Bearing Good Fruit

John 15:1-8 KJV; We cannot bear good fruit without abiding in Christ.

Profitable Or Unprofitable Fruitful Or Fruitless

Matthew 25:14-30 KJV: 25th Sunday after Pentecost; What will you do? Will you use the talents; the gifts, that God has given you to grow and edify the whole church in heaven and on earth? Will you use those gifts or lose them?

What Has Happened To His Vineyard?

19th Sunday after Pentecost Isaiah 5:1-7 KJV; He planted a vineyard; have we cared for it? Have we been good stewards of the church on earth?

Fruitful Seed

7th Sunday after Pentecost; Matthew 13:1-23 KJV; Receive the seed unto an open heart and be fruitful.

Our Hope Is In The Lord

Jeremiah 17:7-8 KJV: Our hope lies in the Lord for He will make us to be fruitful.

A Tree Planted by Water

PSALM 1

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 

But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. 

And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.

Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

To Live Is Christ; To Die Is Gain.

Philippians 1:20-24; We desire to see Christ face to face; but, for now we are satisfied knowing that his abiding presence produces fruit for the Kingdom of God.

Praise Ye The Lord

Fruitful Seeds

Dead But Destined To Be Fruitful

They will be fruitful

"And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us." (Rom 5:3-5 KJV)

 

A couple of years ago I was given the banana trees in the photo as a Mother’s Day gift. Almost two years and still no bananas. They have died twice. 

During the first summer after I planted them it rained and rained and rained. Unfortunately I had planted them in a low spot in the yard and they drowned. But, I had hope. So I planted them in a higher spot when we came home from an extended vacation with hope that they would live again.  They did. 

I watch the weather forecast daily for all kinds of possible events including frost. A few weeks ago, as should be expected from experience, the weather forecast was not correct and I woke up to a major frost covering everything. The buds on my orange and grapefruit trees were dead. Thankfully, the trees themselves were not. But, the banana trees had major damage to them. That is what we are looking at dead or dying trees. I still have hope because you see banana trees reproduce themselves. Their roots put out outreach roots and grow new plants called pups. I learned this from the experience with their first death by drowning. Kind of like the Christian who is drowned in the waters of baptism and then given new life. Even though these little trees look pretty bad and they look dead I have hope that they will still live and produce fruit. 

Like the banana tree, the faithful Christian reach out with underground offshoots that produce new growth. By the abiding presence of Jesus the Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit we reach out sharing the Good News of eternal life in the Kingdom of God for all who believe and the Body of Christ continues to grow. 

Even though we die, we shall live. Have patience, it may look devastating at times; but, the truth will never die no matter what kind of enemy comes up against it. .I have hope that the truth will live for all of eternity. In fact it is more than hope. I know that because the truth is Jesus Christ who is the tree of life and he himself likened us to the branches of a magnificent tree. We are not so unlike the runners off of a banana tree that reproduces itself.

Two years and no fruit from the banana trees. But, I have patience and I have hope that one day they will produce fruit. The ones you see here may not produce the fruit directly; but, they will through their offspring; through their pups I will see fruit one day. We may not also always get to see the fruit produced when we share the Word of God. But, fruit will be produced whether we get to see it or not. It will happen so don’t give up. Have patience and hope. Just because you can’t see or experience the fruitfulness of something doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened. After all, God did tell us through Isaiah the prophet: "So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." (Isaiah 55:11)

Have patience; have hope, and share the word of God so that it might produce fruit for the glory of God! God’s Peace and hope be with you all. Amen!

God's Peace - Pr. J

Walk In His Ways

Psalm 128 KJV

Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord; that walketh in his ways.

For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.

Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table.

Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord.

The Lord shall bless thee out of Zion: and thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem all the days of thy life.

Yea, thou shalt see thy children's children, and peace upon Israel.

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The Psalm today sounds a lot like "IF" you do this the Lord will bless you. The plain truth is that the Lord has shown us a fruitful way to live. Do good! Doing what is contrary to the way that God has shown you to live will lead you into trouble of your own making. 

He has shown us the way to live lives of peace. Dwell in his Word. Abide in Christ and follow in the way. 

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Being Fruitful?

I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. 

                                (John 15:5,7-8 KJV)

So... do we even desire to live life fruitfully or would we rather sit around and complain about how life has not given us any fruit?

Jesus tells us that in order to be fruitful; in order to have a fruit producing and fruit filled life we need to abide in him. Those who have been baptized in to the death and the life of Jesus the Christ do indeed abide in him and he in us. He is the giver of life. He is the source of all goodness and love within us.

Do not delay; cling to his words, live life in and for Christ and be fruitful that our Father in heaven is glorified.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Walk In His Way; Do His Will

Psalm 128:1-6 KJV

Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord; that walketh in his ways.

For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.

Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table.

Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord.

The Lord shall bless thee out of Zion: and thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem all the days of thy life.

Yea, thou shalt see thy children's children, and peace upon Israel.

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It is a good thing to walk in the ways of the Lord; to do His will.  God did not make rules just to punish us. The law reminds us what can and cannot do if we would live peaceably with God and with one another. After all the essence of the commandments can be summed up in one word: love. We are to love God and our neighbors.

When the Israelites listened to God things went pretty smoothly. But, the Israelites, like us, had a tendency to do their own will; make their own rules, rather than listen to God. They often fell away as we do.

Blessed is the one that walks in the ways of the Lord!

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Adulting

Psalm 143:7-8

Hear me speedily, O Lord: my spirit faileth: hide not thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit.

Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee.

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My second granddaughter is working on the transition from teen to adult. She is working on adulting.  She is doing quite well in spite of society's rules and regulations making it much harder than when I or her parents made the transition. I first heard this term "adulting" when her older sister was making that transition into adulthood. I laughed as I thought that she had made it up. But, I checked the Urban Dictionary and it appears to be a word that is being used today. Adulting is when a young person begins to take on things that would be considered adult-like. These might be things as simple as getting out of bed on time to go to school or work without anyone having to wake them up or filling out a job application without assistance or trying to apply for a credit card so they can actually work on a credit score which in this day and age is required to do a whole lot of things including renting a place to live. 

Of course, this transition is a process; and, the training of a young person to make this transition should actually begin at birth. But, that jump from teen to adult is not always easy even for those who have been adulting (bearing the responsibilities of an adult) for many years.

The psalmist prayed that the Lord would teach him the way that he should go. This is my prayer for all of our young people. That the Lord would be with them; guiding them in His Way as they learn how to be mature and fruitful adults. It is not easy to make that transition from teen to adult. Aging is a process that cannot be stopped. Prayerfully, as we all age, we will also all grow and mature in Christ. May God be with our young people as they learn to follow in the way that He would have them go.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Producing Good Fruit

I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.

Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.                                                                                          (John 15:1-8 KJV)

Being fruitful; now there is a novel concept! When a tree bears fruit who gets to enjoy the fruit? It is not the tree. It is you and me.

So what is the purpose for us to bear fruit? Is it not, just as the tree, for others? 

Jesus expects us to bear fruit as is heard in these scripture verses from the Gospel of John. But, just as the branch on a tree we cannot bear fruit without the tree. The tree brings nourishment from it's roots to the branches so that from the branches fruit may be produced and harvested. As branches of the tree of life, who is Jesus the Christ, we cannot produce fruit unless we are connected to him. We must abide in Christ in order to bring good fruit for the nourishment and well-being of others.

May you abide in Christ and he in you that you might bear much fruit and glorify our Father in heaven.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Covenants With God

And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.

And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.

And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,

As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.

Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.

And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.

"And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.

And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.

And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her."

                                                                              (Gen 17:1-7, 15-16 KJV)

They were very, very elderly! And... God blessed Abraham and Sarah. God promised Abraham that he would make him exceeding fruitful. He also promised Sarah that she would be fruitful and bear a son even in her old age.

God has since made a covenant which included those of us who were not of Abraham's tribe. He has promised us eternal life in His Kingdom.  He has blessed us mightily by giving to us His only begotten Son, Jesus the Christ, who sealed a new covenant between God and humankind with his blood.

"And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.

Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you." 

                                                                             (Luke 22:19-20)

This new covenant has been sealed for all who would believe in the one who shed his blood for us.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

LIsten And Follow

PSALM 25:1-9 KJV

Unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.

O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me.

Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed: let them be ashamed which transgress without cause.

Shew me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths.

Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.

Remember, O Lord, thy tender mercies and thy loving kindnesses; for they have been ever of old.

Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness' sake, O Lord.

Good and upright is the Lord: therefore will he teach sinners in the way.

The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way.

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We ask the Lord for a lot of things. Sometimes we rejoice when we see that our prayers have been answered. At other times we might even think that God is not listening to us; that He may not even care. He does indeed listen and He does answer our prayers. But, do we listen to Him when He is showing us the way to go?

We may ask the Lord to guide us and to teach us His paths so that we can live both peaceful and fruitful lives that will glorify Him. We can ask all we want; but, if we don't listen to His guidance it will avail us nothing. So often we ask but then proceed to do it our own way; go our own way without bothering to hear the word, the teachings of our Lord.

He will teach us all things; but, we must humble ourselves and listen and then actually follow in the way that He has shown us!

God's Peace - Pr. J.

The Lord Will Lead You

Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go. (Isa 48:17 KJV)

There is only one God. He is the One who leads us through valleys of shadows of death. He gives us rest beside still waters. (Psalm 23) He will lead us in the way that we should go for our good; for our benefit and the good of those around us.

What are we looking for? Peace? Rest? An abundant life? If you are then follow in the way that He would have you go. Listen to Him and your prayer will be answered. The journey will not always be easy; but, it will in the end be most delightful and fruitful.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

A Joyful Noise In Thanksgiving

 

O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.

Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.

For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.

In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also.

The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.

O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker.

For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.                                                                         

(Psalm 95:1-7a KJV)

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord!

It is way too easy to get stuck focusing on the things that we desire and on those things that we don't have and fail to appreciate the wonderful gifts the Lord of all of creation has given us. Sometimes we get so stuck feeling sorry for ourselves that we fail to see and enjoy the gifts that God has given us.

Make a list today of what you have to be grateful for and be honest with yourself. Be honest. Thank Him for the people around you; for fruitful labor; for a home;  for creation; for life; and for love. Look around and see the glorious works that God has already done for you! Look around and see the gifts that God has given you! Then give thanks making a joyful noise to the Lord our rock and salvation!

Abundant life is experienced when we can appreciate and build upon what God has already given us. Anger and depression are experienced when we only focus on tearing apart the gifts of God. Rejoice and give thanks for the life God has given you!

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Mount Up With Wings As Eagles

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. (Isa 40:31 KJV)

I am waiting! Been waiting for awhile! 

This retirement stuff is really for the birds. I have grown weary of doing and accomplishing so little. Granted, as I have grown older, I have also grown a bit slower. But, God must still have a plan. He promises that he has a good plan for those who love him. (Jer 29:11)  I am waiting to have that plan revealed.

I may never run again. But, I would at least like to walk in this world with a purpose. Yes, I can still walk physically. I walk everyday while I pray. But, something is missing without a purpose and a plan; a way, to serve that purpose.

Our ultimate goal, at least mine, is to walk in the presence of God everyday and not just for the days I live in the flesh here on earth; but, for all of eternity. In the meantime though it would be good to be a bit more fruitful.

So, I continue to wait on the Lord to show me the way that he would have me walk. I wait for the day when I will not be weary of the accomplish nothing days. I wait upon the Lord for the days when my strength will be renewed.

God's Peace - Pr. J.