God demands that we walk in the Fruit of His Spirit.

Galatians 5:22-23 (NLT)

²² But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

Unfortunately, our Western culture considers these qualities to be weakness, and too many Christians conform to that foolish thinking.

When we exemplify the characteristics stated above in our behavior…we are conforming into the image of the Son of the Living God. .

Romans 8:29  (NKJV)

²⁹ For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.

The Fruit of His Spirit, just as fruit identifies the type of tree, identifies whose spirit lives in us. There are only two, God’s Holy Spirit or the enemy…and they are mutually exclusive, both can abide in you at the same time.

1 Corinthians 6:19 (ESV)

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,

However, in our society today everybody seems to wants to be..

BAD,

TOUGH,

“DON’T TAKE NO SH**!”

Too many Christians are too quick to tell you…

“You better be glad you didn’t know me before I was saved!”

“Don’t make me go back to my old self!”

” I’ll pray for forgiveness!”

“I would do it all over again!”

“You don’t want this smoke!”

Taking glory in the flesh, instead of the Fruit of the Spirit.

In movies and television shows we celebrate the “Alpha” male or female who beats up the enemy. We celebrate when the so-called ‘nerd’ finally gets fed up and beats up the bully. But, when a character backs down from a fight we are disappointed.

Even in politics, too many people in the Body of Christ are impressed by strong words, profanity, threats and aggressive language from our leaders instead of holding the leader accountable for that behavior…because the devil has convinced them it’s strength.

To make a long story short…if it’s not The Fruit of the Spirit, it’s from the devil, and Yeshua called it out, not in the sinners, but in the religious leaders.

John 8:44  (NKJV)

⁴⁴ You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.

Remember this, time after time God punished His people for facilitating a culture that spread violence throughout the land. This wasn’t because of ‘sinners’, heathens, or pagan, but His peoples’ spiritual compromise…

Ezekiel 8:17 (NKJV)

¹⁷ And He said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? Is it a trivial thing to the house of Judah to commit the abominations which they commit here? For they have filled the land with violence; then they have returned to provoke Me to anger. Indeed they put the branch to their nose.

Clenched fists can’t receive blessings like open hands.

Threats and curses should not come out of the same mouth that was created to bless.

James 3:10 (NKJV)

¹⁰ Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.

Don’t let the devil convince you to conform to his image instead of that of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

5 CATASTROPHIC IMPLICATIONS OF WHEN CHRISTIANS ‘CUSS’…

BE BLESSTIFIED!

Them: When’s your birthday?

Me: September 26th.

Them: So you’re a Libra!

Me: Nope.

Have you ever heard anyone make this statement, or have made it yourself?

“You won’t go to Hell for doing it.”

Too many Christians feel as though as long as they are paying their tithes and going to church regularly that, ‘they’re good’.

Sometimes times there will be an issue or behavior that is questionable or vague, or maybe not even addressed directly in the bible. Many times there will be an issue or behavior that we really enjoy, but there is reason to believe it might be displeasing to God. Then there are issues that are addressed, but many people either don’t make the connection, or don’t care about how those issues relate to us today.

There are many Christians who don’t only define themselves as children of God, they also define themselves by ‘their’ zodiac sign.

How does God feel about someone asking, “What’s your sign?”

Zephaniah 1:5-6 (NKJV)

5.“Those who worship the host of heaven on the housetops; Those who worship and swear oaths by the LORD, But also swear by Milcom (or Molech) 6.Those who have turned back from following the LORD, And have not sought the LORD, nor inquired of Him.

“I’m a Gemini so you better watch our for me….”

“I’m a Pisces so you can trust me…”

You get the picture?

Most of us know that it became very popular in the latter part of the 20^th Century to refer to zodiac signs to determine if two people were compatible in relationships.

Some people will even check out their daily horoscope for guidance for the day. How many Christians have you seen post the daily horoscope on their timeline?

Have you ever taken the time to research the origin of zodiac signs. Think about this…zodiac signs are treated as proper nouns.

Check this out…

Deuteronomy 4:19 (NKJV)

And take heed, lest you lift up your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun, the moon, and the stars, all the host of heaven, you feel driven to worship them and serve them, which the LORD your God has given to all the peoples under the whole heaven as a heritage.

Remember, worship is beyond ‘going to church’. Think about Romans 12:1…

Romans 12:1 (NIV)

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.

Our worship extends into how we live our lives on a daily basis. God expects us to get our guidance from Him and Him alone. He has given us His Holy Spirit to lead us, guide us, convict us, to help us make the right decisions.

Isaiah 47:13 (NKJV)

13 You are wearied in the multitude of your counsels;
Let now the astrologers, the stargazers,
And the monthly prognosticators
Stand up and save you
From what shall come upon you.

One of the beautiful things about the Old Testament is that it gave us extreme examples of what behavior God loves and what behavior He hates. Even though Jesus fulfilled the law, we can gain great insight looking at the behavior of ancient Israel and how God reacted to it.

Think about this. When Moses was given the task of going into Egypt to free the children of Israel, God told Moses to tell them, “I AM has sent me to you” (Exodus 3:14). I AM is God’s name. It’s who He is. It’s His essence. It’s what He does. And so are you. Be very careful what you say behind your, “I am”. Check this out…BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU SAY BEHIND YOUR, “I AM…”

“I am a Virgo.” “I am a Libra.” Do you feel comfortable defining yourself as something God has forbidden?

Do you feel comfortable getting guidance from something God has forbidden?

Do you feel comfortable choosing a mate based on something God has forbidden?

Do you feel comfortable basing your personality on something God has forbidden?

Or, do you enjoy it so much that right now you are reasoning within yourself how I’m wrong and looking for verses or justification to keep doing it. That may be a ‘sign’ that you are too connected to it.

Well if God forbids it, why do the personality traits seem so on point sometimes? We all know that the enemy disguises himself as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14).

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But, here’s the number one reason I think that people of God should ignore the horoscope…

BECAUSE IT HURTS GOD!

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Even if He won’t send you to Hell for it. Even if you think it’s harmless. If God said don’t do it, that means it hurts Him. When you love someone, there’s some things you don’t do not because you think they will leave you, but because you know it hurts them.

Have you ever noticed that before God got angry, He was always hurt first? Have you noticed how God sometimes pleaded with and appealed to Israel like a hurt lover?

Micah 6 1:3 (NKJV)

“Oh My people, what have I done to you? And how have I wearied you? Testify against Me.”

The #1 reason we should ignore the horoscope is because it hurts the God of our Salvation.

Please think about this before you ask someone, “What is your sign?”

BE BLESSTIFIED!