As way of introduction, I am Major Greg Turnbull of The Salvation Army and with my wife, Major Lynne Turnbull, we are now the ministers for the Salvos in the Campaspe Shire.
This includes Echuca, Kyabram and Rochester.
We are both locals that have in a way returned home and look forward to working in the local communities.
We have recently started a study on fruit of the Spirit and to me fruit salad to me comes to mind when I think of this.
So many different fruits go into a fruit salad: apple, grapes, kiwi, pineapple and so much more.
It is more than a single ingredient that makes up the whole.
This is the same as the fruit of the Spirit, with the nine elements mentioned by Paul in our passage for today.
They are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
They make up the fruit of the Spirit because it is through the Spirit we receive them.
When we become a Christian, the Holy Spirit enters us and hopefully we show the fruit mentioned above but just like any good fruit salad there may be some fruit we need to work on to get the balance right.
We may be generous but need to work on our patience, we may be a peaceful person but need to work on self-control.
One of the things that stops us from having good fruit salad is the use-by date, perishable things.
Our passage reminds us that there is a battle between flesh and the Spirit and while flesh will corrupt and die there is no law against the Spirit.
Nothing can top the fruit of the Spirit if we give our self into it, work on it and cultivate it.
Let us live by the Spirit so the fruit may grow in us for all to see, so we may bless others and please God.
Major Greg Turnbull
Campaspe Shire Salvos
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