overnight. As you keep in step with me, my fruit will growly slowly, steadily, and surely. Don’t be impatient. Don’t become discouraged. Know also that it will always be far easier to see my fruit growing in others than in yourself. But as you keep in step with me, have no doubt that my fruit will be growing in you. I will mold you. I will shape you. I will help you to live a life that is pleasing to me. Thank you, Holy Spirit. I will keep in step with you. That will be very good. 

Holy Spirit, I am no longer living according to fleshly passions and desires of this world. Help me to keep in step with you. I want to live by your guidance. Mold and shape me. Develop your fruit within me. Help me to live a life that is fully pleasing to you. Amen

Key Question… What daily choices do you need to continue to make to keep in step with the Holy Spirit?

Living It Out… Keep in step with the Holy Spirit so He can develop His fruit in you.

Seeing It Happen…  Have faith that the Holy Spirit will develop His fruit in you.

Get Ready To Share…  Share with another person or your small group how you are keeping in step with the Holy Spirit.

Prayer To Bless Others…  May the fruit of the Spirit develop in your life as you keep in step with Him.

For today’s complete 4 page Discipleship Devotional Devotional Study Guide click here

The Spirit Empowered Life – Day 135 – Galatians 5-22-26 – Let Us Also Keep In Step With The Spirit – 4 Page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide

Please consider sharing these devotionals with others through the social media you use.

Individual users may save the Discipleship Devotional Study Guide to their desktop for private use. All the blanks in the study guides are fields that allow typed responses. To use the fields on the study guide you may need to open the guide with a free version of adobe reader.

By Jon Ulrich © All rights reserved                                                        Copying not permitted                                                                                    www.GrowingAsDisciples.com

Above All Clothe Yourself With Love

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The Compassionate Life - Day 258 - Colossians 3:12-14 - Above All Clothe Yourself With Love - Growing As Disciples

The Compassionate Life – Day 258 – Colossians 3:12-14 – Above All Clothe Yourself With Love – Growing As Disciples

Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.  Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.  Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. Colossians 3:12-14 (NLT)

Clothed

How will you be clothed? What will you put on? What kind of life will you live since I chose you to be my child? I will live a life that is pleasing to you. I will seek to know and do your will all the days of my life. I will follow the example you set before me. It is my hope and desire, dream and plan to think and speak and act like you. I know it is your will that I become like you. Yes, that is my will for you. Yes, I want you to live a life that is pleasing to me. I want you to become like me in all you think, and say, and do. That is entirely correct.  

What are elements of clothing that you will put on? I will put-on tender-hearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. I will always make allowances for the faults I see in others. I will always forgive others who offend me. Why is it especially important that you do these things? I have many faults. Sometimes, it is very difficult for me to see my own faults. Nevertheless, I know that they are many and glaring. Why I can so easily see others faults but not see my own is beyond me. So, I will make allowances for others that I hope that they will make for me. I also need forgiveness for when I offend others. Again, my need of forgiveness is not rare and unusual or infrequent. So, remembering my own need of forgiveness, and how you have freely forgiven me, has set before me a powerful reason and example why I need to forgive others readily and freely. How could I expect to receive forgiveness from others or from you if I lived an unforgiving life? You could have no hope or expectation of receiving what you were unwilling to give to others. But I am ready and willing and able to forgive. I am determined to do for others what you have done for me. That is very good.

How else will you be clothed? What else will you put on? I will put on love. I will allow the love you have for me to flow through me to others so that they will be drawn to you. And what will be the sign that you are truly putting on my love? I will be living in harmony with others. I will be a bold and bright witness for you in the world. I will be bearing fruit for your Kingdom and bringing glory to your name. I will be living the life you have called me to live. Yes, you will and that will be very good.

Lord, thank you for choosing me. I will remember that you have forgiven me so I can readily forgive others. Help me to make allowances for the faults I see in others that I cannot see in myself. Help me to put on love so I can live in harmony with others. Amen

Key Question…  When has remembering that the Lord forgave you helped you to forgive others?

Living It Out…  Clothe yourself with love so you will be able to live in harmony with others.

Seeing It Happen…  Have faith that the Lord will help you to clothe yourself with love so you can live in harmony with others.

Get Ready To Share…  Share with another person or your small group how you are making allowances for the faults you see in others.

Prayer To Bless Others…  May you clothe yourself with love so you will live in harmony with others.

For today’s complete 4 page Discipleship Devotional Devotional Study Guide click here:

The Compassionate Life – Day 258 – Colossians 3-12-14 – Clothe Yourself With Love – 4 Page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide

Please consider sharing these devotionals with others through the social media you use.

Individual users may save the Discipleship Devotional Study Guide to their desktop for private use. All the blanks in the study guides are fields that allow typed responses. To use the fields on the study guide you may need to open the guide with a free version of adobe reader.

By Jon Ulrich © All rights reserved                                                        Copying not permitted                                                                                    www.GrowingAsDisciples.com

Follow The Spirit’s Leading

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Discipleship Devotional Study Guide - Promises - Day 257- Galatians 5:22-26 - Follow The Spirit's Leading - Growing As Disciples

Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – Promises – Day 257- Galatians 5:22-26 – Follow The Spirit’s Leading – Growing As Disciples

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!  Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.  Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.  Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another. Galatians 5:22-26 (NLT)

Leading You

How will you know if I am leading you? How will you know if you are following me? Those are very good questions. Don’t expect me to answer them for you. Why is that? Why would I answer a question for you when you already know the answer? Why would I answer a question for you when I want to hear the answer from you? You wouldn’t. You haven’t. You won’t. That’s right. So, go ahead and answer my questions. Here goes. I will know if you are leading me and I am following you if your fruit is being developed in my life. You want the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control to overflow my life. You want to see this fruit to be fully formed in me.  Yes, I do, there is no doubt about that. This fruit will only form if I am living in an intimate relationship with you. As hard as I could or might try, this fruit will never form in me by my very best efforts. No, it will not. Something else is also true. What’s that? This fruit will only form in me if I have walked away and continue to keep on walking away from my old life in the world. And the only way to walk away from my old life in the world is to fully enter in to living the life that you have secured for me. You broke the power of sin over my life. My old life and all its sin were nailed to the cross and they died there with you. Yes, they did. And now I am following your leading. I am keeping in step with you because my heart and mind and life are focused on you. I am becoming who you called me to be. I am doing what you have asked me to do. Both are true because I love you with all my heart and mind and soul and strength. I want to live a life that is good and right and pleasing to you. Yes, you do, I can see that. That is how I know that you are leading me, and I am following you. Yes, you do, and that is very good.

Lord, thank you for setting me apart to be one of your followers. Thank you for forgiving my sin and cleansing my unrighteousness. Thank you for purifying my heart and mind. Help me to continually call on you for all that I need. Hear and answer my prayers. Amen

Key Question…  How are you making sure that you keep in step with the Holy Spirit guiding you through life?

Living It Out…  Follow the Holy Spirit’s leading as He develops His fruit within you.

Seeing It Happen…  Have faith that the Holy Spirit will develop His fruit within you as you keep in step with Him.

Get Ready To Share…  Share with another person or your small group how the Holy Spirit is leading you as He develops His fruit in you.

Prayer To Bless Others…  May you follow the Holy Spirit’s leading as He develops His fruit in you.

For today’s complete 4 page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide click here:

Promises – Day 257 – Galatians 5-22-26 – Follow The Spirit’s Leading – 4 Page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide

Please consider sharing these devotionals with others through the social media you use.

Individual users may save the Discipleship Devotional Study Guide to their desktop for private use. All the blanks in the study guides are fields that allow typed responses. To use the fields on the study guide you may need to open the guide with a free version of adobe reader.

By Jon Ulrich © All rights reserved                   Copying not permitted                      www.GrowingAsDisciples.com

Clothe Yourself With Love

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Discipleship Devotional Study Guide - Promises - Day 255- Colossians 3:12-14 - Clothe Yourself With Love - Growing As Disciples

Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – Promises – Day 255- Colossians 3:12-14 – Clothe Yourself With Love – Growing As Disciples

Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.  Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.  Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. Colossians 3:12-14 (NLT)

Clothe Yourself With Love 

I have called you. I have chosen you. You are my child. It is my plan that you will come to know and love and follow and serve me. It is my desire that you will think and speak, and act like me. I want you to follow my example. I want you to become like me. I want others to see my life being lived out in and through you. How does all this sound to you? Does it sound to you like a burdensome demand or does it sound to you like a welcome invitation? It sounds marvelous. It sounds wonderful. In no way does it sound like a burdensome demand to me. In every way it sounds like a welcome invitation that has become the desire of my heart. I want what you want. So, I will clothe myself with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. I will overlook and make allowances for faults in other people. I do so with the hope, but not the expectation, that they will overlook and make allowances for my faults, of which there are many. I will closely follow your example. I will quickly and willingly forgive others who have offended me. Hopefully, I will not allow myself to be offended in the first place. But if I am, I will forgive others just as you have forgiven me. I am saying I will do all these things with the knowledge that I will sometimes fall short of living the life you have called me to live. I am saying these things knowing that you will forgive me and help me to live the life you have called me to live. You will pick me up and keep me moving forward with you. You will keep on molding and shaping my life. You will keep on making me able to think and speak and act like you. You will keep on helping me to follow your example. Yes, I will. You can count on me. That I will do, and above all else, I will put on love so I can be bound together with others and live-in perfect harmony with them. That will be very good. Yes, it will. Thank you, Lord.

Lord, I will follow your example. I will think and speak and act like you. Help me to be tenderhearted, merciful, kind, humble, gentle, patient, and forgiving as I love, follow, and serve you. I will put on love so that I can live in perfect harmony with other people. Amen 

Key Question… How is clothing yourself with love making you able to live in perfect harmony with others?

Living It Out… Clothe yourself with love so you can live in perfect harmony with others.

Seeing It Happen… Have faith that the Lord will help you to clothe yourself with love so you can live in perfect harmony with others.

Get Ready To Share… Share with another person or your small group how you are putting on love and living in harmony with others.

Prayer To Bless Others… May you clothe yourself with love so you can live in harmony with others.

For today’s complete 4 page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide click here:

Promises – Day 255 – Colossians 3-12-14 – Clothe Yourself With Love – 4 Page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide

Please consider sharing these devotionals with others through the social media you use.

Individual users may save the Discipleship Devotional Study Guide to their desktop for private use. All the blanks in the study guides are fields that allow typed responses. To use the fields on the study guide you may need to open the guide with a free version of adobe reader.

By Jon Ulrich © All rights reserved                   Copying not permitted                      www.GrowingAsDisciples.com