Lynn Bartelson

“But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.” ‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭37‬ ‭NASB

This verse can be read backwards (Per se) or forward

-Through Him who loved us, we overwhelmingly conquer all these things!!

Or NIV

-Through Him who loved us, we are more than conquerors in all theses things.

How about AMPC

-Through Him Who loved us, we are more than conquerors and gain a surpassing victory amid all these things

Also the ESV

-through him who loved us we are more than conquerors in all these things

Can’t forget KJV

-Through him that loved us we are more than conquerors in all these things

We don’t just survive—we are Conquerors (One who conquers, or gains a victory over any opposing force)

You are a NEW creation in Christ. Develop the new you. Take your eyes off the old you, surround yourself with people who will help you grow in the new you and not remind you of who you were before you received Christ.

When I was very young my mom made sure I knew who God is in my life, and then about the age of 10 I came to an understanding of Jesus. My personal relationship with Jesus Christ wasn’t until about 30 years ago. Since then I have come to an understanding that people who do not have a relationship with Jesus, may not know how to receive the love/kindness that Jesus shows them through others. They stay focused on who you were and can’t really see or believe who you are in Christ. This has caused me to often focus on the old me trying to “fix me” rather than focusing on who I am in Jesus.

By Gods grace, through many tears, much pain, I came to this understanding and trust me, it is 100% worth it, through the tears and through the pain God is developing the person who He created me to be.

There are so many similar stories in the Bible—Elijah, Job, Joseph, David, Ruth, Paul…..to name a few.

I share this with you first and foremost to give God glory for He is good!! His Will on this earth is good, always always good!!

Second because often we are told that we should “turn the other cheek” or “forgive seventy times seven” and for me it was hard to separate loving others like Jesus loves and allowing others to take advantage of my love. I had to learn that you can forgive and you can turn the other cheek but you can also walk away and pray for them that also is love. (It may sound confusing but I have no doubt there are some who will understand)

So…..If you Believe that Jesus came to earth, He lived a perfect life, He died upon the cross and He rose from the dead, now He is in heaven seated on the throne at the right hand of God the father and one day He will return, if you believe this, you are a NEW creation in Christ so take your focus off the old you. You can’t fix something that’s dead nor should you waste your time trying.

Focus on Christ and he will develop/grow the NEW you.

And don’t wait 30 years like I did 🤪😂

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

Stay focused on God, trust that he has a destiny for your life and he is sovereign over all the detours. Otherwise you’ll be focused on “luck” “chance” “maybe” and “perhaps” “them people” “that circumstance”. You’ll be looking at all the stuff and missing the God who aloud it to get to to where he wants you to be. Another insight Dr Evans shared was we need to remember that our destiny/blessing is NOT just about us. It always includes someone else. Look at Joseph, when he reach his destiny he was in a position of power and help/rescued his people.

So we can confidently give thanks to God for the negative because it only gets to us when it slipped through his fingers with his permission!!

Do Not Lose Sight of the Sovereignty of God!!

Read the story of Joseph he sure had his share of detours, but God was sovereign and Joseph reached his destiny!!

To God be the glory.

Some of my favorite Bible stories over the years:

Joseph

Abraham

Isaac

Job

Jonah

Ruth

Ester

David

Peter

Paul and Silas

The prodigal son

Mary (Jesus mother)

Announcing The Close of Fruit of the Spirit

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” John 12:24 ------------------------------------------------------------------------

In preparation for the closing we will begin markdowns February 1st with 25% off the lowest price marked, on everything in the store . Shop early to get the best selections. ALL sales Final! We will continue accepting special orders through March. (No discounts on special orders) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven” Eccl. 3:1 Tribute to Love----From Jeff and Lynn Bartelson This letter is to inform you, our dear friends, that after much prayer we believe God is calling us to end the ministry at Fruit of the Spirit. With this timing, it could appear that it is due to the “recession”, but as believers we all know that is not true. God knew of the closing here long before the recession, truth be told He knew of it before we even opened. So we praise God for His infinite wisdom in all things and trust that this was a preparing place for what is to come. Therefore, we lay it down and continue following Him. This may be sad news to some, as it was very sad for us when we first realized what was ahead. From the beginning, we have always said that we will be here for as long as God calls us to be. Yet, in our limited knowledge we thought the best thing for us and the community was for it to last many years. Then the Spirit lovingly reminded us---“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:9)-- We move forward in confidence knowing that God is always faithful. We look forward to what He has for us and know He will continue caring for the community. ____________________________________________________________ Note from Jeff: As said; after much prayer God has made it clear to us that this is the path He wants us to follow and we thank the Lord for that clarity. When I look back on the last eight years, God has been very evident. From the first day when I was able to pray for a woman in the store to this day, He has been truly faithful. Lynn and I have been blessed by the relationships that have developed with all of you. We have gotten to know a lot of you and your families just as you may have gotten to know ours. We have always viewed Fruit of the Spirit as a support for the people of His church and through our experiences here we have developed a much bigger view of the body of Christ. Even though many denominations have walked through the door, what stands out is the Truth of Christ. That is our common bond and He continues to do His work in each of us in whatever Christ centered fellowship we belong to. His purposes will be fulfilled and as we close Fruit of the Spirit; Lynn and I hold fast to that. I also want to take this opportunity to express our gratitude for all of you. We enjoyed hearing your stories of what God was doing in your lives and will miss hearing them very much. I also thank you for your encouragement over the years towards me but especially towards my wife, Lynn. It was through your words that God strengthened her to continue showing up each day, six days a week. She saw God working and that is all we needed to know, that He was at work doing what He wanted done….and we were honored to have been a part of it. With that, we move forward in obedience with great anticipation as He fulfills His plan in our life. _____________________________________________________ Note from Lynn: I look back on these eight years and trust that God made a difference in the lives of those who walked through these doors. I may never fully see all that He did here, but because of who He is, I know He had a purpose and that He fulfilled it. I am deeply grateful to those who saw the ministry, faithfully prayed, and supported us through it. Thank you!! There truly is a time for every purpose under Heaven. The purpose He had for others as I said above, I may never know until I get to Heaven. But to me I see how He has revealed a little more of my heart for His wounded soldiers, we have witnessed so many who have been beaten up by life and I have had the pleasure of praying and directing many people to resources that may have helped them turn towards God during their times of suffering. Now, I look forward in seeing how He will take what He has taught me outside these walls, where I will continue serving Him in hopes that He will be glorified in and through me!! I have began to share with people about the closing, in so doing, I seem to be able to hold back the tears until I am reminded of how God used this place in their life and how much they will miss it, this will be the hardest part of walking away. I have gone through the crying (for the past few months) and am now at a place where I can move forward confidently knowing this is His plan for us. But when I think of how sad this may be for you, it make’s me cry all over again. So I say; I know God is going to continue providing for you, He is the One who has been caring for you all this time and He is faithful to continue doing so!! God has something wonderful ahead…He has not fully revealed what that is, but when God is at work only good things happen! All to the Glory of God!!! _____________________________________________________

Around 1998 or so, Lynn began to see her first ministry coming to an end as their oldest two daughters were entering adulthood and their youngest was entering high school. As a woman without a college degree, she could have believed the lie that she would not have much to offer the community. We praise God for His promises and His truths, it was through His word and Jeff''s encouragement that she began praying and believing that although she had no training, she was a child of God's and He had a purpose for her and her husband."For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." Jeremiah 29:11kjv

She began to trust, believe, and pray: "Lord, I believe you when you say that Jeff and I are "one". ..." Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh." (Genesis 2:24 kjv), ...at this time you have not called Jeff into fulltime ministy, yet we have a desire to serve you in the community and we believe you when you say..."Lord, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear" (Psalm 10:17kjv), ...so please reveal to us Your plan and Your purpose for our life, and as it unfolds may we and all people see that only you God, can do what it is that you've called us to, so that You alone will receive all the glory, honor and praise! May you use us to draw Your people to Yourself in whatever way You have planned. We find great joy in knowing that You already have it all laid out, so we come seeking your guidance and trusting that you will be faithful to make straight our path. "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths." (Proverbs 3:5-6kjv)