Theme of the Week: Summer Fruits
Bible Verse: “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing” John 15:5
Scripture Reading: John 15:1-17, Galatians 6:15
Christmas trees can be decorated to look very pretty, but they will never be a real living beauty growing right from the tree itself. This week we have examined a few of the fruit of the Spirit that comes not from us trying to live them ourselves but a fruit that flows out of lives that are deeply connected to Jesus. Our verse today reminds us, “those who remain in me, and I in them will produce much fruit’ (John 15:5). True spiritual fruit isn’t things we put on ourselves but flow out of our relationship with Jesus.
We explored the following fruit of the Spirit :
Love. We explored how we could try to ‘act’ loving. True love flows out of a deep understanding and knowledge of God’s love for us. True service will flow out of that love for others.
Joy. We talked about this being a fruit from God that is very different than happiness. Joy from the Lord is deeper and more enduring and can be experienced regardless of our situation or circumstances!
Peace. We all have the opportunity to experience peace during the Storms of our lives. When we trust our lives to the one who is in control, he offers us a true gift of Peace.
Self-control. We all know how hard it can be to have self-control, but as we rely more deeply on Jesus, we can have the strength to respond in the right ways, even in extreme circumstances.
Kindness and Gentleness. We had some fun looking at how sometimes we may think we’re saying the right words, but they clearly aren’t being sourced in the kindness and gentleness that comes from the Holy Spirit.
This series may have been more important for me than anyone who may have read along this week. I was challenged again to see how the ‘fruit’ of my life wasn’t consistently flowing out from God’s love for me. Too often, I still try to live on my own strength instead of being connected to the ‘true vine.’ My prayer is that our lives can be increasingly rooted in Jesus and, as a result, will ‘produce much fruit’!
Thanks so much for joining me on this journey this week. Press on!
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