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Women's articles

"Love,Joy,Peace"
 
 By Dr.Samuel Kumar(CA)

There are several flavors of mango, a popular fruit in India. The Bible speaks of a different type of fruit with 9 flavors. What fruit is this? What are the flavors and how can we partake of them?.

There is a nine-fold fruit of the Spirit mentioned in Galatians 5:22,23. Someone said that these are 9 flavors of the fruit. Heading the list of these nine flavors are Love, Joy and Peace. How do we experience these virtues and what is the source? We cannot manufacture these qualities. These reside in the Lord Jesus and can only be imparted to a believer through the Holy Spirit.
 
My LOVE: The love of the Lord Jesus is supreme, sacrificial and supernatural. The blasphemy of the book, The Da Vinci Code, stems from knowing nothing of the precious love of the Lord Jesus. In John 15:10 the Lord says, "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in MY LOVE." If we are close to our Master and live a life of obedience to Him, His love will permeate our very souls and innermost beings. We need the love of the Lord Jesus to leave its stamp on every area of our lives. We do not imitate man's love because it falls far short of Christ's love. The apostle Paul states in 1 Corinthians 13 that even if we have spectacular spiritual gifts but lack love, we are nothing. Hardhearted people like the sons of Zebedee were radically changed by the love of Jesus. The writings of John the disciple are the evidence of the transforming love of His Lord.
 
My JOY: We should not settle for anything less than the joy of the Lord Jesus. We know that the Lord was a "man of sorrows and acquainted with grief." While He bore our sorrows, He was also a man of joy. He said, "These things have I spoken unto you that MY JOY might remain in you and that your JOY might be full." (John 15:11) Even while facing the cross, He "for the JOY that was set before Him endured the cross." (Heb. 12:2) The Lord promised, "Your JOY no man taketh from you," and again, "Ask and ye shall receive that your JOY may be full." (John 16:22-24) True joy comes only from the Lord Jesus and it is independent of our circumstances. Are you gloomy? Are you heavyhearted? Come to the Lord Jesus and receive an infusion of His joy which is "unspeakable and full of glory." (1 Peter 1:8) The Lord Jesus gives this joy to His faithful followers not only now but in the hereafter when He greets them with the words, " Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord!"  (Matt. 25:21,23)    
 
My PEACE: The Lord Jesus said, "Peace I leave with you, MY PEACE I give unto you, not as the world giveth give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." (John 14:27) The peace that the world gives is fickle and elusive. At best it is short-lived. The Lord took special pains to tell us that His peace is unlike what the world offers. He is the Prince of Peace and He has bequeathed to us  a parting gift of peace. Just as the mantle fell from Elijah on Elisha, the gift of peace from the Lord Jesus is ours as we seek and follow Him. His peace soothes our troubled hearts and calms our worst fears. He alone can give such supernatural peace. When His disciples were cowering in fear, the first word of greeting that fell from the resurrected Lord Jesus was, "PEACE!" Are you in the midst of a violent storm? Hear our Master say, "Peace! Be still!" (Mark 4:39)
 
Dear reader, do you know the Source of Love, Joy and Peace? In other words, do you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? You can never experience these supernatural qualities in your life unless you know Him personally and intimately. Are you married to Him? Being married to Him involves commitment and faithfulness to Him to the end of one's life. Then and only then will you bear fruit of this sort. We are told, "Ye should be married to Another, even to Him Who is raised from the dead (Jesus Christ) that we should bring forth fruit unto God." (Rom. 7:4) Confess your sin, believe on the Lord Jesus, make a lifetime commitment to Him and receive the gift of eternal life. You will then bear the precious spiritual fruit of which He is the Source.