Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Is It Fruit or Fruits?


(Image source Michigan Newswire)

Galatians 5:16-26 "This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another."

During our Lady's Bible study we discussed the topic of The Fruit of the Spirit. One of the particular focus points was the difference between the fruit of the spirit and the fruits of the spirit. Many people claim to possess the fruits of the spirit but instead of reading the Scripture as it is written..."But the fruit of the Spirit is..." they in essence pick and choose which fruit they will bare. But the Bible clearly tells us that there are no fruits...it's only fruit. So what's the difference?

When we refer to the fruits of the spirit is gives us the thought life that we can choose what we are going to walk in..."today I'll walk in joy, but Lord give me patience to deal with that boss of mine." Or we may think we have the gift of goodness but we have a temper that flies off the handle if someone just looks at us the wrong way. If we are to walk in the fruit of the spirit we must possess all of it ~ 'love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance.' We can't pick and choose what we are going to demonstrate. After all, we're not building a car here. You can't pick goodness and faith but leave out the longsuffering and love. It just doesn't work that way. I know I have been guilty of picking which fruit I bare at times, but ultimately I have ad to repent because I know I am not walking according to the mandate that has been given us through Scripture.

LORD, let me always remember that it is YOU Who saved me and through YOU I am more than a conqueror. Therefore I ask YOU to forgive my short comings and for picking and choosing what fruits I am going to possess. Thank YOU for giving us YOUR Word which is the blueprint for our lives. Where I fall short in the fruit of the Spirit, I ask YOU to give me strength and perseverance to press in and press on in journey to bare all & not just some. I give YOU all honor, glory and praise. In JESUS Mighty Name ~ Amen.



1 comment:

Cranky G. said...

Another great post! We all need to look in mirror once in a while to really evaluate whether we are following God's will.
In this angry world we live in, we need God more than ever.
Thank you, Mrs. M!!