9 results for tag: Bear Much Fruit

Bear Much Fruit: Self-Control

The notion of self-control suggests that our hearts are divided. As children of God, we are constantly battling against desires, responses, and impulses that should not be gratified. Every day of our lives is filled with choices. And every choice presents us with the opportunity to either honor the Lord or satisfy the flesh. Self-control is the ability to forsake these sinful inclinations. The battle for self-control is fought in every area of our lives—from choosing what we eat, to how we respond in traffic. And while different aspects of our lives may be easier to “control” than others, nothing is exempt from the need of self-c...

Bear Much Fruit: Gentleness

I can't quite imagine the emotion of the scene. A woman, caught in the act of adultery, put on display before many, judgements falling free from her peers. If I had to guess I would imagine her voice was shaking, body trembling, and her mind racing with worry about what was about to become of her.    "At dawn He appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around Him, and He sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to ...

Bear Much Fruit: Faithfulness

"I know, O Lord, that your rules are righteous, and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me."-Psalm 119:75 Dear sister, do you feel afflicted today? In the midst of your sorrow do you trust that our Father is faithful? Before looking at the fruit of faithfulness, I want to take a step back and look first at faith. Hebrews 11:1 states that “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” This means that despite not seeing, we believe and trust that God will be faithful to do as He promised. What does faithfulness look like? The entire chapter of Hebrews 11 list acts of faith, such as Abraham, ...

Bear Much Fruit: Goodness

Pastor: God is good …Congregation: All the time!Pastor: All the time …Congregation: God is good! I would get all the feels and think to my young self, “So true!” Then I went off to college and the hardships started coming in waves. Strong waves. My parents got divorced. God is good, all the time. I repeated to my shaken up self. Then came marriage. Such a sweet thing to marry the love of my life. I found it a little easier to believe again that God is good, all the time. Then came the drought. The losses. One after another. Six babies in total, with a failed adoption in the middle. I remember praying desperately, “How ...

Bear Much Fruit: Kindness

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentlenessand self-control.-Galatians 5:22 When we are grieving, is it possible to have any fruit in our lives? When all we want to do is hole up in a cave, can we be patient with those that aren’t grieving—and who just might possibly say hurtful things because they don’t understand? When the days are long and full of sorrow, can we have joy and peace? When we are angry and hurt, can we be kind?  The short answer is “yes!” When we grieve, it is easy to turn within ourselves and keep our focus on our own sorrow. But when we do that ...

Bear Much Fruit: Patience

“May you be strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might,for all endurance and patience with joy.” -Colossians 1:11 Strength and patience walk hand in hand. This is why Paul prayed for the church in Collosae to be strengthened with all power in order to be patient. Patience requires great inner strength. Take a minute to read through this definition of patience: “The capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset—calmly enduring pain and trying situations.” I don’t know about you, but there are days (which occur more often than I’d like to admit) when this level of ...

Bear Much Fruit: Peace

“You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast because he trusts in you.” – Isa. 26:3 There is no more heartbeat for my little girl. But peace Sobbing while on the phone with my mom from a hospital bed. But peace A hand in mine, belonging to a crying father. But peace A wearied doctor with no answers. But peace Silence from the newly-birthed lips that resemble mine. But peace Watching the nurse walk my daughter's tender body from the hospital room and out of my earthly life. But peace Funeral flowers instead of welcome-home wishes. But peace A nursery now for ...

Bear Much Fruit: Joy

When I started thinking about joy, the movie "Inside Out" came to mind. In this animated film, Joy is a main character and one of five emotions inside the mind of a young girl. The other emotions are Fear, Anger, Disgust, and Sadness. Joy always strives to remain joyful, hence her name, and is the leader of the young girl's emotions. Have you ever thought about which emotion is leading your life? We have all of these emotions competing for control. Joy and sorrow will even walk hand in hand at times, but only one will lead. It's imperative that sorrow doesn't lead for too long or it will replace joy with despair as its new ...

Bear Much Fruit: Love

After multiple miscarriages, I remember my raw emotions around pregnant women: bitterness about my life’s path, envy, anger towards those who complained about pregnancy symptoms, and frustration that there seemed to be no tangible answers as to why my babies were leaving so soon. Days after one miscarriage, a good friend announced that she was expecting. I still remember the shock on her face when I told her it was hard for me to be around pregnant women. While I was pregnant with my son, Thatcher, friends around me were giving birth or pregnant with perfectly healthy children. I didn’t understand why others seemed to be spared the crushing pain ...