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The first listed fruit of the spirit is such a big subject, that we could talk about it all year. The fruit of the Spirit is love……
We know that God is love, and love is not just an emotion, it is a choice, and something that we do. Love comes from the heart and love is what makes the world go round(!!!) It’s #1 on God’s list. It is a dynamic force that has the potential to change our world. Think about all of the people on the earth, and how many of them that are believers. If every believer on this planet began operating in the love of God, the church world would be turned upside down. (Or right side up!) We would be a force to be reckoned with.
If we would merely become an instrument of love in our homes, our communities and our work places, we would see hearts mended, broken homes restored, neighbors living peacefully, and more generosity and gentleness in our society across the globe. Okay, that sounds like utopia. We do live in a real world with a real devil who comes to deceive and blind the eyes of even believers to the truth. We have to deal with that bad dude. We do know that the devil is the god of this world’s system, but the reason he has room to do what he does in the life of believers (kill, steal and destroy – John 10:10) is because we aren’t enforcing the victory of the cross – which was the greatest demonstration of love for all time.

The biggest challenge for believers is – let’s just be who we are – we have had the love of God poured into our heart. The Spirit of God lives and abides in us, so let’s act like our Father. Let’s be just like Him now! Let’s be the ones who obey the Word, and loving each other. We can have the fruit of love operating in our lives and demonstrating loving the way God loves. What a better world we would live in!

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Perhaps you have heard this saying by Charles Spurgeon:
“Do all the good you can
By all the means you can
In all the ways you can
In all the places you can
At all the times you can
To all the people you can
As long as you can!”
For the Christian, we do good not because we want to obtain approval from God, but because of Christ living on the inside of us. Good fruit is a natural result of living for and loving God. We don’t think God will love us more, or we’ll get on His good side, if we are good, we just “do good” because that is who we are. Just like it is God’s nature to be good, when we receive our new nature through salvation, His goodness becomes a part of who we are. It should be as natural as breathing for us to be fruit producers. God never gets weary of being good, and we shouldn’t either. There is a great verse in Galatians 6:9 that tells us not to grow weary in doing good, for in time we will reap a harvest of blessing, if we don’t get discouraged and if we don’t give up. So if you are getting tired, remind yourself, fruit is being produced in your life! Things are happening even if you don’t see it with your natural eyes. How often do we give up just before the miracle happens? If we knew what was just beyond the mountain in our way, we would know that living for God, and making our lives fruitful for Him, not only for now, but for eternity is the very best way to live.

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Blessed are the peace makers. James 3:18 is a wonderful scripture that says the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace. Isn’t that amazing that The Word says that we can be peace makers? Jesus came to break down walls, so lets be like him, and do the same in our own relationships. Let’s encourage others to do the same too. Do you know that because you are a Christian, you have the ministry of reconciliation? That not only helps us in our personal life, with our spouse and kids, we can help others be reconciled to each other as well. Recently when I spoke at a Wednesday night service, I prayed for reconciliation for family members who were estranged. One woman came up to me right after service and asked that I specifically pray for her daughter who she hadn’t seen or heard from in 2 years. She went home from the service, called her up, and spoke with her for over an hour, and they reconciled that evening. She is planning to come home for vacation. I was so happy to be able to help through my prayer, to begin the process of reconciliation in their lives. Don’t you know that was God’s heart for them all along? God put us on the planet to do that. He wants everyone to know His peace and his presence. Let’s be peace makers at work, in our churches, and especially in our homes. Let’s have homes that are an oasis, and a soft place to fall. Homes should not be a war zone, with fallout everyday. Let’s hold up the standard of righteousness and live in peace, and teach our families that living in the peace of God is the very best way to live.

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Good fruit is the result of good seed that was watered and tended. Matt 7:20 says that by your fruit you will know them. What does your fruit look like? Did you know that the word “good” comes from the old Anglo-Saxon word which literally means “to be like God”? That would imply that when godliness increases, so does goodness! Maybe you’ve heard this before, if you take God out of the word good, all you get is a big fat zero. Or perhaps you’ve heard this other saying about God’s goodness, that good is just God elongated! Try to imagine your life with God’s goodness flowing through you unhindered. Out of every pore of your life, goodness oozes out. That may be a funny word picture, but I think that is how we should begin picturing fruitfulness. Producing fruit should not be a strain. It should come very naturally, and just like God who is totally good, we can begin to completely demonstrate God’s goodness in us. Psalms 107 is a classic portrayal of God’s goodness. Here are some of the things that Psalms 107 says about God’s goodness. He is GOOD, He delivers us, He does wonderful deeds, He satisfies the thirsty, and fills the hungry with GOOD things. He broke away chains, He sent forth His Word and healed them, He rescued them, He stilled their storms, He guided them, and listen to this, He sowed fields and planted vineyards, that yielded a fruitful harvest! God’s goodness is amazing. He is fruitful in every way. Let’s make it our goal to be just like God, and be known by our fruit.

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Intro:
We’re heading into the last month of summer, and finishing up talking about fruitful living. When you put in good seed, and tend the seed, you get the good results of a fruitful harvest. Hi, this is Dorette Schaal with your dailyeword. August’s topic will be all about loving like Jesus. I hope you have developed some good fruit during this month, and that you remember the first fruit of the Spirit listed in Gal 5, is love. What a perfect segue! We can love like Jesus loves, and bear great fruit for God’s kingdom. Here is your daily eword.

God can make the barren fruitful. Just this weekend I heard the testimony of my cousin’s wife who was told from age 14 that she would never bear children. When she and my cousin married, she had the same hard discussion I had with Lynn, because I was told the same thing. Barrenness had different causes, but the same result. She is now pregnant and will give birth at the first of the year, to their first baby, which is such a mighty miracle. I of course have 4 children through birth and I was supposed to have none. The family keeps growing, we’ve adopted a son 10 years ago, and 5 ½ years ago I got my first son in law, and last weekend my second! Both my cousin and I are testimonies to the miracle working power of God. We who were once barren are now fruitful. Sometimes in specific areas of life, we can have little or no fruit. Sometimes we need to stand strong in faith, believe God’s Word, and keep on standing. When things don’t seem fruitful, in any area of life, we don’t give up. I’ve heard countless testimonies of the miracle working power of God manifested on behalf of His children. We can believe for our natural to collide with God’s super, and something supernatural can happen. We can go from barrenness, to fruitfulness and experience life at its very best.

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With some pine trees intense heat or even fire is necessary for reproduction. The seed in locked in the cone until intense heat expels it. Devastation of a woodland by fire has a huge negative impact, but out of the ashes new life can be produced. Awful circumstances in life can be what propels you to live again – and success can be birthed from failure. Some people call it failing forward. If your past has negative circumstance in it, or if your present does, it doesn’t mean you can’t survive and then thrive tomorrow.
I am always so inspired by those who have walked through great difficulty and come out better on the other side. The enemy attacked them, and they stood strong, and their test, produced a testimony! Their tragedy was turned to triumph. They didn’t become victims, they were victorious, and became fruitful even through a drought! What the enemy meant for evil, God turned around for good! When we believe God’s Word, even in the worst of circumstances, He is on our side and is making a way in the wilderness. His living water sustains us in the desert. His living bread is sustenance to our soul. He nourishes us in the presence of our enemies, and even if we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we don’t live in fear, for God sustains us. When we get the good stuff (the Word) on the inside, we will come out stronger and more fruitful on the other side. That’s encouraging!

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Words affect us and they affect others. What have we heard? What have we said?
Words framed the world – words bring life or death – one word from God can change your destiny – His Word doesn’t return void. When we believe and act on His Word, circumstance change. Have you ever thought about this? We know that God’s Word doesn’t return void, and neither does ours – once it goes out of our mouth it produces positively or negatively. Think about that! There is power in the tongue. What we believe comes out through our mouth.
Here is a great thought! The further we develop and mature in our Christian walk and our belief in the Word of God, the more fruit we should be producing! – Just as a tree matures – there is more fruit and the fruit gets sweeter.
So we get to be like TREES!
Planted by living water
Roots that go down deep
Not blown over by any gust of wind
Storms may come but they still stand
The longer they stand, the firmer footing they get
The root system becomes as big as what you see on top
A tree that produces!
As we grow deeper in the Word of God – there should be more evidence in our life that His Word is hidden in our heart, so we will not sin against Him. I want to encourage you – get your roots down deep. Be firmly planted in the Word. Know Who you believe in! Know what you believe! Then out of the abundance of your heart, your mouth will speak believing words. You’ll be able to stand, and overcome in this life!

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As we continue talking about fruitfulness, it is good to remember that believing alone is not enough! It is by grace we are saved through faith, but belief always has corresponding action. That action brings about change and growth in our lives! When we really believe, our actions and our words will change! It sounds like selfless living in our only option.We are dead to self, and alive to God! Living the fruit of the spirit is our goal, as it says in Gal 5:22. Living a life of love is our aim. Obedience to the Word of God is what we strive for. Imitating Christ, by acting like Him and doing what He would do is what we desire to do.
If you have evidence of your faith – there will be a fire in the fireplace that will show outside! That’s the way it is described it in book of James. Once we’re saved, we keep growing – keep developing – keep changing to the likeness of the Father. To believe His Word, we study to show ourselves approved, and make the shift from just head knowledge to heart knowledge. Belief is at our core, in the center. Belief is more than just a good idea, it becomes a part of who we are. When we place a priority on getting the Word of God into our core, we will change from the inside out. And, when we begin to believe right, we will begin to act right!

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We’re continuing to talk about living fruitfully.
Here’s a recap in a poem I wrote called Fruitful Living.
Actualized potential
Happens only when
We believe the seed of greatness
Is God’s amazing plan

Seeds start out insignificant
But when planted in the soil
Fulfil their great design
Through water, sun and toil

Potential that’s fulfilled
Is fruitful to the core
God’s DNA is in you
He’s all you need —plus more!
It’s a great reminder to hear again and again. God’s plan for greatness really is amazing. When you think about the insignificance of an individual small seed planted in some dirt, then becoming a fruitful vine, or even a great big oak tree, the evidence of greatness is undeniable. Every bit of beauty and strength that became evident as the seed grew, was wrapped in the seed’s DNA. What an encouraging thought to think about! God’s DNA is in you! All of who He is, He has placed on the inside of us. So if ever you feel insignificant, or like you have no purpose in life, think about the potential of the seed. Think about the seed of God’s Word in your life. Think about the fruit you have already produced. Think about what God has for you in the next season of your life. If we’re going to be fruitful for the long term, let’s get ready for greatness at every step. It’s not time for winding down, or turning back. Let’s see the full potential of the seed by living fruitfully from our first breath in our new life in Christ, until our first glimpse of Him in heaven.

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How can you talk about fruitful living without talking about Galatians 5:22 and 23? You’ve probably heard lots of messages on the Fruit of the spirit, or heard about it in Sunday School as a kid. I bet you can say all 9 fruit of the spirit with me. The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. These 9 wonderful fruit have been studied over and over, and they are worthy of further study! I love how the Message Bible talks about the Fruit. Here is how it reads:
What happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard – things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshall and direct our energies wisely.
I really like the thought of the fruit of the spirit compared to how fruit appears in an orchard. We have some beautiful orchards around the area where we live, and it is so thrilling to see trees laden with fruit in the early fall. My own trees have limbs that bend nearly to touch the ground with the weight of fruit that is ripening to perfection. The process of planting the seed, to the actual harvesting of fruit takes time. When you compare giving tithe and offerings to planting a seed, to get a continual harvest, we need to be continually planting. If we don’t want long periods of fruitlessness, we need to keep planting seeds. Good advice, and encouraging thoughts to be more fruitful for the long term.

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