Nashville, Tennessee, United States - The Upper Room Daily Devotional "More Fruit" for Tuesday, 27 May 2014 - Read Galatians 5:17-26

Nashville, Tennessee, United States - The Upper Room Daily Devotional "More Fruit" for Tuesday, 27 May 2014 - Read Galatians 5:17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, that you may not do the things that you desire. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the deeds of the flesh are obvious, which are: adultery, sexual immorality, uncleanness, lustfulness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, strife, jealousies, outbursts of anger, rivalries, divisions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these; of which I forewarn you, even as I also forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit God’s Kingdom.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith,[a] 23 gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let’s also walk by the Spirit. 26 Let’s not become conceited, provoking one another, and envying one another.
Footnotes:
a. Galatians 5:22 or, faithfulness
In days to come Jacob will take root, Israel will bud and blossom and fill all the world with fruit.(Isaiah 27:6 (NIV))
When spring arrives, I can smell a rosemary bush before I see it. Healthy rosemary plants can produce masses of fragrant leaves and tiny purple blossoms with no help from their owners. Fruitful growth is part of the plant’s DNA. Blooming plants like these remind us that fruitful abundance is also God’s plan for humans, both the Israelites of the old covenant and Christ’s followers. Just as healthy trees produce a wealth of apples or apricots, healthy Christians yield a profusion of love, joy, and peace. God didn’t design us to live a stingy existence with only enough compassion and patience for a few people. God wants the abundance of our spiritual fruit — the love, joy, and patience that reflect God’s image in us — to fill our homes and communities with the fragrance of Christ. Picture a single fruit, and then imagine more of it. More strawberries. More peaches. More fresh melons. If there’s more fruit on the plant, isn’t there more for everyone to enjoy? That’s the reward of abundance, both for plants and trees and for God’s children.
The Author: Donna Savage (Nevada, USA)
Thought for the Day: God designed us for fruitfulness.
Prayer: Dear Lord, we open our hearts to you as the source of spiritual life. Tend our hearts until they overflow with the fruit of your love. Amen.
Prayer focus: Church volunteers
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