The Fruit of the Spirit: First Comes Love

by David Chadwick

When you have an intimate connection with Jesus, the fruit of the Spirit is evident. The overflow of a Spirit-filled life is a Spirit-led life where the fruit of the spirit from Galatians 5:22-23 are found in ample supply.

The first fruit of the Spirit is love.

Love is the first fruit of Godly attributes and character found in the life of a believer.

I find it so significant that love appears first. The Greek word here is agape. It means unconditional acceptance of another person just the way he or she is. No strings attached.

The word agape is used to describe Jesus’s love for his people.

The Greek people thought that only the gods could love this way. You can imagine their surprise when Christians came in and adopted this word to describe their faith’s preeminent virtue.

Agape is the highest quality of Christian character (1 Corinthians 13:1-13; 1 Peter 1:5-7).

Agape most clearly reflects the character of God, for God himself IS love (1 John 4:8).

In addition to his holiness, love describes God. And while we were still sinners, he came and chased us down with his agape love. God sent his son Jesus to die for us. This kind of self-sacrificial love is how Jesus tells us to agape one another and how the world will see that we belong to him (John 13:34-35).

The world doesn’t have this kind of agape, but followers of Jesus do! How do we have this kind of love? Only by being connected to the Spirit who is perfect agape. Allowing him to flow in and through us and then out to those around us.

I pray the Spirit will flow more love in our hearts both today and forever.

The Fruit of the Spirit: An Introduction

by David Chadwick

The fruit of the Spirit is one of my favorite things to teach. In fact, every time I think about this topic, I immediately flash back to my daughter Bethany’s 6th birthday party. It was a “fruit of the Spirit” themed party. I dressed up as her favorite character called “Sunny Love Tree” and each child who came to the party was given a different fruit of the spirit. That party was one for the books!

Much like I, as a Father, long to see my children walking in the light, Jesus longs to see his followers abiding in him.

A life that displays the fruit of the Spirit is a life that has learned how to abide in Christ. In John 15:7, Jesus said, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” Jesus knew that apart from him, his disciples could do nothing (John 15:5).

Notice that none of these fruit are produced through human strength or effort. They don’t come out of your striving. They are the mere byproduct of a life that is fully surrendered and yielded to Jesus. Just as an apple tree doesn't have to work hard to produce apples, a follower of Jesus doesn’t have to work to produce love. It happens naturally as the root is connected to the healthy soil, which, in turn, produces healthy, luscious fruit.

A life rooted in Jesus will produce the fruit of the Spirit.

Finally, notice two things as we commence this study. First, “fruit” in the Greek is karpos - a singular term. ALL nine of these fruit should be evident in the life of a believer in Jesus. You don’t pick and choose which ones you have. Think of it more like a fruit salad than a bunch of individual fruits.

Secondly, take note that it’s only through a connection to the Spirit, Christ in you, the Father upon you - all three persons of the Godhead - that produces this fruit. Faith is the connection point. Not human effort. So, as we walk through the next two weeks together, focus on abiding! If not, this fruit will never appear.

As we examine each fruit, I pray that you will see the face of Jesus in each one. And that he will encounter you with his love and you will become more like him!

Fasting for Breakthrough: Guard Your Dream

by Marilynn Chadwick

We’re wrapping up our series on “Fasting.” I hope you’ve experienced a breakthrough in some area where you've felt stuck. The Bible encourages us to pray and fast when we encounter stubborn resistance. Could it be that some battles are harder than others because the enemy knows the stakes are so high?

My epiphany came one day in a parking lot, of all places. I was heading home after a quick run for coffee with my husband. From a distance, we saw what appeared to be an aggressive bird battle under some nearby cedar trees. As we got closer, we saw the target of this assault was a very large hawk. His noisy attackers were about half a dozen black crows. The angry birds darted in and out, fiercely attacking the hawk.

I have heard that hawks can slice the eyes of their opponents with one swipe from their razor-sharp talons. I, for one, would never mess with a hawk. So what motivated a bunch of pesky crows to be so reckless in their assault? Looking closer, I realized the hawk had some kind of rodent in his clutches. The hawk’s "hands were tied," so to speak, and he couldn’t defend himself. The black birds knew it and so they were daring and relentless.

Not to be outwitted, the hawk suddenly swooped up and sought refuge in the dense and prickly branches of a nearby cedar where he was finally able to enjoy his lunch, uninterrupted.

So what’s the point? Those blackbirds didn’t attack the hawk just to ruin his day. That hawk had something the crows wanted. A nice meal in the form of a freshly caught animal. Predators come after their victims because they want what they have.

Perhaps you feel as if you've been fighting unseen enemies that come at you from all sides like a pack of crows. The battle has been fierce. My question for you is simply this: What do you have that the enemy wants?

Perhaps he wants to steal your dream. Even a dream that seems ordinary can have far reaching kingdom impact. The enemy doesn’t know your future, but he sniffs out your destiny just like those crows sniffed out the hawk’s catch.

I think back to our long years of infertility and the fierce fight to have a child. I couldn’t have known at the time that I was waging a battle, not just for our firstborn daughter, but also for our next baby, a son. Then another son. Now ten grandchildren. Our daughter once remarked, “Mama, you didn’t know when you were going through infertility that you were fighting for all these people to be born.” The fight was fierce because the enemy wanted what I had. The promise of children. And grandchildren who would glorify God. And generations beyond those.

But friends, I had something else the enemy wanted. And so do you. He wanted to steal my testimony. He wanted to make it impossible for me to tell the miraculous story of God’s healing which enabled me to have those babies and grandbabies. He wanted to rob me of the chance to encourage others who are waiting for answers to their own prayers.

Quite simply, the devil wants to steal the story God is weaving through your dream. Or through this trial you're enduring so bravely. He wants to steal your testimony. Ultimately, he wants to steal God's glory.