THRIVE: We are all producing fruit. What type of fruit are you choosing to produce?

Do you realize that your way of life and living is producing something, fruit? The way you live is planting seeds, watering, and making them grow with the outcome of some type of fruit. Do you know the kind of fruit you are producing? Do you realize if it is good fruit or bad fruit? Do you have a reference source that you use to determine? Do you have a reference source that helps you choose? Let’s check out the reference I have that helps me to try and live my life producing good fruit!

My reference is the Word of God, Scripture, the Bible! Let’s first get started checking out Galatians 5 which speaks to fruit production:

‘So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.’

Galatians 5:16-26

From this reading, I see and learn that there are two choices of ways to live: the human’s way and God’s way. We read and learn how the human nature of living without God goes against the ways of the Spirit of God’s way. The human nature without God is antagonistic to the ways of the Spirit, continually withstanding and in conflict with each other. Through God’s Word found in Scripture, we discover the outputs, the outcomes, and the fruit of living lives apart from God and according to the flesh. The outputs, the outcomes, the fruits, or the practices of living according to the flesh rather than the spirit are clear and obvious as they are: “immorality, impurity, indecency, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger (ill temper), selfishness, divisions (dissensions), party spirit (factions, sects with peculiar opinions, heresies), envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like.” With the reference to God’s Word, we also learn that this lifestyle has consequences: that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

Choosing to go through life God’s Way, guided and led by the Holy Spirit, we get to live in and with freedom from the law. From the reading and digging a bit deeper into the Amplified translation, to get a better understanding, we learn how living with the Holy Spirit inside of us and in alignment and obedience to the Spirit accomplishes and produces good fruit. We learn how living in accordance with the Spirit produces: “love, joy (gladness), peace, patience (an even temper, forbearance), kindness, goodness (benevolence), faithfulness, gentleness (meekness, humility), self-control (self-restraint, continence).” If we choose to live in the Spirit, producing these good fruits, we learn that “against such things, there is no law [that can bring a charge].”

It’s important to have a reference source that you can depend upon. It’s important to have a reference source that doesn’t change as a foundation on which to build your life. It’s important to have a source who is the same yesterday, today, and forever to walk with and align with, like God! Each of the fruit produced by living in the Spirit is explained and expressed through God’s Word! Each one is powerful and meaningful to how God desires for us to live our lives! For today, I will start with love!

Let’s jump to the scripture that some call the love chapter which gets used many times in weddings to grab a hold of what love is.

‘Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. ‘

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Going into verse 8, we also learn that love never fails! Let’s take a look at the amplified version to see if we can get a deeper look into what love is:

‘ Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily. It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God’s love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong]. It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail. Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].’

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (AMPC)

So today we are faced with a choice based on the Word of God of how we will choose to live our lives. We each have free will and we each get to make our own decisions. We will also each have the opportunity to deal with the consequences of our decisions too. So let’s make sure we have a good reference guide to help us choose how to live our lives! Let’s make sure we have a good guide who can help lead us through this life! Let’s make sure that we have a trustworthy guide who speaks the truth in love! Let’s make sure we aren’t being deceived, we aren’t being lied to in an attempt to rob us, kills us, and destroy us but instead have the truth that will allow us to have life and life more abundantly!

Let’s choose to live lives producing good fruit in order that we can thrive for the glory of God!

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Today’s Verse of the Day:

‘Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. ‘

John 6:35

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Today’s post from Be The Dads is: Anger Free Dad – Day 6

Anger Free Dad – Day 6

Are you ready to produce good fruit? Do you want to produce good fruit? Do you want to walk in true freedom? Do you want to walk in true peace?

Invite Jesus into your heart! Invite Jesus into your life!

If you pray today’s prayer with me feel free to let me know so I can pray with you and for you too. (If you don’t feel comfortable leaving a comment then you can always try email.

Let’s Pray!