Goodness (Part 1)

"But the fruit of the Spirit is... GOODNESS..." Galatians 5:22

Below are some verses on patience for you to look up and study this week.  Next week I will give a  little commentary of my own on the subject of Goodness.  Please feel free to share some of your commentary on these verses or add some scriptures that you think pertain to this topic during this week and next by commenting below or e-mailing me at girlbiblestudy@hotmail.com.

Scriptures for this week:

Exodus 33:19, "The LORD replied, 'I will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will call out my name, Yahweh, before you. For I will show mercy to anyone I choose, and I will show compassion to anyone I choose.'" (NLT)

Psalm 23:6, "Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the LORD forever." (NLT)

Romans 11:12, "Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in his goodness: otherwise you also shall be cut off."
(NKJV)

2 Peter 1:5-9, "For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins." (NIV)

Luke 10:30-35, "Jesus replied with a story: 'A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.

31“By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. 32A Temple assistant (a Levi) walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.

33“Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. 34Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. 35The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’ “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked.

37The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.”

Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”

" (NLT)

Extra Scriptures:

Psalm 27:13

Psalm 86:17

Nehemiah 9:35

Romans 15:14

Ephesians 5:8-9

Blessings! 

~ S*

Kindness (Part 2)

"But the fruit of the Spirit is... KINDNESS..." Galatians 5:22

 This week's Verses:

Acts 28:2, "The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold." (NIV)

This was right after Paul was shipwrecked; the locals surprisingly showed them kindness when they washed ashore.

Ephesians 2:4-7, "But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) 6For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. 7So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus." (NLT)

God is merciful and Kind!  It is because of His kindness that we will be with Him one day in heaven!  Isn't that so Awesome!?!

Colossians 3:12, "Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience." (NLT)

God has called us to be Kind.  I want to strive to follow God's Word and do what He says.

Titus 3:4-7, “When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, 5he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. 6He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. 7Because of his grace he declared us righteous and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.” (NLT)

Through His kindness He sent His Son Jesus to die for us so that we could live forever to be with Him.  I don't know that there is a kinder or more selfless thing to do!

Extra Verses:

Romans 11:22

2 Corinthians 6:3-10
2Peter 1:5-9

2Samuel 2:6

2 Samuel 9:1

2 Samuel 10:2 and 1 Chronicles 19:2 (same story)

Ruth 2:20

Ruth 3:10

Kindness, like all of the fruits of the Spirit, is an important on.  When we show kindness to people, they have a hard time doing/being anything but the same back to you.  Let's all try to be kind and see how God chooses to bless us because of it!

Blessings,

~ S*

Kindness (Part 1)

"But the fruit of the Spirit is... KINDNESS..." Galatians 5:22 

Definitions:

Kindness:

1. the practice or quality of being kind

2. a kind, considerate, or helpful act

Kind:

1. Of a friendly, generous, or warm-hearted nature.

2. Showing sympathy or understanding; charitable: (a kind word.)

3. Humane; considerate: (kind to animals.)

4. Forbearing; tolerant: (Our neighbor was very kind about the window we broke.)

5. Generous; liberal: (kind words of praise.)

How many of you watched some of the TV specials about 9-11? I personally watched a two hour special of "Dateline" about this historic date in America's history. 

Ten years ago, I wasn't really effected by the events of September 11th and the plane crashes that devastated our nation.  But after reading about it, and now seeing more of the events that took place that day, I have a new respect for the people involved.  

Kindness was shown throughout that day many times over.  People working their way down the stairway trying to make their way out, stopped, and took the time to help someone else un-bury themselves from the rubble on their floor.  A certain group of rescue workers refused to leave an elderly woman behind (which in turn saved their entire unit).  And the few passengers of the last plane hijacked decided to take the opportunity they had to save other people's lives by losing their own in the attempt of foiling the foreign hijackers mission. Kindness. And that wasn't the only fruit of the Spirit that was shown that extremely tragic day.  Countless stories of what people went through can have an amazing effect on your outlook of these few simple words: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. 

How many fruits of the Spirit did you witness on 9-11?  How can we better implement these better in the future?  Are there things you need to reexamine in your life to change for the better?  Can you change them by applying Kindness and the other fruits of the Spirit?  

What are your favorite Bible verses relating to Kindness?  What/who is the best example of Kindness in your life?  

Let's try to apply Kindness where ever we go and see how much it impacts our attitude and how people respond to us!

Blessings!

~ S*