Fruit Killers: the green eyed monster goes both ways!

green-eyed monster

By this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. John 15:8

When you think of "fruitful Christians", who comes to your mind?  Billy Graham? Mother Teresa? Beth Moore? John Piper? Ann Voskamp? Others?

Mother Teresa painting SDC15427

Mother Teresa, painting by Elizabeth Loyd Filson

What is it about them that makes them fruitful in the John 15 sense of the word? displaying godly character? doing good works? teaching the Bible?  leading many to Christ? having  lots of followers in social media?

My guess is that the main reason they are fruitful is that each has allowed the Lord to live through his/her unique life in His unique way, despite criticism, opposition, and perhaps even jealousy by others.

And I think it's the same for us too!  The Lord wants to show forth His glory in a unique way in each of our lives:

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. Gal 5:22-23

As each one has received a special gift, use it in serving one another, as good stewards of the manifold [multi-faceted, multi-colored, variegated] grace of God.  Whoever speaks, let him speak, as it were the utterances of God; whoever serves, let him do so by the strength which God supplies, so that in all things, God will be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 1 Peter 4:10-11

But there are hindrances to the fruit-bearing process.  One of the biggest "blockers" to unique fruit-bearing is jealousy...and related evils, like comparison and competition, one-up-man-ship, expectations, holding offenses, and the like.  All of these will kill the fruit the Lord wants to produce in our lives.

Think about it!  If we are always comparing ourselves to other branches, we have our attention off of the Lord and what He may be doing in and through our lives.  What a waste of precious time and energy...much less spiritual fruit!

A few years ago, our pastor gave an amazing sermon on jealousy and competition from John 3:22-30.  He said that jealousy minimizes what we have and exaggerates what we don't have.  Quoting Rick Warren, he pointed out, "Envy is resenting God's goodness to others and ignoring God's goodness to me."  What a sin against our Creator and Redeemer!

But there's also a flip-side to this issue.  What if it's obvious to you that someone is jealous of you and competitive toward you?  And that someone is important in your life, like a sister or brother or spouse or friend or in-law or co-worker or neighbor? How do you handle that?  Do you shrink back from what you feel God is doing in and through your life so as to not cause problems or so they don't think you are showing off.  Or do you continue to live your life, focusing on the Lord despite criticism and emotional walls that may go up toward you in those relationships?

fruitful vine

At one time, I was struggling with this very issue.  It was when our son was a student at University of Dayton.  Jeremy was being inducted into an honor society, and there was, of course, a ceremony with speeches etc.  I was happy to be there but somewhat dreading having to sit through long speeches.

Wow! Was I surprised!  God in His grace used the short, but pointed, speech of the college chaplain to speak to my heart.  I don't remember what he said, but I do remember two quotes he used which changed my life that very day.

I'll close with these quotes and with the prayer, dear sisters and brothers, that the Lord would set you free to be His unique abiding branch.  Then you will bear His unique fruit to the glory of the Father!

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self-centered.Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.Be kind anyway. If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies.Succeed anyway. If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you.Be honest and frank anyway. What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight.Build anyway. If you find serenity and happiness, others may be jealous.Be happy anyway. The good you do today, people often forget tomorrow.Do good anyway. If you give the world the best you have, it may never be enough.Give the world the best you have anyway. You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and other people anyway.

Often attributed to Mother Teresa of Calcutta

light_house

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world.There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us… And as we let our own light shine, we give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

Nelson Mandela 1994 Inaugural Speech

let your light shine

It's all about LOVE...always IS!

I was reading in my devotions the other day...actually looking for something else...when the Holy Spirit arrested me right here:

open door

...a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries... Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men [spiritual adults], be strong. Let all that you do be done in love. 1 Corinthians 16:9, 13-14 ESV

Let all that you do be done in love.  Sounds so easy, but NOT!

In fact, Paul's words in verse 9 kinda nail it on the head, don't they:

...there are many adversaries...

That's right!  Enemies, opposition, struggles!  All against loving...why?

Because it's all about love.  It always is!

love

And the love Paul is talking about is GOD'S LOVE...not our touchy-feely kind that comes and goes.  It 's unconditional, sacrificial, others-oriented.  And that's not only hard, but impossible apart from God Himself.

So what are the adversaries that we typically struggle with?

Try these for a starter:

• fear...it's risky to love! We may be rejected!

• comparison...with its companions: jealousy, competition, pride (if we think we're better) or self-rejection (if we feel inferior)

• unforgiveness...it eats away at our souls and begins to leak out on all our other relationships (See Matthew 18:21-35, especially verse 34)

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, we are totally loved and accepted by our Father God.  So we can pass this God-Love on to others.  We can love with HIS love.

How?  By letting the Living, Loving, Indwelling Christ love through us today.

But, you might say, that's all well and good, but I am not particularly feeling loved myself today.  Maybe the place to start is by letting yourself be loved by the Father.  He's always loving you, searching you out, whether you feel it or not!  Bask in the Father's love...and then don't hold back!   Let it flow out...or as I like to say, let it rip!

Because...

...it's all about love.  It always is!

love, heart, candles

Love Will Find A Way Steve Green

Love will find a wayTo follow where you runLove will cover youAnd shield you from the sunThis will all be doneJust to heal you, to heal youLove will lift the veilYou try to hide behindLove will kiss your tearsAnd turn them into wineThis will all be doneTo reveal you, reveal you

REFRAINLove will take your shameLove will lift your headLove will take the blowThat was meant for you instead

Love will take your shameLove will lift your headLove will take the blowThat was meant for you instead

Love will never leaveNo matter what you sayLove will look beyondYour brokenness todayThis will all be doneJust to name you,This will all be doneTo reclaim you, reclaim you

REFRAIN

Love will find a wayTo follow when you run

Nelson Mandela Remembered with Gratitude

Nelson Mandela

I "met" Nelson Mandela in an unlikely way...and it changed my life forever! At the time, I was struggling with the pressure to keep others in my life okay.    I felt like I needed to shrink back from what God was doing in and through my life so as to not cause them problems or so they didn’t think I was showing off.

This was at a time when our son was a student at University of Dayton.  Jeremy was being inducted into an honor society, and there was, of course, a ceremony with speeches etc.  I was happy to be there but somewhat dreading having to sit through long speeches.

Wow! Was I surprised!  God in His grace used the short, but pointed, speech of the college chaplain to speak to my heart.  I don’t remember what he said, but I do remember two quotes he used which changed my life that very day.  One of those quotes was that of Nelson Mandela.

And that is when I met Mandela.  And I've loved him and his legacy ever since.

Here is what I heard that day.  May the Lord use it to set you free also, my friend.

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?Actually, who are you not to be?You are a child of God.Your playing small doesn’t serve the world.There’s nothing enlightened about shrinkingso that other people won’t feel insecure around you.We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us…And as we let our own light shine,we give other people permission to do the same.As we are liberated from our own fear,our presence automatically liberates others.

Nelson Mandela 1994 Inaugural Speech

Rest in peace with your Lord, dear brother Mandela!

To read more and see the other quote, click here:  The Green-Eyed Monster and other Fruit Killers

Do you have a quote of Mandela's that has meant a lot to you?  Please share it in the comments.  Here's one that my friend Stephanie Curtis posted on facebook:

 "As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew that if I didn't leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I'd still be in prison." Nelson Mandela

Findings in the Files: the Green-Eyed Monster and other Fruit Killers

green-eyed monster

These next two findings were perhaps among the most life changing for me at a particular period of my life.  God so used these two quotes that my daughter printed and framed them as a gift for my birthday that year.  They are still displayed in my home...and I keep multiple copies on hand in my file :) In my early blogging days (about a year and a half ago now), I did a series on the Vine and the branches.  It was in one of the blogs in that series that I shared my story and my precious "quotes."  Here's the story again.  I pray you also will be blessed as I was.

By this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. John 15:8

When you think of "fruitful Christians", who comes to your mind?  Billy Graham? Mother Teresa? Beth Moore? John Piper? Others?

Mother Teresa painting SDC15427

Mother Teresa, painting by Elizabeth Loyd Filson

What is it about them that makes them "fruitful" in the John 15 sense of the word?  ...displaying godly character?  ...doing good works? ...teaching the Bible?  ...leading many to Christ?

My guess is that the main reason they are fruitful is that each has allowed the Lord to live through his/her unique life in His unique way, despite criticism, opposition, and perhaps even jealousy by others.

And I think it's the same for us too!  The Lord wants to show forth His glory in a unique way in each of our lives:

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. Gal 5:22-23

As each one has received a special gift, use it in serving one another, as good stewards of the manifold [multi-faceted, multi-colored, variegated] grace of God.  Whoever speaks, let him speak, as it were the utterances of God; whoever serves, let him do so by the strength which God supplies, so that in all things, God will be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 1 Peter 4:10-11

But there are hindrances to the fruit-bearing process.  One of the biggest "blockers" to unique fruit-bearing is jealousy...and related evils, like comparison and competition, one-up-man-ship, expectations, holding offenses, and the like.  All of these will kill the fruit the Lord wants to produce in our lives.

Think about it!  If we are always comparing ourselves to "other branches," we have our attention off of the Lord and what He may be doing in and through our lives.  What a waste of precious time and energy...much less spiritual fruit!

As I was in the midst of writing this blog, our pastor gave an amazing sermon on jealousy and competition from John 3:22-30.  He said that jealousy minimizes what we have and exaggerates what we don't have.  Quoting Rick Warren, he pointed out, "Envy is resenting God's goodness to others and ignoring God's goodness to me."  What a sin against our Creator and Redeemer!

But there's also a "flip-side" to this issue.  What if it's obvious to you that someone is jealous of you and competitive toward you?  And that someone is important in your life, like a sister or brother or spouse or friend or in-law or co-worker or neighbor? How do you handle that?  Do you shrink back from what you feel God is doing in and through your life so as to not cause problems or so they don't think you are showing off.  Or do you continue to live your life, focusing on the Lord despite criticism and "emotional walls" that may go up toward you in those relationships?

Several years ago, I was struggling with this very issue.  It was at a time when our son was a student at University of Dayton.  Jeremy was being inducted into an honor society, and there was, of course, a ceremony with speeches etc.  I was happy to be there but somewhat dreading having to sit through long speeches.

Wow! Was I surprised!  God in His grace used the short, but pointed speech of the college chaplain to speak to my heart.  I don't remember what he said, but I do remember two quotes he used which changed my life that very day.

I'll close with these quotes and with the prayer, dear sisters and brothers, that the Lord would set you free to be His unique abiding branch.  Then you will bear His unique fruit to the glory of the Father!

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self-centered. Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway. If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies. Succeed anyway. If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you. Be honest and frank anyway. What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight. Build anyway. If you find serenity and happiness, others may be jealous. Be happy anyway. The good you do today, people often forget tomorrow. Do good anyway. If you give the world the best you have, it may never be enough. Give the world the best you have anyway. You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and other people anyway.

Often attributed to Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world.There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us… And as we let our own light shine, we give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

Nelson Mandela 1994 Inaugural Speech

The Green-Eyed Monster and Other "Fruit-Killers"

By this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. John 15:8

When you think of "fruitful Christians", who comes to your mind?  Billy Graham? Mother Teresa? Beth Moore? John Piper? Others?

What is it about them that makes them "fruitful" in the John 15 sense of the word?  ...displaying godly character?  ...doing good works? ...teaching the Bible?  ...leading many to Christ?

My guess is that one of the main reasons they are fruitful is that each has allowed the Lord to live through his/her unique life in His unique way, despite criticism, opposition, and jealousy of others.

And I think it's the same for us too!  The Lord wants to show forth His glory in a unique way in each of our lives:

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. Gal 5:22-23

As each one has received a special gift, use it in serving one another, as good stewards of the manifold [multi-faceted, multi-colored, variegated] grace of God.  Whoever speaks, let him speak, as it were the utterances of God; whoever serves, let him do so by the strength which God supplies, so that in all things, God will be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 1 Peter 4:10-11

But there are hindrances to the fruit-bearing process.  One of the biggest "blockers" to unique fruit-bearing is jealousy...and related evils, like comparison and competition, one-up-man-ship, expectations, holding offenses, and the like.  All of these will kill the fruit the Lord wants to produce in our lives.

Think about it!  If we are always comparing ourselves to "other branches," we have our attention off of the Lord and what He may be doing in and through our lives.  What a waste of precious time and energy...much less spiritual fruit!

As I was in the midst of writing this blog, our pastor gave an amazing sermon on jealousy and competition from John 3:22-30.  He said that jealousy minimizes what we have and exaggerates what we don't have.  Quoting Rick Warren, he pointed out, "Envy is resenting God's goodness to others and ignoring God's goodness to me."  What a sin against our Creator and Redeemer!

But there's also a "flip-side" to this issue.  What if it's obvious to you that someone is jealous of you and competitive toward you?  And that someone is important in your life, like a sister or brother or spouse or friend or in-law or co-worker or neighbor? How do you handle that?  Do you shrink back from what you feel God is doing in and through your life so as to not cause problems or so they don't think you are showing off.  Or do you continue to live your life, focusing on the Lord despite criticism and "emotional walls" that may go up toward you in those relationships?

Several years ago, I was struggling with this very issue.  It was at a time when our son was a student at University of Dayton.  Jeremy was being inducted into an honor society, and there was, of course, a ceremony with speeches etc.  I was happy to be there but somewhat dreading having to sit through long speeches.

Wow! Was I surprised!  God in His grace used the short, but pointed speech of the college chaplain to speak to my heart.  I don't remember what he said, but I do remember two quotes he used which changed my life that very day.

I'll close with these quotes and with the prayer, dear sisters and brothers, that the Lord would set you free to be His unique abiding branch.  Then you will bear His unique fruit to the glory of the Father!

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self-centered. Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway. If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies. Succeed anyway. If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you. Be honest and frank anyway. What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight. Build anyway. If you find serenity and happiness, others may be jealous. Be happy anyway. The good you do today, people often forget tomorrow. Do good anyway. If you give the world the best you have, it may never be enough. Give the world the best you have anyway. You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and other people anyway.

Mother Teresa of Calcutta

-------------------

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world.There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us… And as we let our own light shine, we give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

Nelson Mandela 1994 Inaugural Speech