Wednesday, July 23, 2008


"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."
- Galatians 5:22-23

I believe that authentic Christians bear fruit. The fruit of the Spirit is manifested in them and is evident in their lives. In their...

Love

Joy
Peace

Patience

Kindness

Goodness

Gentleness

Faithfulness

Self-Control

A good gauge for determining levels of authenticity in my own life is to ask myself these questions, "How does my garden grow? Which fruits do I see myself needing to bear more of?"

Consistent lack of fruit would indicate some warning flags need be thrown up. I think that there are seasons in our own lives where we don't manifest the full fruits we need to, but I do think it's important to try.

Let's check where we are and look to the the Vine.

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he
will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." - John 15:5
God is always faithful to restore us and He longs to see us bearing fruit in our lives. God will bless the work of our hands for Him and enable us to bear fruit in Him. What fruits are you bearing an abundance of? What fruits are you lacking?

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious
thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way
everlasting. - Psalm 139:23-24
Be sure to visit the host of 160AcreWoods for more Word Filled Wednesday's. God will surely bless you through these inspired posts, where Scripture and pictures are used in sharing God's Word for our lives.

19 comments:

Kristi said...

Very well said. Just like tending to my vegetable garden, so do I need to tend to my spiritual garden. It is amazing to me how fast those weeds can grow, if we allow them.

Nancie said...

Lovely picture and precious reminder! May God enable us to walk closely with our Lord and make us fruitful for Him. Thanks for sharing. Happy WFW!

Joyfull said...

Beautiful post! The picture of the fruit brings a desire to indulge it, as abiding in the vine should give us the desire to bear His fruit. Loved it!

~Amy~ said...

Love it. I am doing the Living Beyond Yourself study by Beth Moore right now and this is the scripture for it. She even teaches us how to do it in sign language. Pretty Cool.
Thanks for sharing.

Tracy said...

Amen Laurie Ann! I'm praying afresh to exhibit the fruit of the spirit today and everyday.

Blessings!
Tracy

Anonymous said...

Wonderful and perfect post Laurie Ann! I need to stop and take inventory or what's in my garden. Thanks for the lovely reminder. Hope you have a wonderful and blessed day!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful words on top of a beautiful blog; You have a wonderful gift for words and I enjoy not only talking with you offline but just reading your words that you write!!

Love you so much girl! I thank God you are a friend!

Anonymous said...

I like how you worded that.. authentic Christians... how true how true.. I was thinking about these last night and how I need to work on my "fruits" of control lol

Lorri said...

I love your blog and your picture and verse today. Thank you for sharing!

Leaon Mary said...

Laurie Ann,
You would not beeeeeelieve how IN TUNE your words are to everything going on around me last couple days. OHMIGOSH. I just wrote myself a note to write you later and tell you all about it!
Perfect verse, picture, and your insights.... HOLYMOSES!
It is storming here, but I will write you an email later, I have to tell you something!
Lea

Addicted to Beadz said...

Laurie Ann,

Love your scripture and your thoughts as usual. Maybe I need to take inventory!

Thanks so much for your comments. You are a blessing to me!

Happy WFW!
Cheryl

Melanie said...

Great verse, Lauri Ann! :)

I love this post and how you discussed being fruits of the spirit. Every word is so very true!


Happy WFW!

Denise said...

So beautifully said my friend.

Anonymous said...

Hi Laurie Ann. I love that God has filled us with the Spirit to do this important work in our lives. He's so good to us...

Susan said...

Hey Laurie Ann,

OH, this was really creative!! Thanks so much for stopping by today. I'm going to add your blog to my sidebar if it's OK with you?

You are such a blessing out here in blogland!!!

Happy WFW♥

God Chaser said...

Thank you so very much for reminding me to take frequent inventory of the fruit I am bearing.

Joy @ Joy Of Desserts said...

Thanks for your nice comment on my WFW, it is such a blessing for me too to see all these beautiful posts. It's a real blessing for our spirit and soul!

Anonymous said...

What great verses and depiction of fruit in a believer's life. Thanks for sharing.

Irreverent Italy said...

This is beautiful and I particularly am inspired by your profile comment...
I used your picture in my blog about fruit, with a link to your entry...
If you prefer, I can delete it - no problem.

Take care,
Francesca Maggi
http://BurntbytheTuscanSun.blogspot.com