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Fruit

Our Wit’s End

by TerryLema

Oswald Chambers wrote “When we come to our wit’s end, that’s when we come to God’s wisdom.”

That’s food for thought. Maybe we should come to our wit’s end a little sooner than we usually do and get to God’s wisdom faster!

Ps 111:10: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow His instructions have good insight. His praise endures forever.” [HCSB]

The fear of the Lord is only the beginning of wisdom.  Just the beginning.  But it is the most necessary part.  We must fear, reverence, respect, worship, respond to, and see the Lord first before we can begin to partake of His wisdom.  Reverence for the LORD opens the door. But something must come after that.

Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to indwell us. The Spirit leads us in all righteousness, explains things to us, shows us the Savior, and opens God’s precepts to us. Our will, however, also plays a part. We must follow his precepts to have good understanding for God’s wisdom to grow and flourish in us.

Ours should be a constant and consistent seeking of God’s wisdom, and a persistent following and outflow of His precepts and principals. Our churches should be filled with men and women possessing godly wisdom and understanding.

Sadly, that is not always the case.  There are many who are at their wit’s end but failing to partake of God’s wisdom.  Church leadership must emphasize reverence for the LORD.  If we focus on flash and ignore fruit, it will be to our detriment.

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Fruit

by TerryLema

We have two neighbors on our street, each with three little girls. Listening to their squeals as they play is a delightful experience.  I’ve met the neighbors next door, but not the ones down the block.  Those neighbors moved into a home where the previous owners planted four fruit trees outside the fence next to the sidewalk. Seemed like an odd place to put fruit trees, but then I guess anyplace they’ll grow is a good place. They planted an apple, peach, pear, and cherry.

As I walked past those trees recently, I noticed that the cherries were ripe. I wondered if the new couple would pick them, and then I spotted the entire family last Saturday with buckets in hand. The little girls and mom were having a great time picking cherries and filling their buckets while Dad and the dogs watched.  I was glad that the fruit would not go to waste.

At the end of the Sermon on the Mount recorded in Matthew, Jesus reminds his listeners that “by their fruit you will recognize [prophets].” Then Jesus uttered a stark warning, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” [Matt 7:20-21]

Frankly, people who walk into a church and say “Lord, Lord” and walk out to live their lives as they please are a dime a dozen. They profess Christ as LORD with their mouths but rarely obey His word. It doesn’t cost anything to be a “professing” Christian.

However, it costs everything to be a “true” Christian who not only says, “Lord, Lord” but also “does the will of the Father in heaven.”

We have done a great disservice to people by allowing them to think that Christianity can be acquired by mere words. In truth, it is a life totally given over to pleasing God.  It costs everything.

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Menó

by TerryLema

We picked our first ripe fruit of the garden yesterday. It was a lovely green zucchini, which promptly made its way into a pan with onions and peppers and tomatoes frozen from last year’s garden. If the heat had not already announced summer’s arrival, that zucchini did!

Bob has been tending his garden and it is beginning to respond to his attention. There are a lot of tomato blossoms and a couple little peppers on the vines. Soon we will also have Armenian cucumbers, eggplant, beans and other wonderful crops.

I was reading in John 15 this morning. The chapter begins with Jesus talking about “The Vine and the Branches.”

Jesus told his disciples that He is that true vine and His Father is the keeper of the vineyard. We are branches meant to produce much fruit. Read those first eight verses and notice how many times Jesus mentions abiding (or remaining, continuing depending on your translation).  I counted seven times in eight verses!

Each of those is a form of the Greek word “Menó,” which means simply to abide, remain, or continue.

As you read those eight verses, you will come away with a few truths. We are to produce fruit. God Himself will prune away anything in our lives that hampers that production of fruit so that we not only produce fruit, we produce abundant good fruit.

We cannot, however, produce any fruit unless we remain in Christ Jesus. In fact, Jesus is noticeably clear that fruit that pleases God cannot be brought forth by our own efforts. We can do nothing apart from Christ Jesus.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without Me.” [John 15:5 HCSB]

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Fruit, Fruit, and More Fruit …

by TerryLema

My kitchen counter is not large and this summer it has felt a lot smaller. It is full of the produce from Bob’s garden. Lately that means a lot of tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and squash. I have a freezer full of tomatoes, some plain, some with added peppers and onions. My freezer also contains green and yellow beans, chopped peppers and shredded zucchini. This morning I have more tomatoes to put up. Bob’s garden has produced much fruit this year, something of which he is quite proud.

The fruit from Bob’s garden did not come without a lot of work. The soil had to be prepared first, weeds removed, fertilizer added. Then came the seeds and plants. After planting there was even more work. More weeding. Thinning, Watering. Pruning. All that repeated often.  Finally, the fruit appeared, and we watched as it ripened for harvest.

Jesus reminded his friends that they were appointed to produce fruit in John 15:16. He also reminded them that Father God would be proud when they produced much fruit.  He said it this way, “My Father is glorified by this: that you produce much fruit and prove to be My disciples.” [John 15:8 HCSB]

Producing fruit is a central part of our Christian experience. Producing fruit proves we are His disciples. It requires work, just as a regular garden requires work.  It is seen not just in our character and temperaments (the fruit of the Spirit); it is seen in our good works.  It is often produced when we bring Jesus into the lives of others.

Let us not forget that God is to be glorified by our discipleship and fruit production. We should focus every day on what we can produce both in our own hearts and in the lives of others that will glorify God.

Holy Spirit, I yearn for “much fruit” that I might glorify my Father God. Amen.

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