Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
This week your dynamic Kingdom Bloggers are going to be writing about faith, works and the fruit of the Spirit.
True freedom is in salvation through Jesus Christ. I suppose that it is easy to lay back once we have our ticket to paradise. Many do. Others seem to grasp grace as a license to do whatever they want to. Like the spoiled child with diplomatic immunity, they feel as if they can disregard the laws of the "land." And then there are others that feel obligated to follow certain rules and traditions while their heart is far from God.
It's easy to think that maybe we should do something to earn God's love. I have heard lots of folks that feel as if the church will fall down when they show up. As if any of us could get clean enough or be presentable to God on our own.
Without faith, it is impossible to please God.
Galatians 5:19-25 talks about what is the fruit of salvation. The analogy of fruit simply means that it is something that grows from the plants DNA. It is the natural process by which many plants show their beauty, and provide food for many. That is the true nature of God.
When I was in the Caribbean, I had a taxi driver stop to let me pick an avocado. I have never had a tastier one. If we look around us, it is easy to see others who may have more anointing, or gifting in their lives than we do. I am not talking about talent or charisma, but the ability to see Jesus as we observe their lives. This is fruit. What do others see when they observe our lives?
This is a hard topic to give a testimony about. If I toot my own horn about how much fruit my walk with Jesus shows, than I am being not so humble. I did receive this email that other day - see how you measure up to the fruit of the Kingdom. Truthfully, I didn't do so good.
What God Won't Ask
By: Author Unknown
God won't ask what kind of car you drove.
He will ask how many people you took places they needed to go..
God won't ask the square footage of your home.
He will ask how many people you took into your home.
God won't ask how many fancy clothes you had in your closet.
He will ask how many of those clothes you gave away to Salvation Army.
God won't ask what social class you were in.
He will ask if you preferred others over yourself..
God won't ask how many material possessions you had.
He will ask whether those material possessions dictated your life.
God won't ask what your highest salary was.
He will ask if you trampled over any people to obtain that salary.
God won't ask how much overtime you worked.
He will ask did you work overtime for your family.
God won't ask how many promotions you received.
He will ask what you did to promote others.
God won't ask what your job title was.
He will ask did you perform your job to the best of your ability.
God won't ask how many promotions you took to chase the dollar bill.
He will ask how many promotions you refused to advance your family's quality of life.
God won't ask how many times you didn't run around around on your spouse.
He will ask how many times you did.
God won't ask how many degrees you have.
He will ask how many people you thanked for getting those degrees.
God won't ask what your parents did to help you.
He will ask what you did to help your parents.
God won't ask what you did to help yourself.
He will ask what you did to help others.
God won't ask how many friends you had.
He will ask how many people you were a friend to.
God won't ask what you did to protect your rights.
He will ask what you did to protect the rights of others.
God won't ask what neighborhood you lived in.
He will ask what other neighborhoods you visited.
God won't ask how many times you told the truth.
He will ask how many times you told a lie.
God won't ask about the color of your skin.
He will ask about the color of your heart.
God won't ask how many times your deeds matched your words.
He will ask how many times they didn't.
God ordinarily will not show you His will in order for you to consider it.
He will show you His will when He knows you are willing to do it.
3 comments:
Had to laugh at your catch 22 - if you try to share about the fruit in your life with Jesus you come up sounding like a braggart (which certainly wouldn't be fruitful!)- good point.
I know that I'm grateful that God gave me this great salvation and that I did absolutely nothing to earn it. I'm grateful for the Holy Spirit within me that changes me more and more into the person He wants me to be. Grateful that while here on this earth we have opportunities to do things like the ones in the poem here.
Measuring up to the fruit of the kingdom. I doubt that many will or can if the truth be known.
All that we can do is honestly try with all our hearts and pray for forgiveness if we error in any way.
I once had a wise corporate vice president inform me that actions speak louder than words. You are judged on what you do, not what you say.
I can attest that the statement can easily apply to what ever direction you take in your own personal life in your walk with Christ as well as a business setting.
Tough one this week. It's hard for to talk about my own fruits too.
Loved the poem. Simplifies exactly what we should focus on for God.
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