Believing the Promises of God - in His Word

Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed… Without weakening in his faith… Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what He had promised. ~ Romans 4 [selected 18-21]



Tuesday, July 28, 2009

FRUIT for THOUGHT




This was my lunch yesterday. I've been doing a "fruit cleansing" for three days. The bowl looked so colorful - so inviting - so delicious and so nutritious - so luscious - so mouth watering - and the taste buds go on and on! And it WAS that GOOD going down!
It made me ponder about bearing [much] fruit.

I asked myself:
Do I bear fruit that is colorful and inviting?
Do I bear fruit that is delicious and nutritious?
Do I bear fruit that is luscious and mouth watering?
Is my the fruit I bear "in season"?
Is it fresh and ready picked?
Do I offer it to others freely?

We are all familiar with this passage from Galatians in one of the more common translations here:
Galatians 5:22-23 [NIV]
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.


but just ponder for a while this paraphrase - just how those fruit of the Spirit play out in our lives [or should]:


Galatians 5:22-23 [The Message]
22-23But what happens when we live God's way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.

What is your 'fruit for thought'?
How does bearing fruit play out in your life?
What has God been teaching you about it?
************

Choosing JOY,
Stephanie
[JESUS - the One I THIRST For]

7 comments:

Loren said...

I have thru many of your posts and love your blog! You have already taught me as you have set out to do :) (in your profile) Thankyou! I came here from alleluiabelle site. She is sharing your article on Favor with us today and I just wanted to thankyou for such an anointed article. I am currently in Florida with my Dad. We found out he has lung cancer and when I got here we found that it had spread to his brain. He is under going treatment at the mayo clinic.
I look forward to knowing you!

Yolanda said...

Simply to persevere with Him and to keep my eyes on Him.

Love ya!

elaine @ peace for the journey said...

Goodness, just seeing that bowl makes me hungry! I want my "bowl" to produce the same reaction in others ... not hunger for me, but hunger to know more of Jesus.

Beautiful analogy.

peace~elaine

Beth Herring said...

Definitely food for thought! I love that post and it really makes me stop and think about what kind of fruit I am bearing!

Runner Mom said...

Hey, Stephanie! This was great! I love the questions that we need to ask about our fruit that we are producing for Him! Wow! This is one that I'll come back to.

Hugs!
Susan

LisaShaw said...

Keeping my eyes fixed on Jesus so that I can stay at His feet in worship. When I do I bare good fruit, fruit that lasts to the glory of the Father. Any other type of fruit is not worth my mention. I desire to be fruitful for HIM.

I appreciate your beautiful photo and words that are both encouraging, challenging and a great reminder to us all.

Glad I was able to visit with you today. Love you.

Sue said...

Hello,
So nice to meet you.I so enjoyed this post , and am enjoying your blog. much food for thought!
Blessings,
Sue