FRUIT...It's Developing!

"But the Fruit of the [Holy] Spirit [the work which His Presence within accomplishes] is Love, Joy (Gladness), Peace, Patience (an even temper, forbearance), Kindness, Goodness (Benevolence), Faithfulness, Gentleness (meekness, humility), Self-control (self-restraint, continence). Against such things there is NO law [that can bring a charge]." - Galatians 5:22-23 AMP


How much FRUIT is SHOWING up in your life??? When God's Presence has overtaken you...there will be EVIDENCE of His Presence in your life. His Presence is LIGHT that can NOT be hidden. Quite often we think that FRUIT will IMMEDIATELY SHOW-UP in our lives because we have spent a few Sunday mornings with Jesus and His people, read our devotions each morning, and gave our tithes like we are supposed to do. But it takes MORE THAN that to DEVELOP FRUIT. It TRULY is a DEVELOPMENT of making the choices towards the things of God...and it's usually NOT COMFORTABLE!

We all have developed certain ungodly habits that took time to be apart of our lives, even though they were readily accepted because of their desirable influences. No one had to twist your are to retaliate towards that person that did you wrong or to talk about them to further slander their downfalls. But how COMFORTABLE is it to accept someone in your home and be LOVING, PATIENT, and hospitable to them when they are difficult, disrespectful and ungrateful to you and your efforts?

God will often PROVE HIS FRUIT in us through those TOUGH & UNCOMFORTABLE times in our lives because without His Presence helping us to do it...we certainly could not do them alone. So the next time you are waiting in that line that somehow seemed to slow down as soon as you got in line...REMEMBER God is DEVELOPING His Fruit in you when you do not complain or get upset about the delay...the Fruit of PATIENCE will be SHOWING up through you! Or when you have that person who is constantly testing your FAITH with their seemingly unkind, hurtful and insensitive actions...REMEMBER God is helping you to DEVELOP the Fruit of Kindness through your actions towards them. God is always looking for ways to SHOW UP through you and the FRUIT He has DEVELOPED in you! Now how about go on and SHOW some FRUIT to those around you...to give God some Glory!

Blessed and Highly Favored

Today, I was Blessed & Highly Favored from my time with God! I had to get some MUCH needed extended time in with the Lord this morning. See, I usually read a chapter of Proverbs everyday and then let the Lord lead me as I meditate on what POPS off the page at me. Well Proverbs 3 is one of my FAVORITE chapters...because of Proverbs 3:5-6, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart..." you know the one. But today verses 3 & 4 SHOUTED at me..

"Let not MERCY and KINDNESS [shutting out all hatred and selfishness] and TRUTH [shutting out all deliberate hypocrisy or falsehood] forsake you; bind them about your neck, WRITE them upon the tablet of YOUR HEART. 4 SO SHALL YOU FIND FAVOR, good understanding, and high esteem in the sight [or judgment] of God and man." (Proverbs 3-4 AMP)

You see, I've been praying for FAVOR...FAVOR with people, FAVOR in my business, FAVOR in everything I put my hand to do. With 2012 being such a persevering and testing year as I ventured out into NEW territory, I needed to SEE some fruit from all the labor I had been putting out.

Well, sometimes in our LABORING we can be so driven to make it happen in our own power, we work, work, work ourselves right into a merciless and unkind mode just to try to MAKE the TRUTH of what we believe WORK out like we want them. So of course when I saw this verse this NEW 3rd morning in this NEW Year, I saw this chapter and verse in a NEW LIGHT.

We must remember to ask God to ENLIGHTEN us with His Word as we read it otherwise reading His Word can become another LABOR on our list of things to do without any NEW ENLIGHTENMENT or REVELATION from it. God's Word is INSPIRATION (see 2 Timothy 3:16) to our lives when we SLOW DOWN long enough to ask Him for His insight, digest/receive it and  then apply it to our lives.

So today as you are trying to get to the next thing you are trying to complete, remember that God wants to be a NEW ENLIGHTENMENT in your daily task as you "bind mercy, kindness and truth around your neck and write them on your heart to find FAVOR from God and man." Be Blessed!