Fruit

Most of the time, I write things from my quiet times. This is from our time at church and the things God placed on my heart. I must say it is so refreshing to spend time with God. It is really not that hard to do. You just have to make time for it and be in a setting where you're not distracted (which can be nearly impossible in 2013). 

I'm so blessed by the things God is doing at our church. It is not because of the men and women serving there... it is simply His Holy Spirit speaking into our hearts in the time we allow to quiet ourselves before Him. Here is what I have been learning:

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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 5:22, 23 NLT) 

Some serious questions come to heart when I read this verse:

• Are these fruit evident in my life? 
• When people look at my life from the outside, without seeing into my heart, would they pin these attributes on me as a person? Am I loving? Do I have Joy or Peace? Am I a patient person? (... and so on)
• Am I actually producing these fruit?
• When do some self examining, do I really have these attributes? Am I a loving, good, faithful person?
• What Fruit am I lacking?
• This answer, I know, can change from time to time depending on circumstance or attitude or how much coffee/sleep I have had. But I don't think that is really the way it works. Let me explain why:

I cannot force myself to produce these fruit. There is nothing of myself that I can do to force out these fruit. It is exclusively the work of the Holy Spirit. 

God saved you by His grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.  Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. (Ephesians 2:8, 9 NLT)

I want to encourage you to take a minute and evaluate yourself as well with each questions. Pray for the Holy Spirit to search your heart and be honest with Him in your response.

• Am I giving the Holy Spirit what He needs to produce these fruit in my life? 
• a willing heart, time reserved for Him or a heart prepared for Holy gardening

Of course, our mighty and amazing God, Who created the world and all in it merely my speaking can do supernatural things in the depths of our hearts where no one besides Him can go. But the question is, am I inviting Him there? Am I allowing time to sit quietly before His feet? Am I asking Him to soften my stubborn heart to be plyable and moldable?

• Am I fighting against it? 
• This can be done so many ways. I know you're probably thinking of what you struggle with now. I could be from as simple as being distracted to as serious of a sin that you won't let go of. My personal biggest struggle is that of time and just making it a priority to sit quietly.

• Am I doing something to prevent fruit from growing?
• 1 Thessalonians 5:19 Paul says in his final few statements of advice merely "Do not stifle the Holy Spirit." No more detail than that given. I think the specifics of that can be worked out with Him and us in our own hearts. What, Oh God, am I doing to stifle You or Your works?

• Am I fertilizing my heart and prepping it for growth? 
• I want to have a willing heart. I want God to work in me His wonders. I want Him to weed from me my mistakes. I want Him to work through me His plans.

God will do the work and bring about these fruit by meditation upon Him. I must not forget the necessity of quiet time for these fruit to be produced!!

Do I HAVE joy? Peace? Patience? If the answer is no...  it will ultimately be remedied only by meditation upon God and His word. No other thing will eliviate these ailments. They may cover up or numb but they will not truly and ultimately rid our hearts of the selfish cancer we've all be born into known as sinful nature.

May I remember HE is the source of all goodness and the source of His fruit. I need to remember this isn't the "Fruit of Jen." It's not MY joy, it's not MY patience (of which I have needed in high demand recently with my kids.)

The things which I seem to rely upon myself for are patience, faithfulness, and self-control. When these things are lacking I question myself with "Why aren't you being patient?" or "Why can't you commit to this and follow through?" In reality, the faithfulness, the control, and the patience that I need are things that can only come from the Spirit of God. These are HIS attributes.  They're not mine. They don't come naturally. Naturally I'm a selfish... self consumed... self centered. There is nothing I can do on my own to change. I know many may disagree. They think that at the heart of people, there is goodness. I know this is wrong just by looking at myself. Seriously. Just stop. Look inside your heart and your motives, your secret feelings, maybe some bitterness you have towards someone, maybe something you have lied about, something you have hidden from everyone, something that you wouldn't want anyone to know. You can answer for yourself.

I have been working on this post for quite a few weeks now. I have been mediating upon exactly what it is that God is showing me. Yesterday I saw the perfect and most sincere example:

Charlee, Jovee and I were having lunch with a friend and my girls were sharing a pita. True to their personalities, Charlee was taking little nibbles as Jovee had scarfed down her whole portion of pita bread. Charlee gently offered Jovee a large piece of her pita, as Jovee was starting to freak over the remaining food that was not immediately going into her mouth. Our friend Jessica asked Charlee how she became such a good big sister and she simply said, "I don't know... but I'm pretty sure it's Jesus."

Yes! She was exactly right! It is Jesus. I couldn't tell you how proud I was of my sweet 4 year old daughter who has got it down! She understands what most Christians take a lifetime to learn! It is not us. Not even a little. 

Holy Spirit, 
Please bestow upon us YOUR joy... YOUR love... YOUR fruit! Thank You for the reminder that I don't need to look deep in myself for the best person I can be. Thank You that in YOU and by Your Holy Spirit, I can be better than myself. I can be a shining example of YOU. Perfectly peaceful, loving, joyful, and patient. Perfectly kind, gentle, and self controlled. Remind me to acknowledge You for the fruit that others see in my life. It is all of You and none of me!

Sincerely,
Jen