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

Bubble Break-through

I laid my dvd choices on the counter and noticed that the worker behind it would not look me in the eye.

“How is your day going, Victoria?” I asked. She looked up at me with a surprised expression. “You know, you’re the first customer I can remember ever saying my name, and I’ve worked here for over 10 years.”

Now I was the surprised one. “But your nametag’s right there, and it is such a beautiful name,” I reassured her. “I think people just get distracted when they’re paying for things.”

She said that she thought most people just live in a bubble and don’t want to bother.

Victoria went on to thank me for taking the time just the same, and then she began to share that she hardly ever hears her name spoken out loud anymore since her husband had passed away several years before. She used to love the way he would say her name, she told me with a far away look in her eyes. She doesn’t go to church anymore because she just can’t stand her “love” not being right beside her. But she’s thankful she has the Lord by her side every single day to keep her company.

I get weepy when I think about that conversation with the precious lady at my local video store. Filled with loneliness, she was comforted by someone taking the time to notice her as a person instead of just someone behind the counter.

Whenever these moments in life happen, it causes me to examine my own existence. Hours and hours of my time are spent doing ministry, writing, taking care of my family, enjoying relationships with my friends, but I can’t help but think that maybe Victoria is right: I live in a bubble. Does that mean my time is wasted? Does that mean that I’m not pleasing the Lord with the things I’m doing? All “nos” on these questions. God is in the work of my hands, I’m sure of it! So why does it feel like I’m missing something important?

It’s because I have been. Bottom line: It has nothing to do with my time. It has everything to do with my heart. I’ve begun to ask the Lord to give me care and concern for strangers, for those that are placed in my day. For those that are in the houses next door. For all kinds of human beings that have gone unnoticed in my path. On top of it, I’ve asked Him to give me the energy and the passion to intentionally act on the desire, which is a whole separate ordeal to sort through on another day.

“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful…Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”
Colossians 4: 2, 5-6

Just like Jesus did, I must pray for the strength to build into others God puts in my path. I can’t do it on my own—at least not genuinely or for long. The Holy Spirit has more than enough wind to breakthrough any bubbles I’ve blown up around myself, and I pray He will do so today.

The One who calls me is faithful, and HE will do it. 1 Thessalonians 5:24 (my paraphrase)