Pea Ridge Baptist Church with Dan Londeree Pea Ridge Baptist Church

God has worked in different ways to speak to different people throughout history. One common theme in all of these examples is this: those who heard the voice of God were paying attention to Him. Ask Him to help you identify the biggest distractions in your life and then with His help, replace them with His truth and wisdom.

Our calendars and to-do lists reflect what we value. In our culture, we tend to add things to our lives without considering what these will do to our relationship with God and our relationships with others. This summer, choose a slower pace filled with purpose and intention. Spend some time in the river of life.

God the Father nailed our sin debt to the cross as Jesus became sin for us. This first execution was carried out so that we could be reconciled to Him. A second execution takes place when we put to death our own selfish desires, but we can only do this in the power of the Spirit. When we do, we follow the Spirit as he leads us on the path of obedience.

We see God's patience, kindness and goodness through His plan of redemption. He has withheld his judgment so that people have a chance to repent. When we consider that no one deserves his forgiveness, his mercy is evident. And his generosity is seen through the gift of his Son and the gift of the Spirit.

As we begin to examine each type of fruit that the Spirit produces in the life of a believer, we see that God's love, joy and peace are given to us as we allow the Spirit to control us. We must remember that we cannot produce these on our own.

Paul wrote that the works of the flesh were obvious, but he still took time to list some of them. Understanding how these evil behaviors affect our relationship with God and others can help us see the seriousness of these sins and remind us to pursue Christ instead of our own selfish desires.