Greetings All,    

We read in Galatians 5 often, about the Fruit of the Spirit.  I believe that it's often a misunderstood and lightly taken subject throughout the body.  In the natural, fruit is something that is grown from a seed, and ideally becomes something, which can nourish anyone who eats it.  Also, we know what kind of a tree we are eating from through the type fruit that it bears.  All, very simple, yet still not taken in much of the time. 

Very often, I've seen and heard Christians say of another, "wow that person must really, be right before God," simply because the person has laid hands on someone else and they were healed.  Or, maybe they lead someone to the Lord.  We come from a mindset that seems to confuse anointing and gifts as fruit.  Well, we must stop the confusion because they are not even remotely the same.  I remember when I was younger; I used to sing in a southern gospel quartet, everyone thought we were so holy because of the work we were doing.  What they did not know about  was the drug use and sexual immorality behind the scenes.  Yet, you must understand that the gospel we were spreading was not compromised.  The gospels' truth even told by an unbeliever would still be  the truth.  It is also the same when someone receives healing from the prayer of a Christian who is actively in sin.  Gods' power is real no matter how He releases it or through whom.  The word says that God pours His Spirit out over the whole earth and He gives His gifts to ALL men, there was no distinction made between believer and nonbeliever.     

Many secular musicians are anointed in music, but are using the gift for their own gain.  It is Gods' anointing, not satans - no where in scripture have I found that satan even has the power to anoint and/or give gifting or talent.   If he did, that would put him in the same playing field as God.  What satan can do is counterfeit, which basically means, false reproduction.  I fully believe that many of the so-called Psychics really do have in some measure, Gods' power.  The big problem is that really what is happening is that they are exercising the gift of Prophecy and do not even know or really understand it.  But, using this gift for their own selfish gain and having no relationship with Christ certainly condemns them before God unless they would come into repentance.  In  this situation, to look for fruit rather than gifting would be the wiser choice.   

We must be a little slower to call someone brother, or sister.  Many come in His name with a form of Godliness, being far from our Father.  We must learn to look for the fruit.  The fruit if Good; patience, kindness, longsuffering, etc. shows that the tree itself is good and bad fruit of course comes from a bad tree.  The great news is that a bad tree can be uprooted, grafted into a good tree and replanted.  This is not to say that sometimes Christians won't show some bad fruit even as an occasional fly will spoil a piece of fruit from a good tree.  We must watch over time as fruit consistently comes up.  It takes time for fruit to grow, being completely opposite from a gift which is freely given and used up in a time.  Our gifts can be used to bless others but our fruit can help to sustain others as well as ourselves over the long haul.  That's what food does, sustain us.  Our spiritual food is; the word of God for our meat and bread, the Holy Spirit for our water and wine, and our fruit which adds taste and vitamins to our lives. 

May the Holy Spirit pour His bug spray all over you, 

Dennis