Fruit is a VERB

Written by LauraLee Shaw. Inspired by the Holy Spirit

John 15:8
”This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”

L et the Fruit of the Spirit come alive in you,
O beying the Word of the Lord in
V erb form,
E agerly acting upon that which you have hidden in your heart.

J ust as Christ demonstrated His love for you,
O pting to die for your sins, so
Y ou should choose to lay down your life for others.

P ractice what you preach,
E xude joy in work, as well as play,
A sk God--beg God to
C omplete His work in you
E ach and every hour of every single day.

P ursue peace
A ctively, showing even more than
T elling.
I nvite your
E nemy to break bread with you.
N otice when someone is alone and
C are about the underdog
E specially.

K now that the Lord will
I gnite His Spirit in you as you acknowledge your
N eediness and complete
D ependence upon Him to do the work.
N O WAY can you produce the practice of patience on your own!
E ven when the enemy pursues you, God will
S helter you under the shadow of His wings.
S imply trust and obey.

G o for it!
O bviously you are beginning to see that
O bedience gives way to a fruit-filled life.
D o you have faith like a mustard seed?
N o? You see…
E ven when showing kindness to others causes you pain, you are
S haring in the
S ufferings of Christ.

F or by His stripes your hurt will be healed,
A nd
I t will give way
T o His goodness spilled out as blessings in your life.
H e will pour them out from the
F ullness of His love for you.
U nderstand that He does not give as the world gives.
L ove in His form does not always bring happiness.
N ever did He promise you a trouble-free life or
E xemption from
S uffering.
S o why believe then? “What’s in it for me,” you ask?

G rowth—the spiritual kind.
E nergy—the lasting kind.
N ot only those, but also
T ruth and
L ove—the faithful kind.
E ndurance and
N ever
E nding
S trength--the
S upernatural kind.

S o let His gentleness be
E vident to all by
L iving this
F ruit-filled, Holy Spirit-filled life.

-- ONLY HE CAN GIVE YOU THE SELF-CONTROL TO BEHAVE THIS WAY.

C an I share something else? If you love God with all your heart, then
O bey Him. Don’t just say that you love Him.
N o one will believe you love Him if you don’t show His love to others.
T ake a moment to pray on this living, active Word from Him.
R epent if need be. Then respond by
O ffering your body as a living sacrifice.
L et the Fruit of the Spirit be a verb in you.

Colossians 1:10

”And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God…”

***Scriptures taken from the NIV Translation
***The fruit of the Spirit is found in Galatians 5:22-23


Adapted from the following NIV Scriptures: Luke 11:28, 1 John 3:18, Psalm 119:11, Romans 5:8, 1 John 3:16, Matthew 5:19, 1 Thessalonians 5:14-17, 1 John 5:14, James 2:22, 1 Peter 3:11, Romans 12:20, Psalm 41:1, Romans 8:10-11, Galatians 3:3, Psalm 51:17, Philippians 1:6, 2:13, Psalm 57:1, Proverbs 3:5-6, Romans 2:13, Philippians 1:11, Matthew 17:20, Romans 8:17-18, Isaiah 53:5, Deuteronomy 28:2, Ephesians 3:18, John 14:27, 16:33, Ephesians 1:19, 3:20, Colossians 1:29, Romans 5:5, Philippians 4:5, John 14:15, 1 John 4:20, Acts 3:19, Romans 12:1