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!
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]Continuing from yesterday concerning storms; not sure we can place Noah’s flood, a worldwide conflagration, in that category, but if there really is such a thing as a “Perfect Storm”, that was…and Noah and his family were, anyway, prepared. And it’s been said that we are in the recapitulated, “Days of Noah”; [Matthew 24:37].
Our relationship with the Lord is repeatedly expressed as a marriage. And human marriage has been expressed as a type of the Divine union of Messiah and His Bride. When a man and a woman are joined together in a marital union, the two together acquire a new level of strength according to this word. In that context, here in Israel and elsewhere, it is also said that, “A threefold cord is not easily broken.” But where is the third cord?
People often ask me why I so enjoy Shabbat and the rest it affords and why I preach on it so often. Some people think it’s a “legalistic” attitude, but actually, I’m simply being relational. They need to remember that our relationship with the Lord Yeshua is bridal; it’s a marital relationship. [; ; ]
This story is such a powerful illustration of testing and faith that I can’t help but speak about it over and over again. How the Lord could sleep in a boat in a violent storm speaks volumes about His own self-confidence and His natural capacity to disappear from the scene so He can check how well His disciples have apprehended His miraculous power, and really trust Him. He doesn’t spare them one tiny bit from the sense of real and imminent danger. The storm is ferocious, the waves gigantic, the boat really is being overwhelmed with water, nearly swamped, the situation truly is life-threatening, and He’s out, quietly refreshing Himself in dreamland.
During the past two weeks, I’ve received numerous emails responding to our understanding of Israel in the Bible, clearly indicating a need for a more comprehensive explanation of my point of view. This will require a bit more space than …
Yeshua (Jesus) is described as the “image of the invisible God” [; ], that is, God, manifesting Himself in a visible, tangible form, a human form in whom dwells all the fullness of Deity [; ; ], equal with God before Creation [; ], but choosing to be emptied of His glory for the purpose of incarnating as a flesh and blood human being on Earth; [].
Among the mighty men of David were those of the tribe of Issachar whose special gift was their understanding of the times, a gift of prophetic insight; and this was such a precious gift because included in their discernment was the ability to know how to apply it. In our time prophecy is everywhere. Yeshua (Jesus) warned us that there would be false prophets in the last days, especially approaching His second coming, and He said the prophecy would be so subtle and the false signs so powerful that even the elect might be deceived if that were possible; [Mt. 24:24] While it’s clear to many of us that we’re living in prophetic days, there are also millions who have no clue of the current times and seasons.