Abide in the Vine

We have talked about the Fruit of the Spirit for the past few months, and each week boiled down to the same ultimate principle. We would probably all agree that love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control are important to have in our lives. We may even try to pursue some of them, but are we doing what is necessary to obtain them? What is the most effective, and really the only, way to grow spiritual fruit?

True Freedom

What is true freedom and where does it come from?

John 8 (NASB)

31 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

Compromise: The Cause and The Cure

2 Chronicles 12:14New American Standard Bible (NASB)

¹⁴ He did evil because he did not set his heart to seek the Lord.

We can draw a lot from this one verse. First we see the obvious: he (Rehoboam) did what was wrong because he didn’t seek God. The Amplified says that he didn’t seek to yearn for God. He didn’t determine to make seeking God first priority in his life. It’s not that he was planning to turn from God, or even that he didn’t follow God at all, but he wasn’t diligent or passionate, resolved to only seek after God and to place that first in his life. If you set your heart to seek God you are not only trying to seek God, but making that your heart’s desire. It is so much more than “trying to be good” or just doing your best to follow God.