UCB Word For Today Devotional 22nd March 2024: How to enrich and strengthen your relationships
UNITED CHRISTIAN BROADCASTERS 22 MARCH 2024 UCB WORD FOR TODAY DEVOTIONAL
Read and Meditate on Today’s UCB Word For Today’s Devotional was written to bless and inspire you. God bless you as you study!
TODAY’S TOPIC: HOW TO ENRICH AND STRENGTHEN YOUR RELATIONSHIPS
Scripture: ‘But the fruit of the Spirit is…’ Galatians 5:22 NKJV
You can enrich and strengthen any relationship by developing and demonstrating the fruit of the Spirit. The Bible speaks about being filled with the Spirit (see Ephesians 5:18) and walking in the Spirit (see Galatians 5:16 AMPC). To be ‘filled’ with God’s Spirit means you’re a receptacle, whereas ‘walking’ in the Spirit means you’re a dispenser – a vessel God can fill and pour out into the lives of others. ‘What’s this “fruit” you’re talking about?’ you ask. The Bible describes it this way: ‘The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control’ (Galatians 5:22-23 NKJV).
Look carefully at these nine different character qualities. The first three – ‘love, joy, peace’ – are atmosphere-changing fruits. As you yield to the Holy Spirit, He will throw a wet blanket on the unkind words you may want to say. He will build a fire in your heart that will bring warmth to a cold atmosphere and love to a bitter, revengeful atmosphere.
The next three fruits – ‘longsuffering, kindness, goodness’ – are attitude-changing fruits. Each of us has the potential to have a bad attitude. God sometimes lets us go through difficult situations to reveal what’s really inside us. When we see our own helplessness, weakness, and despair, it causes us to cry out, ‘God, I need you!’
The last three fruits – ‘faithfulness, gentleness, self-control’ – are attribute-changing fruits. Through the Holy Spirit, you have strength and ability that you can’t attribute to anyone but God. And you have peace that transcends human understanding (see Philippians 4:7).
Bible Reading: Deuteronomy 10-12, Mark 12:1-27
