The Thursday Update

AUGUST 24, 2023

LAKESHORE FRIENDS—

Love. Joy. Peace. Patience. Kindness. Goodness. Faithfulness. Gentleness. Self-control.

Those 9 fruit of the Spirit are indicators of how much God is at work in our lives.  That’s been the consistent message throughout this series because they are the fruit (i.e. the product) of the Holy Spirit working in our lives, and not the fruit of our human efforts.  We really cannot produce these fruit without the Holy Spirit at work in us. 

One person asked one of our pastors if a person can produce these 9 fruit on their own without the Holy Spirit.  The answer is that, while people who have not placed their faith in Jesus (and hence do not have the Holy Spirit in their lives) can be somewhat loving, can be somewhat joyful etc., they cannot completely love with a motive that glorifies God, they cannot be fully joyful without the ultimate source of all joy, Jesus, etc.  Instead, they will do so with mixed motives that are focused on how it helps them or makes them feel.  Afterall, they are the fruit of (or, from) the Holy Spirit, not the human spirit.

So how do we apply this series once it concludes this Sunday?  Here are three tips:

1. The principle of totality

The more we see of each of them in our lives, the more God is at work in us.  Try to live out all 9, and let the ones that come easier help motivate you to work on the ones that are the hardest for you.  Don’t just settle for being good at 3 or 4 of these fruit.

2. The principle of potency

The stronger the expression of each of them we see in our lives, the more God is at work in us.  Keep working to get better and better at allowing God to let them flow out of your life with stronger and stronger expression.

3. The principle of frequency

The more consistently we see each of them in our lives, the more God is at work in us.  Never give up on showing these fruit in as many situations of life as possible.

I’m excited to see how God works in our lives to be even more fruitful in the days ahead.

Warmly,
Vince

AUGUST 17, 2023

LAKESHORE FRIENDS—

When you hear the words “meek” or “gentle”, what do you think of?

Do you think of a young kid having their lunch money taken away at school each day by a bully?  Do you think of a person becoming a human doormat for others to walk all over?  Do you think of someone who could never make it in this “me first” culture.  Those are just some of the pictures that may come to mind.  And that would be unfortunate.

Being meek and gentle are not only the eigth trait of the fruit of the Holy Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22-23, they are also traits that show more power than you might naturally think.  More on that on Sunday.

Living a meek and gentle life is always a better way to live than their rival counterparts: prideful and aggressive behavior.  It may not seem like it, but in the end there is a power to gentleness that exceeds any of the alternatives.  Gentleness can change situations and lives for the long haul, including our own.  And when we live this way, God keeps us from being run over and trampled on more than we would naturally think.

Are you striving to be a more gentle and meek person?  It is not natural and is not easy either.  But it is powerful and it is rewarding.

Warmly,
Vince

AUGUST 10, 2023

LAKESHORE FRIENDS—

The Beatles were not all that off when they sang, “All You Need Is Love”.  As you look around it is easy to see how our world has become so unloving and cold.  It’s to the point that LOVE is like a rare gem and is something that people desperately need to experience in their lives. 

As we’ve been learning on Sunday mornings in the Fruit(Full) series, LOVE is the basis for all of the characteristics that make up the Fruit of the Spirit. We have a great opportunity to show our community some LOVE coming up through LOVE WEEK.  From August 19 – 26, we'll be sending more than 225 volunteers to 17 project sites to meet a need in our community, all while showing them the LOVE of Jesus Christ.  Have you signed up for a project yet?  We still need about 70 volunteers to fill the remaining spots.  You can click here to register or stop by the LOVE WEEK table in the Atrium this Sunday to sign up.

I hope you will help us fill up the remaining spots so we can show our community some much needed LOVE.

Make a great day!
Frank D.