“The Fruit Does Not Lie,” looks at the fruit of the Spirit as the visible evidence that the invisible life of God is growing in us. It is not personality. It is not politeness. It is not fake fruit taped to dead branches. It is the life of Jesus taking shape in ordinary people.

The point is simple: Christian character is not manufactured by religious self-effort. It grows as we walk by the Spirit, keep in step with the Spirit, and breathe the atmosphere of the Spirit.

“Your worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God’s grace.” — Jerry Bridges, The Discipline of Grace Imagine a man who has had every ounce of his humanity beaten out of him. His name is Jean Valjean. For nineteen years, he was locked away in a brutal French penal colony—initially for stealing a single loaf of bread to feed his starving niece, and then for trying to escape. For nearly two decades, he was treated not as a man, but as an animal with a number

Saul looked the part. David was formed in hidden places. One had stature, image, and public strength. The other had been shaped by God in fields, caves, failure, and repentance. This post explores a searching question for every Christian—and especially every church leader: What holds a person up when the pressure comes?

We all follow someone. But following Jesus is not like following someone on social media. It is totally different.