A Free Spirit

 A free Spirit isn’t the ability to do what you what to do, live how you want to live, and be who you want to be! Shocking I know! 

A Free Spirit is the ability to do what God wants you to do, live how God wants you to live, and be who God wants you to be! 

There is so much freedom in discovering the plans God has for you! 

There is so much liberty in living a life according to His purpose! 

There is so much peace in accepting who God created you to be! 

Don’t waste your life living by your own plans, your own ways, your own wants, and your own wishes- you will soon discover there is NO freedom there, no peace, no joy, and no contentment! 

Find your FREE SPIRIT in the presence of the Almighty Father - and accept the plans He has for

Blessings and Joy

Dorothy Hill Gates 

#dorothyhillgates #freedom #liberty #peace #freespirit #hisplans #dailyinspiration #dailyvoice #dailydevoswithdot

So You Say You're a Christian- Intro

New Bible Study 

SO YOU SAY YOU'RE A CHRISTIAN 

Romans 12:9-21

Ever Friday we will take a look at what it means to be a Christian...

 

 

A FRUITFUL Christian- Temperance

A Fruitful Christian 🍎🍈🥭🍋🍉

Happy Tuesday and welcome to another look at The Fruitful Christian. Today will finish out this series. I have enjoyed looking at the Fruit of the Spirit from Galatians 5 and I pray you have to.

Today brings in our last fruit. The last piece of the puzzle. The last quality of a Christian who is in living in a love relationship with God. The final reward. Temperance.

Temperance-moderation in action, thought, or feeling: restraint, self-control

Self-control- the ability to control oneself, in particular one’s emotions and desires or the expression of them in one’s behavior, especially in difficult situations.

It’s no accident that Paul listed temperance as the very last Fruit of the Spirit. God led Him to place this challenging character trait at the very end. My guess; is because self-control is impossible without all the other qualities being instilled first. Without my daily walk with God, without my quiet time with Him, without by obedience to the greatest commandment; it would be very hard to live in control of my flesh.

My flesh is too weak to control my emotions, my temper, my desires, and my temptations. My flesh can not handle all the pressures of life. But when I’m living in the Spirit and walking with God, His strength is enough to withstand all the difficult situations life may present. Self-control is really all about allowing the Spirit to control your life- being under His control, submitting yourself to Him daily, learning to crucify yourself in Christ daily.

All of these godly attributes have been adding up- one on top of the other. Love is the first and for-most- the foundation of all the Fruit of the Spirit.

I can’t help but think of a triple scoop ice-cream cone, you have this amazing chocolate covered waffle cone that is holding all the delicious flavors of ice-cream together. That waffle cone is the first step, you must have it. You can not skip this vital step, nor would you want to! Who wants to miss out on a waffle cone dipped in chocolate with caramel drizzled on the side? Then, once you have the first step down, you can start scooping all the yummy ice-cream flavors inside the cone, one at a time. Once you are done with the ice-cream, you can add some coolwhip, and the very last step, you get to put the shiny red cherry on top.

Isn’t that a yummy picture of the Fruit of the Spirit? You start with love and inside that love you begin to scoop in all the other wonderful results of walking with God- joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance (the cherry on top). And not only are you a beautiful sight in the eyes of the world, you are also living a beautiful life in the Fruit of the Spirit.

Do you long for some joy or peace in your life?

Do you feel like you need more long-suffering, gentleness, or goodness?

Are you a woman of faith?

Is meekness a word that upsets you?

Do you long to have control over your fleshly desires?

It all boils down to this last questions.

How is your love relationship with God?

As we wrap up this study, I want you to remember- the closer you are to Him, the closer you will resemble Him. And shouldn’t that be our desire as a Christian; to be Christ like? Are you a Fruitful Woman? You can be! But you must follow the recipe that God has given us. You can find the recipe and all the ingredients for being a Fruitful woman in Galatians 5:22-23

Peace, Joy, and Blessings!

A FRUITFUL Christian- Meekness

As we look at yet another Fruit of the Spirit in our Fruitful Christian series today, we will focus on Meekness.

Meekness- the act or condition of being meek; submissiveness

Meek- quiet, gentle, and imposed on; submissive

Meek is such a beautiful word with so many beautiful synonyms. I want to share a few, because I truly believe there is power in words. Look how powerful and challenging the word meek is!

Synonyms for meek: humble, modest, peaceable, obedient, unpretentious, lowly, mild, reverent, forbearing, tame, patient, gentle, long-suffering, docile, unassuming, compliant

Which one spoke to you the most? Circle it.

Now let’s look at words that mean the opposite of meek.

Antonyms for meek: impatient, assertive, overbearing, assuming, wild, inpatient, incompliant

Out of these two list, which best describes the characteristics of God. Unfortunately, modern society teaches us the meekness is for the spineless and the weak. Meekness is a characteristic that resembles the timid and the shy. But I would like to argue that meekness is a quality that reflects a beautiful, healthy love relationship with God. Go back and read the definition and the synonyms of meek. Do any of these words describe your personality? If not- pray for it. Work on it. Draw closer to God and allow Him to transform you into a meek woman.

Maybe hearing that term a “Meek Woman” just made your skin crawl. Perhaps you have worked very hard in becoming an influential, independent woman, and the idea of being a meek woman just makes you sick.

 Please turn your Bible to 1 Peter 3:4 and fill in the blanks below:
“But let it be the hidden man of the _____________________, in that which is not _____________________________________, even the ornament of a ________________________ and __________________________ spirit, which is in the sight of God of great ____________________________.

Being a meek woman does not take away from you being an independent, strong woman. Being meek doesn’t mean you become someone’s doormat or a shy timid mouse. Being meek means you live wisely, and allow the Spirit to rule your life, mouth, mood, and actions; not your emotions. Ladies, you can still be influential, you can still be independent and do powerful things through God- being meek just means you’re humble about it. Please, continue to work hard, use your platform to go change the world! Don’t be afraid to do something big. A meek woman can do all this. And when she does- she gives God all the glory!

Peace and Blessings,

A FRUITFUL Christian- Faith

It's that time again for another look at The Fruitful Christian.I can't believe how far we have come in this series; yet, here we are. Today we talk about the next fruit of the Spirit from Galatians 5:22-23

Faith

Faith means- complete trust or confidence in someone or something.

Hebrew 11: 1
“Now FAITH is the substance of things ____________________ for, the evidence of things _____________ __________________.”

Faith- is believing what you can not see. There is no dictionary or encyclopedia that can best describe what faith really is. Plain and simple, faith-is believing God is WHO He says He is and He will do WHAT He says He will do.

Hebrews 11 6
“But without ____________________ it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must ____________________ that He is, and that He is a
rewarder of them that diligently ____________________
Him.”

Faith is the key that unlocks the door.

What door?
The door to salvation,
The door to answered prayers,
The door to changed lives,
The door to impossible situations
The door to a beautiful relationship with God.

Faith is the key that opens the door to miraculous opportunities.
Faith never gives up, no matter how bleak the situation.
Faith surpasses all expectations.
Faith moves forward, when all else fails.
Faith pushes to new heights.
Faith is the key.
Faith is the only key.
Will you pick up that key today?
Will you open the door of opportunity wide?
The possibilities are limitless

Interesting enough God didnt just stop here at having Faith, He goes on to say build on your faith!

2 Peter 1:5-8

"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"

Build on your faith:
Virtue
Knowledge
Temperance
Patience
Godliness
Brotherly Kindness
Charity

Do you need to build on your faith?
Look at the list above!
Have you tackled this entire list?

Probably not... it's a growing process. We should continually strive to grow in the Lord and grow our faith! None of us have arrived. But we can sure grow.

Today, seek God and increase your faith, make it stronger, and healthier!

A FRUITFUL Christian- Goodness

If you are just now joining me on this study The Fruitful Christian..I hope you will go back and start at the beginning. Just look for the posts with this picture. It will help you understand this series in its entirety. 

Today, we are looking at the next fruit  of the Spirit from Galatians 5:22-23 - GOODNESS

Goodness-the quality of being morally good or virtuous.

Even though our minds comprehend what the word goodness means. I want us to take a closer look, just so our hearts can get a deeper understanding of what this requires of a child of God.

Morally good- right behavior- ethical

Virtue- behavior showing high moral standards.

Ethics- moral principles that govern a person’s 

behavior or the conducting of an activity.

As a Royal Descendent, our good behavior should stand above reproach. The way we live, the way we speak, the way we treat others, the way we treat our families, and the way we act in our communities should radiate GOODNESS. Our moral standards, our ethics, and our good behavior are a direct reflection of our relationship with the Father. Our habits, our choices, and our lifestyle- all point to Christ.

So, let me be just a little more blunt. As a child of the King, there are places you should not go, things that shouldn’t go in your mouth and things that shouldn’t come out of your mouth. There are clothes you shouldn’t wear, and things you should not do! 

Do you understand?

Yes, you are saved.
I know we do not live under the law, we live under grace.
This is not legalism- this is Christianity.
Being Christ like!

And let me just add, we are not living a good life to be saved.
We are living a good life because we are saved.
We are not living a higher standard to make up better than anyone else. We are choosing to live with good principals so we can represent our King well!

How are you representing Him these days? Do you represent Him well? Or are you one of those Christians that put a bad taste in other’s mouth?

We represent the Kingdom.
People are watching; whether you want them to or not! 

So…
Be good for GOODNESS sake!
And do right!

Why?
Matthew 5:16- "... let your light shine before men;that they may see your good works, andglorify your Father who is in heaven."

So God can be glorified ❤

Now just a little Soul Food- please take a moment to read the words of this inspiring song- 

DO RIGHT

From the very start, have purpose in your heart
To do what's right, and never question why.
Never count the cost though everything seems lost

The price for doing right is sometimes very high.

Right is always right and wrong is always wrong
And we must learn to seperate the two.
If you love the right, the Lord will give you light;
So seek the right in everything you do!

Do right till the stars fall.
Do right till the last call.
Do right when there's no one else to stand by you.
Do right when youre all alone.
Do right though it's never known.
Do right since you love the Lord.
Do right! Do right!

A FRUITFUL Christian- Gentleness

The FRUIT of the Spirit in Galatians 5, today we will focus on is Gentleness

Gentleness-
the quality of being kind, tender, or mild-mannered. A softness

Reading John 1: 6-7 and seeing the definition of gentleness just seemed to flow together to me. You can not walk in the Light if you are not being kind, tender, and loving to the people around you.

A close friend of mine recently had a situation at work, the owner of the company made a request that was in conflict of what her supervisor wanted her to do. Following the owners wishes, it put my friend in a tough position with the supervisor and then received terrible treatment from the supervisor- verbal abuse, threatening her, yelling, be-belittling her, terrible texts messages! My friend was shocked at the way this Christian supervisor was handling the situation. It shook her to the core and left her wondering, how could this lady claim to be a Christian and act like this.  Simple- she doesn't have a fruitful heart. Oh, she may claim to have religion, but the truth of the matter, she doesn't have a love relationship with God.

Do you treat the needs of others gently? Are you kind to the people around you? Are you mild mannered and soft in the way you approach people? How do you handle conflicts? How do you react when people let you down? How gently do you care for others thoughts and concerns, their wishes, and their opinions? How tenderly to you reprimand others, or correct others when needed?

Do you care how your words and actions come across others, or do you have  the attitude, “Well, they’ll get over. They need to put their big girl panties on.” Are you so wrapped up in your own life that you no longer care about the well- being of those around you?

Is this how you think God treats you? Does He ignore our needs or act harshly and gruff? When you make a mistake does He belittle you, yell at you , or threaten you? No, sister! He doesn’t. He lovingly showers you with His blessings and favor- even when you don’t desire it.

And this is how we should be. We should try to be more like Christ and treat others the way He treats us. When we show people the love of God, we are pointing them to God❤ 

Do your actions reflect a love relationship with God? Do your gentle actions and reactions show a FRUITFUL heart? Let's be more intentional in being gentle to others, even when they frustrate, disappoint, or hurt us!

Blessings!