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Fruits of The Spirit Part 2 · The Living Freed Podcast

0:19
Happy Thursday and thank you for tuning in to
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the Living Free podcast. I am still fighting
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a cold. So I just want to say one thank you for
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listening to part one of the fruits of the spirit
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and now coming back for part two and i'm sorry
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if i sound discombobulated because when you're
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sick your brain's just not fully there and best
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believe my brain was just not fully there when
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i record so there's long pauses i definitely
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had to write a little bit of a script to read
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from because i could not collect my thoughts
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properly it was driving me nuts um And just like
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I said earlier, I'm still a little bit sick so
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I don't know if I've already said this but this
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is pre -recorded. This update is going to be
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pre -recorded because usually I do it on Wednesdays
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and obviously the episodes come out on Thursdays.
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But I will be on a plane headed to Miami slash
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Fort Lauderdale to see my bestie! So excited!
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So that's my update y 'all! I'm headed to Miami,
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Miami, amy, amy for some sunshine and warmth
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and I'll possibly pack a swimsuit and I cannot
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wait, cannot wait to be there with her. I haven't
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seen Serena since April. Oh my gosh, so freaking
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pumped. And I'm gonna see hopefully my brother's
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best friend because she lives really close to
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Serena and we're supposed to get dinner or something
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which will be awesome. Cannot wait to see Maddie.
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I didn't get to see Maddie when she was home
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for the holidays so I'm pumped to see her. my
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own trip down there and see where she lives and
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see her life too her and Serena both live in
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the same town and they're both doing life and
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I Can't wait to see what life looks like for
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them What I've been up to is I had a little I
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think I told y 'all like one of my goals is to
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host a themed dinner party once a month and I
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did my first one for January The theme was rest
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renew restore. So we did a giant salad dinner
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rolls green juice immunity shots Seltzer waters
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the clean healthy if it can be soda. Um, no dessert
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sadly But then we did face mask and I just don't
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realize how long this face mask had to sit On
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your skin for you have to wait till they're like
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translucent y 'all. That's a long time. It was
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ours We were all sitting there for hours like
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till 1030 at night. It was crazy And my bedtime,
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as everybody knows, is 9, 930. So 1030 was wiling
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out. And yet I still got up to go to the gym
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because what's my other goal? To wake up around
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6 a .m. every single day to go to the gym. And
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best believe that's what your girl did. OK, what
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is in? What is in is Miami, travel, sunshine,
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warmth, because we were told in North Carolina
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we are going to get hit with an ice storm. Wilmington
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obviously did not get hit because we're so far
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south, but it is freezing. Freezing. Like, I'm
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inside my apartment and my hands are cold right
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now. So yeah. What is... We... Yeah. So that's
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what's in. And honestly, that's what's out. Cold
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weather. I'm not here for it. Not cute. Not loving
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it. I said that last time. I'm saying it again.
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I also fully believe that that's why I still
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have a little bit of a cold is this cold freaking
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weather. Truly, I believe it. Um, anything else?
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No, that's all I have. I wish I had more info
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for you guys, but I got nothing. Also, I have
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not been to church in two weeks. I miss church.
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I'm kind of sad. Last week I took off because
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I was still really sick, and honestly, every
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once in a while I need a slow Sunday morning.
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Picture this, because it's Sunday morning now
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and this is what I did today. You wake up. You
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make your espresso that turns into a hot latte.
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on a day that is like 24 degrees outside. I actually
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don't know if it's 24 degrees outside because
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I refuse to check the weather, but I just know
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it's cold. So we're going to say it's 24 degrees
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outside. And after you're done making your latte,
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that kind of turns into a cappuccino because
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the foam got too foamy or throwfy or whatever
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by the steam. You sit down and you open your
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Bible. you read many chapters of Isaiah because
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you're trying to get through Isaiah and transfer
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notes over from one Bible to the next and it's
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very peaceful it's very quiet until a cat starts
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to meow at you aggressively to go outside and
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you try to have a logical conversation to let
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him know that he can't go outside because it's
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freezing and he'll probably die even though he
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won't so you put him in his room again after
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you finish reading Isaiah you go and you open
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up a sermon and you're studying Revelation and
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you get to get through two whole sermons of studying
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Revelation and then you sit quietly and you journal
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and you talk to God. And before you know it,
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it's 12 o 'clock. And that is what my slow Sunday
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morning looks like. And I love it. I live for
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it. So every once in a while, I skip church and
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I do a slow Sunday morning. This week, I'm still
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at the end of my cold. I definitely could have
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gone to church. I probably could have served,
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but I was unsure about this ice storm and I'm
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not fighting the cold. Ain't I ain't doing it.
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I'm not fighting the cold I'm not dealing with
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the cold if I have the choice to wake up at 7
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a .m Get ready to go to church go to the team
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meeting. That's like an hour long There feels
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like an hour long and then stand out in the cold
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to greet people Or I have the choice to snuggle
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in my bed until 8 45 And then get up and make
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my coffee and do everything. I just told y 'all.
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I'm gonna take the second choice I like my quiet
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time with Jesus. I am also really missing church
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but I have a worship session I'm going to on
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Friday night with Serena when I'm in Miami. So
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who cares? I mean, I care. But you know what
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I'm saying. I'm just processing it loud now.
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I'm just thinking out loud. Anyways, let's dive
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into this week's episode. So you decide to come
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back for part two. I love it. Thank you so much
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for joining me for part two of the fruits of
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the spirit just a little refresh for um on those
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fruits in case you need it those fruits are love
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joy peace patience kindness goodness faithfulness
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gentleness and self -control today we're picking
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up um or we're coming back when we're going to
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start with kindness Ugh, such a good one. I mean,
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we need a lot more of that in the world right
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now. I know, that makes me sound like a hippie
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or something, but it's so true. I feel like we're
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just anger is on the rise and kindness is far,
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far, far away. So, let's talk about kindness.
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Kindness is a core command. It's essential to
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believers. It's a path to influence and to demonstrate
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Jesus' love. Kindness isn't passive, it's an
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action. And it's part of God's character. It's
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going beyond niceties. It's you being helpful,
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giving grace, and could be even the action of
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generous, either with your time, money, or words.
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Colossians 3 12 says, Put on therefore, as the
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elect of God, holy and beloved, vows of mercy,
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kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, and long
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-suffering. Put on is an action, as we all know,
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because we put on clothes every day. Some of
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us have to jump to put our pants on. To put on
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kindness is an awareness that we have to be present
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to. Listen, I know y 'all. Being called to love
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your enemy, especially as a girl who jokes about
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having nemesis in her life, is not a fun calling.
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Loving doesn't mean fake nice though. You don't
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have to be fake kind to people because Jesus
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quickly follows with what loving your enemies
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or showing kindness to your enemies should look
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like. It's doing good, helping out, expecting
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nothing in return from them. Just do it out of
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the kindness of your heart. Ephesians 4 32 says,
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Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving
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one another as God and Christ forgave you. You
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don't really need me to break that one down for
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you, right? Finally, let's end the topic of kindness
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on this note with Galatians 6 10. So then, as
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we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone,
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especially to those who are in the household
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of faith. Notice how it says everyone before
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it says those in the household, or rather the
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family in the faith. Everyone as in everyone
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baby. Not just your uncle you don't like, not
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just your bestie or the know -it -all in your
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small group, but also the immigrant, the thief,
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the mean old lady down the street. Everyone means
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everyone. But then he says especially those in
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our family of faith. Okay, next up is goodness.
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First off, God is good all the time. And all
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the time, say it with me. God is good. God is
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the creator of good. And remember how in part
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one I said we can't know good without bad? We
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can't know God's goodness without being aware
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of how bad the world is. James 1, 17 says, every
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good gift and every perfect gift is from above,
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coming down from the father of lights. In Ephesians
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2, 10 says, For we are his workmanship, created
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in Christ for good works, which God prepared
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beforehand that we should walk in them. God creates
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every good thing. He creates every good gift
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and allows us to partake in those gifts and those
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good works. Biblical, or rather spiritual goodness,
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is rooted in love and integrity. It's putting
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aside personal opinion and deliberately choosing
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right over wrong. It's doing justice, seeking
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kindness, and walking humbly. As we would say
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in the Christian lingo, Romans 12 9 says, let
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love be genuine, harbor what is evil, hold fast
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to what is good. Hold fast to what is good. That
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means to embrace, to cling to, and once again
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actively practice what is truth and morally correct.
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Romans 12 21 says, do not be overcome by evil,
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but overcome evil with good. This verse calls
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us to not be overwhelmed or surrender to negative
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thoughts, hatred, or harmful actions, but to
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overcome, to defeat, to overwhelm it with goodness.
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And 1 Corinthians 15 -33 says, Do not be deceived,
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bad company ruins good morals. Who you listen
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to, who you keep company with, will influence
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our morals. It's important to have discernment
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and if what you listen to or what you are around
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do not keep good morals by the Bibles aka Jesus'
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standard, get out. Now, I'm not saying don't
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be friends with non -believers. Some of my closest
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friends are non -believers, but do they have
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good morals? That is my question. Some of my
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Christian friends do not have good morals. and
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I've talked about this in the dating world. I
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know more non -Christian guys that have amazing
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character and really good morals than I do Christian
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guys that do. Some of the Christian guys I know,
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some of the worst people I know. And that's a
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terrible thing to say, but that's the reality
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we live in. So I'm not looking for, do they know
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Jesus? We're looking for, are their morals good?
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Do they know right from wrong? Okay, now that
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I'm pretty sure I'm done being dramatic, let's
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talk about the word faithfulness. When I think
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of the word faithfulness, I think about God's
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steadfast love. About a year or two ago, I went
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through a phase where every time I read the word
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steadfast, I highlighted it, and then marked
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the address for it in the back of my Bible. Every
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time I saw the word steadfast, the word love
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was in the same sentence. But what does it have
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to do with the word faithfulness? Well, faithfulness
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is a core virtue of God. With this word comes
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steadfast loyalty, trustworthiness, and a dependable
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commitment. Because God is faithful, we can trust
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Him. It feeds into His unwavering covenant of
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love and mercy. Faithfulness is a developing
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characteristic. That means it isn't just there,
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and better than ever, we have to grow in it and
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practice it. It won't come easy to us. There's
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a Bible verse that says, he who is faithful in
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little will be faithful in much. Best believe,
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every time I was to do just one tiny, weeny,
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small, little, un -Christ -like thing, like um,
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I don't know, cuss someone out, I don't know
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why that's always been like the first thing that
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comes to my mind. I really don't cuss people,
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well I do in my head, I cuss people out in my
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head. but not out loud. I've never cussed somebody
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out out loud, but that just keeps being my first
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analogy. Look, cussing just adds a little spice
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to my vocabulary. I know. I know. My mom always
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said people who cuss, it just means that their
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vocabulary is not large enough. My vocabulary
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is very large. I just choose to use some spicy
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words in it because it fits my spicy personality.
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um anyways so it could be me cussing someone
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out or it could be going the wrong way on a roundabout
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because it's midnight and you know no one else
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is around but then i have that little voice in
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the back of my head that says that exact first
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to me and then i don't i don't do it because
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i want to be faithful in big things but if i
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don't have practice with the small things then
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how can i handle the big ones i feel like faithfulness
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and patience go hand in hand no i was faithful
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to build the ark. Jesus was faithful. Period.
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Point blank. Basically, anyone on the list from
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Patience Part 1 was faithful. Proverbs 20 verse
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6 says, Many a man proclaims his own steadfast
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love, but a faithful man who can find. That's
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basically telling us that our actions speak for
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themselves. Those actions could be being in God's
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Word. praying, being consistent with daily duties,
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or the small things in life. Hebrew 11 actually
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gives a very long list of those in the Bible
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that were faithful. If you have time, I 10 out
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of 10 recommend you go read it. And you keeping
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God's commandment could cause a ripple effect
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like we've seen in the genealogy of Jesus. But
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what does it mean practically to be faithful,
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as in fruit being produced? It's us having integrity,
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being reliable. It's being obedient in action
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if you believe God has called you to do something
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like me in this podcast or when I moved to SoCal.
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It's us being a trustworthy friend or being in
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worship of God in company or alone. Alrighty,
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gentleness is our next word to conquer. Biblically
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and once again, spiritually speaking, gentleness
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is defined as strength controlled. Jesus was
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strong while on this earth. He was a carpenter.
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He used his hands. He used his muscles. He was
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strong and he helped those men fish. Like, he
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was strong. Plus, he was the creator of the universe,
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all knowing. Etc, etc, etc. But Jesus was also
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gentle. Gentle with women, gentle with children,
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gentle with cripples, gentle with the tax collectors.
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You get the point. And honestly, he's gentle
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with you and me now. I never feel forced by him
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to do something. He meets me where I am and leads
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me to where I need to go next, just like the
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Good Shepherd. He is gentle with my emotions
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and with my spiritual growth. Gentleness is a
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humble, tender disposition, not a weakness. It
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can be seen in the practice of patience, or through
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compassionate actions, and is kind. In Colossians,
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we see that we are called to put on gentleness,
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which, again, is an action, something we have
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to be present and aware of. Proverbs 15 .1 says,
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a soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word
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stirs up anger. In Titus, 3 verse 2 says to speak
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evil to no one. to avoid quarreling, to be gentle,
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and to show perfect courtesy towards all people.
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Once again, everyone. In a world that loves to
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be angry because anger sells, this verse tells
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us to have soft words because it can change that
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anger. Now, we see lately that this isn't always
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true by the world standard, but we are called
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to be faithful. And with soft words, we can be
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faithful in something small and gentle. James
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3 .17 says, But the wisdom from above is first
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pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason,
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full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.
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Wisdom is seen as gentle in this verse. And girl,
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I don't know about you, but I want to be wise.
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But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy,
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always being prepared to make a defense to anyone
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who asks you for a reason for the hope that is
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in you. Yet do it with gentleness and respect.
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This verse shows us the strength is the force
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behind gentleness. That you can defend. You don't
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have to be a pushover or a doormat because I
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don't want that for you. that you can make reason
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but to be wise with your words in the process
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of doing so. Jesus was strong and gentle, as
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we talked about, and so was Moses as he led the
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Israelites out of Egypt and guided them through
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the wilderness. We also have Ruth and Boaz as
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a prime example of wisdom, strength going hand
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in hand with gentleness. Alright, last and definitely
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not least, we have self -control. This is a vital
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virtue. Self -control provides power over fear
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and temptation. It helps us not act on emotion,
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impulses, or desires that don't serve us or others.
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It allows us to practice self -discipline. It
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is a sign of wisdom. And I think that it could
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be seen as another trunk or root of the tree.
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It's a muscle we have to work out to get strong
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and disciplined in. Self -control can help us
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speak gently with one another. Do things out
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of love, practice patience, or faithfulness.
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Okay, okay. You get the point. Basically, any
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of the fruits of the spirit can be tied to one
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another, but definitely self -control, just like
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love. Proverbs 25 -28 says, A man without self
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-control is like a city broken into and left
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without walls. A city without walls is defenseless.
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If we don't practice, we will not be able to
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stand against the things that come our way. I
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had a friend that was counseling addicts once.
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She told me she had taught at a girls' night
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at church. And as they talked about her experience
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counseling addicts, the girls asked her if she
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had ever been addicted to drugs based on the
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conversation they had been having. She said,
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no, I haven't. Then they asked, how could she
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help others if she doesn't know what they're
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experiencing? She said because she had said no
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to the small things, it was easier to keep saying
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no to the big things. Because she started with
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a no, and not a maybe, it was easier to just
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keep saying no. Self -control can be for many
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different things. For one, it might be porn or
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sex. For some, it could be drinking. For another,
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it could be food. Or another, it could be working
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out. For one, it might be social media or another
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shopping trip. Or maybe their attitude. For me,
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probably definitely my attitude. I have to have
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self -control at that all the time. Yeah, I do.
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Anyways. We're not talking about me. We're talking
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about Prince of the spirits guys not my attitude,
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especially if I'm with my brothers That definitely
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does not exist. It definitely doesn't with my
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sister though. She scares me So she does not
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get an attitude I be behaving around her. Okay,
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um James 1 19 and 20 says know this my beloved
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brothers Let every person be quick to hear slow
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to speak slow to anger for the anger of man does
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not produce the righteousness of God Not everything
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we hear or read needs a response. Watch what
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you say. My mom always told me I have two ears
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and one mouth. Do twice as much listening as
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I do talking. Don't respond to people in anger.
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Don't feel what you have to say is more important.
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Don't be in a rush to get your words out. Practice
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self -control with your words. Second Timothy
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versus one, I mean, Chapter 1 verse 7 says, for
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God gave us a spirit not of fear, but of power
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and love and self -control. I love this! God
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did not give us a spirit of fear or anger or
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lust or contempt, but a spirit of love and what?
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What was that? Self -control. Let's talk about
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ways to practice self -control. Fasting, guarding
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your speech, as I mentioned earlier, practicing
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thankfulness, actively avoiding things that could
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be an unhealthy temptation for you. I would love
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to do another list. Let's do a list of examples
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from people in the Bible that did have self -control
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outside of Jesus, of course, because he's our
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number one. Okay, we have Daniel, you know, by
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instant didn't want to eat the food because it
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didn't align with the standards God had given
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him, yada, yada, yada. Then we have Joseph, who's
22:43
was a slave and his basically his boss's wife
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Potiphar's wife wanted to sleep with him and
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he was like no don't stay away from me xyz and
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then he also had to practice self -control with
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his brothers when they came to ask for food and
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he had to pretend like he didn't know them instead
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of just putting them all directly into jail because
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i'd be like straight to jail everyone's going
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to jail y 'all sold me everyone jail and then
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we got our girl from the genealogy of jesus that
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we've talked about Abigail, whose husband, if
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you remember from the story of David, was not
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wise with his words when it came to David, and
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she knew it would bring trouble knocking at her
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door. And then let's do the list for people without
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self -control. And that list, we will keep it
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very short and sweet. Drumroll, please. Ba ba
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ba ba ba ba ba ba ba. Adam and Eve. Enough said.
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Well, that's where we will end it with self -control.
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Okay, so those are our fruits. My question for
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you is, are you producing those fruits? Do you
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see them in your life now that they've been broken
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down and explained? Do you see how you can grow
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in them or produce maybe some of them a little
23:56
better? I want to leave you with one final verse,
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Galatians 5 verse 25. It says, if we live by
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the spirit, let us also keep in step with the
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spirit. My version is, If we live by the Holy
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Spirit, let us produce fruits that keep in step
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with the Holy Spirit. Or if we live by the Spirit,
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let us love. Let us have joy. Let us have peace.
24:22
Let us practice patience. Let us be kind. Let
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us be good. Let us be faithful or faith -filled.
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Let us be gentle and let us have self -control
24:31
that keeps in step with the Holy Spirit. Let's
24:35
pray. Dear Jesus, help us keep in step with the
24:38
Holy Spirit. Help us grow and produce those fruits
24:41
of the Holy Spirit. Have us grow love and joy,
24:45
peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness,
24:49
self -control, and any that I might have missed.
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Because God, those are your representations.
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That's who we want to be in this world. Let us
24:56
be a true representation of Christ on this earth.
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So have us produce those fruits. I ask that where
25:01
I'm lacking or we're lacking, that you will help
25:05
us grow in that, that you will show us clearly
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so that that fruit is clearly produced. Have
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us keep in step with the Holy Spirit that you
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have given us. In Jesus name, Amen. Alright,
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that's all I have for you today. Thank you so
25:27
much for listening to the Living free podcast.
25:31
I was gonna say the fruits of the spirit So thank
25:33
you for listening so much to the fruits of the
25:35
spirit episodes part one and two Let's get connected
25:39
and talk on Instagram or you can email me My
25:42
insta is Hannah Liz D. Oregon email me at living
25:46
free pod at gmail .com I would love to know your
25:49
thoughts on this episode about the fruits of
25:52
the spirit If you're loving the podcast, I would
25:55
also be so honored if you'd go ahead and hit
25:57
that subscribe button and leave me a review.
26:00
And if you have feedback or a subject you'd like
26:03
me to cover, please email or DM me on insta.
26:06
Again, thank you so much for listening. I hope
26:09
you feel encouraged and lighter today. And peace,
26:13
joy, love. I'm kidding. Y 'all get the point.
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Bye. Thank you.