Kingdom Fruit

On July 3, 2018   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Matthew 21: 43

“Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.”

This discussion on bearing fruit is an important one. It is quite easy for us to slide into complacency as regarding our faith. With the weight and urgency of so many things pressing upon us, focusing on our spiritual growth may not always get the attention it requires. From there it is an easy slip into carnality. I think so often, “There but for the grace of God, go I.” It is so easy to slip just a bit, and then more and we have all experienced it. The next thing you know, the fruit on your tree is beginning to wither. People see it on us. You can tell just being around me if I am having enough time with my Father or not. It just shows.

This lack of production of good fruit is a problem for Jesus, well, not so much for him as for us because he has already revealed how the problem is handled from his end. He will give the Kingdom of God to those who are producing the fruit of it. Does his statement cause a little trepidation in your heart? It does mine. So, what is the test? Do you remember from last week? The best test I know for checking our fruit is to ask how we are treating people around us.

Does the checkout clerk at the grocery store feel the negative emanations coming off of you? Or, conversely, do you try to cover it up with platitudes and she senses how fake and superficial you are? I know I have been guilty on both accounts. Or do you see folks with Jesus bumper stickers on their cars cutting off other people in traffic? Don’t you sometimes wish they would remove the stickers? What message is conveyed about our faith when our actions are self-oriented and inconsiderate?

And here is the big test. If you could be completely honest with yourself, what do you honestly think your family members would say about the things you do and the way you speak to them? Do your words edify or demean them? How are people going to believe in our Christianity if we do not bear good fruit?

Jesus said the Kingdom of God has been reserved for those who will produce its fruit. Actually, what he said is worse than that because he said he would take the Kingdom away from us and give it to those who will produce the fruit of the Kingdom. I think we should ask ourselves, and our Lord, what the fruit of his kingdom is. Secondly, we need to learn to walk by the Spirit daily so that he can lead us in the way.

Let’s take this fruit inspection seriously. If we evaluate our own fruit, of course with the Lord’s help, then we will not be disappointed. He will lead us in the path that will bless us and others.

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Milk or Meat?

On July 2, 2018   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Hebrews 5: 12

For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.

It is so easy to end up right here, still requiring the milk of the Word instead of the meat. In fact, sometimes it is comfortable. It is a place of little responsibility. Someone else has the responsibility of feeding us. Our job is to listen. We want people to sit under teaching ministries and absorb all they can. However, there comes a time when each of us must arise and put all of it into use. We must pursue maturity even as we continue to absorb the teachings of those who have gone before us.

Eventually, too, we should graduate to meat from milk. Why are our teachers still having to teach kindergarten? The writer of Hebrews says by this time we ought to be teaching and yet we are still suckling. It’s time to step up and grow up.

No one wants a 40 year old baby, not even our teachers. Of course, in the body of Christ there is no age specific parameter. Rather, we all begin knowing very little and grow in our knowledge and wisdom. After a while, though, we ought to be able to stand on our feet and walk. We no longer need someone to hold our hands every step of the way. We always have our elders for those issues which are outside our experience or knowledge but we ought to come to a place where we can handle the milk of the Word with grace.

This is not a call to arrogance or independence. It is encouragement to grow to the full maturity of the Word in Jesus, our Christ. It is time for some of us to stand up and use what we have been given. I believe in soaking in the Word and in teaching but I also believe in doing what we know to do without being coached day in and day out. As long as we stay babies, we have an excuse but God is calling us into maturity, where “I didn’t know,” will no longer suffice. Grow into your full stature while remaining humble and subject to instruction for it is not maturity if you cannot still receive instruction. That is called arrogance and it is dangerous. Rise up and be who you are destined to be. Quit playing at being a Christian and instead put on the full mantle of God in Christ Jesus.

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Fruit Check

On June 29, 2018   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

2 Samuel 10: 2 – 3

But when David’s servants came to the land of the Ammonites, the princes of the Ammonites said to Hanun their lord, “Do you think that David is honoring your father because he has sent consolers to you? Has David not sent his servants to you in order to search the city, to spy it out and overthrow it?”

So, we were talking about fruit yesterday. This is an interesting example from the Bible and certainly a circumstance that everyone has encountered. We’ll see how to evaluate it and how to deal with it.
Let’s begin with some background. The king of the Ammonites died and his son, Hanun, took his place. David sent his condolences to the son, “Then David said, ‘I will show kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, just as his father showed kindness to me.’ So David sent some of his servants to console him concerning his father,” (v. 2). Now look back at today’s verse. Some of the king’s entourage cast a negative pall over David’s act of kindness.

Have you ever noticed there always seems to be someone like this in the group? They turn everything into a negative, always have the negative spin. This, my beloved friends, is not the fruit of the Spirit. You can spot, immediately, that these people are not speaking from the Spirit of God. Whatsmore, their advice, almost always, leads to a bad result. In this case, it led to a war with the most powerful army and warrior in the region. They badly mistreated David’s envoys, so David sent his army. Hey, if you don’t like the messenger who brings the glad tidings, perhaps you will like those who carry the sword better.

People who always bring out the negative, are not speaking from a heart of love. We have to be wise, we need to use the discernment from the Holy Spirit, but we need not speak from fear or suspicion. Just confront the issues and deal with them openly and honestly. God cannot get a blessing to a person who sees negativity in everything. In this case they didn’t receive David so they were never going to benefit from his blessing either. Sometimes God is trying to get a blessing to us, but we act suspicious and turn it away. You can have faith and wisdom. We are meant to. If you have concerns, take them to your Father and let Him speak to the situation. It is a much better course of action.

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Show Me

On June 28, 2018   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Matthew 12: 33             Voice Translation

Good trees produce good fruits; bad trees produce bad fruits. You can always tell a tree by its fruits.

This is not a farming tip today, though I guess it is a good thing to know. Actually, Jesus spoke this verse in teaching that our words reveal our character. We can no more hide the health of our hearts than a bad tree can camouflage its bad fruit.

This goes to the heart of our evangelical message because it is hard to convince people about the good fruit of Christianity when they perceive rotten fruit on our trees. However, there is another group we should bear in mind because not all evangelism is to strangers. Let’s think about our families, friends, neighbors and co-workers as well. What are our actions and words saying to these people about Christianity?

In the United States, the state of Missouri is known as the “Show me state.” So, if we were all from Missouri we might say, “Show me your Christianity!” You see, if our words are not in keeping with our fruit they will have no weight. The fruit on our trees speaks much more loudly than our words. Our Christianity can best be measured in how we treat other people. People see how we treat each other and they judge all of Christianity by that simple measure, and perhaps rightfully so.

If Christianity is about anything, it is about loving others. This love, is an action verb. It’s not about having a feeling. It is about demonstrating and expressing kindness, gentleness and all the other character traits of our dear Father. Without the outward expression of selflessness and consideration for others, our Christian message fails.

Think about the children we are raising. They hear a lot of messages out there and we are trying to compete with our message of Christian love but are we modeling it? What does it do to an impressionable heart when you claim you are a Christian but do not produce fruit? I tell you it confuses our young people. Even more, it alienates them from the Christian message. And what is the Christian message if not love. But this is not a message which can be conveyed in words alone. It is in our actions, and, as I’ve said, most notably in the way we treat others. These children are saying very loudly to us, “Don’t tell me about your Christianity. Show me.”

I believe they have a right to expect Christianity to be demonstrated to them. They ought to see Christianity in action. Believe me, they will not follow someone who is not authentic and sincere. It is okay to make mistakes. We all do, but there is so much persuasion in admitting fault to your children, even in apologizing to them when we err.

I hope you will give this some thought and let it sink into your heart. We must produce good fruit if we want our Christian message to have any credence at all. The fruit is most noticeably demonstrated, and weighed, in how we treat others, including our children, friends, and associates. We evangelize every day with our actions. The question is, what message are we sending?

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Targeted

On June 27, 2018   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

2 Samuel 17: 2

And I will come upon him while he is weary and exhausted and will terrify him so that all the people who are with him will flee. Then I will strike down the king alone.

What does this have to do with our present day existence, you may ask. I have found this to be an instructive verse for daily life.

Many of us live in cultures that are rushed and hectic. That can pose a problem. First, it is hard to hear the leading of God when hurried and stressed. God speaks to our inner quiet. He does not shout into the chaos. That is why He told us to be still and experience Him as God (Psalm 46: 10).

The other issue, of course, is that our chaotic lifestyle paints bull’s eye targets on our foreheads and hearts. I noticed many years ago that when I was tired, weary and exhausted I was susceptible to attacks. If you don’t think your enemy is looking for opportunities to bother you, you are deceived. The enemy is always looking for someone he can devour (1 Peter 5:8). So, don’t volunteer to be his chow. When you are exhausted, you look like prey. And, you probably actually are. Your defenses go down.

The answer, of course, is to take time to rest your spirit, especially. Take that quiet walk with Jesus and let him give you the refreshing waters that he offered the Samaritan woman. Let him rejuvenate you in body, mind and spirit. He can restore you but only you can set the appointment with him. If “busy” is a word you use often to describe yourself, then you need a check-up from the neck up, as a friend of mine says. Change your priorities. Say no to some events or even to some people. Let’s be honest, as uncomfortable as that can be, we have none the less, grown very adept at saying “No,” to Christ. It makes me wonder, sometimes, why we call ourselves Christians since he seems to be rather low on our priority list. If you will put him back in first position, he will guide you in setting your priorities and he will give you strength for the things you need to do.

Please hear this with your heart. If you are too busy to slow down and spend some time with Jesus in the resting and restoration of your soul, then you are too busy, period. Shall we go so far as to say that busyness is a sin? I know it is a problem in my life and one I have to battle constantly. Sometimes I need to just kick back. Other times I have to get up an hour earlier so that I have time for things that need doing.

Don’t weary yourself with much doing and don’t train your children to do the same thing. Your spirit, your soul and your body need rest. Go to a yoga class, spend time sitting in your garden or take a walk along the water and pray. Make it a priority to care for your triune self. Guard against busyness and overworking yourself. Word hard when you work but then take time to allow Jesus to restore you. It is really important that you do. Otherwise, you become a target.

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Greetings

On June 26, 2018   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

1 Samuel 25: 6

Have a long life, peace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have.

Our Jewish siblings greet each other with “Shalom.” In this, apparently, simple greeting is a mountain of blessing. It is the essence of today’s verse.

King David sent messengers to a man named Nabal. David told his representatives to greet this man with the words from today’s verse. What an elegant and resourceful way to greet someone. David spoke a blessing on the man but he didn’t stop there. He blessed everyone in his household and all of his possessions.

The reading from the New American Standard shows David speaking peace to Nabal’s household. What we don’t see, is that the word “peace” is a loaded word. It means much, much more in the Hebrew context than calmness, or tranquility. The God’s Word translation reads, “May you live long! May you, your home, and all you have prosper!” Now that is a blessing! Wouldn’t you like everyone you meet to greet you like that?

I do not send this to you today merely as a history lesson though. I find these passages enlightening as they touch my mind and soul. What can we learn from this? How can it impact our lives? What would it be like if we said, “live a long good life” instead of the unbiblical, “take care?”

This Bible verse isn’t, perhaps, as instructive as some others but it does stimulate thought. So, in my closing I would like to say to you, “Be blessed in every area of your life, may all your belongings be blessed and everyone in your household. May you live a long beautiful life and prosper.”

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Long Life, Good Life

On June 25, 2018   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 34: 12 – 13             TPT

Do you want to live a long, good life, enjoying the beauty that fills each day? Then never speak a lie or allow wicked words to come from your mouth.

A friend of mine once remarked that we need to be reminded about the words of our mouth weekly if not daily. I so agree. We forget the power that is in our words and we forget the impact they have on our lives and the lives of those around us, like our families.

Don’t you like the idea of beauty filling every day? Of course, a long life and good life are attractive too. The psalmist here is David. He is teaching how to have a beautiful, long and good life. And, he ought to know. Never tell a lie, he tells us and don’t allow wicked words to come from your mouth. You have to decide for yourself what words are wicked and you may find that your definition changes over time but set a bar and make it your determined purpose to refrain from words you wouldn’t want to hear your mother saying. That is a decent test. I also think we can broaden our view by including vulgar words. There are terms we can use in place of words that may not be considered profanity but that are vulgar none the less. Civilization, in part, reveals itself in language. So I cast my vote for a more civilized lexicon, a vocabulary that gives honor to our Father instead of embarrassing Him.

What shall we say of lying? We all know, empirically, that it is wrong and yet do we refrain? Even from little white lies? I do not believe there is such a thing as a little lie. Either a statement is true or it is not. It may be phrased in such a way as to not be an outright lie but it isn’t the truth either. It is a deception and phrased in such a way as to be intentional misleading.

Here is the question I would like answered. Why do we lie? Is it that we are cowardly and cannot face up to the truth? Is it that we are embarrassed by our behaviors and thus attempt to paint a better picture of ourselves? Is it that we wish to avoid the natural consequences of our actions? I don’t know. Perhaps it is all of these and more but here is the bottom line, and I will not equivocate. Every lie is cooperation and companionship with Satan. Jesus is the truth. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth. There is a very clear line here. We either line up with Satan or we line up with Jesus. Which shall it be? If we want the good life, a long life filled with beauty, then we must make the difficult choice to live in truth. I know it’s hard but everything about following Jesus is a challenge when you live in the world. His way is not the world’s way.

David teaches how to live in God’s blessing. It means we must guard our mouths. This is likely one of the most difficult tasks many of us undertake, but life and blessing are in the words of our mouths. Like my friend, said, remind yourself today about your words. Clean up your language and have a good life.

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