Fruit Out of Season

   

Do you remember the song about the Fruit of the Spirit which is based on Galatians 5?  

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  Against such things there is no law.

It's a lovely list!  Thinking of each of these actions as fruit is an interesting head-spin.  When you think of fruit you think of something that grows, and when it's ripe you eat and are nourished by it.  When I consider being loving, or being patient, I think it ought to be of more benefit for others than for myself - but that is not the case - to foster the fruit of the Spirit nourishes you as well as others.  

But fruit aren't always available.  They grow in seasons.  I can imagine that a season for love, for patience, or for kindness could be in situations that are easy, where you get along with everyone around you.  In contrast, out of season could be those situations that are challenging - where you are pressured on every side, where you have conflict and stress.  However, Jesus tells us otherwise, when we love those who love us it doesn't show that we have grown our fruit to maturity (Luke 6:32-36).  Instead we are to love and do good to those who hate us, just like He did.  That is what helps our fruit to grow.  

My husband's family loves plants and knows the best way to tend to them.  They once told me that certain plants actually grow better in stressful environments.  Perhaps the fruit of the Spirit follows this rule of thumb.  Unfortunately, it is a hard thing to love out of season. We need God's help.

Here are two examples related to fig trees.

In Mark (Mark 11:12-25) Jesus looks for figs on a fig tree when it is out of season and curses the tree when no fruit was found on it - the tree then withers and dies.  I feel like we can be that tree.  We don't show the fruit of the Spirit when we are 'out of season'.  We react negatively to negative situations.  We aren't allowing our fruit to grow to maturity and we are not open to the Lord's leading.  

In Luke 13 Jesus tells another parable of a fig tree where the tree doesn't even provide fruit IN season for three years.  But in this case, the farmer gives the tree another chance and tends to it for one more year.  When you look at the context surrounding this parable, Jesus was speaking about the fact that all of us are sinful and need to repent, the act of repentance allows us to be ready to grow fruit. This parable doesn't tell us whether the fig tree did produce fruit the next year, but I hope for our sakes that it did! 

Are you in a good position to grow fruit of the Spirit?  Have you repented and are humbly ready to let the Lord prune out those parts of you that aren't fruitful?

If the Lord wanted fruit from you 'out of season', would He find any?

 

Quiet Beauty

 A gentle and quiet spirit pleases the Lord...in fact, in I Peter 3:4 it says these attributes are precious to Him.  How amazing to know what pleases the Lord!!  

But what does this mean?  That only the soft-spoken individual is captured in this statement?  A spirit that is gentle and quiet can be a part of a boisterous and open personality - thankfully for me, as I'm not exactly soft when I speak!  

So what does this mean?

Gentleness can be defined by a compassionate, patient and loving heart and is intrinsic to our relationships to those around us.  We are told to 'let your gentleness be evident to all, the Lord your God is near." (Phil 4:5) This is an internal response to the needs of others around us that in turn allows them to see God's love through us.  

A quiet spirit can be described as an internal state that reflects our relationship to the Lord.  

A quiet spirit is listening...  trusting...  it isn't shaken by external situations... 

In I Kings 19:11-13 Elijah goes to meet with God.  There was a great and powerful wind, an earthquake and a fire.  But God didn't show Himself in those things - instead He showed Himself in a still, small voice.  It is amazing how often God uses the small and the insignificant to bring about His purposes!  And it makes sense that He sees beauty in something the world wouldn't notice.

Honestly, in the world today, a gentle and quiet spirit seems weak.  If we were asked to round out this description we would probably add the word 'timid', 'meek', or 'shy'.  They seem to fit somehow.

Not God...going back to I Peter 3 He challenges our preconceptions by adding the word 'fearless'!

Now all of a sudden we see something incredibly different...gentle, quiet and fearless...it brings to mind a ninja!  What a turn-around!  God knows our heart, He knows what we are like inside.  He values the things that are unseen because they show the substance of who we are.  And the substance belongs to Christ.  

So how do we cultivate this type of beauty in ourselves?  

Consider the moments where you interact with others...is God's love evident in what you say and do?  

Consider moments of stress or problems, are you trusting God through them?  

Consider moments where you are afraid...do you push on, not letting fear control you?

Living Stones

 In the Old Testament Nehemiah organized the restoration of Jerusalem.  Each volunteer that helped had a two-fold job.  They needed to build up their section of the city and they had to protect it.  

Today, we as Christians have the same responsibilities.  

In I Peter 2:5 we are told that we are like living stones that are being built up as a spiritual house.  All built on the foundation of Jesus, the author and finisher of our Faith.  Our belief in Jesus is worked out in action that are steps to building up a living testament to God's glory through our lives.  We now have a unified purpose to build up our lives in a way that glorifies God.  As Christians, all of us need to encourage each other.  We aren't in competition, we are working together to glorify God, each building side-by-side and providing motivation to spur each other on.  

The process of how to build is given to us throughout the New Testament.  Everywhere you look we are told how to live for God, pleasing Him with our actions, our thoughts and the way we love (Col. 3:12-17, I Thess. 5:14-22, James 3:13,17, I Peter 4:7-11, II Peter 1:5-8 are just a few examples).  Let's help each other build well.   

Our second responsibility is to protect what we've built.  We protect our faith by trusting God, by standing firm in our Faith.  We are told to retain the standard (2 Tim. 1:13).  Over and over, the Bible tells us to defend our faith by holding fast.  Why is this important?  It shows that we believe God is greater than what we are going through, what we see around us.  It means that no matter what comes we are able to look past it to the One thing that is always secure - God's Love for us.  

Today is Good Friday.  A day where God showed us just how far He was willing to go to show us His love for us.  Jesus died to save us, each one of us.  His sacrifice gave us a chance to truly live.  Have we truly understood that sacrifice?  Have we learned how to build up our lives for God?  Do we help each other build well? Have we protected what has been built?

Letters from Christ

 2 Corinthians 3:3 says that as a Christian, 'you are a letter from Christ...not written with ink, but with the Spirit of the Living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.'

What a beautiful picture!  And what a great responsibility!

God uses our lives to share His message to the world. We are sealed with the stamp of Jesus on our lives.  This seal is not just at face value, it should dictate who we are from all aspects of our life.

Does the way you live clearly state God's message to those around you? 
Is the content of your letter in line with God's nature, His Holiness, His love?
Do you write your letter boldly or is it faint and unreadable?
Do you write your letter consistently or are there large gaps between messages?
What does God want to say through your life today?

The Power of God's Promises

 I saw a video that showed a bird with its feet frozen to a pole.  A kind man saved it by holding it still and blowing softly on its feet.  His warm breath was all that was needed to release the bird.

What a beautiful picture for us!

How often are we frozen in fear, paralyzed by hurts and emotional hang-ups?  Yet God is right there holding us still and breathing His promises on our life that will release us from our prison.

What promises do you need to hear today?  

Compassion International has thoughtfully provided many promises in scripture in one place: https://www.compassionuk.org/blogs/gods-promises/ 

"Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10

Seeking God's Face

Seeking the Lord means seeking his presence. “Presence” is a common translation of the Hebrew word “face.” To be before God's face is to be in his presence.

When you look at someone's face you see how they feel - what makes them laugh, what hurts them.  When you study someone's face you learn about them and get to know them.

Often we don't seek God's face.  We seek His hands.  We look for what He will do for us, not who He is.  We want handouts based on our own understanding - things that we think will make us happy.  We are more interested in gifts than the giver.  We don't realize that being in the presence of God, seeing His face is better than anything we could ask for.

In the Old Testament King Ahaz reigned over Judah (2 Kings 16).  As King he should have been seeking God's Face.  Instead, he went elsewhere and saw what other people were doing and how they were serving other gods.  He brought the pattern of these foreign altars back and made them in God's temple.  He moved God's altar out of the way and used the ones he made for everything.  Well, everything except one thing - he would use God's altar to ask for things.  

Do we do that?  Do we think we've got life covered so we move God out of the way?  Do we put Him on hold until we need Him?  And when we need Him do we ask Him for things that we want, rather than what He wants?  

We need to distinguish between whether we are seeking God's Face or His hands.  We need to be saddened by what He is saddened by, enjoy what He enjoys, see the world as He sees it.  This can only be done when we seek His face.  

If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14 

You have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, Lord, do I seek.” Psalm 27:8 

Unexpected Problems

 Last week I had an unexpected event.

I was doing the dishes when the hot water pipe under the sink broke.  

I would like to say that I handled this problem with calm and poise...but...honestly, there was a lot of yelling and running around.  I did manage to turn off the water main quickly and then mitigated the damage to the kitchen, but it wasn't pretty.  

Events like this happen to us all the time.  Problems that come without warning...things that you need to deal with immediately or there will be consequences...things that you can't blame someone else for (yes, the pipe broke and maybe we could blame the manufacturer...but that's a pretty distant blame!).  

As Christians we have spiritual problems popping up as well.  So how do we deal with those type of problems well?  I'll use my Water Problem as an example.

1. Notice there's a problem! 
When the water pipe broke I actually thought it was the A/C unit having an issue.  It wasn't until I turned off the A/C that I heard water running - then saw the evidence coming out the kitchen sink.  
Spiritual Application: It is tough to have spiritual eyes to see a problem in our lives, that is why it is good to have others around us who know the Lord and can point out issues with love and compassion.

2. Stop the Source of the Problem.
I turned off the water main but I could have turned off the water right under the sink.  I had forgotten that handle was there and it caused the water to run longer. 
Spiritual Application: Spiritually speaking, when we know how to halt sinful thoughts, pray over fear and listen to God's voice we actually stop an issue before it harms us.  It is amazing how powerful worship, prayer and spending time with God is for our spiritual well-being.  

3. Care for Vulnerable and Affected Areas. 
I stopped the spread of the water throughout the kitchen. I used towels to sop up water that was near walls and cabinets that would be damaged with long exposure.  
Spiritual Application: The fallout from a spiritual problem could affect relationships, attitudes and even physical health.  Spending time restoring those areas will help mitigate lasting damage.

4. Don't be Afraid to ask for help. 
I did call Dom to tell him what happened and make sure I was on the right track with my response.  He came home to help and I showed him all the things I noticed as I was cleaning.  He had expertise that I didn't and I was happy to let him take over. 
Spiritual Application: Looking at spiritual problems, God has designed the Church as a community of believers that help each other out in times of trouble.  Each of us have peaks and valleys in our spiritual walk and shouldn't be too proud to ask for prayer or support when we need it.

5. Give it Time.
We ended up using a heavy-duty bouncy castle fan to dry off the hardest hit areas.  We left it running for a couple of days to stop mould from building up in areas we couldn't see.
Spiritual Application: We hope that problems can be fixed with a one-stop shop mentality, where we pray and it's dealt with.  But problems don't always work that way.  They creep out again and again if they haven't been dealt with properly.  Take the time to heal and to get the support you need.  This goes back to the pride issue because we somehow think to be weak isn't acceptable.  

I'm sure there's much more to consider when dealing with problems, whatever type they are, but I hope that there is value in realizing that God gives us little examples like my water pipe to help us see our way through those larger problems.  I'm happy to say that our kitchen is dry, we have a new hot water pipe and there wasn't any lasting damage!