[207 words]
In Philippians 1:11 Paul records that Christians are to be filled with the “fruits of righteousness.” Of course the fruit of the Spirit come to mind with a statement like that. The fruit of the Spirit are mentioned in two passages in the New Testament:
Galatians 5:22-23, “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”
Ephesians 5:9-10, “(for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord.”
We can find 12 fruit of the Spirit from these two passages and, since there are 12 months in the year, we could emphasize one for every day of its month:
January: Love
February: Joy
March: Peace
April: Longsuffering
May: Kindness
June: Goodness
July: Faithfulness
August: Gentleness
September: Self-Control
October: Righteousness
November: Truth
December: Finding out what is acceptable to the Lord
Think about it, if we would work all day, every day, for a month on each of these, they will easily become a habitual part of our lives. This would result in bearing fruits of righteousness. This year, let us fill the year and our lives with the fruits of goodness and godliness.
Edd Sterchi
Broadway church of Christ
Campbellsville, KY