Hidden Roots, Shared Fruit.

Matthew 12
33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.

Just as a tree is known and identified by its fruit, so God’s people are known and identified by theirs. It is a simple yet sobering truth that there are only two types of tree, and both produce fruit. The good trees produce the fruit of The Spirit, revealing the life and heart of Christ, but the bad trees produce the fruit of flesh and corruption.
We do not get to self-identify by name or label. No—a tree is known and identified by those who see and sample its fruit! So we ought to ask ourselves the question, “What fruit am I known for?” Does the world look at you and see the fruit of The Spirit, or do they see dead religion and worldliness?
And let’s remember: it is not “judgemental” to call a tree by what it produces—in fact, it is necessary!

Matthew 12
34 Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

How can we speak good things? How can a young man cleanse his way? How can we bear good fruit? These are searching questions, but praise The Lord for He has given us the answers and hope! Hallelujah! As we take heed to His Word, as we abide in Jesus the Vine, as we fill our minds and hearts with God’s Word and seek to be filled by His Spirit, we can be assured of GOOD fruit! Hallelujah!
If a man truly cares about the fruit he will produce, he will be prayerfully intentional to filter what he fills his heart with. The Born-Again man, abiding in Christ, will not give himself to worthless things, he will diligently guard his heart and defend the gates—the ear gate and the eye gate. Of course, he will fail and fall at times. But he will not remain there. He will be repentant, confessing to the Lord with grief over what he has allowed in, and he will seek to be transformed by the renewing of his mind. His life and purpose will be this: to fill his heart with The Lord, his God.
We WILL reap what we sow. We WILL bear fruit! The question is not “if” we bear fruit—but what kind of fruit? Today, right now, you are bearing fruit. Consider that! It is not the case that we will bear Good fruit or no fruit, but rather, right now, you ARE BEARING fruit! Whether good or bad depends on what you have sown to and what you have fed on. Is your heart full of God’s Word, fellowship with His children, and His praises? Is your heart full of His Spirit? Or is it full of your hobbies, work, bills, and fears? Consider your conversation and your conduct… Do your family, friends, and colleagues hear and see Jesus in you?

Matthew 12
35 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.

What is the abundance of your heart? What words proceed from your mouth?
Oh, may we seek The Lord to be filled with His Word and His Spirit. May our hearts truly treasure Christ above all else! May HE be the abundance of our hearts! There is no end to His glory, to His fullness, to His rest, love and perfect peace! We can have as much as we seek after! Hallelujah! Oh, let’s go to the fountain and drink of His living waters! Come my brother/sister! Let’s go to Jesus together and fill our hearts with Him!

Matthew 12
36 But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.
37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Shut Your Door

Matthew 6
6 But you, when youpray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

YOU! When YOU pray! Close YOUR door! Pray to YOUR Father! Hallelujah! Oh what an invitation! What an opportunity! To be alone with Our Father in Heaven. YOU, and HIM. Oh how often we despise this invitation! How often we prioritise self. We make time to get ready for work but not to commit the day to The Lord! How often we make sure we have our breakfast and morning coffee but give little to no thought to being alone with The Father, Our Father. We choose to spend hours scrolling worthless things when we could choose to spend time in the presence of Almighty God! Oh how fickle we are!
Jesus speaks plainly here. He speaks directly to you, to me, the individual. Oh give this verse much thought! Do you prioritise your time alone with The Father? Is that the greatest part of your day? What on earth could be better?! Is He where your treasure is?
It is a command with a most wonderful and precious promise! Hallelujah! Go to your room, shut your door and pray to YOUR FATHER! When you go, when you shut your door, when you pray… He WILL hear! Hallelujah!

Psalm 91
1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

There is a secret place where WE are invited to be with The Almighty! Hallelujah! Consider that! Where else would you want to be?! Why would you want to be anywhere else? A place that is to be sought for. It is a private place that no other can enter. It is a place for you and The Father alone! Oh what a precious opportunity and invitation. A private audience with the source of all life, the source of all satisfaction, the source of all peace, hope, strength, joy and provision! Living in HIS presence!
It is a place where we can choose to stay! We can LIVE in that place! We need never leave! Nothing and no one can ever harm us there! The flesh life may undergo all kinds of tribulation and trial but our spirit can abide safe and secure from all alarm! Fearless, restful with fullness of Joy and pleasures forevermore! Hallelujah!
YOU… GO! Go to YOUR room and shut YOUR door! Find that secret place and shut out the world and all other distractions! Be alone with YOUR Father, THE FATHER! Hallelujah! Go be in HIS presence and when your body gets up to leave that room, let your heart/spirit remain in Him!

Our Father

Luke 11
2 And He said to them, When you pray, say: Our Father Who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come. Your will be done [held holy and revered] on earth as it is in heaven.
3 Give us daily our bread [food for the morrow].
4 And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us [who has offended us or done us wrong]. And bring us not into temptation but rescue us from evil.

“Our Father”
When Jesus teaches on prayer there is no individuality. There is no focus on the personal self life. We are not taught to say “My Father”. This is a striking and powerful truth.
It is wonderful that we can personally, individually and intimately call upon The Heavenly Father but with these opening words our gaze/focus is immediately off of ourselves and on others, HIS body and HIS family. We are immediately in intercession for others rather than personal petition. Of course it is not wrong to pray for personal needs and petitions. We are encouraged to do this elsewhere in scripture but as a single teaching, a singular example/template this prayer from The Lord is markedly unselfish.
I’ve found this to be such a wonderful provision in my own prayerlife. When I have so many people to pray for and so many petitions to bring, when I feel overwhelmed with burdens and unable to pray effectively, this prayer truly and completely fulfils every request/need. With my heart on every brother and sister as well as my own circumstance I can pray “Our Father”. I find myself united in heart, on the same Spiritual plane, standing alongside my brother/sister in Christ.
Saying “Our Father” I can stand in representation of all who I desire to pray for, no matter the length of the list or span of the needs. I come before The Father with the burden of all who are on my heart, and I plead “OUR Father”!
We will never fully appreciate or understand how incredibly wonderful it is that we can call Him Father. We will never understand the lengths that He has gone to and the price that He has paid for our Salvation, but we can live in the wonder, awe and joy of such a truth. It is something we ought to meditate on more often. Let us take care to not let the words become too familiar and common. We are sons and daughters of God, joint heirs with Christ!! Hallelujah!! What a hope is ours!! We have been given the best robe, a ring on our finger, shoes on our feet and all of heaven rejoices in our Salvation!! Oh, praise the name of Jesus Christ! Bless Your name Heavenly Father! Glory be to You!
Brothers and sisters, when we pray let us, reverently and joyfully, say “Our Father”!

God’s Chosen House

Psalm 132
3 “Surely I will not go into the chamber of my house, Or go up to the comfort of my bed;
4 I will not give sleep to my eyes Or slumber to my eyelids,
5 Until I find a place for the LORD, A dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”

There is nothing so precious or so vital as a place for God to rest/dwell with us. It is truly a place that must be found/made/prepared. A loving, longing heart of faith that will not give time or attention to self interests and self comforts will find such a dwelling place.
We give our time and attention to so many little things. We are so prone to distractions. There can seem to be so much to be busy with, we can be “anxious and troubled with many things, But one thing is needed.” Luke 10:40-42 The psalmists eye was single, with vision/desire only for God.
Have we found a place for God to dwell today? Have we set aside all selfish, fleshy desire for comfort, in order that we might find a place for The Lord to come down and be with us? Is there something else more appealing?

Psalm 132
13 For the LORD has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His dwelling place:
14 “This is My resting place forever; Here I will dwell, for I have desired it.

Zion is not a place, it is the gathering of God’s people. Zion is the body of Christ; the sons and daughters of God; those who are circumcised; not of flesh, but of heart; not of flesh but of faith! God has chosen to set HIS glory on HIS people and to abide in and among them! He has chosen US!! He desires US for His resting place forever! Hallelujah!! What a glory! What an honour! What a JOY!!! What a Great Salvation!!
It is so incredible to consider and meditate on this truth. It is far too easy to type/talk… But be encouraged today brothers and sisters… The Lord God Jehovah has chosen you/us as His dwelling place!! Selah!!
May we be careful to find a place for The Lord today. A place of communion, fellowship, rest and LIFE!

Standing In The Breach

Exodus 32
10 Now therefore let Me alone, that My wrath may burn hot against them and that I may destroy them; but I will make of you a great nation.
11 But Moses besought the Lord his God…
…
14 Then the Lord turned from the evil which He had thought to do to His people.

What if Moses hadn’t interceded? What if Moses had simply accepted God’s word and Israel’s fate? God was not joking or merely suggesting in order to test Moses, the Israelite people were as good as destroyed!

Psalm 106
23 Therefore He said He would destroy them. [And He would have done so] had not Moses, His chosen one, stepped into the breach before Him to turn away His threatening wrath.

Moses, who placed himself between The Lord and the people, successfully interceded on behalf of God’s Glory and the people of Israel. Man moved God! But note that Moses’ primary focus in prayer was for the Glory of God, not the excusing of man! Exodus 32:11-13.
⁠Moses, who is introduced to us as a man of feeble faith, not knowing God and questioning His ability, had power with God to cause Him to repent! He had no provision that we don’t have today, in fact he had less! He didn’t have the power and revelation of The Holy Spirit. He was simply a man who had come to know God so intimately through submission and obedience, that his heart longed for and reflected The Lord’s heart. He desired, more than anything else, to see God truly known and glorified on the earth!

Matthew 9
37 Then He (Jesus) said to His disciples, The harvest is indeed plentiful, but the labourers are few.
38 So pray therefore to the Lord of the harvest to force out and send labourers into His harvest.

It takes faith to believe that you can move the heart of God. Faith doesn’t pray in uncertainty but with assurance and confident rejoicing and rest. Oh let us pray with faith! Let us pray for The Lord to restore His Glory in His name. Let us pray for the chaff to be removed. Let us pray for The Lord’s testimony to be great amongst His people, and in us! Let us pray for there to be a shout of praise in the camp, a song of joy in the hearts of the redeemed and HIS rest/victory in our daily lives! Let us pray expectantly for the lost and for the labourers who share the Good News. Let us pray that more labourers be sent out into HIS harvest. For the field is HIS and it is HIS plentiful harvest! So many lives depend on our intercession. Consider the consequence if we do not!
May we yield to the life of Christ within us and allow His desires to be ours. We have the power available to us, in Jesus, to move the heart of God for those who are destined for destruction! May our hearts be stirred and our faith fortified to beseech God for His glory and that He might, by our intercession, receive the reward of His suffering.