All About GOD - Growing Relationships with Jesus and Others
FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Galatians 5: 22-23
Over the last few days, as I have read the various posts here at AAG, I have wondered how many of us actually think about the attributes listed here and how we would benefit from them. I have wondered if we consider these attributes and whether we strive to produce them as God would have us to do.
Do we think of these attributes as we are posting here? Do we try to display these attributes as we "speak" to others? When we post here, are we striving to "speak" with these attributes displayed for all to see?
I am looking for honest suggestions on how we can communicate with one another, in teaching what we know, or asking about what we don't know, and do it in such a manner as to keep peace in this place that folks have developed for us to come and speak about the Lord.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Michael Vernon McEntire on
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Rita, I don't think it does any good to TRY to "display" these attributes. We are branches, dear; and we either bear fruit or we don't, because we are either connected to the Tree or we aren't. If we are connected to the Tree but we aren't bearing much fruit of the Spirit, the Gardener will prune us.
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Permalink Reply by Charles Burwell on
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Michael
You stated that so simply yet so completely. After all. they are the fruit 'of the Spirit' and not the fruit of our doings.'
God bless
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Yes -- especially self-control!!
As far as the traits listed, they are fruit -- they are what God grows in us, when we are faithful to walk in the Spirit. So rather than trying to display love, I try to be myself, while curbing my 'tongue' (fingers, that is). Pause before I hit 'Add Reply,' and consider: is this something I would like to represent me to the world? Would I say this around my pastor, my family, my friends, my brothers and sisters in Christ, my Abba?
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Permalink Reply by David Velasquez on
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Dear sister Rita,
Your topic is an important one in any setting, but very important to keep in mind in a large community as this one.
When we walk in the Spirit and not the flesh the fruit of the Spirit mentioned in Galatians 5:23 it’s automatically manifested in our lives.
The thing is that there is a time for everything under heaven and many gifts. So we should all Endeavour to walk in the Spirit, so the fruit in our lives can be obvious and good. But is also the Spirit that leads us to act in ways that may not be so appealing to some. We all have different levels of maturity and we are all struggling still with the flesh, the world and Satan, so there is a lot going on in each one of us. When we get together as we do here, a living organism, there will be times of sparks as we sharpen each other etc… and we must be aware of this and not feel the community is coming to an end because of it. We pick ourselves up and dust ourselves, make the appropriate apologies if necessary and continue to grow together.
We all hope and wish the conflicts remain minimal and I personally think they do for such a large community. I am writing you because I am probably among the most confrontational persons in this community. I am not an administrator nor am I a moderator, but as a child of God I love His truth and have no problem contending for it. I do wait for the nudge of the Holy Spirit to act upon certain situation, but if I did not act I would not be obedient to my Lord. The thing is that as the rest of us, I am still learning how to do what God calls me to do His way, without contaminating it with my ways hahahha and here is where we need to exercise patience with one another. I am only using myself as an example cause I am very active, not because I think you have me in mind hahaahah or who knows hehe J/K
Contending for the truth does not mean that the person is no longer walking in love or in the Spirit. It is extremely hard to confront someone about erroneous teaching. Whenever it needs to be done is not an easy thing to do, but we are all commanded to do it as led by the Spirit to do so, We must make sure is not the flesh trying to take advantage of such a situation to surface and cause havoc, but the things is that we are not borne knowing how to do such things. So mistakes might be made in the process, but here is where the patience, kindness etc... The fruit of the Spirit come into play as well.
We must walk in the Spirit so all we do, we do in Love. Love is many things as 1 Corinthians 13 shows. Love also corrects as Hebrews 12 shows. Correction must be done in love, but at times in a stern manner due to the individual circumstance.
There is a Godly way to confront and communicate in every situation, but to those who are not used by God in certain functions may not understand why things are said the way they are said.
In the same book of Galatians you see Paul opposing Peter in public harshly.
Galatians 2
Paul Opposes Peter
11 When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. 12 Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. 13 The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.
14 When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, "You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?
We are all learning and growing how to walk with a mind that should be renewed daily by the word of God. We all need to exercise patience with one another and in devour to keep the bond of peace.
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Your question:
how we can communicate with one another, in teaching what we know, or asking about what we don't know, and do it in such a manner as to keep peace
Can be answer by something LT wrote.
Taken from the forum "Learning to respond in a godly manner with conviction" by LT.
From my observation here on TheNET we tend to make several mistakes that if avoided could go along way to preserving peace and edifying the body. It is easy to add “amen” to a post that you agree with, but how do you deal with a post that you don’t agree with?
What are some of the steps that we can take to respond in a godly manner with conviction? I am going to list some pointers from my perspective and encourage comments and further input to be added.
* We should not ever respond to a post we disagree with immediately (Note below for exceptions).
* We need to reread the post several times seeking the whole of its content and not focus in on one sentence or statement initially.
* We need to pray about the content of the post seeking discernment.
* We need to examine it in the light of Scripture.
* We need to pose questions to the author about their post, rather than assume and accuse.
* If, after time, rereading, prayer, Scriptural analysis, and posing questions we find the post in error, we need to address the issue(s) directly substantiating your position with Scripture.
* Never attack the character of the poster. (If you defend your position scripturally you do not have to digress to attacking the poster).
* If attacked, brush it off and stay on topic. Scripture will always win the battle, not your verbal assault or defense of self. You can defend Scripture and turn the other cheek at the same time.
* Be teachable. You might actually have this one wrong. If you do, accept it, acknowledge it and embrace the truth. None of us have it all perfectly right (If you do, stay away from me, I will corrupt you … little humor please :-)
* Lastly, not everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will see it the same way as you or me on every issue. There are a variety of views on numerous topics.
You may be passionate about that particular topic and so will others who may see it differently. This does not mean we are not brothers, for it is at the cross we find our identity, not in the dogma of doctrines or preferences that are open to various interpretations. What are some examples? Mode of baptism, spiritual gifts, evidence of being filled with the Holy Spirit, end time views, Calvinist or Armenian, denominations or not, the list goes on.
Having said the above I must say that there are times we will respond instantly and harshly. There are times wolves come here in sheep’s clothing. There are people who come here and attack the central doctrines of the Christian faith. They will be met swiftly and rebuked. A good (under)shepherd will protect the sheep from ravenous wolves and must.
One must ask oneself what their purpose is. Am I seeking to edify and help others grow while I am seeking to grow, or am I seeking to be right? Iron sharpens iron and in the process of those two pieces of iron sharpening each other there will be friction and heat, but in the end they benefit each other …. Think about that.
These principles actually go beyond TheNET and apply to our daily lives and dealing with others who do not quite see eye-to-eye with us.
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Hi David.
Thanks for your reply. I actually posted this for myself as well as all other readers. I am reminding myself and others that we are many different personalities and that we don't all see things the same way. We are not all in the same area of learning and some are way ahead of others. I was just trying to get others' ideas on how we should approach different topics so that we can teach each other with a minimum of hurt feelings but obtaining a wealth of knowledge about the Word at the same time.
I know that my attitude is not always the best so I like to pray about what I post and ask that it be received in the manner that is acceptable to the Father and not to cause hurt feelings for anyone.
This is such a great place to come and learn. BUT I also know that in order to learn we need to listen to what is being said. I was thinking about the many different responses in the topic that Ron posted about the *Body, Soul, Spirit* and the fact that there are some posts that are just not in keeping with the Word.
I wonder how to get someone to consider something other than what they believe. How do we get others to think about what is said and how do we get them to think of another viewpoint other than their own, especially when they are not thinking correctly?
Even though I don't post many scriptures, I have most times gone to my Bible to see what God says first. I do ask questions when I need to know something, not as a test for you, but for additional information for myself. I am wondering how to have unity when it isn't there in the first place.
I have seen posts where I have to read it over and over to understand what a person is saying 'cause I just don't understand the first time. Sometimes not the second or third time either.
At any rate, thank you again for your response.
Rita
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Permalink Reply by Leonard T on
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Rita,
I would add here:
There will always be varied views this side of the Lord's return. The key is identifying primary and secondary doctrine (not everone agrees on this). Primary doctines are non-negotiable, such as Jesus is the Son of God. There are also secondary doctrines and these are debatable and not essential to our salvation.
There will always be some who come here to teach a particular view and are not interested in learning. They are not teachable. Being teachable does not mean we are easily persuaded, but that we can be persuaded by sound teaching that aligns with God's Word,His whole Word and not just pick-and-choose verses that fit a particular pet doctrine.
We need to attempt to always act and respond in love, even when one disagrees with us. This is not always easy and all of us fail at times to shine through as we should. The best way to accomplish this IMO is to stay on topic and away from character assasination.
Lastly, when you don't understand something after the third reading, ask the person to clarify. You will learn pretty quick by their response if you really want to know what they think.
Remember that you cannot be responsible for the other person's action. We are responsible for our own actions.
Lord Bless,
LT
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Thanks LT.
I need all the help I can get in this area because I don't want to upset anyone just because they don't agree with me. As I tried to explain yesterday, I want what I post to be accurate but also godly and not come off sounding like I think I know everything, yet get my point across in the kindest possible way.
However, I also posted this to remind all of us, including myself, that there is a right way and a wrong way to show who we are, and what our heart is by the tone of *voice* we use when we post. Or *tone of fingers* to keep in mind what David said.
Thanks for your response.
Blessings,
Rita
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:)
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