FP 38 The Bible Inside

Good Fruit

Why is Bible study so important? And why is it so important that you reflect on God's Word and not just read it? I believe the Psalmist gives us the answer:

I've banked your promises in the vault of my heart so I won't sin myself bankrupt. Psalm 119:11 (MSG)

The imagery is very clear. Whatever I deposit in the vault of my heart is what I will withdraw into the conversations of my life. The result of placing God's Word in our hearts through meditation and memorization is that when relationship challenges come, and they will come, we will be able make wise decisions based upon sound biblical principles rather than "sin (yourself) bankrupt" by yielding to the flesh instead of the spirit. Let me explain.

Hal, a pastor friend of mine asked the question, "What do you get when you squeeze an orange?" His reply was that we all answer too quickly and incorrectly, "orange juice." What if we hollow out the orange and put grapefruit inside? When you squeeze it you'll get grapefruit juice, not orange juice. What you get out is what is put in. This is why it is so important that we not only read the word, but study it and apply it to our lives. When the pressure is applied and it is applied primarily through relationships, what is in us (our character) comes out of us and if we're not careful it will be bitter. Some people when placed under pressure yield fruits of yelling, lying, hitting, crying, fearing, denying, or any number of other "bad fruits". So what do we do about it?

Hollow out the grapefruit and instead put in the sweet fruit of God's word which will impact our character and be spoken into the relationships in our lives. Here's the good fruit:

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Galatians 5:22-23 (NLT)

Notice that the fruit is not naturally in us but is supernaturally placed in us as the Holy Spirit hollows out the bitterness of our past and present lives and instead replaces it with His fruit. Want to know more? Here's a passage for further study today that, when placed in your heart will drastically change and impact your life for God's glory and your good. Again, just in case you don't have a Bible next to you I've included the link for you Galatians 5:16-26.

Until Tomorrow,

Pastor Steve