Tell-Tale Fruit

 

   

Matt 12:33

 

33 "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.

NKJV

 

The Bible is very plain that we should not judge.  But verses like this one indicates to me that, to a certain degree, we can  judge the fruit a person is bearing.  Truth is, everyone is constantly making judgments  on the type of person that we are based on our words and behaviors.  I think that we make excuses to ourselves about why we do what we do, forgetting that the world is not looking at us with the same rose-colored glasses.  Instead, they see the bare truth.

There are many "Christians" who readily "Praise God" and then immediately break forth into cussing the very next sentence.  They live their lives as if the Bible is not their standard  of conduct, but rather, live according to the dictates of society.  One Facebook status will be a prayer, then next,  a half-naked picture.  When I see this stuff my mind goes, "Tilt, tilt,  does not compute."  How does a person profess to be  a Christian, but have no conviction when they are sinning and hurting their testimony?  How do they not hear the absolute contradiction, if not hypocrisy in their words?!

Understand my heart.  I know we are all human.  We all slip up,  make mistakes, and exhibit poor judgment.  But that is not what I am talking about.  I am talking about those whose tree NEVER bears evidence that they are a peach or apple tree.  Or worse yet, bears fruit that would make you doubt they are what their words promise.  Is there consistent pure, sweet, fruit?  If not, the tree is fairly useless  for  its original purpose.

I once knew a person who seemingly only ever said cruel, hateful and manipulative comments.  In time, I began to wonder about their claim of Christianity.  Shouldn't a well with sweet water occasionally demonstrate sweetness and purity? (At least,  at a minimum.)

How about you?  Is your fruit in keeping with your profession? Let us choose to judge ourselves so that we can avoid being unfavorably judged by others, or worse yet- by God.

Dear Lord, forgive me for the times that my behavior disputes my claims of Christianity.  Lord, please help me to bear fruit that brings you glory.

 

 

Riding the Wave

“But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.”  James 1:6

On Mother’s Day weekend, we took out boat out to Shell Island.  The waves were wicked.  By the time we arrived at Shell Island, we were soaked from head to toe because the tall waves kept coming aboard our little boat.  We were motions sick, damp and miserable.  Being tossed about by the winds and waves is not a much fun as you might think!

In this passage James had just told us to ask God for wisdom.  But then he goes on to add today’s verse.  If you are going to go through the trouble of asking, we must then follow through with believing.  That seems simple enough.  Obviously we believe, or we would not ask.

I think the tricky part often occurs between the time we ask and the time we actually receive.  So often, the fruit of our prayers remains in the soil a long time, before we see it erupt with any promise.  Then we have to wait for the sun and rain to do their jobs before we ever get to actually eat the fruit of our prayers.

So what happens in the spirit during the incubation period?  A whole lot of nagging doubts, fears, second guessing and becoming impatient!  When we are in the Spirit and our faith is high, it is easy to believe God is going to answer our prayers.  But when life wears us out, it often seems our faith and hope begins to fade.  We must resist this tendency if we want to enjoy a fruitful prayer life.

Being tossed and blown by the wind causes instability.  Our sure-footedness often goes lacking. Hold on!  Be strong!  Keep believing!  Do not give an audience to your doubts.

Often I am like the father in Mark 9:24 who said “Lord, I believe.  Help my unbelief.”   So true and so profound- because like that man we often have that mixture of doubt and faith.

Dear Lord, help me to believe and not waiver.  Help me to cast down all doubts and believe that you are not only willing, but able, to answer my prayers.  In Jesus’ Name.  Amen.

Sherri