WALKING with JESUS: Cultivating the Fruit
In last month’s TrinityWomen’s newsletter I wrote about Towson Aglow and the Graham Cooke study that we are doing. That study has started to change my life! I will share some of it with you today. Jesus cried “It is finished” as He hung on the cross and did away with sin. The following verses tell us that we also have died. And, just as Jesus arose from death, so have we, in order that we may walk in newness of life. “Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him…” Romans 6:3-6
But sin and selfishness and negativity do appear in our lives even though Romans tells us that Jesus took all of that to the grave with Him. We also hear that He raised us up with Him to a new life! If Jesus sees us as dead to sin and risen with Him, then He doesn’t need to work on our old self. He is going to work with our new person, the new creation, because the old self is considered to be dead. Therefore, when Jesus and The Holy Spirit deal with us, They are interacting with our new life, and establishing Their territory of righteousness right within us.
In this Aglow study, I have come to realize that God is not working to repair the old “me”. That person wore a mask, had many regrets, became anxious and fearful, and looked into the future with worry and dread. My experiences and relationships were colored by this negativity. I now sense Jesus encouraging me to close the door on my past, leaving the old behind. He wants to enhance and grow the new “me”, in my thinking, my language, and my perceptions of people and events, teaching me how to throw away the things that are in opposition to His nature. When there is no negativity in me, that’s when the fruit of His Spirit begins to ripen!
“…lay aside the old self … be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.” Ephesians 4:21-24
I now recognize that God is not working on stopping me from my bad behaviors and sin as much as teaching me how to have His nature. The very nature of our Father can be found in the fruit of the Spirit. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23. When the fruit of the Spirit is being exercised and manifested by God, nothing can work against it!
Every situation in life can be an opportunity to see God doing something marvelous. He sees where we need to grow. He is totally committed to having us thrive and flourish. Therefore, when The Holy Spirit puts His finger on a part of our life that is not working, there is no condemnation, no guilt, and no shame. He is just pointing to the site of our next growth spurt!
We can learn to see that every circumstance is allowed and planned by God because He wants to give us something. Yes, every situation has a gift, or a promise if are abiding in Him and looking for Him. Recently, I have had the privilege of having an “irregular” person enter my life. I started out thinking of this in a negative way, but remembered what God was teaching me. I started to see this “problem” as a great possibility for God to grow me up in Him. What began as something that I questioned became a great gift from my Father. I unwrapped love, peace, kindness, and gentleness. He showed me how to love His way. He showed me a particular kind of love for a distinct situation.
There are special ways of manifesting the fruit of the spirit in different situations and to specific individuals. God has so many gifts of His fruit to give to us. It can be so overwhelming that we’ve got to just give some of it away! Lately, I have given away so much patience!
There is a fruit of the spirit present in every situation and every situation is designed to make us more like Christ. Check out God’s Word on joy: “Count it all joy when you fall into different kinds of circumstances …” (James 1:2). And in John 14:27, Jesus speaks about peace: “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”
Colossians 3:12-14, “So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things, put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.”
While in this study, I have become alive to so many more possibilities in Jesus that it seems as if I cannot live my old ordinary life. It has become extraordinary! Some days I may not be doing well, but I have so much to look forward to because God will be in it! Even on my busiest days, I sense the voice of The Holy Spirit saying something. I’m so captivated that I often stop what I am doing and write it down. Many journals are filling up! I love taking more time to be touched by Him. It doesn’t seem to matter if it is a good or bad day or if I am “getting it” or not. He just always seems to be working. He loves to work in us and be involved with us. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10) We are His partners, His fields, the building that He is constructing in order to abide in us!
I encourage you to be alive in God every day, to engage with Him, to be conscious of the particular circumstances that He has placed in your life. Study the fruit of The Spirit and see which one is ripening in you through all of the situations and people that He puts there. You will begin to have a sense of wonder and amazement. You can learn more about Graham Cooke’s teachings “Game Changers” and “Life Changers” at Towson Aglow. We meet on the 4th Saturday of every month. Let me know if you’re interested in learning more. I may be reached via e-mail at callamerkle@gmail.com.
“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” Galatians 2:20
Do you have a testimony or a devotional thought that you’d like to share with your sisters in Christ? Send it to Cynny Anderson, CynnyArlene@verizon.net.
