Genesis 20-22, Matthew 7:15-29, Psalm 9, Proverbs 2:16-22

Genesis 20-22, Matthew 7:15-29, Psalm 9, Proverbs 2:16-22

 

            When I was in middle school my youth group went to Lone Tree Bible Ranch in Capitan, NM, (I know I have mentioned this before.)  As a way to get all of us campers to keep the cabins clean during the week, we would have cabin themes everyday.  They inspected the rooms for cleanliness, but also judged us on the themes.  One day we had to decorate the room around our favorite food group, or favorite food.  I remember one of the guys cabins thought spaghetti would be a great idea, but turned out to be a total disaster and mess.  Us girls had a simple display in the middle of the room using water balloons and a Bible opened to Galatians 5:22-23, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control."  We won the contest that day J 

 

In today's reading Jesus is speaking a warning against false prophets.  He tells us that we will know who they are "by their fruit."  Matthew 7:17 continues with "Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit."  In the last week we have seen the image of a tree.  We saw it on January 1^st and on Sunday morning at church, both looking at the image of a tree from Psalm 1.  We are called to be mighty trees…and here the call is extended to be a fruit-bearing tree.  So let's look at this fruit:  love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  This is it.  This is what separates us from the wolves wearing sheep's clothing.  I'm challenged by this.  Am I bearing this fruit consistently?  Would my customers, passer byers, drivers on I-95 look at me and see any of these attributes shining?  Are my branches healthy and bearing his fruit?  Are there some dead branches?  I know the answer…I know I don't live these consistently…continually.  I am flawed, I am a sinner…I am impatient, lacking joy (my partners at work have to remind me to smile sometimes,) I'm not always kind when I should be, my fists are still clinched = not always at peace. 

 

In Genesis we saw Abraham and Sarah and saw their messiness and shortcomings too.  In my Bible I wrote words like "incest, jealousy, liar, deceiver, and uncompassionate."  I look at this and I see how God always uses us even though we are sinful and flawed.  He uses and blesses us when we are faithful (like Abraham with Isaac,) loving, self-controlled and  gentle.  As followers of Christ we are called to live differently from the world and in Psalm 9 David worships God by "praising, telling, being glad, and rejoicing." I challenge you and I am challenged myself to live a way that people will see my fruit.  Maybe each week we can focus on ways we can love, have JOY, be at PEACE and show peace.  Ways we can be forbearing (tolerant and patient), and so on.  We are called to live as might trees, fruit bearing trees.  Be strong.  Be healthy.  Guard your hearts.