Kindness & Goodness (Daily Devotional)

Shalom and thank you once again for joining us. Through the last week, we have picked out every fruit of the Spirit and really looking deeper into how it can be lived out. Today, for our devotion, we're going to be looking at two fruits, that is kindness and goodness. The fruit of the Spirit is the result of the Holy Spirit's presence in us and we can exhibit this only because of being empowered by the Holy Spirit. So, kindness and goodness are two distinct fruits of the Spirit and they work together to really bring about who God is and the true character of who God is. So, let's explore them individually and how they manifest in our lives. Kindness is having an attitude of compassion and consideration, it's an overflow of love and it seeks to meet the needs of others by showing grace and mercy. Kindness flows from the love of God that dwells within us and is demonstrated through our words, our actions and what we say, what we do. Ephesians chapter 4, verse 32 reads, ‘and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you.’ Let's look at the example of Jesus and see how He lived out kindness because there's so much to learn and imitate. Jesus showed kindness to all those who were oppressed, they were marginalized, those who were low in society, we see that He showed kindness, He reached out to the outcasts, He healed the sick, He delivered those who were oppressed, He demonstrated the love of God and compassion, He showed kindness in that way. Jesus frequently engaged in acts of service and did things of hospitality, showing kindness. We see how Jesus washed the feet of His disciples, He served and fed the hunger crowds as a result of His compassion, we see that kindness there. We see Jesus showed kindness through His willingness to forgive and extend mercy so that we would not be condemned but rather we would be saved and would enjoy an eternity with Him. Jesus showed kindness by speaking the truth in love. He balanced kindness with honesty, He corrected, admonished those who needed guidance and we see that He wanted to lead them closer to God as the examples that we see in the Samaritan woman. Let's look at goodness, goodness is acting in the uprightness of the heart. As the characteristic of goodness grows in us as a believer, it is acting out God's love to others by helping others. How is it manifested in our lives? Goodness extends to those who may be hurt or may be treated unfairly. It means showing love and grace towards our enemies just the way Jesus did not expecting anything in return. Jesus extending forgiveness was again a sign of goodness to those who had wronged Him, on the cross He prayed and He asked the Lord for forgiveness, we see the goodness of God there. Goodness is also seen through compassion and empathy towards others, this means putting ourselves in the shoes of others, listening to their struggles without judgment. When we actively cultivate these qualities in our lives and allow the Spirit to work through us, we can manifest the fruit of kindness and goodness so that we reflect the character of Jesus Christ. Let's pray together, Heavenly Father, whoever you bring before us, may we come with this quality of kindness and goodness, showing others gestures of kindness, acts of service to help them to know that we extend our love because it's been poured out into our hearts by you. Father God, enable us to be kind and good to those around us, in Jesus’s name we pray, Amen.

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Daily devotions to strengthen your faith each day. Daily Devotional for Spirit filled living. Each daily devotion is about five minutes in duration. These daily devotionals are centered around a weekly theme. So there are seven daily devotions that focus on the theme and bring you insight, understanding and revelation from the Bible. Each week’s theme is listed as a series. So you can listen to the current week’s devotions or go to any previous theme/series that speaks to your present need (https://apcwo.org/resources/daily-devotions ). Also available free sermons (https://apcwo.org/sermons), and free Christian books (https://apcwo.org/books) to nourish and strengthen your faith.