Friday, April 23, 2010

How is your fruit?

Mark 11:12-14
The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it.

Mark 11:20-25
In the morning, as they went along, the saw the fig tree withered from the roots. Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!”
“Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go throw yourself into the sea, ‘ and does not doubt it in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”

In Matthew 7, Christ tells us that we can judge a tree by it’s fruit. He directs us that we can recognize those who are truly in Christ the same way. What kind of fruit are you bearing? Is it good fruit or bad fruit? Are you bearing any at all?
We are to walk in faith. We are to pray and believe. If we are truly walking in the light of the Lord it will show in our lives. People will know you by your fruit. The Lord does as well. He sees your actions and He sees your heart. There is no fooling the Lord. He knows when you are acting in faith and when you are going through the motions. We are called to have no doubt in our hearts, but to believe fully and we will be blessed. God loves His children and wants the best for them.
There is another piece to the puzzle. God calls for our obedience. Christ directs us to forgive others when we pray. How often are we wronged? It can be anything from someone cutting you off in traffic to outright hurt or theft. Our part is the same. We are called to forgive. Sometimes it is easier than others. Remember what Jesus tells us in the Lord’s prayer.

Matthew 6: 12 “Forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors”

Luke 11:4 “Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.”

We are given direction, a promise, and a standard. God will hold us to the standard and He will keep his promise. We simply have to follow His directions, as difficult as that can sometimes be. It all comes back to faith. We, as Christians have to believe. We have to seek God with our whole hearts. Do not fret, for He is listening and He will respond.

Think on it and pray about it.

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