To work out means to cultivate, to make the most of what you have been given. That is what Paul says here: Cultivate your spiritual life!

Second, cultivate inner joy by giving.

spiritual fruit, and that is what God talks about in Galatians 5:22 – 23: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” These nine qualities describe the character of a fruitful, productive Christian.

YOU NEED THREE KINDS OF PEACE

God Uses Circumstances God’s ideal way of changing us is to have us read the Bible to find out how we should live and then depend on his indwelling Spirit to enable us to do it. Unfortunately, most of us are stubborn, and we don’t change that easily. So God brings in a third tool to work on us — circumstances. Problems, pressures, heartaches,

THINK LOVING THOUGHTS The next step in learning to love others is to think loving thoughts

The Bible teaches that the way we think determines the way we feel, and the way we feel determines the way we act. So if you want to change your actions, you have to go back to the source and change the way you think.

To begin loving people today, we must close the door on the past. And that cannot happen without forgiveness! Forgive those who have hurt you — for your sake, not because they deserve it. Do it so your heart can be whole again.

Jesus says this is what he did on the cross. He paid the price in full for every sin we have ever committed. Romans 8:1 tells us, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Jesus was crucified on the cross so that we could stop crucifying ourselves. He was hung up for our hang-ups. That’s good news! The question