Spirit Fruit Cake

 I’ve never tasted a fruit cake I like, but I’ve been thinking about them since my friend’s ten year old daughter, Rachel, had another one of her Heaven dreams. 

(See my earlier post about Rachel here:) http://aplacecalledspecial.blogspot.com/2013/05/heaven-is-here.html

She told her mom they baked a cake in Heaven made out of the fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22.  

“.. the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”

Rachel said, “It is good for our spirit because it is made out of spirit stuff. It is good for our bodies because it comes from our spirit into our bodies where we need it.”

 Maybe this fruit cake dream is a message and reminder that the fruit of the Spirit, which we tend to think of as individual traits, are connected; intertwined. 

Instead of wondering which one or two we need most, we are meant to see the need for ALL of them. 

So, how do we assimilate these fruit into our daily life? 

What exactly is the recipe for Spirit Fruit Cake?

Hunger (need)

The first step in the recipe is recognizing a need for these attributes; having a hunger to be more like Christ in every area of life and a desire to display His character in every circumstance.

When our stomach is hungry we have an insatiable craving to fill it and go to great measures to ensure our body is fed. 

Without a hunger for sustenance that feeds the spirit, it is doomed to shrivel rather than grow.

Worse yet, we are destined for a constant struggle to be good enough on our own.

I needn’t remind any of us how often that fails.

Mix (add all ingredients)

The New Testament speaks often of being filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18) and walking in the Spirit filled life (Galatians 5:16). 

When we receive Christ and are filled with the Holy Spirit the seeds of His fruit are planted within us. They are one of His many gifts that help us live the abundant life Jesus promised (John 10:10).

The growth of these fruit depend on our need and use of them. They develop in the watered and fertile soil of a heart surrendered to God.

1 Peter 1: 5-9 instructs us, with diligence, to “add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  

This is not a buffet, picking and choosing the fruit we like or wondering which one or two we need most. 

Like any good recipe, one ingredient blends into the next and the full use of one fruit at work in us is hindered without incorporating the others; they cannot come to fruition alone.  

What good is it to be a patient person if we are not kind? Where is gentleness without love? How can we have longsuffering if we don’t possess self control? Is it even possible to have joy without peace? 

Gentleness, kindness, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control interact with one another to create the entire recipe in the Spirit Fruit Cake. 

Not one ingredient can be left out with an expectation for the finished product to turn out right.

Bake (turn up the heat!)

We all face daily situations that present us with opportunity to react in multiple ways. Here is where the trouble waits. 

How will we respond when the choice is callousness or kindness, irritation or patience, strife or peace, rudeness or gentleness?

To feed our body well and keep it healthy we have to make wise food choices. Denying our flesh the convenient route by making a salad, takes more thought and preparation than grabbing a candy bar.

Likewise, our natural response to adverse and annoying inconvenience is usually an unhealthy serving of selfishness and pride. Emotion takes over, words are unleashed and when the deed is done, regret and misery settle in where God’s peace and serenity should live.

If we ask, God meets our practice of these fruit at each situation we face, with unlimited grace and at the exact moment of need. 

Becoming intentionally aware of God’s amazing grace at work in our life, allows us to hold our tongue, curb our anger or see an irritating person from a different perspective. 

Only He can give us insight and discernment into what triggers our flawed reactions.

Developing the Fruit of the Spirit is a lifelong process. The more we practice the easier it becomes to react out of Christ-like love, instead of flesh and out of spiritual discernment rather than human emotion. 

At some point we more consistently respond with gentleness instead of harshness, patience instead of annoyance, gentleness instead of rudeness, joy instead of moodiness.

The Spirit of God takes dominance over self and others are now fed by the nourishing fruit within us.

Not where you want to be yet? Don’t despair, there’s plenty of fruit cake to go around.

 A steady diet of this recipe is recommended. 

And no calorie counting is required.

Colossians 1: 9-11 “For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask…that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God..”

Colossians 1:27 "Christ in you, the hope of glory."

Before It's Gone Too Far

For the first time since it was built in the late 1990’s, our house can be seen from the street. Our home, which backs up to a lake and was, until recently, surrounded by trees and Florida’s wild palmetto and scrub brush in front and on both sides, has had a seclusion invasion. 

A new house is being built on the lot next door. All the trees and brush on the north side of our home have been leveled and we are adjusting to the fact that very soon, a view of looming walls will be replacing nature on our northern horizon.

Our quiet acre of paradise has been invaded by backhoes, construction trucks and crews of workers wielding high decibel power tools and playing loud music, while attempting to converse over top of all the racket they are making. 

Two weeks ago we went outside after a rain and noticed water runoff, beginning near the side of the newly constructed foundation and flowing down, through the mulched area that stretches along the edge of our driveway between the two properties. A tiny rivulet of scooped out earth had formed and washed some of the bark mulch into our driveway gravel.

We pointed this out to the general contractor who promised to take care of it right away. 

He didn’t. 

A few days later after another hard rain, the first stream was larger and several more had formed. Now mulch and sand was washing down the driveway all over the cemented section in front of the garage. While I cleaned it up, the boss man looked it over and said he’d take care of it right away. 

He didn’t.

Several evenings ago we had one of the hardest rains I’ve seen in a while; one of those monsoon varieties with continuous thunder, lightning and a wide open fire hydrant sky, pouring torrential waters down from the heavens for well over an hour. It was one of Florida’s crazy, hazy summer afternoon rain storms.

When we went outside the next morning, an entire section of mulch and gravel and about one inch of sand that makes up the lower part of our driveway and its landscaped edge was washed up nearly to the garage door and under our cars. 

It was a mess. And I was upset!

I won’t bore you with the all the details of what happened next.  I will say that as soon as I went to the shed for a shovel and started digging the trench myself (that had been repeatedly promised) between our property and the construction site, reinforcements were quickly called in to help clean up the mess in our driveway. It took five of us about four hours to shovel, rake, sweep and pressure wash the driveway back to its original state. 

Apparently a fence company has been called and is supposed to come ASAP to put up a silt barrier. It will be buried eight inches under the ground along the edge of our property to stop the run-off and erosion into our driveway. I’m praying they come before it rains again.

I had a light bulb moment for my own heart, when I commented to Mike yesterday, “We all could have been spared four hours worth of sweaty, back breaking work in the hot sun if this had been taken care of back at the onset of the problem.”  

Hebrews 12:1 talks about the besetting sins that hinder us from finishing the course of our life; Song of Solomon 2:15, about the “little foxes that spoil the vine”; Hebrews 12:15, about the root of bitterness that left unchecked, grows until it defiles not only me, but many others; James 1:15 lays out the course of sin from a seemingly petty initial desire to conception and the end result.

It’s impossible to contain a river once it overflows. When I hand the destructive forces of my life over to God at their beginnings, while they’re still small, it allows for the eradication of problems that eventually swell out of control and run loose all over everything and everyone. I need to deal with my stuff before it’s gone too far. 

Inside the human condition, every tiny trickle and tributary left without God’s blueprinted boundary is potentially a mess in the making; a river of self destruction that flows farther and wider than we ever intended. Yes, thank God. He can restore. He can put us back together. He can repair the breach and clean up our mess, but it’s so much better if we just don’t go there at all.

May God help me commit every tiny area of my heart to His work of redemption, so the only thing flowing outward is the living waters of a life lived in Jesus. 

I pray every day what gushes from within me and all over you, is more and more of Him and whole lot less of me.

John 7:38 (ESV) Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”

“A little thorn may cause much suffering. A little cloud may hide the sun. Little foxes spoil the vines; and little sins do mischief to the tender heart.”  ~Charles Spurgeon~

“Mighty oaks from little acorns grow.”  ~14^thCentury Proverb~

Dead Right!

King David’s relationship with his son Absalom, had been strained for several years, after Absalom killed his half brother Amnon (2 Samuel 13). And now, in 2 Samuel 15, we find David and a large group of loyal followers leaving Jerusalem when the king receives word that his son has launched a rebellion and is on his way to the city to overtake the throne. Once again David is running for his life, this time from his own child (2 Samuel 15-18).

After Absalom arrives in Jerusalem and discovers his father is gone, Absalom begins to plot how to find and kill him.  One of David’s trusted advisors, Hushai, has stayed behind under the pretense of switching allegiance to Absalom, but undercover, he is relaying Absalom’s intentions and actions as they unfold, to David, by messenger. 

Ahithophel, Absalom’s top chosen advisor, recommends rallying troops to go after David immediately, but after Absalom listens to Hushai’s counsel, he decides to follow his plan instead.  After all, Hushai has been a close and trusted friend of King David and would have knowledge of the King that no one else does and Absalom, at this point, has no indication to distrust Hushai’s intentions.

Behind the scene, God is using Hushai to reverse Ahithophel’s strategy (which actually was the best one for defeating David) to bring disaster down on King David’s rebellious son, Absalom.

How it all ends is not the most important point of this drama. Let's spotlight on this scripture for a minute - 2 Samuel 17:23:

“When Ahithophel saw that his advice had not been followed, he saddled his donkey and set out for his house in his hometown. He put his house in order and then hanged himself. So he died and was buried in his father’s tomb.”(NLT)

Wow! When I read this I had to stop and consider, how many times in my own life, would I rather been dead than have my opinion rejected, ignored, overlooked? Maybe not literally dead, but the, “You don’t like what I believe or say so I’m going to pack myself up and cut myself off from you and anyone else who does not value what I think,” kind of dead. 

This mindset is a growing norm in our society. People are polarizing around issues of government, politics, religion, ethics, morals, lifestyles and behavior. Everyone wants to be heard, be right, and all who disagree, on either side of the divide, are considered intolerant, hateful and narrow minded. It’s an all out, “I’m right and you’re wrong,” continuous brawl!

Many years ago, Mike went to visit a church member who was in a mental ward. As this guy shared his plight, he confessed there were things in his past he couldn’t let go of because he was right and “those people” were wrong. Mike asked him, “Would you rather get out of here or be right?” The man’s reply was, “I’d rather be right.” That man could still be in that psyche ward; maybe he died in there for all we know. Sometimes there’s a high price for always needing to be right.

Back in the narrative of 2 Samuel – Absalom thought he had a right to the crown but he died in the war that ensued as he tried to escape from some of David’s men that came upon him. They found Absalom hanging by his long, thick hair that tangled in a fat tree branch after his mule kept going and left him dangling there. And his big-ego counselor, Ahithophel, needed to be right so much, that he hanged himself all because his opinion went unheeded!

The only one really in the right here was David, who had already learned the hard way that being so is not more important than being king, being cast from God’s presence or falling out of relationship with a son or friend. Just a read through the Psalms of David allows us to see how he experienced the lessons of pride, humility, exaltation, brokenness, reliance upon self or trust in God. 

Jesus laid down his rights to be right and died for us. Before doing so, He told us to love one another as He loved us (1 John 3:16). That’s a colossal assignment!

When being right and having the last word becomes more important than relationships with people, God, or living a life of peace and contentment, serious trouble is brewing.

Don’t get ‘hung up’ on always being right. I’m painfully and slowly learning it’s better to humbly die to self, than be dead right; cut off from the Spirit of God in my life and those I am called to love and serve! 

That’s way too great a price and one I’m not willing to pay, anymore.

Psalm 34:18  The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite [humble] spirit.

Philippians 2:3-8  Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

John 10:17-18  The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life…No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.

Watching Your Waiting

This morning, I spent two and a half hours at the lab, waiting to have the “vampire’ nurse (my nick name for phlebotomists :)) draw blood for my annual physical next week. At least thirty people were ahead of me when I arrived and a steady stream flowing in behind me; so many people, there weren’t enough seats for everyone. 

Since this lab is the only one covered by my insurance and it closes at three everyday and is not open weekends, today was my only option. Mike has Fridays off and he was home with Jon. I knew I was in for a long wait so I signed in and settled myself with my friend’s new book, fresh off the publisher’s press last week, and delved into chapter three, where I had left off.

During pauses in reading, I realized several things:

• People are mad when they have to wait. Ninety percent of the folks in that room were fidgeting, sighing and complaining-loudly-with the two gals behind the reception desk the target of everyone’s impatience. I put my reading aside for a while and observed these two harried employees. Though overwhelmed, they were working hard to process the masses through quickly. It was obvious they were trying to hold it together, maintaining a decorum of courtesy and self control in spite of a slew of angry patients adding burden to their workload .  

•  People don’t entertain themselves very well. Maybe our technology has turned us into a culture of ADD types with toddler attention spans. There was only one other person in the room reading a book, oblivious to the chaos around him. No one came prepared for a long wait and that only perpetuated more impatience.

Galatians 5:22 lists patience as one of the fruit of the Spirit. If I am intentional about walking in the Spirit everyday as Galatians 5:25 exhorts, then my fruit should be coming more evident. When out in the community am I mirroring an image of Christ that reflects His glory or one that damages it?  Christ followers should be the most patient people in the room, in the line, on the freeway, in the world. 

The world is watching. The folks in that waiting room this morning sure were. Watching each other was the only thing they had to do. What did they see when they looked at me?

Heavenly Father, by the power of the Spirit at work in us who claim to be Your followers, may others see the good fruit of patience manifested in us everywhere we go and in everything we do. Today, we submit to Your work in our heart and life to bring us to that result.

James 1:4  But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.