But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives:

love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

Galatians 5:22-23 NLT

Genesis 1-2:3

 

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. [2] The earth was empty and had no form. Darkness covered the ocean, and God’s Spirit was moving over the water. [3] Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. [4] God saw that the light was good, so he divided the light from the darkness. [5] God named the light “day” and the darkness “night.” Evening passed, and morning came. This was the first day. [6] Then God said, “Let there be something to divide the water in two.” [7] So God made the air and placed some of the water above the air and some below it. [8] God named the air “sky.” Evening passed, and morning came. This was the second day. [9] Then God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered together so the dry land will appear.” And it happened. [10] God named the dry land “earth” and the water that was gathered together “seas.” God saw that this was good. [11] Then God said, “Let the earth produce plants—some to make grain for seeds and others to make fruits with seeds in them. Every seed will produce more of its own kind of plant.” And it happened. [12] The earth produced plants with grain for seeds and trees that made fruits with seeds in them. Each seed grew its own kind of plant. God saw that all this was good. [13] Evening passed, and morning came. This was the third day. [14] Then God said, “Let there be lights in the sky to separate day from night. These lights will be used for signs, seasons, days, and years. [15] They will be in the sky to give light to the earth.” And it happened. [16] So God made the two large lights. He made the brighter light to rule the day and made the smaller light to rule the night. He also made the stars. [17] God put all these in the sky to shine on the earth, [18] to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. God saw that all these things were good. [19] Evening passed, and morning came. This was the fourth day. [20] Then God said, “Let the water be filled with living things, and let birds fly in the air above the earth.” [21] So God created the large sea animals and every living thing that moves in the sea. The sea is filled with these living things, with each one producing more of its own kind. He also made every bird that flies, and each bird produced more of its own kind. God saw that this was good. [22] God blessed them and said, “Have many young ones so that you may grow in number. Fill the water of the seas, and let the birds grow in number on the earth.” [23] Evening passed, and morning came. This was the fifth day. [24] Then God said, “Let the earth be filled with animals, each producing more of its own kind. Let there be tame animals and small crawling animals and wild animals, and let each produce more of its kind.” And it happened. [25] So God made the wild animals, the tame animals, and all the small crawling animals to produce more of their own kind. God saw that this was good. [26] Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image and likeness. And let them rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the tame animals, over all the earth, and over all the small crawling animals on the earth.” [27] So God created human beings in his image. In the image of God he created them. He created them male and female. [28] God blessed them and said, “Have many children and grow in number. Fill the earth and be its master. Rule over the fish in the sea and over the birds in the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” [29] God said, “Look, I have given you all the plants that have grain for seeds and all the trees whose fruits have seeds in them. They will be food for you. [30] I have given all the green plants as food for every wild animal, every bird of the air, and every small crawling animal.” And it happened. [31] God looked at everything he had made, and it was very good. Evening passed, and morning came. This was the sixth day. [Genesis 2:1] So the sky, the earth, and all that filled them were finished. [2] By the seventh day God finished the work he had been doing, so he rested from all his work. [3] God blessed the seventh day and made it a holy day, because on that day he rested from all the work he had done in creating the world.

***Referenced text in New International Version and New Century Version.***

DO TO OTHERS

Who is My Neighbor?

  

Luke 10:25-37 (NLT)

One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?”

 

[26] Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?”

 

[27] The man answered, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

 

[28] “Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!”

 

[29] The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

 

[30] 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. [32] A Temple assistant 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. [34] Going 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. [35] The 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.’

 

[36] “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked.

 

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

 

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