There are two passages assigned for today!

SCRIPTURE: 1 Thessalonians 1
OBSERVATION/APPLICATION:
We know, dear brothers and sisters, that God loves you and has chosen you to be his own people. For when we brought you the Good News, it was not only with words but also with power, for the Holy Spirit gave you full assurance that what we said was true… So you received the message with joy from the Holy Spirit in spite of the severe suffering it brought you. [1 Thessalonians 1:4-5]
How does Paul know that the new Jesus-followers in Thessalonica are the real deal?
He knows because of how they accepted the message, with a deep joy and confidence that was able to endure persecution and suffering.
He noted their “faithful work, loving deeds, and enduring hope” [1 Thessalonians 1:3]; what is more, other people saw it too and were amazed.
And now the word of the Lord is ringing out from you to people everywhere, even beyond Macedonia and Achaia, for wherever we go we find people telling us about your faith in God. We don’t need to tell them about it, for they keep talking about the wonderful welcome you gave us and how you turned away from idols to serve the living and true God. [1 Thessalonians1:8-9]
It seems that Paul recognized them as authentic Jesus-followers because of the radical results in their lives.

A tree is identified by its fruit. If a tree is good, its fruit will be good. If a tree is bad, its fruit will be bad. [Matthew 12:33]
How do you know if a certain tree is an apple tree – look for the apples!
How can you know if a person is committed to Jesus and His mission – look for the ‘apples’?
We sometimes speak as if other things mark a ‘christian’: going to church, being baptized, making a public faith commitment, etc.
But these things are hollow signs, plastic fruit that anyone can stick to their branches.
But the radical life-change that Paul observed – love for enemies, believing despite suffering, totally rejecting one’s family religion and adopting a new faith – these are dramatic indications that the Holy Spirit is behind it.
The signs or marks of a person who has surrendered to Jesus as Saviour and Lord are also known as the “fruit of the Spirit”: But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. [Galatians 5:22-23]

These are the things that Paul saw, and celebrated; these are the things that everyone else saw, and marvelled at.
These are the things that the Lord Jesus is looking for too, the things He is working to produce in us by His Spirit.
We cannot produce them ourselves by hard work, we need help, Holy Spirit help.
But do you desire them, do you feel the need for them, are you desperately seeking them?
The reality is, we will all fail in these areas; we should be careful not to ‘judge’ a person just because they did not love, or were not patient, or did not exercise self-control, etc.
But one thing that will mark a genuine Jesus-follower, notwithstanding moments of weakness, will be a hatred of that weakness and a deep, deep desire to be more like Jesus.
If Jesus is in us by His Spirit, we will hunger and thirst for this fruit, we will admit our failure and strive with all His might in us to be more loving, patient, joyful…
This is the fruit that God celebrates, and that others will notice!

PRAYER:
Lord, hold before my eyes the kind of fruit that You want to see on my branches. Holy Spirit, create in me a desire for this fruit, that my life begins to show it in visible, radical ways.