His Way Is Best: July 2011

The Fine Art of Bearing Fruit

"I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." (John 15:5 NKJV)

"I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." (John 15:5 NKJV)

Sometimes we grow impatient in our lives when we don't see the spiritual growth we would like to see. But an important thing to remember about spiritual fruit is that it doesn't grow overnight. It takes time. If I were to plant a peach tree on Monday, I could scarcely expect to enjoy fresh peach cobbler on Friday. It takes time for peaches to reach their full size. I could pull up a chair, sit down, and wait for the peaches to grow, but I still would not see any discernible difference. Even though I can't see it at the time, that fruit is still growing toward maturity.
Another reason we may not see spiritual fruit in our lives is because we don't recognize it as such. Let's take a look at several definitions from the New Testament of what it means to "bear fruit."

Winning others to Jesus Christ and helping them grow spiritually is one form of spiritual fruit. Paul wrote to his friends in Rome, "Often I have planned to come to you . . . that I might have some fruit among you also, just as among the other Gentiles" (Romans 1:13 NKJV). We also read in Proverbs 11:30 that "the fruit of the righteous is the tree of life, and he that wins souls is wise" (NKJV).

Sharing what God has blessed us with is a way of bearing fruit. When Paul received an offering from the Gentiles for the saints in Jerusalem who were in need, he referred to that offering as fruit: "Therefore, when I have performed this and have sealed to them this fruit, I shall go by way of you to Spain" (Romans 15:28 NKJV, emphasis mine). When I take my finances and invest them through my tithes and offerings, it will result in fruit to my account (Philippians 4:17). Let me add that if your Christianity does not affect your pocketbook, then one has to question how much your Christianity has affected you. It should permeate every area of your life.

Praising and thanking God is another type of spiritual fruit. When we lift our voices in praise to God, it's an offering of fruit to Him. The Bible tells us, "Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name" (Hebrews 13:15 NKJV). You should not be a spectator when it comes to worship. You should engage, because it is offering fruit to the Lord.

Last, our change in conduct and character is fruit. Galatians 5:22–23 tells us, "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control" (NIV). These virtues should be a part of every believer's life. But again, they don't become visible overnight. It takes time for this fruit to grow. Be patient, and sink your roots deeply into the person of Jesus Christ.

One Sunday morning after a service, a friend began talking with a group of guys who were all brothers. I was pleased to learn that one Christian Brother had recently led each of them to the Lord. As we discussed their newfound faith in Christ, he told them, "Just keep moving forward spiritually, because the moment you start relaxing is the moment you start falling back. But if you keep at it and keep applying yourselves to the basic disciplines of spiritual growth, then you will continue to flourish and bring forth fruit."

Whether you've been a Christian for six months, like these brothers, or for six decades, you must continue moving forward in your spiritual walk. God help you and me to fulfill the purpose for which He has created us. May we glorify Him by bringing forth fruit in our lives as we become more like Jesus Christ.

How Do We Bear Spiritual Fruit?

"But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty." (Matthew 13:23)

The concept of bearing fruit is used often in Scripture. In the Gospels, Jesus told the story of a sower who went out to sow seed. The seed fell on various types of ground. Some of the ground was rocky and hard. Other ground was receptive, but weeds choked out the seed. But there was a portion of ground that was not rocky or weedy, and the seed took root. Jesus said that this was a picture of the different people who hear the gospel. Those who are true believers are those who bring forth fruit (see Luke 8:4-15).

What is bearing fruit? Essentially, it is becoming like Jesus. Spiritual fruit will show itself in our lives as a change in our character and outlook. As we spend time with Jesus and get to know Him better, His thoughts will become our thoughts. His purpose will become our purpose. We will become like Jesus.

The Bible gives an excellent description a life characterized by the fruit of the Spirit. Galatians 5:22-23 says, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control."
Is that what others see in your life? If not, then either you don't know God or you are living outside of fellowship with Him. If that is the case, then a commitment or a recommitment to Him would be in order. God is not asking for a perfect life. But He is asking that these fruits be primary characteristics of a life that is lived for Him.

Known by Our Fruit

A little boy went over to a pastor's house, where the pastor was doing some carpentry in his garage. The boy simply stood there and watched him for quite a long time. The preacher wondered why this boy was watching him and was finally so curious that he stopped and said, "Son, are you trying to pick up some pointers on how to build something?"
The little boy replied, "No. I am just waiting to hear what a preacher says when he hits his thumb with a hammer."

Often, we will find out what we are made of by what comes out of our mouths in both good and bad circumstances. When we have a change in conduct and character in our lives, it is a type of spiritual fruit. Galatians 5:22 says, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control . . . " (NKJV). A Christian's life should be characterized by these things. Are you producing fruit? Or is the opposite true? Instead of love, is there hatred, bitterness, or even prejudice in your life? Instead of joy, is there constant gloom? Instead of peace, is there turmoil? Instead of gentleness, is there a short temper? Instead of faith, is there endless worry? Instead of meekness, is there pride and arrogance? Instead of self-control, are you a victim of your own passions? If so, then either you don't know God at all or a recommitment to Christ would be in order.

If you are a Christian, then people should be able to look for-and find-fruit in your life. Why?, because a disciple of Jesus Christ will produce spiritual fruit. Jesus said, “By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples." (John 15:8 NKJV). Jesus also said, "by their fruits you will know them." (Matthew 7:20 NKJV).

The metaphor of bearing fruit is used quite often in the Bible. In the Parable of the Sower, Jesus spoke of seed that falls on different types of ground, representing different reactions to the truth of the gospel message. The final category He mentioned in Mark 4:20 was good ground: "But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred" (NKJV). In other words, those who have spiritual longevity are those who embrace this truth and produce fruit. The Bible tells us that we should bear fruit worthy of repentance (see Matthew 3:8).

The Bible gives us different pictures as to what "bearing fruit" means. For example, praising and thanking God is a way of bearing fruit in our lives. Hebrews 13:15 says, "Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name" (NKJV). When you praise God, that is bearing fruit.

I heard this story from a pastor.

At one of our church services, I noticed a young woman in the front row who was in a wheelchair. Her legs were gone, and she had only one arm, which was a partial one. As we were worshipping, this young woman lifted what she had of her arm to the Lord. I thought about how this must have pleased God. She didn't have hands to lift, but what she had, she lifted to the Lord. Did she have troubles in her life? Did she have difficulty? Of course she did. But she offered a sacrifice of praise to God.

We don't praise God only when we are in the mood. Rather, we praise God because He is worthy of our praise. Our word, "worship," comes from the old English form, worthship. We praise that which is worthy. Therefore, we don't praise God because we feel like it. We praise God because He deserves our praise. When we do this, we are bearing fruit.
What we say is also a type of fruit in our lives. Jesus said, "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks." (Luke 6:45 NKJV). When you are a true Christian, it will be reflected by what you say. This is bearing fruit as well.

Can others identify spiritual fruit in your life? Remember, people are watching you. They are listening to you. I hope that you are pointing them to Jesus.

The story of Jackie Robinson

April 15th is generally not my favorite day of the year. Tax day is never fun for a guy who is organizationally challenged. My idea of being prepared is having everything in one gigantic box. (Bonus points if the lid will close on it) This year I caught a break because of some local holiday in the Nation’s Capital. The day of reckoning is now April 18th. But April 15th has been redeemed for me because it is a wonderful day for baseball fans.

Jackie Robinson made his major league debut at first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers on this date in 1947. It was a historic and significant day for baseball but maybe more so for our country. You can argue that the American civil rights movement was truly ignited when Robinson came to bat in Dodger Blue. The journey for Robinson was difficult at best and nearly impossible at worst.

Many Dodgers players, mostly Southerners led by Dixie Walker, threatened to walk if forced to play with a black player. That ended when Dodger management let them know in no uncertain terms that they could keep walking all the way to the unemployment line. I often write about the pain that is caused by “bad” or thoughtless Christians. Can you imagine the pain that Robinson felt to have his teammates reject him for only one reason and for a reason over which he had no control?

But one teammate reacted in a way that I wish all serious and thoughtful Christians would emulate. Team captain Pee Wee Reese was an unlikely ally for Robinson. He was born in segregated Louisville, Kentucky, and the odds were that Reese would participate or even lead the boycott against a black player. But the diminutive Pee Wee Reese proved to be a giant of a man one day in Cincinnati. During infield practice the Redleg players were screaming at Jackie with all of the usual hateful epithets. And then the venom was distributed to Reese. They were yelling things at him like “How can you play with this,(epithet)?”, as Jackie stood uncomfortably at first base.
"Pee Wee kind of sensed the sort of hopeless, dead feeling in me and came over and stood beside me for a while," Robinson recalled, as quoted in his biography “Jackie Robinson,” by Arnold Rampersad (Alfred A. Knopf). “He didn’t say a word but he looked over at the chaps who were yelling at me through him and just stared. He was standing by me, I could tell you that.” The hecklers ceased their attack. “I will never forget it,” Robinson said. A silence fell over the Reds dugout and the fans witnessing this amazing act of grace.
At Reese’s funeral, Joe Black, another Major League Baseball black pioneer, said: “Pee Wee helped make my boyhood dream come true to play in the Majors, the World Series. When Pee Wee reached out to Jackie, all of us in the Negro League smiled and said it was the first time that a White guy had accepted us. When I finally got up to Brooklyn, I went to Pee Wee and said, ‘Black people love you. When you touched Jackie, you touched all of us.’ With Pee Wee, it was No. 1 on his uniform and No. 1 in our hearts.”

Robinson later wrote this sentiment to Reese in a book inscription.
“Pee Wee whether you are willing to admit what you being just a great guy meant (a great deal) to my career, I want you to know how much I feel it meant. May I take this opportunity to say a great big thanks and I sincerely hope all things you want in life be yours.”

We need a lot more Pee Wee Reese’s in the body of Christ. We need men and women who are willing to step up for others when it may not be the best action for personal gain. We need men who are brave enough to look hatred and bigotry in the eye and call it by its name. April 15th was a day that demonstrated the greatness and courage of Jackie Robinson. It also reminds us of how one man did the right thing for his teammate. We need men who have the courage to emulate both Jackie Robinson and Pee Wee Reese in our walk with Jesus. If Pee Wee Reese was willing to risk his reputation for the cause of team and winning a World Series how much more should we be willing to risk for one another to further the cause of Christ? The Apostle Paul had some good advice to accomplish that dream.

Bear and Share the Burdens

1 Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. 5 For each one shall bear his own load. I want to be willing to stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. As I meditate on the gift of grace and redemption I received through Jesus I wonder - how can I do anything else? (Gal. 6:1-5, NKJV)

Stuck in a Groundhog Day Faith?

Years ago a funny and underappreciated movie came on the scene. Groundhog Day told the story of a self-absorbed news reporter (redundancy alert?) that finds himself stuck in an endless repeat of the same day. Bill Murray is perfect in the role of reporter Phil Connors. Reporter Phil is less than thrilled that he has been assigned to cover Punxsutawney Phil's annual peek outside to predict winter's duration. Connor's looks into the camera and cynically reports:
"This is one time where television really fails to capture the true excitement of a large squirrel predicting the weather."
What got me thinking about that movie again was the plot-line where Phil Connors realizes he is doomed to live the same day over and over and over. The plot is summed up in this article in Wikipedia. For Connors, Groundhog Day begins each morning at 6:00 A.M., with his waking up to the same song, Sonny & Cher's "I Got You Babe", on his alarm clock radio, but with his (and only his) memories of the "previous" day intact, trapped in a seemingly endless "time loop" to repeat the same day in the same small town.

Connor has this exchange in the film.
Phil: What would you do if you were stuck in one place and every day was exactly the same, and nothing that you did mattered?
Ralph: That about sums it up for me.
So what is the point of these ramblings? The point is that too many followers of Jesus are stuck in a Groundhog Day life of their own. They wake up every day and feel trapped in a repeating pattern of frustrating behavior. And then, depression sets in.
Why is that?

Einstein was once quoted as saying that "insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." I am not quite willing to concede that I was insane. But the truth is that for years I did approach my spiritual life the same way every day while somehow expecting different results.
I would make a mistake (that is politically correct for sin) and I would convince myself that I would never do that again. I was grateful that the consequences were not worse. I was determined to stay far, far away from that sin. And then before I know it I had forgotten the lesson and I would awaken each morning to my own version of Groundhog Day. The Apostle Paul wrote about this very thing (not the giant rodent part, but the repeating behavior part) in his letter to the Romans.

For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. (Romans 7:18-20, NKJV)

Wow, can I relate to that. A bit later Paul writes, “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” Isn't that the real question?
That is the real question. And there is a real answer offered by Paul.

The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different.
So what can you do to get out of this sin spiral?
Nothing.
Wait! Don't let depression set in. This is good news. You and I can't do it. I am incapable in my own efficacy to escape my spiritual Groundhog Day. Only Jesus can enable me to escape this endless loop of frustration. Further advice from Paul follows in Chapter 8 of his amazing letter to the Romans.
But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

Allow the truth of that verse to soak in.

Want to get out of your Groundhog Day existence? Most readers of these humble ramblings realize they couldn't deal with their sin separation from God on their own. We needed Jesus. So why do we think we can deal with our ongoing sin issues on our own? When the Father looks at me on my very worst day this is what He sees.
Jesus.
That is step one. I don't have to clean up the sin to please God. He loves me already because of Jesus.

Step 2. I am learning daily to recognize that the Spirit of God has taken up residence in my life. I am learning that I am the one who limits His power by restricting access and control to my thoughts and actions. I am learning that I don't need to wake up to the frustrating effects of repeated self-effort. I can wake up trusting God, trusting that Jesus has my sin covered and trusting that the Spirit of God will allow me to resolve that sin. Trusting God and what His Word says to be true allows me to escape the Groundhog Day syndrome. Instead I have a new day full of possibilities to thank God for His amazing grace.

How Do You Treat The Poor?

Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail. (Amos 8:4)

God is speaking of the exploitation of the poor. I feel it is important for us to realize how God feels about the poor of this world. I have experienced being poor. You probably have, too.

In the days of Amos, God accuses them of even making "the poor of the land to fail." That is, the poor were brought down to such a low poverty level that they never could escape from it. The poor always suffer more acutely in a godless nation - I don't think that statement can be successfully contradicted.
Saying, "When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn?" and the Sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit? (v. 5)

God knew what was in their hearts. "The new moon" and "the Sabbath" were holy days on which business was not transacted. God is saying that even when the rich went to the temple to praise God, they were so greedy and covetous that they were thinking about business the next day and how they could make more money by cheating their customers. They not only practiced their sin during the week, but they carried it into the temple. What a picture this gives us of Israel in that day - and of modern man as well.

That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat? (v. 6)

The poor even had to sell themselves into slavery. That was permitted in that land under the Mosaic system. They would buy the needy for a pair of shoes - that's how cheap they were! And they would sell the poor the refuse of the wheat. That means they got the "seconds," the leftovers which an honest dealer throws away. I have never felt right about giving old clothes to help the poor in the church. I have never felt they should be given the leftovers of anything. Remember how David said, "… neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the Lord my God of that which doth cost me nothing …" (2 Samuel 24:24).

It is no accident that the Lord Jesus, when He was here on earth, sat and watched how the people gave in the temple. Was that His business? Yes. And He is interested in how much we give to Him and how much we keep for ourselves.
Maybe the reason I love this man Amos so much is that he talks my language. He was a poor man himself, and he says the thing that I understand. You see, Amos is explaining why Israel was like a basket of summer fruit. The goodness of Israel was just as perishable and just as soon deteriorated as summer fruit. One evidence of this was the way they treated the poor.

His Way Is Best

Thursday, July 21, 2011

What Is this Spiritual Battle We Face? - Answers in Genesis

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Are You Bearing Fruit?

Friday, July 15, 2011

Are you surrendering so as to be Christ-like?

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