2016-10-07
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Last week, I was led to begin looking at the interactions between mankind and God over man’s history to better understand the meaning of the word fruit, as it is used on COL 1: 10. Metaphorically, fruit is to bring forth good deeds, deeds that are Kingdom-building and which please God. It’s use this way is suggested in Christ’s words of MT 12: 33, “Make a tree good, and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad, and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit.” He goes on to say that good fruit won’t come from a bad tree, and bad fruit won’t come from a good tree. In the course of deciding what to do about Israel’s and Judah’s disobedience during the time of Isaiah, God uttered, in IS 65: 8-9, “This is what the Lord says: ‘As when juice is still found in a cluster of grapes and men say, ‘Don’t destroy it, there is yet some good in it,’ so will I do in behalf of My servants; I will not destroy them all. I will bring forth descendants from Jacob, and from Judah those who will possess My mountains; My chosen people will inherit them and there will My servants live.’” This is why Israel remains, although all her famous enemies have perished so far, except the Arab nations.
We learn, in RO 11: 17-24, that believing Gentiles will be “in-grafted” to the cultured olive tree (which symbolizes the line of progeny from the traditionally Jewish forefathers). The olive tree here symbolizes those who obey God, pleasing Him. Those “branches” which are broken off, are Jews, who reject God and His teaching, thus displeasing Him. Faithfully obedient believers are said to be producing fruit. God has made His will abundantly clear, in HE 5: 12-14 and 6: 7-8, “In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elements of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food. Anyone who lives on milk, still being an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But, solid [spiritual food] is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil…Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned.” These are clear warnings against falling away.
One of my favorite passages where God makes His will clear is Christ’s words in JN 15: 5-6, “I am the Vine and you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in Me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up and thrown into the fire and burned.” In a section of the Scriptures where there is a discussion of false teachers and their destruction, in 2 PET 2: 20-22, once again God’s will is made clear. “If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were in the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. Of them the proverbs are true: ‘A dog returns to its vomit’ [PR 26:11] and ‘a sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud.’”
1 JN 5: 16 also gives us clear direction. “If anyone sees his brother commit a sin that doesn’t lead to death, he should pry and God will give him life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that he should pray about that.” (This is a clear reference to the one unforgivable sin, mentioned in LK 12: 10, a sin against the Holy Spirit, which is serial unbelief).
PRAYER: Dearest Father, we acknowledge Your wisdom and unconditional love shown toward us. You are supreme and sovereign in our lives. As we rehearse our history with You, we can see the many ways You teach us the importance of being righteous and of faithfully obeying Your teaching. Countless times You reach down to help us, in response to our prayers. What great patience and endurance You show is listening to all our prayers and answering them! As we see the lessons of our history with You, we see clearly Your will for our lives and what we can learn from the mistakes we have made. Nothing is more onerous in our lives than sinning, which puts distance between You and us. You adopted us into Your family [RO 8: 14-16]; You sent Your only Son, Jesus, to the cross, so that all who believe in Him can have everlasting life [JN 3: 16]; You resurrected Him from death to eternal life “as the Firstborn of many brothers,” giving us the hope You want us to have [RO 8: 29]. Through giving us the Law, You showed us what pleases You and what doesn’t [EX 24: 7-11]. Through the Atonement of Your Son and our faith in Him, You gave us salvation, justification, and eternal forgiveness for our sins. What greater gifts could be given? We thank and praise You for all You are and all You do, in the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: Our examination of man’s history interacting with God and vice versa continues. Throughout this study, we will see how God leads us to live righteously when we obey Him and how He causes us to produce spiritual fruit in our lives. Not too long from the time that I’m writing this devotion, my husband and I will be moving out of state and to a completely different part of the country. Of course we have mixed emotions—sorry to leave friends of 25 years and yet excited about serving a new congregation and finally, after 34 years apart, living amongst relatives. We will hopefully be using the talents God gave us to bear fruit in this new congregation. God wants us to use our talents, as it has been revealed in PS 19: 18. “The Lord’s instruction is right; it makes our hearts glad. His commands shine brightly, and they give us light.” He has told us, in PR 16: 3, “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and He will establish your plans.” How remarkable it is that the Father sends us the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit leads us to make decisions and take actions that please our Deity. God reveals Himself in our daily lives, as He has in ours. PS 107: 43, “Those who are wise will take all this to heart; they will see in our history the faithful love of the Lord.” Join me in offering utmost praise and thanks to the Lord for His unending love! Praise be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2016. All Rights Reserved.
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