Most people love to eat fruit. Doctors and nutritionists say fruits are good for you. The food pyramid also states that we should have 2-4 servings of fruit every day, because they are rich in nutrients.
Many are excellent sources of vitamin A, vitamin C, folic acid, and potassium. They are also low in fat and sodium and high in fiber. Just as our physical body needs fruit everyday, our spiritual body needs to serve fruit everyday.
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control." Galatians 5:22-23 (NKJV)
This scripture says "Fruit of the Spirit". This is a biblical term that sums up the nine visible attributes of a Christian life. Many have struggled with this scripture; and said that each fruit is individual but we learn from scripture that these are not individual "fruits" from which we can pick and choose.
It is essential that we understand that the inscription of true spirituality and the signs of maturity in Christian growth are found not in the gifts of the Spirit; but relatively they are found in producing the fruit of the Spirit.
"There are no short cuts to maturity. It takes years for us to grow to adulthood; and it takes a full season for fruit to mature and ripen. The same is true for the fruit of the Spirit. The development of Christ like character cannot be rushed. Spiritual growth, like physical growth, takes time. When you try to ripen fruit quickly, it loses its flavor." - Author unknown
So what's the secret to successful fruit growing? Preparation, preparation, and preparation! There's an old gardening adage: "spend a shilling on the plant and a pound on the ground". Good, well-prepared soil is essential to growing any type of fruit.This involves digging deep.
Sometimes we ask ourselves will we ever have all nine characteristics. Just continue to prepare your heart which is the soil. But remember it is our job not to just bear the fruit but to serve it to others.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Life by GPS by Milan Ford
About a year ago, my wife and I decided to purchase a GPS (global positioning system) device for our new m-i-n-i-v-a-n. Sorry for the long pause there. It's just that as a 33-year old urbanite, it's still rather hard for me to believe I actually own a mini-van. Very humbling to say the least.
I was pretty excited about finally owning our own GPS; we had been talking about doing a few road trips with the kids for some time now, and the whole MapQuest thing wasn't getting a bit old.
I mean who in the world still finds enjoyment reading and carrying around a folder full of printed directions everywhere they go?
(there's a message hidden in that statement, but i'll have to tackle that some other day)
We decided to try it out the other day while coming back from church one day. The following are just a few life lessons we both learned along the way. All courtesy of GPS.
1. When turning on the device, a screen immediately popped up and told us that the driver of the vehicle should NEVER try entering any new coordinates into the device while driving.
I assume driving and trying to control the device at the same time is FAR TOO DANGEROUS.
2. When entering in a specific destination, the device gave us the option on whether or not we wanted to travel by AVOIDING any highways, intersections, or U-Turns.
3. We decided to enter the address of a restaurant we had been to several times before. To our surprise, the device took us a totally different route. A SCENIC ROUTE.
But one that was much faster.
4. While traveling, we just couldn't believe this device (controlled by a satellite 12,000 thousands miles in the air), could possibly know MORE THAN US about a community we have lived in for years.
We decided to test it out and turn the opposite way it had told us. Immediately after we turned, the device began RECALCULATING an alternative route that would take us to the destination we entered.
5. Once we arrived, we pulled aside to enter in a new destination, when suddenly, the device shouted out, "LOST SIGNAL." We discovered that our GPS will lose its signal whenever it has not been PROPERLY CHARGED. Considering we took it right out the box, we had to return home on our own.
Once we arrived back home, we realized something. Our GPS and The Holy Spirit have a lot in common. The lessons we learned unveiled the very way God desires to direct our lives every day.
The Holy Spirit is an incredible guide. One that is ready and willing to show us the path we are to follow in order to reach every predetermined destination God has established for us.
In fact, the only difference we discovered between our GPS and The Holy Spirit (besides the obvious difference in manufacturing companies), is that we decided to call our GPS... Anne.
The device talked to us so much along the way...we figured we might as well give it a name!
I was pretty excited about finally owning our own GPS; we had been talking about doing a few road trips with the kids for some time now, and the whole MapQuest thing wasn't getting a bit old.
I mean who in the world still finds enjoyment reading and carrying around a folder full of printed directions everywhere they go?
(there's a message hidden in that statement, but i'll have to tackle that some other day)
We decided to try it out the other day while coming back from church one day. The following are just a few life lessons we both learned along the way. All courtesy of GPS.
1. When turning on the device, a screen immediately popped up and told us that the driver of the vehicle should NEVER try entering any new coordinates into the device while driving.
I assume driving and trying to control the device at the same time is FAR TOO DANGEROUS.
2. When entering in a specific destination, the device gave us the option on whether or not we wanted to travel by AVOIDING any highways, intersections, or U-Turns.
3. We decided to enter the address of a restaurant we had been to several times before. To our surprise, the device took us a totally different route. A SCENIC ROUTE.
But one that was much faster.
4. While traveling, we just couldn't believe this device (controlled by a satellite 12,000 thousands miles in the air), could possibly know MORE THAN US about a community we have lived in for years.
We decided to test it out and turn the opposite way it had told us. Immediately after we turned, the device began RECALCULATING an alternative route that would take us to the destination we entered.
5. Once we arrived, we pulled aside to enter in a new destination, when suddenly, the device shouted out, "LOST SIGNAL." We discovered that our GPS will lose its signal whenever it has not been PROPERLY CHARGED. Considering we took it right out the box, we had to return home on our own.
Once we arrived back home, we realized something. Our GPS and The Holy Spirit have a lot in common. The lessons we learned unveiled the very way God desires to direct our lives every day.
The Holy Spirit is an incredible guide. One that is ready and willing to show us the path we are to follow in order to reach every predetermined destination God has established for us.
In fact, the only difference we discovered between our GPS and The Holy Spirit (besides the obvious difference in manufacturing companies), is that we decided to call our GPS... Anne.
The device talked to us so much along the way...we figured we might as well give it a name!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)