Fruit of the Spirit

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” -Gal 5:22-24

As I was walking home, I saw an acorn tree.
There were things that looked like some sort of fruit.
So I wondered, where are the acorns? And what are those things?
And ‘duh’ it hit me! Those were the acorns! They just weren’t ripe.
Of course! It takes time for fruit to ripen and become edible.
Until then, the squirrels won’t eat it because it’s not edible and not appealing.

This reminded me of the fruit of the Spirit in us.
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control…
I used to think that when I see some fruit in me, it would be delicious and ready to eat.
But when I tasted it, it tasted bitter so I got discouraged.
I would get so excited if I saw a glimpse of one of the fruits of the Spirit in me, but disappointment soon followed when I tasted it.
As I saw the unripe acorn, I realized that my fruit, too, was still unripe.
Though there might be forms of the fruit, the inside was still raw.

It takes time and effort for fruit to mature and become edible.
I realized that I have to make sure that the good fruit is getting the nutrition it needs.
Just bearing fruit doesn’t mean that it is edible.
I have to feed it so that it won’t die but grow to be delicious fruit.
But so many times I’m busy feeding my sinful fruit.
And I find myself fighting against the Holy Spirit that is wanting to feed my good fruit.

이 생각을 했는데… 오늘도 난 안 좋은 열매들을 키운 것 같아 하나님께 미안하다..

My Hiding Place

How precious is your steadfast love, O God!The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.-Ps 36:7

You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble;
you surround me with shouts of deliverance. -Ps 32:7

As I meditated on God being my ‘hiding place’ I realized…

나는 겁쟁이.
전혀 무서울 이유가 없는 것도 두려워 한다…
‘똥이 더러워서 피하지 무서워서 피하냐’ 라고 흔히 말해도
난 아마 그런 똥 조차 더러워서가 아니라 그 더러움이 묻을까 두려워서 피하는게 아닐까…
이렇게 난 겁쟁이.

모든 것이 두렵고 하나님도 무서울 때 어디로 도망가야 할지  몰라서 하나님 앞에서 쩔쩔매면
이런 나를 보고 오늘도 하시는 말…
‘피하지도 말고 도망가지도 말아라. Just come to Me…’
그래서 하나님 밑으로 숨어버린다…

그런 나를 꺼내서 쓰시겠다고 하시는 하나님은 정말 대단하시다…!! Praise God!

하얀하늘…

하얀하늘을 봤다. 그 하늘은 해가 없다..
해가 없어서 하얀하늘… 이런날은 마음속까지 해가 없어진 느낌…
그렇다고 해가 없는 것은 아닌데…

“Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him.”
–Isaiah 3:10

It is well with the righteous ALWAYS. If it had said, “Say ye to the righteous, that it is well with him in his prosperity,” we must have been thankful for so great a boon, for prosperity is an hour of peril, and it is a gift from heaven to be secured from its snares: or if it had been written, “It is well with him when under persecution,” we must have been thankful for so sustaining an assurance, for persecution is hard to bear; but when no time is mentioned, all time is included. God’s “shalls” must be understood always in their largest sense. From the beginning of the year to the end of the year, from the first gathering of evening shadows until the day-star shines, in all conditions and under all circumstances, it shall be well with the righteous. …  the mouth of God speaks the comforting assurance. O beloved, if God declares that all is well, ten thousand devils may declare it to be ill, but we laugh them all to scorn. Blessed be God for a faith which enables us to believe God when the creatures contradict him. It is, says the Word, at all times well with thee, thou righteous one; then, beloved, if thou canst not see it, let God’s word stand thee in stead of sight; yea, believe it on divine authority more confidently than if thine eyes and thy feelings told it to thee. Whom God blesses is blest indeed, and what his lip declares is truth most sure and steadfast.
-C. Spurgeon

speechless…

“All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags…”

My ”righteous” crying out for mercy for the unsaved people…
Siding with them w/ frustration b/c they didn’t know God… 
Asking if He is hope… asking if He is good…
Was only to blame God..
To make Him look as if He’s not merciful… as if He’s not hope… as if He’s not good…
Yet when He opens my eyes to see my real intentions, how quickly He quenches me w/ His mercy and goodness.. Not even giving a chance for my heart to condemn me…

My prayer was that I would proclaim the goodness and beauty of God to the world…
God’s answer is that He, and not I, proclaims His goodness and beauty through me…
It is truly amazing that God would use me…

random thoughts while driving…

While driving down lincoln.. a random thought came to me.. (as usual..)

Saw a leaf fall and thought.. ‘leaves are so useless..’
they’re so weak.. so thin.. fall so easily.. people step on it… make the roads messy…
they’re funny looking.. they just seem so useless…
and then a tree came into my view.. and each individual leaf came alive on the tree..

OMG~! And all these thoughts flooded in…
Each leaf seems so useless, but actually is the energy producer of the tree!
Leaves take in sunlight and convert it to energy to grow the tree..
So without leaves, the tree can’t get grow.. and can’t bear fruit..
And then when a leaf dies it becomes nutrients for the roots to take up…
God is so funny…!!
Why, instead of making one huge thing to produce energy for the tree, would He make so many small leaves to grow a huge tree..

And then God showed me..
That’s like Christians and the Church (Kingdom of God)!
We’re the leaves and the tree is the Church!
Just like there are many leaves on a tree, there are many of us in the Church. 
Each leaf seems so insignificant, but each leaf is so essential…
And each are faithfully taking in the sunlight to grow the tree… Just like us! 
As each of us faithfully take in God, the Church grows!
So we must be faithful… And the Church will grow and bear fruit.
However many leaves are left on the tree…. I must be faithful.. God will keep me faithful…

all while driving down lincoln ave… hehe =)