I just finished reading The Fruitful Life by Jerry Bridges. And I have to say that I am pretty impressed.

In The Fruitful Life, Bridges addresses the nine Fruit of the Spirit from Galatians 5:22-23: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. To these, he adds the characteristics of humility and devotion.

In my opinion, this is an excellent resource that can help a person really start to dig into a practical understanding and application of these attributes. While each of these spiritual qualities aren’t dealt with in close detail; they are addressed in such a way that one can easily grasp and begin to apply some direction for each characteristic into daily life.

At the end of each chapter is a fairly well-written series of questions and Scripture passages for further study or memorization. These are great discussion starters or thought provoking ideas, but there isn’t quite enough there to really facilitate an extended discussion within a small group setting. That being said, it would be easy to deepen these to the level needed for a small group to easily use this book.

The only drawback is that the qualities of kindness and goodness were lumped together into one chapter. I realize their similarity; however, it would have been nice to hear a bit more of a distinction between the two.

All in all, I felt like The Fruitful Life was a great help to me in continuing to understand the Fruit of the Spirit. And we may just give this book a deeper look in my small group in the near future.

If you are interested in reading The Fruitful Life, you can purchase it at Amazon.com.

Disclosure of Material Connection:
I received this book free from NavPress Publishers as part of their Blogger Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Also, some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”