Eden shattered, humanity longs for a life-giving orchard to rise up once again. For the past two months, we've been inspecting this garden God promises to grow in us. Let's wrap up our study on the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and now self-control. A man without self-control... Continue Reading →

At the risk of sounding like a creeper, I adore watching older couples in love. Their passion is far removed from teenage puppy love or a flirtation at the bar between twenty-somethings. There's a quality of richness and depth about it—endurance. Perseverance. Faithfulness. This hard-won romance is the stuff Hollywood movies should really be made... Continue Reading →

I love a good underdog story, and apparently, so does God. We've seen how He has historically used the last things one would expect to bring His kingdom in our hearts—not brilliance or power or fame or determination. Against all odds, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, and goodness win the day. This upside-down life of... Continue Reading →

Goodness gracious! Well, for goodness' sake! Good heavens! A kid growing up in the south might consider goodness as an expletive for church ladies. We, however, know the truth: we can widen our trunks and stretch up to the sky as the Spirit grows this particular fruit in our lives, yielding a rich harvest. And... Continue Reading →

We're halfway through our study on the fruit of the Spirit: so far we've considered love, joy, peace, and patience. Now let's turn our attention to kindness. And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the Lord, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!” (Ruth 2:20a) Kindness is stronger... Continue Reading →

We've just crossed the official threshold of spring. Time to think of warmer days and an early harvest of juicy fruit. Soon the markets will abound with zesty lemons and sweet strawberries, peaches and nectarines, grapes and bananas and oranges. In the spiritual realm, we can keep an eye out for a fresh harvest, too:... Continue Reading →

Over the last couple of weeks, we've been looking at the radical nature of the fruit of the Spirit. First came love, then joy, and now peace. Since this is one of my personal favorites, let's get right down to it, shall we? In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for You alone,... Continue Reading →

Every believer used to be part of an angry apple orchard, just like the one in Oz. Our natural state was to grow bitterness, selfishness, deceit, pride, fear, and a host of other rotting things from the core of who we were, lobbing them at anyone unsavvy enough to pass by. Last week we looked... Continue Reading →

When's the last time you strolled through an apple orchard hunting for coconuts? Or bananas? Or peaches? Hopefully never. (If you have, we can schedule a time to sit down and talk.) The fruit you'll find in nature always depends on the seed it sprang from. Unless you intentionally cut off a branch of the... Continue Reading →