fruit of the Spirit

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Living In The Spirit: Producing His Fruit

25th January

“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 5:23-24

When you plant a seed, you expect the fruit of that seed to be what you planted right? It would be pretty shocking if you planted a tomato plant and an apple tree starting growing. You would feel deceived by the packet and probably by the person/shop that sold it you. So it is the same with our lives. Our packet may be labelled ‘Christian’ but if we live according to the desires of our sinful nature, we will constantly be scattering fleshly seeds which in turn will bear fleshly fruit, (full list found in verses 19-21).

Yet if we live in the Holy Spirit and by His guiding, we will produce fruit in accordance with His nature. Think about Jesus. His roots were firmly planted in the Father and He truly produced Godly fruit. He was kind, loving and patient will all He met, even the marginalised of society. He was faithful, full of goodness, joy and peace. He was so gentle, taking our burdens and carrying them on the cross for us. Finally, when He was tempted by the enemy, He stood firm and showed self-control to overcome the enemy’s lies. Jesus is still all those things today.

That same Spirit, is the Spirit that lives in us; The person of the Holy Spirit. He lives to guide and lead us and to produce fruit in accordance to God’s nature. Notice that verse 22 doesn’t say that these fruit are something we can produce on our own, but rather it is the Holy Spirit’s indwelling in our hearts and lives that produces these fruit. May we be daily, consciously asking for more of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Not just an infilling but an overflowing of Him in all we do. May the seeds we sow, bear good fruit.

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Fruit Filled Believer

12th June

“Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.”

Galatians 5:24-25

An old pastor once said to me that you can tell what kind of Christian someone is when something falls on their toe and their reaction to it. Although this has comical undertones there is a truth hidden in there. When life’s pressures and temptations squeeze us, what is our reaction to them and what comes our of us?

Galatians 5:22 highlights the list of the 9 fruits of the Spirit. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Notice that not one of these things is an attribute that we alone can muster up. Every characteristic mentioned here is indicative of a life filled by the Spirit and the fruit that produces. We alone cannot be kind, loving and gentle in and of our strength. We cannot muster up self-control to withstand the enemies temptations on our own. The only way to live a fruit filled life, is to be filled with the Holy Spirit daily and rely on Him in everything.

Let us live by the Holy Spirit’s power and not in our own strength. Let us follow His leading, not just when we are in public places, but also in the quietness of our homes, in the moments we are alone. Let us nail every sinful pleasure and desire we have to the cross. Let the Holy Spirit completely fill us, remove our sin and birth new life in our hearts and minds that produces the kind of fruit that bring glory to Jesus’ Name. We don’t just want to be known as nice person who didn’t get angry when something dropped on their toe, rather we want to live our lives to show the world that through life’s hardship there is hope, through the trials there is peace and through temptations there is victory: His name is Jesus Christ.