Matthew 7:16-20 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a corrupt tree bears evil fruit. A good tree cannot bear evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and cast into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
I saw a funny meme about fruit today that made me think of this passage.
Most people reading this passage tend to focus on the fruit that is produced. Sure, that’s important. But if you dig deeper, you’ll see that the Lord is looking at the tree itself. The fruit? It just shows what kind of tree is growing.
The fruit merely demonstrates the quality of the tree. We have all encountered this: there are trees whose fruit is healthy and delicious, and there are trees whose fruit is scarcely edible or even useless.
Remember, it’s not the fruit that defines the tree — it’s the tree that defines the fruit. A tree that produces good fruit is firmly rooted in soil that provides adequate water and nourishment. Likewise, those of us whose lives are rooted in and dedicated to Yeshua (Jesus) produce good fruit. Others who try to produce good works for “religious” reasons or to prove or approve of themselves may produce fruit, but it will be much inferior.
When our focus is on Yeshua, and our lives are centered in Him, the fruit we produce will not be from self-effort, and its quality will be excellent…because it is simply the produce of a good tree, properly rooted and fully nourished.
So, stop trying to produce good works in your strength. Just tap into the source of your life, Yeshua, allowing the sap of His Spirit to flow through you – and then watch what GREAT FRUIT He is continually able to produce through you!
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy Devotions. This devotional was originally published on Worthy Devotions and was reproduced with permission.
How to display the above article within the Worthy Suite WordPress Plugin.
[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]Yeshua (Jesus) knew the heart of every man and woman. As a totally pure and righteous human being, His experience of every other sin-filled person is really impossible for us to imagine. He knew that every repulsive thought, attitude and action of every person in the world would soon fall on Him, and that He would carry them…away. And so Yeshua did not come with a spirit of condemnation — but with a spirit of grace and truth.
As we are entering some of the most turbulent times in history, we’ve been receiving an unbelievable amount of email expressing concern about the future. But I want to tell you a little something – the future is VICTORY!
How often, in all the issues we have to deal with talking with people, we know or we feel we are right; our idea, our position, our interpretation is it, and we’re ready to fight for it…
Life wears us down. We live in a world of relentless motion, pressure, and performance. Yeshua (Jesus) doesn’t deny this. Instead, He speaks directly to those who are “weary and heavy-laden.” The Greek for “weary” (kopiao) means utterly worn out—soul-tired, not just physically fatigued. The burdens He mentions aren’t only external tasks but inward baggage: guilt, shame, expectations, and hidden wounds. Yeshua’s call isn’t merely an invitation to stop—it’s a call to come. He offers what no one else can: rest that restores.
When we read the promises of God, we must read them the way we ourselves want to be heard—in full context. Just as we expect others to understand our words in light of what we’ve said before, God expects us to interpret His promises in light of all He has revealed in His Word.
A few days ago, I shared a quote from B.J. Willhite, and today I want to delve deeper into his powerful insight. He wrote, “The law of prayer is the highest law of the universe—it can overcome the other laws by sanctioning God’s intervention. When implemented properly, the law of prayer permits God to exercise His sovereignty in a world under the dominion of a rebel with free will, in a universe governed by natural law.”
When God spoke to Abram, the command was clear yet profoundly personal. The Hebrew phrase lech lecha carries a dual meaning: “go forth” and “go for yourself.” This journey wasn’t just a physical relocation; it was a spiritual pilgrimage—a call to walk out God’s will and to walk into his divine inheritance. Abram’s journey was not merely about distance but about destiny.