What are you working on?

Hello Exceeders! 💜

Scripture Breakdown!

I have been on the spiritual search of having more faith and possessing more temperance. The fruits of the Holy Spirit have been something I’ve been interested in since I first began my spiritual journey.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23 KJV

I was drawn to that passage often thinking, “Lord, do I have any of those qualities?”. I went to my handy dandy Bible app and searched the word ‘TEMPERANCE’. Quite a few verses came up but this is the one that stopped me in my tracks:

“And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 1:5-8 KJV

There it was, right in front of me, my answer on how to be fruitful in the eyes of God. My Pastor is the break it down queen so I learn from the best. Let’s start with definitions in true Pastor B fashion ✨

I first thought I would start with Faith but the Holy Spirit made diligence pop out to me

Diligence:

1. Careful and persistent work or effort.
2. Prudent (plan ahead, forecast, project, anticipate, provision)
3. Be wise (learn from experience)
4. Do consistently (every time, all the time)

On the journey of getting up close and personal with God’s Word, I’ve developed a love for the artistry of God. Aren’t you happy that God not only tells you what to do but He tells you HOW to do it too? Whew!

Faith:

1. It’s deep-rooted in the expectation of good things to come.
2. Not a mere intellectual stance, but a belief that leads to action
3. Strong belief in God

Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” As believers of Christ, we have to have faith in God and also have faith in the fact that He has our absolute best interest at heart. Hebrews 11:6 says, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” There goes that word DILIGENT again. All things stem from having faith in God. Growing up, I just believed in God’s existence. Walking around in all my sinful bliss praying for things to happen that I didn’t believe would happen. I understood the structure of Christianity without understanding the faith of Kingdom Minded people. People after God’s own heart. I knew people were shouting and praising and passing out because HE’S ABLE, they would yell, but I had no clue there were more steps to it.

Virtue:

1. Behavior showing high moral standards
2. A trait or quality that is deemed to be morally good and thus is valued as a foundation of principle and good moral being
3. The attitudes and habits adopted in obedience to those principles

Me to me in the mirror: Be obedient in your faith. Have faith that matches the standard of your God! You serve a BIG God and He deserves BIG faith! Seek Him for directions and instructions to live up to His standard that He has set for His children.

Knowledge:

1. Facts, information, and skills acquired by a person through experience or education
2. Theoretical or practical understanding of a subject.
3.  Clear and certain perception of that which exists, or of truth and fact

Me to me in the mirror: Know what is expected of you. Know the standard that God has for His children so that your faith can be perfected. Knowledge of God creates perfect faith. Those nine fruits of the Holy Spirit are pleasing in the eyes of God. Know them and understand them through studying your Word. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.

Temperance:

1. Moderation in action, thought, or feeling
2. Restraint

Me to me in the mirror: Deny yourself. Deny your flesh the things that you THINK you want and get more in tune with who God NEEDS you to become. It is important that you deny the lusts of this world so that you can be who God predestined you to be. God gave us freewill so that we can chose Him. Chose to be more than of this world.

Come back next week for part 2!