Stolen Fruit

It’s time to take the fruit back from the enemy! It’s what he used to lie to Eve and it’s what he uses to lie to us.
 
Raise your hand If you can say, “I don’t have any self-control.” Or, perhaps, “I lack peace.”  How about, “If I could only be gentle”?  OR, “GIVE ME PATIENCE….NOW!!!!”
 
Any hands going up?  
 
OK…how bout now? “If I can do good this once.”  “I am not reliable (faithful).”  “I just can’t be kind.” “I don’t have any love.”  “My joy is gone.”
 
Now?
 
I thought so.  We have all said a variation of the above.  
 
I used to say, “When God passed out gentleness He bypassed me.”  Oh, and I believed it to my very core.  Funny how what we believe expresses itself in how we act. You see, I believed I didn’t have gentleness therefore every time I didn’t act gentle I reminded myself of my truth, “There I go again…no gentleness” and so I lived out a vicious cycle of a lie.
 
What compounded the cycle was that I WAS bold.  VERY BOLD!  I believed boldness was bad.  I believed boldness was the opposite of gentleness.  Boldness had a hold on me that I couldn’t shake no matter how badly I beat myself.
 
You beat yourself too.  Have you ever replayed the stupid way you handled a situation? You remind yourself of your big mouth and then can’t stand the way your foot dangles off the corner.
 
Well, I would take a sledge hammer to my spirit and throw a blow to that bold place from where my foot would rise up.  Then I’d think about it from a different angle and throw another blow.  When I was done lashing myself, I’d start all over again to make sure I didn’t do stupid bold and “gentlelessness” things again. But I always did.
 
I still do.
 
However, I no longer beat myself up.  I’ve stolen the fruit back from the enemy!
 
Things changed when I came across Proverbs 28:1, “…but the righteous are as BOLD as a lion.” (Emphasis mine). Hmmm…boldness is not bad?  Boldness isn’t a stupid impulse I can’t control? I needed to hear that Truth.  I needed to eat it, digest it and allow it to flush out a lie.  
 
I recently ate Galatians 5 which has transformed me even more.
 
I had always been taught that I needed the fruit of the Spirit.  I was warned that my flesh was at war with the Spirit.  There never seemed to be a solution to the problem.
 
That’s when a big but of the Bible jumped off the pages. Galatians 5:17-18 says, “For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature (“yeah, I got that”). They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want (“Oh well, I give up”). BUT if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.” (Emphasis mine again).  
 
Wait a minute! Hold everything!  Let’s back up to Galatians 5:1 for more Truth, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.  Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” Stand firm, then? I’ve heard that line before (see Ephesians 6).  This must be war!
 
You’d better believe it is!!!! The same war that was waged in the garden is the war still being waged. What are you going to believe? Who are you going to believe?  
 
There’s a very simple Truth about the fruit of the Spirit.
 
It is this:  YOU HAVE IT ALREADY!!!!  
 
IF you have accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior, YOU HAVE IT!  
 
You HAVE love!  You HAVE joy!  You HAVE peace and patience and goodness and gentleness and kindness and faithfulness AND YES, even self-control!!!!! YOU HAVE THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT because JESUS IS THE FRUIT!!!!  
 
The key to living in abundant fruit is found in Galatians 5:25b, “…let us keep in step with the Spirit.”
 
Let me say it another way, If Christ has set you free, then you have a new departure point.  
 
You crossed a line when you accepted Christ.  That line moved you from “I don’t have any self control” to “I HAVE self control.”  It removed “I don’t have any peace” to “I HAVE peace that surpasses understanding.”  HE moved you to a meadow of belief that proclaims boldly, “I AM as gentle as a lamb.” It allows you to cry out, “I HAVE rivers of patience!”
 
Are you with me?  I know, believing and agreeing with Truth can be daunting when lies seem so real.  
 
Look at it this way.
 
The lie is that Jesus’ death was not enough for me to be filled with ALL of the fruit of His Spirit!  It’s good enough for everyone else to be filled, but it’s not enough for me so I will continue to stay on the other side of The Cross. The place of lack.
 
The Truth Paul declares is, “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.” Vs. 24.
 
That can’t possibly include you, right?
 
I’ll use Paul’s words again, “You were running a good race.  Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth?” Vs 7.
 
The truth is you HAVE the fruit of the Spirit!  Who’s stealing that truth from you? “That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you.” Vs 8.  
 
Are you ready to embrace the Truth, the whole Truth and nothing but the Truth yet?
 
Start with, “I have joy!”  “I believe I have joy!”  You may not be able to see it yet, but it’s there! It can grow!  It just needs a new departure point!  One based on TRUTH not on lies!  
 
Rise up!  Take back the fruit from the enemy and cross over to Truth!  
 
Proclaim every day the fruit you thought you didn’t have.
 
Determine to stay in step with the Spirit of the living God as you walk in His ways. When He says, “You don’t need that now” obey Him.  When He says, “Walk away.” Do it!  
 
30 days from now you will see a transformation in your life!  
 
You will be a garden of lush fruit whose heart overflows with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.
 
Now that’s the kind of apple I want to eat.  Anyone hungry?

The Creation of an Artist by Michelle Bentham

Michelle Bentham is my guest blogger today. Leave her a comment!

I am a 41 year old Administrative Assistant in vocational ministry at a large church in the north Texas area. In my lifetime I have worn many hats. Unwed Teenage Mom, Stay at Home Mom, Wife, Daughter, Friend, Sister, Waitress, Cashier, Apprentice, Prodigal, Divorcee, Step-Mom, Aunt, Student, Administrative Assistant, Sunday School Teacher, Bible Study Facilitator, Beth Moore Junkie, Women’s Ministry Administrator, Bereaved Parent, Grief Expert, Child of God, Blogger and more… Much More.

I graduated from high school already a few months into motherhood and did not attend college. My only education in art and writing came at the hands of my Art I teacher and the wonderful English teachers from Granbury High.

I have dabbled in arts and crafts most of my grown life. Tweaking floral arrangements and creating trinkets, but these were not masterpiece works of art, just novelties. I attained a B average in my one year of high school art and determined that my technical skill did not merit further pursuit. Still, something in me begged to create.

Five years ago my family suffered the sudden and traumatic death of my eldest child, Justin, after he suffered injuries in a car accident. A year and a half later I set out to lead a ministry group and spent a whole week painting and decorating a room at our church for a group of bereaved parents I had never met. Though uncertain and, having never painted in this medium, the experience proved rewarding as I had three pieces to display on the walls.

You may say to yourself, “I am not talented.”

You don’t have to be.

The arts in their simplest forms come wrapped in a heart full of creative expression.

Maybe you read books full of poetic prose, narratives that paint pictures, or even sonnets and songs give your heart a boost. You might find yourself walking the halls of art galleries or scanning photographs and find the Lord speaking to your heart. Perhaps you craft or scrapbook… Places where your heart turns wistful in the throes of such beauty and grace that you say, I could never do that.


However creativity finds expression in your heart, God has a plan for it.


Hearing the voice of God is really the only prerequisite for creativity. Understanding His creative nature can lead us to open doors we might never consider in our own lives. Doors to creative expression and doors to beauty and grace we might never tap into but for the prompting of His Holy Spirit.

We are created in the very image of God, and on earth we reflect His image and glory. If we are in Christ, He is in us, and if He is in us then all of the nature of God fully resides in us. God in His very nature is creative. If His nature fully resides in us, and we reflect His image on the earth then our identity in Christ, our position in Him, is the only qualifying indicator for creative expression.

I'm beginning to learn this simple truth as I develop the ability to express creatively from my identity in Christ and the things I see and hear as I relate to Him.

God created you creative, too. Your creativity has the power to express His nature and glory on this earth. Technical skills are valuable and may be developed but without the creative nature of God at work in you - art would not be possible.

In you lies a Masterpiece of God's design. How long will you wait to fully express it?