Fruit Must GROW

I have been thinking about the Fruit of the Spirit today.

Galatians 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23) gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

This little passage comes right after the author is talking about the "works of the Flesh", where he lists off a whole bunch of bad things that people really shouldn't do. I found the comparison very interesting. The apostle, Paul, the writer of this passage, is very careful in the words he uses. He talks about "WORKS of the flesh" vs. "FRUIT of the Spirit".

I think that many times we try to battle against "works of the Flesh" with "works of the Spirit", but Paul says that's not how it's done. These good things that we are all striving to posess, they are not things that we can WORK up, really. You can't go off and "work up" some more peace. You can't really bear down and concentrate and drum up some extra faithfulness. You can't work really hard and crank out some gentleness any more than you can crank out a banana. No amount of elbow grease will "work up" an apple.

This is the nature of FRUIT; it has to GROW.

Stop trying to "work up" your fruit. It will only frustrate you. Fruit takes time. Consistent time in the sun, periodical watering, and absorption of nutrients in the soil, that's how you grow fruit. Just walk, steadily, in your relationship with God through prayer, Bible reading, worship, and fellowship. Don't rush the process. The fruit will take care of itself if you just let it GROW.

Words that Fit

Well, obviously, it's been a long time since my last post. The busiest time of year is behind me now, at least for a little while, and I'm starting to breath again.

Lots has changed since I last posted, my family and I moved back to my old home town. Don't you just hate moving? It is very good to be back with old friends and family, though. I'll tell you, it is such a relief to let the kids run outside and play or go next door to my grandparents' house and not have to worry about traffic or creepy people or getting lost. Small towns are just wonderful... most of the time.

I have been thinking about words today. Do you know how powerful and important your words are?

Proverbs 25:11

"A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver."

The right word said at the right time can be a priceless thing, like sweet fruit ripe and pleasant to taste, loaded with seeds of potential and health and growth.

The wrong word at the wrong time, however, can be bitter and rotten and sickening.

We've all been careless with our words on occasion, and our timing hasn't always been good. But if that is the case, one thing is ALWAYS timely and appropriate; an apology.

What kind of words are you sharing today?