Recipe for Love, Peace, Joy....

I really liked my devotional this morning about the fruits of the spirit and how to actually live them out each day, so I thought I would share.

How can we have love, peace, joy, and victory in our lives? Well, God’s Word tells us to be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). And when we are filled with the Spirit, we not only have love, peace, and joy, we have the beautiful qualities of patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). We can be filled with the Spirit, and continue to be so by following these Scriptural instructions:

Repent: Of anything–actions, attitudes, words, bad habits–anything that might stand between you and the peace and joy of the Lord. True acknowledgment of sin and sorrow over it releases its hold over you and your life. (See James 4:8-10)

Surrender To God: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in views of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifice, holy and please to God—which is your spiritual worship. Do not conform any
longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:1-2).

Ask God’s Forgiveness Whenever You Err: To keep Christ’s peace and joy, don’t ever let anything come between you and Him. (See 1 John 1:9)

Forgive: God, Yourself, Others: Ask the Lord to reveal to you if there is anyone who has ever done you ill whom you need to forgive; and with His help, forgive that person. Do
this to exorcise the ghosts in your past that may rise up periodically to haunt you and hurt your life and relationships. Do this to have peace with God, yourself, and others. (See Luke 11:4, Mark 11:25-26, Ephesians 4:32.)

Trust In The Lord In Everything: Be anxious about nothing (Philippians 4:4-8).

Begin Your Day By Rejoicing In The Lord praising and thanking Him (Psalm 34:1). Enjoy life to the fullest! Report to the Lord for duty each morning, willing to serve Him however He may wish, in whatever He may want to do through you, in ministering to others, in being His light to your world.

Whenever Something Gets You Down, Praise The Lord (even and especially when you don’t feel like it). This will lift you out of the dungeon of despair (Acts 16:25-26). It worked for Paul and Silas; and it works for me every time!

Control Your Thoughts: Bring every thought into obedience to Christ (1 Corinthians 10:5). Be on guard against our enemy Satan and his devious devices. Study Ephesians 4:26-5:11, Ephesians 6:10-18; 1 Peter 5:8.

Serve The Lord: He has given you a gift or gifts–and talents–with which to serve Him, His
people, and others for His glory. Seek His guidance.

Simple message with huge significance:)