Wednesday, October 13, 2021 Some material taken from Living Worthy Of The Gospel
And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. Philippians 1:9-11a
A Word About Fruit
If you’re living a life in love, pursuing what is excellent, living a life of integrity, that’s a righteous life that will produce fruit.
When my kids were little and I talked to them about the Fruit of the Spirit, I always told them it was the good things that come out of your life from having God in your life. The Fruit of the Spirit is the result of God’s transformation in your heart. When we give our lives to Christ and ask Him to be our Savior, we are given the Holy Spirit. The result of the Holy Spirit in our lives is the Fruit of the Spirit – Faithfulness, Self-control, Patience, Goodness, Gentleness, Joy, Kindness, Peace, and Love. When our hearts are filled with this sweet fruit, some really great things will come out of our lives. We will do things because of this fruit – like loving people, helping people, being kind, having patience, spreading goodness, etc. This is the fruit of righteousenss. The fruit of the Spirit in our hearts produces the fruit of righteousness in our lives. Therefore, The fruit of righteousness is produced through our relationship with Christ (that comes through Jesus Christ), not through our ability, our struggling, or our striving.
Also - Take Care Of The Tree
Your life will bear fruit – one kind or another. It is up to you as to wether you want it to be the fruit of righteousness, or the fruit of the world. Whatever we choose to align our lives with will be evident to the people around us. Even if you think you can hide it, you can’t. You will be the only one who believes the coverup because the fruit tells the truth. Apple trees will never bear oragnes or banannas.
If you cut yourself off from the Lord in any way, at any time, you won’t bring forth fruit which glorifies God; but if you choose to hang in there the bearing of fruit is inevitable.
A tree that is not watered and pruned will not grow and blossom and produce fruit. The only way you can really bear fruit is to just to abide in Christ. When we cultivate our relationship with God and nurture that relationship with time with Him and prayer and studying the bible, it will produce the fruit of righteousness in our lives. He transforms our hearts and this transforms our actions.
We have to protect our heart and take care of it so we can bear fruit. Abiding in Christ is how we do this, and we will see fruitfulness in our lives. Bearing fruit is what happens organically in a realationship with Him. It happens automatically. It is the full cup that spills over and out to those around us. The beauty of the relationship we have with our Lord is that we are never meant to keep it to ourselves. We are meant to share it with others so they can have it too – all for His glory.
Every genuine follower of God has his glory in view by all that he does, says, or intends. He loves to glorify God, and he glorifies Him by showing forth in his conversion the glorious working of the glorious power of the Lord. (Clarke) – Blue Letter Bible
