Are we Known by our Appealing or Appalling Fruit?

How easy it is to judge the likes of folks whose poor attitude, angry spirit and crankiness seems to bring a dark cloud with them when they step into the room. We randomly judge someone when they’ve made a bad decision that you warned them not to make or maybe we judge an outfit someone wore, a new hairstyle, the lack of someone’s personal pride, the way they handle their business affairs, and the good or bad language they speak. Whew! Oftentimes, it’s a workout to keep from being judgmental especially when we see the “fruit” of the actions of some of those folks.

But Jesus set the record straight about judging. He said in Matthew 7:1 “Judge not so you won’t be judged.” Yikes! I sure don’t want to be judged. On the other hand, maybe we should be Fruit Inspectors -- especially when we see fruit that causes us to check out our own fruit as to whether what others see in us is sweet and tasty fruit. Matthew 7:20 – “Therefore, by their fruits, you will know them.”

Having love for some unlovable folks, finding peace in the midst of chaos, experiencing joy when folks may be getting on our last nerve -- can be quite a feat any time, but most certainly, since the election of 2016, we’ve been given all kinds of opportunities to decide. Is it love or hate, peace or anger, bitterness or happiness, crankiness or joyfulness? Remembering the scripture… "What the heart is full of....the mouth speaks" (Luke 6:45) Doesn’t that give us pause for giving ourselves a good old fruit inspection?

When we opened the door of our hearts to God....He walked through the door with a treasure chest full of everything we would need to overcome and be successful in every area of our life. And, it is He Who inspects our fruit and says to us: I'm not asking you to be their Fruit Inspector. I'm asking you to inspect your own fruit." That's when I know God is telling me to amp up that fruit in my own life -- to be sure that what my heart is full of, bears the Fruit of the Spirit qualities: Galatians 5:22,23 "But the Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, self-control."

Let's be sure to pass the test on the fruits we are bearing. After all, as believers, we know Holy Spirit is in us so we already have the good soil, fertilizer, nutrients and everything else we need to be choice, bright, luscious, sweet, refreshing, top quality FRUIT bearers to a world that could sure use some.

Being Careful but NOT Judgmental

I want to be very careful with my words today because I cringe with the thought that I could sound judgmental. I don't get into politics much, though I am adamant in my position which I think is obvious for Who I follow -- our Abundant Life Provider (John 10:10). Maybe I'm naiive because I assume that those I chum with at church, events and various organizations follow my set of values, principles and God's ways according to His Word. But, shock and awe -- not everyone sees my way of thinking! How can it be? 😉

Such was the case when a friend expressed that she is pro-choice and anti most everything else I stand for. I could have been knocked over with a gentle breeze. I was numb, couldn't even respond and just walked away. A week later I heard that my walk-away meant that I was mad. I quickly asked for forgiveness for the impression I left. At first I thought I'd provide a list of reasons for my position, but then I thought "What would Jesus do?" And, immediately the Fruit of the Spirit -- the qualities that I want "fruitful" in my life, came to mind. So, I expressed my appreciation and love and that "our politics and persuasions" don't make a difference in that love. Between you and me, I'm praying that God will draw her to Himself and clarity comes to her.

Here's what I know. I know we shouldn't judge others, lest we be judged (Matthew 7:1-3). But, I figure it's quite alright to inspect the fruit in my own life and be my own "fruit inspector". I can judge me. Matthew 7:20 says "Therefore, by their fruit you will recognize them." WOW! That’s how we’re recognized as devoted followers of Christ, or not. By our "fruit". So as fruit inspectors, first, we need to pass the test on the fruit we, ourselves, are bearing. It will be obvious, not by judging, but by inspecting where people are at by the fruit they bear also.

It is "fruit bearing" season. "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." (Galatians 5:22-23) I'm checking out the "freshness" of my fruit even as I type this blog. As we experience the Holy Spirit's work in our lives, those beautiful attributes and characteristics of the FRUIT of the Holy Spirit will thrive and flourish in our lives. As believers, we know Holy Spirit is in us so we already have the good soil, fertilizer, nutrients and everything else we need to be good FRUIT bearers.

With all the craziness of politics and a world of unrest and pain, we can still find beautifully, mixed-in times of thanksgiving and gratitude. It's the perfect time to settle down to be drawn into a place of intimacy with God and inspect the good or bad fruit we may be bearing. Perhaps, a self-fruit-introspection is what will make us true "Fruit of the Spirit" fruit bearers that cause others to desire that fruit in their own lives, too. Lord, let it be!

Do They Know Us By Our Fruit?

When in season, I love those little Halos and Cuties brands of mandarins. They are my “go-to” fruit, but at the end of spring, they leave the produce shelves. I’ve purchased other varieties since then and they just don’t taste the same and are even sour or tasteless. Who wants a sour or tasteless fruit? Yesterday morning, one of my scripture readings was this verse where Jesus famously said, “Therefore by their fruits you will know them” (Matthew 7:20). Their fruits? What did Jesus mean?

Our fruits are what define us. They are our actions, our values, and our persona that others know us by. Wise King Solomon wrote long ago, “Even a child is known by his deeds, whether what he does is pure and right” (Proverbs 20:11). If a child is known by what he does, what about us? Honestly, this post today comes from “the extremely hateful, ugly, nasty, mouthy, distasteful and sour” fruits that I’ve seen lately in some public speakers. Those who are saying things like “go ahead and mistreat those who don’t think like you think and act the way you act and who don’t agree with your philosophies and beliefs”.

There’s something to be said about those who bear that sour and tasteless fruit versus those who bear sweet and tasty fruit. This is the fruit that Jesus and I are talking about: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control." (Galatians 5:22) The life of a follower of Christ should be bearing THAT fruit.

I know I must sound like a "fruit inspector" and the first fruit I try to inspect is my own. I ask myself "Instead of love, is there hatred and even prejudice in my life? Instead of joy, is there gloom and despair? Instead of peace, is there turmoil? Instead of gentleness, is there harshness? Instead of faith, is there fear and worry? Instead of meekness, is there pride and arrogance? Instead of self-control, is there lack of control and impatience?

In this recent couple of years, most certainly, we’ve been given all kinds of opportunities to decide. Is it love or hate, peace or anger, bitterness or happiness, crankiness or joyfulness? Remembering the scripture… "What the heart is full of....the mouth speaks" (Luke 6:45)? Doesn’t that give us pause for giving ourselves a good old fruit inspection?

When we opened our hearts to God, He walked through the door with a treasure chest full of everything we need to overcome and be successful in every area of our life. I clearly got the message "I'm not asking you to be their Fruit Inspector. I'm asking you to inspect your own fruit." That's when I know God is telling me to amp up that fruit in my own life -- to be sure that what my heart is full of, bears the Fruit of the Spirit qualities.

Back to my scripture verse from yesterday…..Matthew 7:20 – “Therefore, by their FRUITS, you will know them.” WOW – that’s how we’re recognized as devoted followers of Christ…or NOT. So as fruit inspectors, we, first, need to pass the test on the fruits we are bearing. It really is the season for "fruit bearing”. After all, as believers, we know Holy Spirit is in us so we already have the good soil, fertilizer, nutrients and everything else we need to be choice, luscious, sweet, refreshing, top quality fruit-bearers to a world that could sure use some.

Do They Know Us By Our Fruit?

My inspiration for today’s post was seeing my sweet granddaughter's post yesterday. She said, “Doing my civic duty! Proud to be an American, where we the people have a voice!” I loved that and I love “her voice” – one that is kind and giving, with desire to do her part. A juror gets to judge. But what about the rest of us?

How easy it is to judge the likes of folks whose poor attitude, angry spirit and crankiness seems to bring a dark cloud with them when they come into the room. We randomly judge someone when they’ve made a bad decision that you warned them not to make or maybe we judge an outfit someone wore, a new hairstyle, the lack of someone’s personal pride, the way they handle their business affairs, and the good or bad language they speak. Whew! Oftentimes, it’s a workout to keep from being judgmental especially when we see the “fruit” of the actions of some of those folks.

But Jesus set the record straight about judging. He said in Matthew 7:1 “Judge not so you won’t be judged.” Yikes! I sure don’t want to be judged. On the other hand, maybe we should be Fruit Inspectors -- especially when we see fruit (rotten fruit at that – okay, forgive me, that’s judging) that causes us to check out our own fruit as to whether what others see in us is sweet and tasty fruit.

Having love for some unlovable folks, finding peace in the midst of chaos, experiencing joy when folks may be getting on our last nerve -- can be quite a feat any time, but most certainly, in the last several weeks, we’ve been given all kinds of opportunities to decide. Is it love or hate, peace or anger, bitterness or happiness, crankiness or joyfulness? Remembering the scripture… "What the heart is full of....the mouth speaks" (Luke 6:45)? Doesn’t that give us pause for giving ourselves a good old fruit inspection?

When we opened the door of our hearts to God....He walked through the door with a treasure chest full of everything we would need to overcome and be successful in every area of our life. We do our best to resist judging, and, then I clearly got the message "I'm not asking you to be their Fruit Inspector. I'm asking you to inspect your own fruit." That's when I know God is telling me to amp up that fruit in my own life -- to be sure that what my heart is full of, bears the Fruit of the Spirit qualities: Galations 5:22,23 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, self-control."

When I said that God is calling us to be FRUIT inspectors, that applies to Matthew 7:20 – “Therefore, by their FRUITS, you will know them.” WOW – that’s how we’re recognized as devoted followers of Christ…OR NOT -- by our FRUITS. So as FRUIT inspectors….first, we need to pass the test on the FRUITS we, ourselves, are bearing.

It really is the season for "Fruit Bearing”. After all, as believers, we know Holy Spirit is in us so we already have the good soil, fertilizer, nutrients and everything else we need to be choice, bright, luscious, sweet, refreshing, top quality FRUIT bearers to a world that could sure use some.

By Their Fruit, You Will Know Them

Day 335 of Photo Inspirations -- By Their Fruit, You Will Know Them
This photo inspiration is a lovely, thoughtful token of appreciation from this precious group of women (two were missing from the photo) for my leading them in an 8-week Bible Study that started in early October.

When I was praying for wisdom on what the study should be about, I started thinking about the time of the year we were entering into -- the hustle, the bustle, the busy-ness that the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays present us.  In addition, I thought about all the opportunities we would be having to take the "higher road" when it comes to family get-togethers when a mis-spoken word or careless statement or a disappointing situation could surface.   Having love for some unlovable folks, finding peace in the midst of chaos, experiencing joy when folks may be getting on our last nerve -- can be quite a feat any time, but most certainly, the holidays can stir up all kinds of opportunities to decide -- love, peace, joy or anger, bitterness, crankiness. Remembering the scripture "What the heart is full of....the mouth speaks"  (Luke 6:45)-- certainly gives pause for giving ourselves a heart check up!

Then, just in the nick of time,  I remembered.....when we opened the door of our hearts to God....He walked through the door with a treasure chest full of everything we would need to overcome and be successful in every area of our life.  I had been watching some of the political debates and interviews and I started inspecting the candidates' "fruit" and I'll be honest with you, I was disappointed in how some of them were handling themselves.  It was difficult for me to recognize them as statesmen and political leaders that represented that "treasure chest" of sweet fruit.   But, then I clearly got the message "I'm not asking you to be their Fruit Inspector.  I'm asking you to inspect your own fruit."  That's when I knew God was telling me to speak about the Fruit of the Spirit and how we need to amp up that fruit in our own lives -- to be sure that what our hearts are full of, bears the Fruit of the Spirit qualities:  Galations 5:22,23 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, self-control."

The Fruit of the Spirit in us is either flourishing or languishing.   If all these qualities are growing, then we'll be bearing sweet, tasty fruit in our lives.   As a fruit inspector, inspecting our own fruit, we know how we're doing.  Take, for instance, the Thanksgiving holidays, did you have times when you lost it (i.e., self-control, patience, kindness, gentleness).  I know I did. I had a melt down one day and had to find a quiet place, to regroup -- to get a grip -- to recognize which quality I needed to shore up.

What a joy it was to be with this little band of women over these 8 weeks.  They meet to share and care and pray and grow.  They stand in the gap for friends and loved ones who are hurting or going through tough times.  They celebrate each other's victories, and they unite as a force to be reckoned with in praying for each other. They have personal needs and personal pray requests, but they take all those Fruit of the Spirit qualities and walk out their faith. While I prepared and taught this study -- I was the recipient of God's Word that caused me to inspect what's in me.  Thank you, God, for your sweet way of leading us to green pastures, restoring our souls, and loving us enough to develop your character in us.  Now -- let's go prepare a tasty and sweet fruit salad that God's light shines brightly through us!

The Fruit of the Spirit is......

Day 279 of Photo Inspirations -- The Fruit of the Spirit is.....
What a joy it is to be leading an 8-Week Bible Study for a group of women that come from various faith backgrounds.  As I prayed and prepared for this study, I was prompted to a study of the Fruit of the Spirit.  I had been around some folks who made me wonder about their "fruit" as they tended to be, by nature, a little cranky and cynical.  It's never a GREAT day.  It's typically a too cold, too hot, too rainy, too humid, too dry....DAY!   Their outlook on just about everything is often quite dismal.  And, that made me start checking out the fruit in my own life.  I know we shouldn't judge others.....lest we be judged.  But, I figured it's quite alright to inspect the fruit in my own life and be my own FRUIT INSPECTOR.

That's the message I kept getting. We ALL certainly know about fruit:
* The Food Pyramid states that 2 to 4 servings of FRUIT a day is essential to a healthy balanced diet.
* Body shapes are often described as FRUITS (i.e., pear, banana, apple)
* There is the “FRUIT of the Loom’s” FRUIT Guys – LOL!
* There’s those folks who are slightly spaced out that we’ve heard called “FRUIT Cakes”
* FRUITY is the word that describes the tastes or flavors of wines, colognes and room sprays

But, when I said that God is calling us to be FRUIT inspectors, that applies to Matthew 7:20 – “Therefore, by their FRUITS, you will know them.”   WOW – that’s how we’re recognized as devoted followers of Christ…OR NOT -- by our FRUITS.   So as FRUIT inspectors….first, we need to pass the test on the FRUITS we, ourselves, are bearing.

It really is the season for "Fruit Bearing”.  Galatians 5:22-23 ‘But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.’

As we grow in and experience the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, then those beautiful attributes and characteristics of the FRUIT of the Holy Spirit will thrive and flourish in our lives.  After all, as believers, we know Holy Spirit is in us so we already have the good soil, fertilizer, nutrients and everything else we need to be good FRUIT bearers.

With the approaching Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations, it's perfect time to settle down from our potentially hectic schedules and responsibilities to draw us into that place of intimacy with God and inspect the good fruit or bad fruit we may be bearing.  Perhaps, by the time all the seasonal celebrations begin, we will be better equipped with the Fruit of the Spirit to make it the best, most blessed celebrations EVER!