1 John 1:7~ If we walk in the light, as he is in the light . . . the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.~

2010-05-16T17:57:00.000-07:00

1 John 1:7 If we walk in the light, as he is in the light . . . the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

Fruit of the Spirit

Suppose a student chooses to test the effects of light and darkness on the growth of seeds for a science fair project. He gets some marigold seeds from the store, plants them in four Styrofoam cups, and waters them. He places two of the cups in a dark closet. The others go into a sunny window. In a couple of weeks, the seedlings appear. For a few hours, the plants in the dark and the ones in the light are quite similar. Two tiny green leaves break through the soil and begin to grow. Within a couple of days however, the plants in the closet turn yellow and begin to die, while the ones in the light grow and get more and more leaves. The experiment proves that plants have to absorb light in order to have the energy needed to grow, bloom, and make seeds.

The same is true of our spiritual lives. We need to live in the light in order to grow and become fruitful. Galatians 5:22-23 describes spiritual fruit as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These attributes are in stark contrast to the ones Paul listed as acts of the sinful nature: Jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambitions, envy, etc.

Let’s imagine a spiritual science fair project in which we try to become more and more kind. At first, we determine to observe how we act after a few days of listening to rap music that encourages rebellion and watching television shows that glamorize gang members who commit violent crimes. We may continue the experiment by hanging out with some kids at school who like to sneak around after dark to paint graffiti on the sidewalks in their neighborhoods. Would we become more kind or less kind after a week or so?

Next, let’s imagine that we do exactly the opposite for a couple of weeks. We listen to music that encourages us to love others in the same way Jesus did. We read accounts of young people helping others through short-term missions projects. We watch uplifting TV programs and movies. We might even volunteer to paint some classrooms at the local community center or play games with the children who gather there after school. Would we become more or less kind after a week or so?

Clearly, kindness could grow much better in the latter situation. We tend to become like the people we hang out with. So, if we hang out with mean and violent people, we will become increasingly mean. If we hang out with kind, generous people, we will become kinder. Living in the light means developing relationships with people who will help us become more like Jesus. We grow in godliness when we choose our friends based upon whether they have the kind of qualities God approves.

Those friends will be more likely to do what Jesus would and that will help us do the same. Good friends definitely help us walk in the light as Jesus is in the light.

Today's Prayer:Dear Jesus, you are the very best friend I could possibly ever want. You always love me and accept me. You even forgive me when I mess up. Please help me choose friends who will help me grow godly fruit in my life. Also, please me be the kind of friend who encourages others to become more like you every day. Amen.

I got this devotion from a random website, I just searched for teen devotions on Google and I just clicked the first website that I saw.

I think God is really trying to tell me something, because lots of things have been happening lately, my life's been pretty eventful. I don't really want to say it, because its quite bad...

My classmates can be nice, but they can be quite rude as well, I think I've been infleunced already... I did something very very wrong, and before I did it, they hated me, but now, I don't know what they think of me anymore. I don't care, I'm not going to do things my way, I really haven't been doing my QT (Quiet Time) lately, the last time I actually sat down to do QT was like maybe 3 years ago? ARGH.

I don't really have that many friends. I'd be happy just to have one good friend. After this really bad thing happened, at least some people have talked to me. I take that as a good sign. A miracle. But well, the results have been a bit disastrous, my two good friends, I think I really hurt them and made them very very angry. I really want to be friends with these 2 friends again. I shouldn't have taken things into my own hands, even though what I've done had a bit of a positive effect on the situation, I think I would have done it better going God's way, telling my parents or teachers would have been a better idea than trying to solve problems by myself.

I really want to pray for Joy.

I think she really needs to go back to you, Lord.

Well, I'm not supposed to judge or make any conclusions but I think there's really something that she needs to change, but nevermind, if I make any wrong conclusions, I'm so dead again, so forget it... I'm going to pray for her anyway.

Well, I sincerely hope that she'll change, for the better, not the worse.

I pray that I will have time to remake my paper mache mask. Because when I was out of class, somebody accidentally stepped on it so now its ruined, AGAIN. I'm not blaming anybody, it was purely accidental.

If I remake it again, it'll be like the third time i've made a paper mache mask. This year.

The thing i'm most afraid of is IS Project.

It's due TOMORROW!!!

ARGH.
We still have to stick the data on the paper.
But at least I've done my part, I printed the pictures.
And bought paper that time, for what was meant to be an emergency, but we didn't use it in the end. I'm not angry. I can use the paper for other purposes. It's good that JiaQi's father got the A1 Papers, because if we had used my 'I don't know what size is it but it's the biggest piece' paper, Ms Selva might have scolded us. So its good that we play safe. Maybe we will have extra points for JiaQi's resourcefulness...

I really want my two good friends back. You may not know who you are but I really need you at this point of time. I'm sorry, can you forgive me?

Psalm 23: The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want~

1 John 1:7~ If we walk in the light, as he is in the light . . . the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.~