Monday, October 3, 2011
More on 'Fruits' & 'Judging'
Recently, the fruits of the Spirit & how heavily these apply on our lives has been heavy on my heart. I have the verses memorized about the fruits of the Spirit: "The fruit of the Spirit is LOVE, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Gentleness, Faithfulness, & Self-Contoll. Against such things there is no law" I looked up on Bible .com Galatians 5:22-23 & clicked on "The Message" version----this is how it reads:
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22 -23But what happens when we live God's way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.
23 -24Legalism is helpless in bringing this about; it only gets in the way. Among those who belong to Christ, everything connected with getting our own way and mindlessly responding to what everyone else calls necessities is killed off for good—crucified.
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We live in an age where we are told 'do not judge' all the time. It is used then to permit every form of outrageous behavior under the sun! So when someone is behaving like a buffoon & we evaluate it on its merits, we are called 'judgmental'. I am here today to tell you THAT is what my mom would have called 'a bunch of malarky!'
We are told by Jesus himself to evaluate everything! Look for the fruits & you will know what kind of tree it is. An apple tree cannot give you an avocado! Neither can an oak tree provide us with an orange! The seed of Jesus is in His Holy Spirit. When you learn to listen to His Spirit, you will learn to discern what is good & bad for you. Not everything that is good for me or acceptable for me is good for you. For instance, I am learning to see how certain dairy products affect my blood sugar. If it elevates my blood sugar, it doesn't mean I should outlaw it for the rest of my family. It simply means that I must make a choice & decide whether it is worth the trade-off.
Same is true in evaluating relationships for ourselves. I seek to be kind & gracious to others. And I try to help others as much as possible without becoming meddlesome or compromising in the process. But there are other people who take advantage or would use my actions to mistake kindness for weakness. This is a big boo-boo on their part! I am not weak & I do not need the approval of man to gain esteem. Just knowing that I am sowing the seed that He gives me an endless, imperishable supply of, is enough for me! ***This I know!!
