Before reading this post take about 5 minutes and Read John 15
Photo Cred: Roy Hammons on Flickr
okay now that you read it(you did read it right?)
Are you a growing branch?
Is God the vine feeding you with life?
What kind of fruit are you producing?
The word of God is so very clear, and it is something that is easily glanced over! We can look at these words in this chapter (seriously, read it first) and pull out all of the good stuff. About how God loves us. How we are like him. How we are his branches producing fruit. It is all true and great stuff.
When you read the chapter the first thing it says is God prunes the good fruit to produce more good and cuts off the branches that don’t produce. Whoa, harsh right! It says that God is the vine and that apart from the vine we have no chance of producing His type of fruit. This is pretty clear and isn’t the happy parts that we normally quote.
“Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can’t bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can’t bear fruit unless you are joined with me(John 15:4)
We know that we are his branches and it is evident that He is our vine because of the fruit! So again, what kind if fruit are you producing today? Is it the fruit of the spirit?
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,gentleness, and self-control.(Gal 5:22-23)
We are only still at the beginning of the chapter and it is one that is going to take serious reflection.
I challenge you and myself to sit down and think about the fruit that is or isn’t in your life. Is it the fruit of the spirit. If there are areas of bitterness, areas of anger, areas of pride, knowing it all, you know all of those fleshy things that get in the way.
I love how in the beginning of John it says, Live in me, Make your home in me. It all is contingent on Jesus. If you aren’t making your home in Jesus and living in him. That is when Self takes over. That is when everything in the world is unfair. When everyone else is an idiot. It’s when you begin to complain, and talk bad about everyone and everything. Your patience runs thin because how could I waste my time with you and your issues, when mine are so much bigger. It is when no one is good enough, I do everything and get no appreciation. I have a bad attitude because I allow bitterness to control it instead of forgiveness and grace. I could literally go on and on! Does it sound like I am talking from experience! It should.
If you begin to reflect and find areas that aren’t aligned with what God defined fruit is. Repent and ask God to change your heart. Ask him to reveal the areas you need to change. Make a prayerful decision to begin to live out the fruit of the spirit and you will begin to see where you need to start living it out. Make your home in Jesus and watch how these qualities become more automatic.
If you get a chance read Galtions 5 in the Message it is pretty cool!
So what are some areas that God is working on you?
What are you going to do about it?
~~Raul~~
Well Worship 
This is SO good! Goes right along with things God is working on with me. Look at things more broad and see if the things you are doing are really producing fruit. Is my son seeing me live out the life that I pray he will. Do my friends see such a change that they ask about God.
I find that I bring up in my mind areas I am succeeding at, however the areas I am failing I try to tuck away and pray for.
Yet am I rally praying the right prayer?
I struggle with adequacy. Never feeling like I am good enough, and doubting my gifts instead of embracing them and letting them grow. Feeling sorry for myself. I HATE those feelings yet I’ll allow them to entertain me for far too long before giving it to God. Those things can hinder me from producing fruit because I am not growing myself in areas I need to.
Great word dude.
Thanks Shelly, I wrote this to myself just as much!
So I think I struggle with Faithfulness, a little, alot, n all around. I so love and appreciate the fact that even though we are unfaithful, he remains faithful b/c God cannot deny who he is. There is so much to be faithful in! – friendships,marriage, mom duties, wife duties, and basically God’s overall call on my life. I need to be faithful to Him, and in the Word and prayer mostly and like Matt 6:33 seek first the kingdom and all will be added unto you. And like you said these things become automatic. I do struggle, being faithful- staying on top of all i have goin on and having faith, knowing that God has equipped us for every good work he has planned for us in advance to do.
Today, Adopt-a-block was amazing. I know its really going to draw people, its almost scary. I feel like the need is beyond me. Of course it is, but its never beyond God. Even though there is so much to be done and so much that I cannot fulfill, tonight I find it hard to rest in the fact- Its all in God’s hands, each person and every need. I need some strt up faith, halleluyer. This does not mean I give up, God calls us to be faithful,thorough in performance, and steady in allegiance! just because our part may be small, we point ppl to him and he can do BIG things.
I will suck it up, He’s faithful.
Allie