Friday, October 19, 2012

Rotten, Nasty Fruit! Would you like some?


Have you ever regretted exploding in anger?  Did you feel terrible afterwards?  Boy, I sure have here lately and I get upset at myself for doing it. 

I think about the Fruits of The Spirit and then think to myself, “Wow, I’m failing here in some of these. I don’t want rotten fruit. Nobody enjoys it, I don’t enjoy it, and I KNOW God doesn’t like it. That’s what I’m forcing others to partake of , rotten fruit!” Who wants that?! Every harsh word is like throwing it at them and saying, “Here, take that!  I don’t care if you want it or not, you’re getting it!” Where’s the gentleness?  The self-control?  That kind of attitude doesn’t have much patience or kindness.  And it doesn’t matter if the reason I’m coming unglued is because I’m tired, in pain, stressed, frustrated, or have lack of sleep.  Rotten fruit is just rotten fruit and nobody desires it.  It doesn’t look good, it smells bad, and let’s face it….it looks really nasty.

     
 Look at Galatians 5:22-23  New Living Translation (NLT)

       22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

The leader of the Online Bible Study, Melissa Taylor, asked us to blog about how we are applying the message of the Unglued book by Lisa TerKeurst to our personal lives. Ok, well here it is.  I call it my Jesus Glue!  It's what holds me together.

My Personal Jesus Glue

1.      I spend more time in the Word of God to position my heart to flow in God’s       power and love, His divine nature

2.      In moments of frustration, I pause instead of reacting in anger

3.      Communicate my expectations with gentleness

4.      Feelings indicate where my heart is for the moment, not dictating how I behave

5.      Have a default “button,” have a plan how to respond appropriately 

6.      Remember “I am a child of God, holy, dearly loved, set apart for a mighty plan

7.      When I don’t know what to do, speak the name, “Jesus.”  He calms my heart because I invite Him to be with me and allow His power to work in the situation and being obedient to His will

8.      Give thanks to the Lord, His love endures FOREVER

9.      Act in kindness, it ministers peace to others

Awe, now that tastes MUCH better.  What a wonderful, sweet taste.  Can you taste it too? The fruits of the Spirit should have a nice aroma, a desired taste, and look beautiful.  It is the main ingredient of Jesus Glue.  Without it, we fall apart.  Our testimonies, are damaged.  Relationships, broken. 

Plsam 34:8  Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

6 comments:

  1. Veronica, what perfect timing God has. I realized, I've been stewing instead of praising, praying, and speaking the Name above all Names. I forgot to just say "Jesus" He is all I need. Just Jesus.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes He will, JustMe! Sometimes, I get caught up in the moment and have to remember to pause, take a breath, and just call on Jesus' name.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Veronica, your reminder to pray Jesus name in order to grow fresh fruit is such a blessing! I love the program you developed ~ Especially your "Communicate my expectations with gentleness"! Too often I stuff so long that when I'm ready to communicate my expectations, they come out as a rude thoughtless explosion. That's a phrase I'm putting on my post-it spots! Thank you for sharing this!
    Blessings, Karen <3
    OBS Small Group Leader

    ReplyDelete
  4. Veronica every time I think about what comes out of my mouth I'll be thinking of this! Ugly, smelly, rotten fruit.
    Great blog post.
    Love
    Nicki

    ReplyDelete