Blessed with the Fruit of the Spirit

Prayer – Holy Spirit, produce within me good fruit. Please guide my thoughts, words, and actions that I would be acceptable in the Lord’s eyes as I seek to know and serve Him more each day. 

For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don't use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." ... But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses. ... 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 5:13-14, 18, 22-23 NLT

 

Apple Blossoms
My backyard

Meditate. Where does fruit come from?

The fruit of the Spirit. Note that it is singular…fruit, not fruits. It is one fruit that the Holy Spirit produces in our lives. It has multiple parts: love, joy, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. As we mature in Christ, these characteristics become more evident. Do you see those elements as part of your spiritual character?

 

Love your neighbor as yourself. Isn’t that what we are instructed to do several places in the Bible? Our spiritual character influences our attitudes and actions—and the way we treat others. In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus spoke about people being known by their actions.

Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can't produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can't produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions. Matthew 7:15-20 NLT

What kind of tree are you? What fruit do you produce? Spring is here…and the trees are beginning to blossom. First the blossom…and then the fruit. If you want to produce good fruit, then you water the tree, fertilize it, and protect it from bugs and critters that want to eat the fruit. What are you doing to prepare and protect the fruit that you will be produced in you spiritually? Your actions reflect your desire to treat your neighbor as yourself…and to show the love of God that is within your heart, soul, and mind. You have choices to make. Is good fruit going to be produced within you?

 

Verse of Salvation ~ I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ's return. May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation--the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ--for this will bring much glory and praise to God. Philippians 1:9-11 NLT

 

© 2024 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved. 

All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted. 

New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. 

Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm. 

 

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