Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalms 118:24)

Today, let’s parallel how teams develop their players, to achieve the shared goal of winning.

Today’s scripture, Galatians 5:22-26 (NLT)
says…
[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! [24] Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. [25] Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. [26] Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.

Consider…
Teams need players to execute their formulated plans to win games. In order to maximize the players selected to achieve the team’s winning goal, each individual’s skill is developed. In addition, teams help each player understand how they fit and get them to give their best to the role they were chosen to play.

Similarly, the Apostle Paul let’s us know that we were each selected for, and equipped with what God wants us to do in His body. 1 Corinthians 12:4-7 (NLT) says…
[4] There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. [5] There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. [6] God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us. [7] A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.

Understanding that we were handpicked by God to do good things (Ephesians 2:10) for His team is a great start. However, although God doesn’t need us to develop to win, especially since He has already won, He still wants us to develop.

Today’s Fruit of the Spirit is an important part of that development. Think of it being like a player being given the required equipment by the team so that they can play. The field God’s team plays on is spiritual, thus we need Spirit provided equipment to play the role we’ve been selected to play.

Here’s a reminder of the equipment referenced above…

• love
• joy
• peace
• patience
• kindness
• goodness
• faithfulness
• gentleness
• and self-control

As you prepare to play your role in God’s body, make sure you use the Spirit issued equipment required to play.

An additional thought on our equipment is that it’s all that we need to achieve our role in fulfilling God’s goal. 2 Peter 1:2-4 (NLT) explains…
[2] May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord. [3] By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. [4] And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.

Yet, although we have everything we need, 2 Peter 1:5-7 (NLT) tells us there’s more that we need to do. It says…
[5] In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, [6] and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, [7] and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.

God is telling us to build on what He has provided. In other words, He expects us to do our part to be the best player for Him, just like teams expect their players too.

So He says we should enhance our…

• faith
• moral excellence
• knowledge
• self-control
• patient endurance
• godliness
• brotherly affection
• love for everyone.

God has given us the fruit of the Spirit, and He also expects us to develop these natural traits in playing our role that He has chosen and equipped us to play.

The Holy Spirit is coaching me to close our player development parallel with 2 Peter 1:8 (NLT), which says…
[8] The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Notice, God just told us…

• We’ve been equipped. 2 Peter 1:3
• We need to participate in our development. 2 Peter 1:5-7
• Our development will help us produce at a higher level. 2 Peter 1:8

There’s no stagnation on God’s team. Everyone who plays for Him must continually develop. Hopefully today’s post inspires you to work even harder, using His equipment and developing your natural traits. 🙏🏾 💪🏾

Today’s Song is…
Make Me Over

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)