The Reciprocal Nature of Words in the Word

Well, if you've been reading here any amount of time lately, you'll know that I've really been motivated to explore the Bible through specific words - somehow they spark my attention and I write them down. So far, I have seventy words. They seem to come in lots of seven.

I have been realizing lately the reciprocal nature of words in the Word. Like take the word "delight". While it says, "Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart." (Psalm 27:4). It also says, "The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." (Zephaniah 3:17) and "He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me." (Psalm 18:19).

So, I've been interested in exploring fruits of the Spirit. And I've been so priviledged lately to see fruits being born in my friend's lives! How great is our God!!!

We know the fruits of the spirit from Galatians 5:22-23:

• love
• joy
• peace
• patience
• kindness
• goodness
• faithfulness
• gentleness
• self-control

What I want to do is explore the reciprocal nature of the fruits of the Spirit. Meaning, where do we see God expressing those in scripture and where are we called to do it (by His power only)? Before I go too much farther, there is something else I'd like to say about the fruit of the Spirit:

• We can't, apart from God, have the ability to do any of the above. Oh, we can come close, but the worst part of coming close is that we miss God. We can do it "for" God and miss Him completely, or we can it "with" God and see Him completely.
• Even our best efforts get twisted by human desire. Be prepared to recognize it. It's usually pretty subtle.
• God is creative enough to generate fruit differently in each of His children. It will have a different color, texture, shape - yet you will know it by the character of God. After all, it's His fruit. Taste and see that the Lord is good!

Most importantly, what I'd love to hear from you is where do you see it happening in your life or the lives of your loved ones!

All for now,
Lisa