The Fruit of the Spirit (Goodness)

“As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. ‘Good teacher,’ he asked, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life.’ “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good–except God alone.” (Mark 10:17,18 NIV).

 Yes, God is good. We all know that. We’ve known that since we were little children--“God is great. God is good. Let us thank Him for our food. Amen.” I’m sure you remember that children’s prayer of blessing before a meal. We also remember from memorizing Psalm 23. Verse six says, “Surely your goodness and love shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (NIV). David tells us that the goodness of the Lord is always with us, and we get to live in His house. A lesser-known Scripture, Nahum 1:7, says, “The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him” (NIV). This verse promises that through the goodness of God, He is our refuge--a safe place to be when trouble strikes. David tells us in Psalm 27:13, “I remain confident of this: "I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living” (NIV). The goodness of the Lord is bestowed upon us now, as Christians, while we are living on the earth. We don’t have to wait until we die to experience it.

 The goodness of God is a great joy and comfort for us, and it comes from His love for us. That is never going away. 

   But what about us, how can we be good, and does God expect us to be good? I can never be as good as God, but I can reflect His love and His goodness. Just like the moon shines by reflecting the light of the Sun, we can shine by reflecting the light of the Son. Ephesians 2:10 tells us that God prepared us to do good: “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (NIV). God prepared good works for us even before we were born. He has faith that we will do them. Even though we may sometimes disappoint Him by our actions, He expects that we will do good works. Make no mistake, we as Christians are being watched by non-Christians to see if we really do walk our talk. Those are the silent sermons we preach. 

 We are directed by Romans 12:2: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will” (NIV). When we are attentive to God’s Word, living by its precepts, we are good witnesses of His goodness, and we can then draw people to Him, and that’s what we are told to do in the Great Commission--Matthew 28:18-20. In fact, God requires us to do good as it says in Micah 6:8: “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (NIV).

 Okay, we know that God is good and that He requires us to follow His lead and reflect His goodness by showing His love. All we have to do is to love mercy and walk humbly with our Lord.

Don't forget my new book, "The Magnet of God:  Creation Draws Us to Him," is now available on Amazon as a Kindle book.  The book contains 366 devotionals similar in form to this one--Scripture, photograph, and message.  To preview or buy the book go to Amazon and enter my name, "Edwin Croyle" in the search box.  The book will appear, and you can preview it there.  I hope that you like it.    

Fruit of the Spirit (Kindness

“She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue” (Proverbs 31:26 ESV).

Twenty-two verses of Proverbs chapter 31 speaks of the characteristics of the “wife of noble character,” and in the middle of them is the verse above.   She is a wise woman who teaches kindness.  Sounds like a great combination to me, one that blesses not only her husband and children, but those who live around her.  If her children follow her teaching, joy will thrive in the family. 

   Ephesians 4:32 expands the reach of kindness: “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (ESV).  It includes a tenderhearted and forgiving nature because that’s what God has been to us.  This verse also expands the reach of kindness from the civil family to the entire family of Jesus Christ.

   Luke 6:35 expands kindness even further—to our enemies.  “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil” (ESV).  The teaching of kindness by the “wife of noble character” has grown from kindness within the family to the entire population of the world.  And why do you think that God asks us to expand kindness to so many?  We all know why, because he loves everyone, and He has extended the extreme kindness of the sacrifice of His only Son, Jesus Christ, to forgiveness of the sins of everyone—that’s right, everyone—no exclusions.  As His children, we are expected to love as He loves—even the very difficult ones.  

   Fortunately for us, God is compassionate and understanding, and He extends His mercy and grace as far as His love reaches.  When we don’t show kindness to everyone, we can repent and ask for forgiveness, the greatest kindness ever shown.  At the same time we also realize that God expects us to reach toward His high standard to the best of our ability.  So, “kindness” is the word for today.  Let’s exercise kindness today and bring glory to God.   

Fruit of the Spirit (Patience)

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time, we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9 NIV).

   The word “patience” is not used in the Scripture quoted above, but it is implied in two parts: “at the proper time,” and “do not give up.”   There will come a time, but we must keep faith.  God is faithful and is worthy of our trust in Him.  The first part of the verse tells us not to become weary.  In Psalm 37:4, a Psalm of David, we are told, “Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart” (NIV).  Most people say that this means that God puts a desire in our heart, and then He fulfills it.  If we believe the other interpretation, that God gives us anything that we desire, then we have a blank check with God’s signature.  God loves us enough not to give us a blank check to do just any old thing we want.  If He is going to fulfill the desires of our hearts, then I believe that He puts the desires there.  And if He puts them there, then He will fulfill them.  But He will fulfill them on His timetable not ours.  “That’s hard because sometimes I have to wait too long.”   Have you ever said that?  I have.  Does that mean that I do not have patience?  It may seem that way, but according to Galatians 5:22,23, patience is one part of the fruit of the Spirit that we receive when we accept Jesus Christ as Savior.   

   So, if I am “born again,” I have patience.  That’s true; I was given patience when I accepted Jesus as Lord.   Then why does it seem that I don’t have it?  I have a current project that I have been working on for over two years, and I thought it was finished, but it appears that there are things that still need to happen for the project to be really complete.  And I am feeling impatient.  It’s probably because I haven’t learned to exercise patience, to help it grow in my life.  It will grow as I exercise it, and it looks like this is one of those times that I have to just trust a little longer. 

   This project is a desire that God put in my heart, so I know that it will be completed, and now I have to believe that God’s timing is better than mine, and to do that I have to believe that God is helping me to grow in patience.   Galatians 6:9 must become a biblical rock for me at this time.  Chances to grow in patience may be uncomfortable, but they do draw us closer to our Lord, so I thank Him for them.

The Fruit of the Spirit (Peace)

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, give I unto you” (John 14:27 KJV).

Campground in southwest New York (2012)

Peace, we all want it.  Politicians proclaim it, and individuals pray for it.  On September 30, 1938, after a meeting with Adolph Hitler, Neville Chamberlan, the Prime Minister of Great Britain, announced:  “Peace for our time.”  He was right, but “our time” lasted less than a year.  On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland beginning one of the most costly wars ever in terms of lives—a war that ultimately lasted until September 2, 1945, six years and one day after it began.  I remember the long-drawn-out peace talks during the Korean War.  They lasted for more than two years and 159 formal meetings.  They argued about such things as the shape of the tables.  And it was not an armistice agreement; it was a cease-fire.  Well, that’s enough about mankind’s attempts to end military confrontations.  It turns out that it is difficult to stop fighting, and that is true even in personal conflicts.  We can’t do it ourselves, and the verse quoted above speaks to that point.   Jesus leaves us peace, and His peace is not like the world’s peace.  His peace is personal, and it lasts forever.

   Peace in our personal lives is sometimes just as hard to attain as peace between nations on the world stage.  Often “peace” occurs between individuals only when they stop talking to each other.   There is no forgiveness—there is no reconciliation, like the Korean War, just a halt to fighting.  

   So where does peace come from?  Obviously, it comes from God, but in Romans 12:18 (NIV), He has given us a responsibility to try our hardest to be the peacemakers:  “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”  It’s important to notice that it does not say, “with your neighbors,” or “with you friends.”  It simply says, “with everyone.”  In the Bible when it says “everyone,” it means “everyone.”  We could make a long list of those we may not want to speak to in order to make peace.  The verse does give us an “out” by beginning with the words, “If it is possible.”  So, if it isn’t possible, should we stop trying to make peace with certain people?  Sorry, but the answer is “not yet!”   The next words in the Scripture, “as far as it depends on you,” tells us that we need to do whatever it takes to make peace, and if peace is refused, then we have done all we can, and the other person has made a decision to have no peace with us.  We may need to try several times.  If peace is not forthcoming at this point, we can walk away and let it alone.  Yes, we can let it alone except for that nagging suspicion that we may not have done everything possible.  The Lord will take that nagging suspicion away and give us peace Himself, and then we know that the lack of peace is not our fault, and we have received peace from our Lord.  And it can be said about us, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God” (Matthew 5:9 NIV). 

The Fruit of the Spirit (Joy)

“Nehemiah said, ‘Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared.  This day is holy to our Lord.  Do not grieve. For the joy of the Lord is your strength’ ”  (Nehemiah 8:10 NIV).

   Nehemiah said it, “…the joy of the Lord is your strength.”  He was speaking to the nation of Israel after they had been returned to their land, and the “Book of the Law of God” was being read aloud to them for the first time in a long time.  The people were lamenting and crying.  Nehemiah, speaking for the Lord, told them to rejoice and have a party for it was a holy day to their Lord.  That Word is appropriate for us today.  Rejoice and have joy for the joy of the Lord is our strength.  

   Let’s look at this statement in two contexts centuries apart—the jailer of Paul and Silas in the town of Philippi and a noted present-day pastor, Keith Moore.  The contexts are very different, but the message is the same today as it was in Paul’s time—the joy of the Lord is our strength!  

   The jailer was told that Paul and Silas were dangerous men and that they should be kept in tight security, so he put them in the dungeon with leg chains.  They were known as “dangerous people” because they had been preaching the Gospel.  During the night Paul and Silas were praying and singing.  A sudden earthquake hit the area, and all the doors of the prison were opened, and all the chains were broken off the prisoners.  The jailer, thinking all the prisoners had escaped was preparing to kill himself when Paul cried out, “Don’t be alarmed.  We are all still here.”  The jailer must have heard their prayers and their songs because he came before them and asked what he must do to be saved.  They replied, “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”  The jailers’ entire household believed and were saved—all of them.  The jailer washed Paul’s and Silas’s wounds, took them into his house and asked for all of his household to be baptized.  In Acts 16:34 we are told, “The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household.”  The jailer was filled with joy for the best reason in the world—he and his entire household were assured of eternity in heaven with the Lord.”

   Keith Moore had a very different experience.  He was walking through the children’s department of his church, carrying a little girl.  She saw a picture of a baby elephant and started to laugh.  Keith asked her why she was laughing, and her answer was, “He’s silly.”  The picture made her think that the elephant looked silly, so she laughed.  Keith looked at the picture and began laughing with her.  Keith’s statement about this happening was, “That little girl and little children everywhere know how to do something so simple, something that so many grumpy, grouchy adults have forgotten.  They know how to yield to joy.” 

   Keith then related the account of Nehemiah 8:10 that ends with “…The joy of the Lord is your strength.”   We sometimes leave a church service feeling great because of the joy that we feel.   But let us deal with some problem in our lives, medical, financial, or personal when we get home and we let the joy slip away and depression enters.  That is satan at work, doing his worst, stealing our joy.   A depressed Christian is not a very good witness.   Keith suggests that the next time we run into a problem dumped on us by satan, we need to stop and say out loud, “The joy of the Lord is my strength,” and repeat it several times.  For, as Zephania 3:27 says, “The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.”  The Lord has joy, He rests,  He sings, and He rejoices over me.  With God on my side, in joy, resting, rejoicing, and singing, I can be in joy also.  Keith Moore ends his article with this:  “That’s what the body of Christ is supposed to do—have fun and rejoice in our salvation.   We’re supposed to enjoy the goodness of God.  We’re supposed to be so blessed and happy that sinners look at us and say, ‘I want that!   I want that kind of Christianity.’   Glory to God!”

   The jailer of Paul and Silas, and Kieth Moore agree:  “The joy of the Lord is your strength.”

   (I suggest that you read Keith Moore’s article, “Yield to Joy” in the October, 2026 edition of “The Believer’s Voice of Victory” magazine published by Kenneth Copeland Ministries.)