16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery,[c] fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders,[d] drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. Gal: 5:16-26
This was my Bible verse in my devotional. As I thought of it and started writing, I got this picture of an orchard. We have fruit, an orchard has fruit. The amount of fruit that is produced depends on the care of the trees, the orchard. The trees need to be trimmed, the dead growth has to come out, or the parts that don't bear fruit. We have to be trimmed also. We need to draw in and let go of things that don't bear fruit in our life, or even sometimes that don't bear enough fruit. Those low hanging branches that cause us to stumble and bump our heads. Even if there is fruit, it just isn't right, isn't working, or causing to much stumbling. Those branches need to go. Our soil needs to be loose, so we can absorb the Living Water, just as the soil under the trees needs to be loose to absorb more water. We need to be fertilized. We need to be fed the Living Word. That helps us grow. We need each other. Just as trees pollinate better and some must have another tree we need other believers to help us bear fruit.
There my musings for the day! I really need to see myself as a God's tree. I need to see and allow God to prune me. I need to be open to that pruning and not run hide, but open myself to His teaching, His direction in my life. I need to remember that just because it is good doesn't mean it is God's plan in MY life. I need to allow the Holy Spirit to lead me.
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