January 31, 2024 - Is Your Fruit Good?

Exodus 12:14-13:16

Matthew 20:29-21:22

Psalm 25:16-22

Proverbs 6:12-15

One Year Bible Daily Reading - One Year Bible Online

Matthew 21:15 But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant.

16 “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him.

“Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read,

“‘From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise’?”

Children recognized Jesus as the Messiah and found it easy to shout praises to Him. I wonder if it is because their young hearts and minds don't have concern for what people might think. The chief priests and teachers of the law very much thought about appearances. That is what they lived by. The appearance of righteousness was what mattered. They gave no concern to the heart and the intent of the law but on the outward actions. We can learn from the children how to praise the Lord. Shout it out without regard for who is listening or watching. Sing out the truth of who your Lord and Saviour is. You may start out doing it because you know you should but if you ask the Spirit to open your heart to the truth of the words and to allow you to experience praise like a small child He will.

Matthew 21:19 Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered.

When I read this I thought about bearing good fruit. This tree was created to bear fruit. But it didn't. The result of that was that it withered and died. There are many things needed for a tree to bear good fruit. Good nutritious soil, the right amount of water and sunshine, pruning and tending. This tree was clearly lacking in these things because it bore no fruit. We too were created to bear fruit for the Kingdom. Good fruit. To do that we too must be properly tended and nourished. We not long ago read the parable of Sower (1/19/24) and talked about tending the soil. But to produce good fruit it is not just the soil. It is also the sunshine and watering and the pruning. We need the SON to shine on us and for His Living Water to water us. And we need the pruning which is removing dead branches (stuff) and sometimes some undead branches so that there is room to grow and so the nutrients and water can get to all the fruit so it is good. The more time you spend seeking Jesus in a personal way and bowing down before Him When we surrender our hearts, souls, minds and bodies to Jesus we are putting ourselves in a position to receive His light and water without fail and we will produce the fruit that we were created to produce. But for that fruit to be good fruit we need to prune out things in our lives. Things that are not good for us but also things that look good but are really just using up our nourishment and energy keeping our fruit from reaching it's best.

We need to have time in our lives to be still with Jesus so we can fully receive His light and water. Running around doing things even good things that look like fruit because it is good and right. Things of integrity and uprightness. Things of love and kindness. If we are not being directed by God by humbly seeking Jesus in those things, then is the fruit really "good"? It may look nice on the outside but what kind of taste will it leave on the tongue of Jesus. I wrote on the 19th "We too can tend to the soil of our hearts. By reading the word of God, praying which means talking and listening, and spending time with other believers." I think my soil is in pretty good shape but God may be telling me that I need to spend more time being still at the foot of Jesus soaking in His light and drinking of His living water. To do that I need to prune some things out of my life so that the fruit that He created me to produce can receive all that is needs to be good fruit. I am a busy person and a lot of my busyness looks like good things but this is not the first recent message to be still before Jesus that I have gotten recently. Pastor Amy Callander from Park Hill First Church of God | Parker PA | 3314 Lime Plant Road, Parker, PA, USA (parkhillcog.org) spoke at our Women's Conference and in her breakout session we looked at P.R.A.I.S.E. I am sharing a video of the last half of her session because I think it goes with what God is saying to me here. Please take the time to listen.

Yes, Lord I am listening.

Psalm 25:21 May integrity and uprightness protect me,

    because my hope, Lord, is in you.

May my integrity and uprightness be because of my hope in you Lord and not it my hope in my own decisions and ideas of what I should do.