The Fruit of the Spirit is a study that is founded by Paul's teachings throughout his letters specifically in Galatians 5:22-23 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
This is a list of nine character traits that Paul explains are developed in our life by the Holy Spirit as we invest time in Bible study and prayer as well as fellowship with other believers. Paul coins this phrase "fruits of the Spirit" to illustrate that they are characters that grow within us that not only bring our lives health mentally but also cause other people around us to experience pleasure when they spend time with us. You may consider yourself a good person and you may also have a very loving spirit. The Holy Spirit can multiply the good within you and help over come the bad characters within all of us such as selfishness, etc. Now, we are not talking about just being a good person. Jesus did not die on the cross to make people good. He died to give us a righteousness that no human can obtain for themselves by being "good enough". The Holy Spirit takes characters of Jesus and helps us to become more like Him and less like the sinful human that we are on our own strength and wisdom. Why is it so important that we become more like Jesus and less like the people that we are before we came to know Him as our Savior and Lord? These character traits define who we are as human beings because our character is built by what we believe, how we think, and the habits and routines that we spend our time doing.
Looking at these fruits closer, we start with love. Love as a word in the English language covers a lot of ground because it is actually translated from the New Testament scripture written in Greek. The Greek language has several different words that they use in the New Testament for different types of love such as Agape for selfless, divine love, Phileo for brotherly, affectionate love, and Storge familial love, with agape becoming the central term for Christian love, emphasizing commitment and action over an emotional feelings, seen especially in passages like 1 Corinthians 13 and John 21.
This study of the Fruits of the Spirit explores each one to see how that specific character trait unfolds in a Christians life to help us to mature. We believe that these fruits are the personal keys to experiencing the abundant life that Jesus says that He wants us to have in John 10:10. As we become God's fruit tree, planted where He is present, He uses our character to bring glory to Himself as our lives become a living example of God's love and light for Him and for others around us. This is what makes people come out of the dark and find Jesus themselves as the church, as God's family of fruit trees, are the solid evidence that God is real, His power is present, an that they can live victorious lives through Jesus, just as we do. I hope that the booklet study and art encourage you to allow God's Holy Spirit to develop His fruits in your life.
The story behind Fruit of the Spirit
The "Fruit of the Spirit" study natural grew out of our work developing our "Like a Tree" study. When you follow the path of planting yourself, as a seed, where God is flowing with a desire to become the fruitful disciple that God created you to be, it is only natural to ask the question, What is the end result? Well, scripture teaches us that following God's Word will end up producing the Fruits of the Spirit in your life. Jesus tells us in John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. The KJV Bible uses the words more abundantly in place of the word "full".
God's Word speaks often that He has created all of us to productive human beings for His kingdom's work. His word also teaches us that this work is all about relationships with Him and with the people around us. Relationships built on love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self control.
Our Process Begins with Bible Study
Like all of our projects at K. L. Buckelew, our process of creating always begins with Bible study. After developing a topic that God is leading us to present to our audience, Krel and Kathy write the Bible study. Krel then paints the artwork, most often oil paintings and sometimes acrylic paintings, to illustrate the Bible study. All of this creative work is handed to our design team to develop the materials into products that we can produce in our own studio. We print our booklets, and print and frame our canvas prints all inhouse from raw materials to the finished products ready to share with anyone who has a desire to learn, teach, and enjoy God's Word where they are. We are in full time church ministry and work to develop Bible studies and other products that we can use in our church to teach God's Word before we ever pass them on to anyone outside of our community.
Framed Fine Art Canvas Prints
Krel Buckelew has been an artist since his career began in high school forty years ago when he got his first job as an artist for a printing company. He later purchased picture framing equipment and learned to frame his paintings himself and opened an art gallery and custom frame shop. After becoming a pastor in 2014, Krel and Kathy turned their attention from selling fine art, to producing Bible study material for the churches that they serve. This ministry has grown to include creative Bible study booklets as well as high quality framed canvas prints that Krel paints, prints on canvas, mounts onto a durable wood panel, finishes by hand with a thick textured coating that dries to look like the original painting, and then frames each print all in our studio frame shop.