05 Jul 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a tree of life, actions, bad fruit, barren, by their fruits you shall know them, corrupt tree, doctrine, earthly pilgrimage, eternal punishment, Euripides, evil fruit, external appearances, faithful, false prophets, fancy trappings, friends, glorified, good fruit, help of Jesus, Jesus, neighbours, obedient, outer gloss, righteous, Scrip-Bit land, substance, the fig tree, the motives of our hearts, the real deal, the straight and narrow road, the vine and the branches, tragedy, trusting, truth, wisdom, wise, wolves
Matthew 7:20. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
A fine Saturday morning to all you Friends and neighbours out there in Scrip-Bit land! Hope the Lord has been good to you, and even if He hasn’t, we need to remain trusting and faithful, staying obedient to His will, because that’s all a part of our ongoing testing and trial in our earthly pilgrimage.
Yes, my brethren, it’s oftimes a hard row we have to hoe, but please remember that with the ever-present help of Jesus, we CAN DO IT, and do it productively too.
Now here’s an interesting quote I read recently. It’s attributed to the great Greek writer of tragedy Euripides (480-406 B.C), who along with Sophocles and Aeschylus transformed the Greek tragedy scene. And the quote simply says: ‘Judge a tree from its fruit; not from its leaves.’
And there’s much truth to that statement Friends, for in these modern times there’s so much flash and fanciness that one is never sure about the substance contained therein. And we tend to judge too much by outer appearances, without sufficient knowledge or information regarding the people or situations. That’s why we fall for all sorts of flashy and fraudulent schemes and people, often to our severe detriment.
In far too many instances nowadays, the real deal is hidden under all the outer gloss, to prevent us from knowing the truth, the real character within. That’s why God judges us by the motives of our hearts rather than the external appearances and actions we present. However, we mere mortals cannot see into the hearts of our fellow man, that’s why we have to be exceedingly careful of what is shown to us on the outside, and try our best to evaluate the real motives and character before we let down our guard.
That brings to mind Jesus and the fig tree. (Matt.21:18-19) When He passed by hungry, it was full of leaves but no fruit, which, according to the seasonal cycle, it should have borne by then. The external appearance of the fig tree was desirable to look at, but inside it contained nothing for creating fruit; it was barren.
Likewise, using Euripides quote, a lot of trees and people can look beautiful on the outside, with many leaves and fancy trappings, but in actual fact, they are quite barren inside, producing nothing of any real value. That’s why Jesus, after telling the disciples about the two ways of life; the straight and narrow path that leads to Him, and the wide and destructive one that leads to death, (Matt.7:13-14) afterwards went to great lengths to warn them about false prophets.
‘Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening (ravenous) wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil (bad) fruit.
A good tree cannot bring forth evil (bad) fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.’ (Matt.7:15-20)
What powerful, meaningful and enlightening scripture Friends!
And the scholars explain it thus: ‘7:16-20. A true test of a prophet was the conformity of his doctrine to the Scriptures (cf. 1 cor.14:37; Deut.13:1-5). Their fruits refers not only to actions of their lives, but also to the doctrines they proclaim. The two trees are contrasted in relation to the fruit they produce. Every good tree bringeth forth good fruit consistently, while a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit continually.
Therefore, the normal and consistent production of fruit, whether good or evil, in a person’s life will bear evidence whether or not that life is of God. Verse 19 illustrates the unfruitful life of the unregenerate who is cast into the fire, a picture of eternal punishment in hell.’
Yes my brethren, all of that also applies to us, to the way we live our lives; either as producers of good or bad fruit. However, as disciples, as representatives of Jesus, we are expected to bring forth GOOD FRUIT! And not simply good fruit, but also MUCH good fruit! Jesus reminded the disciples of that when talking about the vine and the branches, where they could do nothing without Him. (John 15:1-5)
‘If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them and cast them into the fire; and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto (for) you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear MUCH fruit, so shall ye be my disciples.’ (John 15:7-8)
Yes Friends, Jesus expects His disciples to bear MUCH fruit! So the question is, are we bearing fruit? And if we are bearing fruit, is it good or bad? And furthermore, if we are bearing good fruit like we ought to, how much fruit are we bearing? That’s an individual situation for us to sit and ponder today, my people.
Let’s hope that all God’s people are bearing much good fruit. And if we aren’t, then hopefully we’ll soon come to our senses, and with Jesus’ help, start bearing exceedingly abundant good fruit.
Now let’s close with another statement of Jesus on the subject of good and corrupt fruit. ‘Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt (bad), and his fruit corrupt (bad): for the tree is known by his fruit.’ (Matt.12:33)
Oh Friends, what kind of tree does our fruit show us to be eh? Much LOVE!
…the fruit of the righteous is a tree of life…and he that winneth souls…is wise… (Prov.11:30)
20 Nov 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Abraham, action, any form and fashion, barren, Beersheba, Bible, blow up in our faces, bondwoman, breed bitterness, change, cherished hopes and dreams, courage, descendant, difference, distressing, Everett M Dirkson, evil one, faith, fear not, firstborn, folly, God opened her eyes, godly life, Good Book, gospel truth, grievous, Hagar, handle change, heartaches, heir, holy spirit, human animal, impatience, Isaac, Ishmael, jealousies, jealousy, Jews, laughing, leads and guides, life, lift up her voice, make a nation, mocking, Muslims, off kilter, pettiness, Philippines, reaction, resentment, Sarah, scoffing, Serenity Prayer, static thing, talk to the Lord, think wisely, thunderstorms in North America, tornadoes, trivial things, trust, turmoil, typhoon, wandered in the wilderness, wept, wisdom
Genesis 21:13. And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed (descendant).
Oh Friends, the ole fella has a rather profound statement to make on this chilly, November morning! (smile)
And don’t worry, it’s not from me, but is attributed to an American politician, Everett M. Dirkson (1896-1969), a U.S. senator and Congressman, a member of the Republican Party. And he’s reputed to have said this famous line: ‘Life is not a static thing.’
And isn’t that the gospel truth Friends? It surely is! For change is one of the few things we can count on to occur in our lives. It’s a constant; one that sometimes comes slowly, but at other times quite quickly and dramatically.
Now most of us can handle the slow, sort of unnoticeable changes, but it’s the big, quick ones we don’t like, because they suddenly throw everything off kilter, our calm and peace are shattered, often without warning. Note the deadly typhoon in the Philippines last week, and the destructive tornadoes and thunderstorms in North America a couple days ago.
But my people, to live a full, interesting and godly life, we must be able to handle change in any form and fashion it comes. Many of us pray the Serenity Prayer when things start going haywire.
‘God grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change; the Courage to change the things I can; and the Wisdom to know the difference.’
Yes Friends, it is a sensible prayer, but along with it comes the necessity to have the faith and trust that whatever and wherever God’s Holy Spirit leads and guides us, that’s what we ought to do, and where we ought to go. It’s all impossible without strong faith and trust my brethren!
That brings us to our Bit. ‘And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed (descendant).’
Now what’s happening here eh? It’s simple; like what we were just talking about, families going through tough changes, which eventually breed bitterness and resentment.
Hear the Good Book tell it. ‘And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking (scoffing, laughing). Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.
And the thing was very grievous (distressing) in Abraham’s sight because of his son. And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice (listen to her); for in Isaac shall thy seed be called. And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed (descendant).’ (Gen.21:9-13)
Yuh see mih breddren, even in the most godly and trusting families, the evil one often manages to get a foothold. Now what did Sarah expect from Ishmael eh, when all his cherished hopes and dreams of being Abraham’s firstborn and heir were shattered by Isaac’s arrival?
The poor lad did the little he could, mock and laugh. But that drove Sarah crazy with resentment and jealousy, and she then entreats Abraham to kick out Hagar and Ishmael. What a change from when she was barren and entreating him to go in and lie with Hagar. Now that she has a son though, she doesn’t want anyone else hanging around.
Ah Lord eh! The pettiness and jealousies of the human animal! And what of poor Abraham? Obviously Sarah’s request didn’t sit well with him, but the Lord saw his distress and told him it was okay. For though Isaac would be his official heir, Ishmael would also become great, because he was Abraham’s child.
I don’t know if that quieted or relieved Abraham’s distress, but the Good Book tells us: ‘And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle (skin) of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child (youth), and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.
And the water was spent (used up) in the bottle (skin), and she cast (placed) the child under one of the shrubs. And she went and sat down over against (opposite) him a good way off, as it were a bow shot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against (opposite) him, and lift up her voice, and wept.
And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is. Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in (with) thine hand; for I will make him a great nation.
And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went and filled the bottle (skin) with water, and gave the lad to drink. And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer. And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.’ (Gen.21:14-21)
Ah mih people, yuh see what happens when we don’t have the patience, trust and faith to wait on God and His promises! Sarah’s impatience and Abraham’s folly for listening to her to go in and lie with Hagar, eventually caused all sorts of turmoil in the family. A turmoil that unfortunately still exists today, between the Jews, descendants of Isaac, and the Muslims, descendants of Ishmael.
However Friends, time and space have run out, so we’ll end on that note. And please, let’s all be careful of our actions nuh, let’s think wisely before we act, talk to the Lord first, because we never know when some apparently trivial thing will blow up in our faces, and cause substantial changes and heartaches in our lives. Much LOVE!
…for each action…there’s always a reaction…so let’s seriously consider the reaction…before committing the action…
25 Oct 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: alive and kicking, baptizing them, barren, basic purpose on earth, Beatitudes, believe and accept, best interests, blessed, bounden duty, busy schedules, buy wine and milk without money, dear life, desires, divine mercy, each and every day, emotions, evangelize the world, exalted, fallen man, feast, fellowship, filled with hope and faith, fleshly lusts, form and fashion, Friday chant, fun, furthering God's glorious kingdom, generosity, generous help, God's bountiful earth, God's free offer of mercy, good things, grief of spirit, holding out the carrot, hope and faith, howl, hunger and thirst, hungry, I am with you always, jesus name, Jesus' Mother, John the Baptist, joy of heart, light our path, magnanimous god, Mary, mercy, modicum of circumspection, new resolution, offered for free, one more day, prisoners of hope and faith, promises of God, put down, read and spell, rebellious, rejoice, relaxation, rest, rich, righteousness., scriptures, scrumptious delights, show us the way, sorrow of heart, spiritual pregnancy, spiritually hungry and thirsty, teach all nations, technological toys, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, Thanks Lord, the end of the world, the Father, the Great Commission, the Holy Ghost, the Lord's servants, the Magnificat, the SON, true wisdom, try and change the world, wail, warning words, week of work, weekends, wonder of wonders
Matthew 5:6. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Oh Friends, one more day, one more day we’re alive and kicking on God’s bountiful earth, filled with hope and faith!
And we’re filled with so much hope and faith in the wonderful promises of Jesus Christ and Almighty God, that we can truly call ourselves lifelong prisoners of hope and faith!
Wow! What a wonderful body, the church of Christ, we belong to eh! And the best part of it all is that today’s Friday, the last day of the workweek before the upcoming glorious weekend.
And to that news, there’s a sterling shout: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday yes, and massa work soon done! Thank God for Friday and the weekend! Glory Hallelujah!’
And Friends, before we run off and spoil the weekend by doing too many ungodly and worldly things, let’s chant our Friday Chant, which will hopefully keep us in check, show us the way, and light our path.
As one grateful voice now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through. Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Yes my people, we need to have a general modicum of circumspection in life, but especially on the weekends, where we tend to get easily lost in and taken up with fleshly lusts.
Oh, and please remember that resolution we made over the last couple days, to try and change the world in some form and fashion, each and every day. We really shouldn’t have to be reminded of it, because it’s our bounden duty, for some of Jesus’ last words to His disciples was to go out and evangelize the world.
And He gave them this Great Commission: ‘Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.’ (Matt.28:19-20)
And there you have our basic purpose on this earth my brethren! So trying to change the world is not a new thing. And in any case we can’t change much, if anything, without the desires and emotions contained in our Bit, truly beating in our hearts, minds, bodies and souls. ‘Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.’
Yeh people, it’s the same Beatitude from yesterday, because there were a few scriptures I wanted to include and couldn’t, for it would have made the message exceedingly long. Yuh see mih people, all yuh see how I’m looking out for your best interests, keeping in mind your busy schedules! (smile)
And the first scripture I want to share comes from Mary, the Mother of Jesus. Even as a young girl, but filled with the Holy Spirit, she knew about hungering and thirsting after righteousness. We see that after she was told about her upcoming spiritual pregnancy and went to visit her cousin Elizabeth, only to find her, who was once considered barren, pregnant with John the Baptist.
Thereafter, in her song of praise, ‘The Magnificat,’ she proudly and confidently proclaims: ‘He hath put down the mighty from their seats (thrones), and exalted them of low degree (the lowly). He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away. He hath holpen (helped) his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy.’ (Luke 1:52-54)
Ah Friends, even when we don’t remember or deserve God’s mercy, it’s still there held out to us!
Meanwhile, Isaiah, in God’s free offer of mercy to all, enthusiastically declares: ‘Ho, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.’ (Is.55:1)
Oh Friends, our God is unmatched in His generosity! From way back when He’s been offering those who were spiritually hungry and thirsty to come to His magnificently laid table and feast on His scrumptious delights FOR FREE!
What a most magnanimous God we serve and worship, my brethren! His mercy and salvation are open to all; you just have to believe and accept it. No other supposed deity has ever offered, or can ever offer such a wondrous opportunity for fallen man!
And we’ll close with some more poignant, but grave warning words from Isaiah. ‘Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, my servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry: behold, my servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty: behold, my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed: Behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart, but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall howl (wail) for vexation (grief) of spirit.’ (Is.65:13-14)
Oh Friends, I can’t put it any simpler or better than that. As the old people would say, the Lord’s reading and spelling for us there. And sadly, nothing has changed after so many thousands of years; man is still rebellious, possibly more so, especially with his new found technological toys.
But wonder of wonders, our great God is still holding out the carrot to us, it’s now up to us to take it and show true wisdom. Please, let’s all do that today nuh. Much LOVE!
…when divine mercy is held out… is offered for free…a prisoner of faith and hope…wisely grasps and holds on tightly to it…holds on for dear life…
27 Aug 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: acquired attributes, actively seek God's face, all knees shall bow, all tongues confess, Amen, attuned to Almighty God, barren, be of good courage, be strong and courageous, believer in Jesus, calmness, challenges of life, charles stanley, confidence building words, covered on all fronts, diligence, do it afraid, enabling strength, encouragement, eveidence of things not seen, ever-faithful, evil world, expectation, faith, fear of contradiction, fearful, fearlessness, fertile, firmness, focused, fruit of the land, good courage, gospel truth, hebrews 11, heritage of god's servants, holy spirit, illuminating psalm, internal strength, internally strong, Jesus Christ, Jesus christ is Lord, Joyce Meyer, last trump, lord is my light and my salvation, LOVE, meet danger, my light and my salvation, no weapon formed against us will prosper, omnipotent god, opposition, oppressed, our prayer, patient faith, perseverance, Praise the Lord, psalm 27, purposeful anticipation, quality of mind or spirit, rational, recantation, righteousness., son jesus christ, stay calm, strengthen thy heart, strong faith, struggles, substance of things hoped for, take us home, the Promised Land, ungodly world, wait in faith, wait on the Lord, weakness, wicked prospering, wicked world, wishy-washy
Psalm 27:14. Wait (in faith) on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait (in faith), I say, on the Lord.
Aye mih Friends, these days are going by so quickly, it’s hard to keep up, to stay level with them! Look, just yesterday was Monday, now it’s already Tuesday today! (smile)
The days truly seem to be hurtling by faster and faster. But don’t worry my people, because if you’re a believer in Jesus Christ, you have it covered on all fronts: we have the Holy Spirit here on earth to lead and guide us aright, and when the final trump sounds, Jesus will come and take us home with Him.
Wow! What a magnificent and magnanimous God we serve and worship! And all God’s people gave a mighty and joyful shout of ‘Praise the Lord! Praise His Son, Jesus Christ, to whom all knees shall bow, and all tongues shall gratefully confess and acknowledge that He is Lord of all!’
But unfortunately, despite all the coverage, I know that many believers are still struggling, are still oppressed and fearful, especially when we see the wicked prospering. However my brethren, though it’s hard, we cannot afford to look too closely at what others are doing to progress in this evil, ungodly world. We have to stay fully attuned to Almighty God and His dictates.
That’s why Bruh David in this explosive and illuminating psalm, superscripted, ‘the Lord is my light and my salvation, ends it with the wise, encouraging and confidence building words of Today’s Bit: ‘Wait (in faith) on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait (in faith), I say, on the Lord.’
Please note Friends, Bruh David tells us to do two things, and a third will result. First we have to wait on the Lord, and that means waiting with strong, solid faith, not a wishy-washy kind of waiting, but a conscious and purposeful anticipation and expectation.
For as Hebrews 11 tells us: ‘Now faith is the substance (realization) of things hoped for, the evidence (conviction) of things not seen.’ (Hebrews 11:1) For if we can see something, there’s no reason to yet hope for or have faith or expect it to come to pass.
And then he tells us to be of good courage. Hn! Now what does that much used and maligned word mean eh? Here’s a definition from Uncle Charles (Charles Stanley) which some of you might have seen on His programme In Touch some weeks ago. He defines COURAGE as: ‘The quality of mind or spirit enabling us to meet danger, opposition or the challenges of life with fearlessness, firmness and calmness.’
And that’s as good a definition as we’ll ever get my brethren! Courage is truly the ability to stand strong when everything seems to be falling down around us. It helps us stay calm, rational and focused.
Now that doesn’t mean we won’t be afraid, but like Sister Joyce (Joyce Meyer) likes to say, ‘Do it afraid.’ And that’s possible because the faith in God that Bruh David talks about will strengthen and enable us to stand up to whatever difficult or fearful situation that comes against us.
And my brethren, in times of fear and trouble, please remember this awesome promise of our omnipotent and ever-faithful God: ‘No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgement thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of (from) me, saith the Lord.’ (Is.54:17)
And that’s gospel truth Friends! It’s a promise we can stand upon without fear of contradiction or recantation!
Oh my fellow believers in Christ, our God has been encouraging His people to be strong and courageous ever since time began. Listen to what Moses told the twelve spies that were sent into the Promised Land to reconnoitre it.
‘And what the land is, whether it be fat or lean (fertile or barren), whether there be wood therein, or not. And be ye of good courage, and bring of the fruit of the land. Now the time was the time of the first ripe grapes.’ (Num.13:20)
Yeh mih breddren, whatever we do, we need to do with faith and courage, for this wicked world doesn’t take kindly to weakness. Yuh see how it takes unnecessary advantage of the poor, the sick and needy? It has no mercy whatsoever on those who are not at least internally strong.
And the only way to get that internal strength is through faith in Almighty God! Yes Friends, that strength and courage we need are acquired attributes. We have to consciously go after them with much diligence and perseverance.
And having said all of that this Tuesday morning, now let’s actively seek the face of our great and wonderful God, before we go out to face the enemy hordes, asking Him for that enabling strength and courage that comes to all who wait in patient faith on Him. That’s our prayer for this morning my brethren.
And all God’s people declared a loud, faithful and purposeful, ‘Praise the Lord! Praise His Holy Name! Amen!’ and again we say, ‘Amen!’
Much much LOVE my fellow believers in Christ Jesus!
…only as believers stand and wait on the Lord…in patient faith…shall He strengthen them…
P.S. Even though the Bit’s a tad late, there’s no reason to complain about its length today. It’s pretty short. Even I was amazed. (smile) Much LOVE!
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