road2answers

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Resurrection

John 20:1-18[i]

Mary Magdalene came to the tomb while it was still dark.

On the day Jesus was crucified, darkness is a good description of the feelings of Jesus’s followers. They spent the weekend with the knowledge that Jesus was dead.

Mary came looking for a corpse, a dead body. We are all familiar with the story, and it is easy to forget how hopeless these people were. They thought this one was the Savior of Israel. They argued among themselves who would sit on His right and who would sit on His left when He established His kingdom. Now they were going to a tomb to find a dead body.

Have you faced days like this? Maybe not days, maybe you have faced months or years like this. Perhaps you have faced a hopeless marriage, for years. Maybe you have hoped for change in the life of a loved one, for years. Maybe what you feared most in life has actually happened.

Jesus invites us to come. He says, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

May I remind you, that it is darkest just before dawn? When darkness has overwhelmed us, we need hope. We need light. We need a resurrection.

Mary came to the tomb and found it empty. She ran and found Peter and John and said, “They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” (John 20:2)

She had no hope… yet. The only explanation that she found was the certainty that “They” (whoever they were) had taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb. He was still dead in her mind. She had seen Him die. The only place she had to turn to was the leaders of the Apostles, Peter and John.

Peter and John ran to the tomb and looked. Then they went home. The text tells us that John believed when he saw the grave clothes lying there, but this apparently did not help Mary. Mary stayed at the tomb. She stood there crying, weeping. How brokenhearted she was! She had been forgiven much, so she loved much. She, of all people, had put her hope in Jesus. Now, she was abandoned.

Luke 8:2 tells us that Jesus cast seven demons from Mary Magdalene, freeing her from horrible oppression. Luke records this and tells us that Mary had faithfully followed and supported Jesus throughout His itinerant ministry. After following Jesus for what could have been two years, He died leaving her without hope. She stood before the tomb weeping and lost.

God sent angels and they asked her, “Dear woman, why are you crying?” Why didn’t Peter and John see the angels? Mary needed help. God cared about Mary and saw that she needed help.

Do you ever feel like God does not care? Have you ever felt abandoned? Have you ever come to the point you just want to stand there and weep? God cares. What an example He gives us with Mary! He takes time to ask, “Why are you crying?”

Jesus taught us, “²⁹Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. ³⁰And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” (Matthew 10:29-31, NIV)[ii]

God cares about you, the individual. He took time to notice Mary outside the tomb. She had run and told the leaders, Peter and John. However, God’s messengers spoke to her, not Peter and John. Maybe you feel like someone else is more important or more deserving, but Acts 10:34 says very clearly that “God shows no favoritism.”

To the question of “Why are you crying?” Mary answers, “They have taken my Lord away, and I don’t know where they have put him.” (John 20:13)

Her answer says nothing of the dashed hopes and pain of loss that she was experiencing. She was not lying, but how could she express all that was going on in her heart? In the tragedies and problems we face in life, the presenting problem is not the whole story. Only One truly knows. Psalm 139 tells us that He knows our thoughts before we speak them.

Knowing Mary’s broken heart and desperate need, Jesus appeared to her. He appeared to her before He appeared to any of the other disciples, and He gave her a message for the others. John 20:14-15 says:

¹⁴She turned to leave and saw someone standing there. It was Jesus, but she didn’t recognize him. ¹⁵“Dear woman, why are you crying?” Jesus asked her. “Who are you looking for?”

She thought he was the gardener. “Sir,” she said, “if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him.”

Here, for a second time, Mary is asked, “Why are you crying?” Again, I think it is a demonstration of the fact that God cares. Hebrews 4:15 tells us, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” (ESV)[iii] Jesus is able to sympathize with our weakness.

Jesus also probes deeper than the question, “Why are you crying?” He adds the question, “Who are you looking for?” This is at the heart of Mary’s grief. She was crying because of whom she had lost.

Mary did not recognize Jesus. Perhaps she was not looking at Him, because the text does say she turned toward Him when He said her name. Perhaps, because of her grief it did not register with her that this was Jesus.

When we lose hope and are lost, we often do not know where to turn for help, and we do not recognize help when we see it.

People without Christ are in darkness. They are without hope, and do not recognize even that they need help. People without Christ are different from Mary because they are not grieving their loss, but they come to my mind because they do not recognize the source of life.

It took Jesus saying her name for Mary to realize it was Jesus. Then she turned to Him and cried out, “Rabboni!” (which is Hebrew for “Teacher”).

Mary had found her answer. Like the sun rising on a brand new day, hope sprang up in her heart. The darkness was dispelled and in an instant grief was gone.

If you are in darkness or are facing dark days, look to Jesus and the resurrection.

You may not be able to see hope. You may not be able to see how Jesus can make a difference, but you need a resurrection, a resurrection of hope, a resurrection of light and of happiness.

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6) Whatever way you are on, if it is not Jesus, it will not lead to life.

Jesus used an illustration to show how important it is to build our lives on the right foundation. It goes like this:

²⁴“Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. ²⁵Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. ²⁶But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. ²⁷When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.” (Matthew 7:24-27)

Mary had chosen the right foundation to build on. Jesus overcame death and the grave. The storm came in the form of a trial and a crucifixion, and Mary thought she had lost it all until the moment Jesus said her name.

2 Corinthians 4:4 tells us, “Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.”

This reminds me of Mary before Jesus spoke her name. She was blind to the truth and the hope that was standing right beside her.

If the resurrection teaches us one thing it is that there is hope, hope in Jesus. If your life is in darkness, turn to Jesus for hope.

[i] Unless otherwise noted Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation. Copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Steam, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

[iii] Scripture quotations marked ESV are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version) copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

The Lord has Need of It

Luke 19:28-40[i]

Jesus came to the final week of His ministry here on earth. John chapter one introduces Him with the words, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” He lived and ministered among the Jewish people for 33 years. He spent His earthly life in Palestine. He walked the hills of Judea and the shores of the Sea of Galilee. He taught in synagogues and along the shores of the Sea of Galilee. He wore sandals, slept on the ground and ate kosher.

At the beginning of His ministry Luke 4: 16-21 tells us:

¹⁶When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures. ¹⁷The scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written:

¹⁸“The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, ¹⁹and that the time of the LORD’s favor has come.” ²⁰He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently. ²¹Then he began to speak to them. “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!”

²²Everyone spoke well of him and was amazed by the gracious words that came from his lips. “How can this be?” they asked. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”

This was the beginning of His ministry. For three years, He ministered in the power of the Spirit, preaching Good News to the poor. He proclaimed release for captives and freedom for the oppressed. He demonstrated the power of His message by healing the blind and causing the lame to walk. He healed lepers and fed huge crowds with small lunches.

Now, He was at the end of His earthly ministry. Luke 19:11 says, “The crowd was listening to everything Jesus said. And because he was nearing Jerusalem, he told them a story to correct the impression that the Kingdom of God would begin right away.”

Pay special attention to the phrase, “to correct the impression that the Kingdom of God would begin right away.” The crowd was under the impression that the kingdom of God would begin right away. For three years, Jesus ministered in the power of the Spirit, preaching the Good News and proclaiming that the Kingdom of God was at hand, but even His closest followers, the Apostles, had trouble grasping the significance of all that Jesus taught.

For example, when Jesus spoke clearly about the fact that He would be killed in Jerusalem, Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him saying, “Heaven forbid, Lord,” he said. “This will never happen to you!” (Matthew 16:22, NLT)

Jesus, for His part, reprimanded Peter saying, “Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.” (Matthew 16:23, NLT)

Here is a lesson for us. We are always in danger of seeing things from a merely human point of view. Even Jesus said, “You are a dangerous trap to me,” pointing out that seeing things from a merely human point of view was a temptation even for Him. This is why the Psalmist in Psalm 1 speaks of meditating on the Word of God both day and night. How are we to see with eyes of faith? Romans 10:17 tells us, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” (ESV)[ii] Meditating on the Word of God is one step toward seeing with eyes of faith.

Jesus’s followers knew that the Kingdom of God was at hand. However, they did not understand the full extent of what this meant. The Gospel writers tell us that Jesus spoke clearly to His disciples about the events that were about to transpire, the crucifixion and the resurrection.

In Luke 19:12-27, Jesus tells a story to clarify what is about to happen. The story goes like this:

¹²He said, “A nobleman was called away to a distant empire to be crowned king and then return. ¹³Before he left, he called together ten of his servants and divided among them ten pounds of silver, saying, ‘Invest this for me while I am gone.’ ¹⁴But his people hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We do not want him to be our king.’”

¹⁵“After he was crowned king, he returned and called in the servants to whom he had given the money. He wanted to find out what their profits were. ¹⁶The first servant reported, ‘Master, I invested your money and made ten times the original amount!’”

¹⁷“Well done!” the king exclaimed. “You are a good servant. You have been faithful with the little I entrusted to you, so you will be governor of ten cities as your reward.”

¹⁸“The next servant reported, ‘Master, I invested your money and made five times the original amount.’”

¹⁹“Well done!” the king said. “You will be governor over five cities.”

²⁰“But the third servant brought back only the original amount of money and said, ‘Master, I hid your money and kept it safe. ²¹I was afraid because you are a hard man to deal with, taking what isn’t yours and harvesting crops you didn’t plant.’”

²²“You wicked servant!” the king roared. “Your own words condemn you. If you knew that I’m a hard man who takes what isn’t mine and harvests crops I didn’t plant, ²³why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.”

²⁴“Then, turning to the others standing nearby, the king ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one who has ten pounds.’”

²⁵“But, master,” they said, “he already has ten pounds!”

²⁶“Yes,” the king replied, “and to those who use well what they are given, even more will be given. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. ²⁷And as for these enemies of mine who didn’t want me to be their king—bring them in and execute them right here in front of me.”

From this story, we understand:

1. Jesus is going away.

2. He is leaving servants in charge while he is gone.

3. He is coming back.

4. He is a king.

5. His own people do not want Him to be King.

6. He will punish those who do not want Him to be King.

After telling this story to make the upcoming events clear, Jesus sent two disciples ahead of Him to get a young donkey. He said, ³⁰“Go into that village over there,” he told them. “As you enter it, you will see a young donkey tied there that no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. ³¹If anyone asks, ‘Why are you untying that colt?’ just say, ‘The Lord needs it.’” (Luke 19:30-31, NLT)

Other translations say, “The Lord has need of it.” The donkey is a lowly, simple creature. It is not a symbol of strength or power. Rather, it is a symbol of simpler things, common things. Why would the Lord have need of such an animal?

First, He needed to fulfill prophecy. Zechariah 9:9 says, “Rejoice, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey--riding on a donkey's colt.”

Second, He needed to make a statement or an announcement. He was the King they were looking for. He is the Messiah, the Anointed One. He needed to make this clear to them one last time. His three-year ministry proclaimed the Kingdom of God is at hand. By riding a donkey and fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah, Jesus was making an announcement.

The crowd praised God, recognizing the significance of the announcement. They said, “Blessings on the King who comes in the name of the LORD! Peace in heaven, and glory in highest heaven!” (Luke 19:38, NLT) They recognized He was the King. However, as Hosannas rang out, there were those who were not happy. Pharisees among the crowd said, “Teacher, rebuke your followers for saying things like that!” (Luke 19:39, NLT) These Pharisees correspond to those in the story who did not want the King to be their king.

Jesus replied, “If they kept quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers!” (Luke 19:40, NLT)

The Lord had need of the donkey to fulfill prophecy and to make an announcement. In the same way, it was necessary for the crowd to offer up praises. It was appropriate because of who Jesus was and is. It was necessary for the sake of all present so that they would know that the King was entering into His city.

These events and circumstances show God’s sovereignty. Old Testament prophets had foretold the timing hundreds of years before and Jesus fulfilled them down to the day. For example, Daniel 9:25 says, “Now listen and understand! Seven sets of seven plus sixty-two sets of seven will pass from the time the command is given to rebuild Jerusalem until a ruler--the Anointed One--comes.” (Daniel 9:25, NLT) The timing of Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem fits the timing suggested by the prophecy. Jesus also demonstrates His sovereignty in being able to tell His disciples in advance what would happen, where they would find the donkey and what would be said.

The events that followed this are instructive. As Jesus approached Jerusalem, He wept. He foretold the destruction of Jerusalem, and said:

⁴²“How I wish today that you of all people would understand the way to peace. But now it is too late, and peace is hidden from your eyes. ⁴³Before long your enemies will build ramparts against your walls and encircle you and close in on you from every side. ⁴⁴They will crush you into the ground, and your children with you. Your enemies will not leave a single stone in place, because you did not accept your opportunity for salvation.”

Jesus weeps because they did not accept their opportunity for salvation. He used the donkey. He accepted the praises of the crowd. But this was not enough for those whose hearts had been hardened by continually rejecting the truth over the three years of Jesus’s ministry. Jesus was giving them one last chance.

For us today, there are two more lessons we can take away from these events.

First, God is sovereign. We cannot see all the details but we can trust Him. If we own a donkey or are in a place where the Lord has need of us, I pray that we are willing to be used. Learn to pray for God’s will to be done.

Second, do not harden your heart to God’s continued pleadings. Jesus was not subtle with His announcement or His approach. There were those who accepted Him and followed, and there were those who decided it was best to crucify Him. Which side do you fall on?

[ii] Scripture quotations marked ESV are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version) copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Monday, March 7, 2016

Prodigal

Luke 15:11-32[i]

“We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’” (Luke 15:32)

Who has Jesus come to save?

Is it the well that need a physician? Is it not the unrighteous that need a Savior?

Will you be good enough to get into heaven?

If your good works are put on a scale and balanced against your bad works, which one would weigh more?

How will we be judged anyway? Will our good works be weighed against our bad works?

Are you one of those who are hoping you are good enough to get into heaven?

Jesus uses the story of “The Prodigal Son” to teach us how the Father views His children who have gone astray. This story helps us understand the nature of our relationship with God the Father.

Luke 15 starts with this story.

¹Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. ²This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people—even eating with them! (Luke 15:1-2)

The word translated “complain” here in this passage literally means to, “constantly, intensely murmur (grumble, complain).”[ii] The Pharisees and teachers of religious law were intensely murmuring and grumbling that Jesus would associate with such sinners. Jesus addressed this situation with the story of the Prodigal Son. This is what verse 11 is talking about when it says, “To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story.” The point he is illustrating is given twice, first in verse 7 and then in verse 10 of Luke 15. Verse 10 says, “There is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.”

The people gathered to hear Jesus represent two extremes.

First, there were tax collectors and what are called notorious sinners. Tax collectors were considered the worst sinners. They are representatives of the group summed up as notorious sinners. This group included prostitutes, homosexuals, drunkards and drug addicts. They are what we would consider bad people. Their presence made the Pharisees and the teachers of religious law uncomfortable.

Next, there were the Pharisees and teachers of religious law. These were the ones who were complaining. Pharisees were the strictest and purest sect of the Jews. They strove for perfection in keeping the Law of Moses. The teachers of religious law were their counterparts. These were the experts and authorities on what the Hebrew Scriptures said and taught. The Pharisees and teachers of religious law represented the extreme opposite of the tax collectors and notorious sinners. They are what we would consider good people.

In telling His story, Jesus built in both extremes.

The younger brother is like the tax collectors and notorious sinners. His behavior is shocking and unthinkable. Given the culture that surrounds the story, this young man’s behavior would have been unforgivable and beyond redemption. He represents those who the rest of the world would look at and say, “There is no hope for their salvation.” It is this kind of sinner that has no good works to put in a scale to balance against their evil deeds.

The older brother is like the Pharisees and teachers of religious law. He does everything right – until the end of the story. He keeps all the rules and plays the part of a good son. He represents those who the rest of the world looks at and thinks they are as close as one can get to being perfect. Surely, they have a mountain of good works to offset any evil deeds they might have.

Then, of course, there is the father. He represents our Father, God. Both of his sons have a broken relationship with the father during this story. The younger son rejects his father, claims his inheritance and leaves. Although the father was under no obligation to give in to such an outlandish request, he does. He gives the younger son his inheritance and lets him go.

This is how God is. He gives us the ability to choose. This is the reason for all the evil in the world today. It is because we all like sheep have gone astray and turned to our own way. (Isaiah 53:6) Even the best of us have some of the younger son in us. We have rebelled and chosen to go our own way rather than God’s. And, God in His grace lets us.

When the Father welcomes home the brother who had gone away, the older brother shows us his broken relationship with the Father. He refuses to celebrate the return of his brother. He refuses to go into the feast that his father has prepared. This is just like the Pharisees who were criticizing Jesus for teaching sinners. They refused to accept Jesus because he was opening the Kingdom of God to sinners. They murmured and grumbled intensely at such an action. How could such sinners be accepted?

We are all represented in the two extremes of the younger and the older brother. We all fall somewhere on the spectrum between these two extremes, the self-righteous or the outright sinner. The difference is that the outright sinner, like the tax collector, recognizes he or she has done wrong. The self-righteous does not. In our humanity, we look at the good and bad deeds of people and judge whether the person is good or bad. We hold a scale and try to determine the uprightness or evilness of a person.

However, Jesus paints a different picture with this story.

The father in Jesus’s story is not weighing good deeds against bad deeds. He is a father who loves his sons. When the younger son comes to his senses and decides to come home, the father runs to meet him. This father’s behavior is almost as unthinkable as the son’s. This son has disgraced the family, insulted the father and wasted the father’s money. The father does not mention any of this. What is more, the father runs, which for an elderly patriarch was unthinkable and undignified. He runs to his son, embraces him and kisses him.

The father calls for a celebration and spares no expense in the preparations. There is no mention of the son having to pay back what he wasted, make up for the wrong he has done or earn his way back into the family. With great compassion, the father welcomes his son home.

Meanwhile, the older son is out in the fields working. When he comes home for the evening, he hears the sounds of celebration and asks one of the servants what is going on. The servant tells him that his brother is back and that they are celebrating. The older son is angry and refuses to go in. Again, the father does the unthinkable, goes out and pleads with his son to come in.

This son is angry. He is angry that his wayward brother should be celebrated, when he, the good one, was not being celebrated. His complaint about never being offered a young goat for a feast is petty. It is the kind of self-centered reasoning that comes up when we consider ourselves better than someone else. The older son has been stacking his good works up in a scale and he is way out in front of his younger brother when it comes to good works.

The father’s answer shows us where God’s heart is in all of this. The father says, “We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!” (Luke 15:32)

We see two things about God in the close of this story. First, in pleading with the older brother, Jesus illustrates God’s attitude toward those who think they are better than everybody else. He pleads with them to come in and celebrate the salvation of the lost. Second, in accepting the younger son, Jesus illustrates the Father’s provision of salvation no matter what the cost.

There are no scales. None of us is good enough to be admitted into heaven by our own righteousness. Instead, “God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Fruit

Luke 6:43-45

There is a saying, “The devil made me do it.”

Of course, this is said in jest, and yet there is an element involved in it that is hard to understand. Namely, it is that we do not always understand what we do. In Romans 7 the Apostle Paul says, “I don't really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don't do it. Instead, I do what I hate.” (Romans 7:15)[i]

Have you ever heard, “I didn’t mean it?” How can a person say something they did not mean? It is like the jumbled up mess that the Apostle Paul is expressing when he says he ends up doing what he hates.

Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? (ESV)[ii]

We do not always understand what we do. We do not always understand even our own heart. On top of this, the heart is desperately sick.

Our hearts can be so deceitful that we can talk ourselves into believing we are saved when we are not. In 2 Corinthians 13:5, the Apostle Paul says, “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!” (ESV)

When Jesus was with the disciples, He was often surprised at their unbelief or lack of faith. When I examine my heart, I, too, am often surprised at my unbelief or lack of faith.

There is a need for us to examine our hearts and lives to be sure we are in the faith.

We must examine ourselves.

In Luke 6:43-45, Jesus gives us three principles that will help us to examine ourselves.

If we follow these principles and examine our own hearts, we can gain much in assurance, confidence and peace in our relationship with God.

Jesus teaches these principles by using trees as an object lesson. I love this. Trees represent strength, endurance and fruitfulness. They have roots that go deep into the earth and provide a solid foundation. They weather storms and seasons. Many varieties of trees thrive and produce fruit through many lifetimes of men. If I am to be compared to a tree, I want to be a good and strong tree.

Trees cannot choose what kind of tree they are. They grow up according to the seed planted. However, you and I have a choice. By God’s grace, we have an invitation to be a good tree. Today, as we look at the principles that Jesus teaches, we will look at how we can choose to grow into a good and strong tree.

The first principle Jesus teaches is, “Good trees produce good fruit.”

This principle deals with the problem of priorities in our lives. As we examine our lives against this principle we can ask ourselves, “What kind of a foundation am I laying?” “What am I putting my roots down into?”

The issue that Jesus raises is quality. Jesus says, “A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit.” (Luke 6:43)

Some trees bear no fruit. Jesus told of a tree planted in a vineyard. After the expected time, the tree produced no fruit. The owner instructed the workers to dig up around the roots and fertilize the tree. When the tree still did not produce fruit, it was ordered cut down and burned. It was a bad tree. It produced no fruit. (Luke 13:6-8)

Some trees produce undersized fruit. Some trees produce sour fruit.

I was always impressed with how the Japanese could coax the biggest, juiciest apples from their trees. In Nagano prefecture, where Jeretta and I went to language school, they grew fruit. I was amazed to see apples on the tree, each one bagged for protection. I do not think it an exaggeration to say they raised the best apples I have ever seen or eaten. They were the best. The quality was amazing. The man-hours, work and care also must have been amazing, each tree pruned with care and precision and each apple bagged at the appropriate time.

Will our lives bear fruit? What will be the quality of the fruit?

This is all about our priorities. Where do we spend our time? What do we read? What work do we do? Do we share Christ with our neighbors and friends? Do we worship and pray daily? Do we spend time with our spouse and children? Do we love with the compassion that God gives? All these are the fertilizers, root feeders and fruit tending that make or break the quality of our fruit.

Examine your life. Can you see the fruit you are producing?

Good trees produce good fruit. This principle addresses our priorities. We choose every day whether we will grow strong and good when we set our priorities.

The second principle is, “Trees produce fruit according to kind.” Brambles produce no fruit. Grapes vines do not produce figs.

This principle addresses our principles. Principles are our main beliefs. “Principles” is defined: “a fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system of belief or behavior or for a chain of reasoning.”[iii]

Do we believe the truth? Have we been deceived by a lie? What do we believe? What is truth? Where do we find it?

Jesus said, “A tree is identified by its fruit. Figs are never gathered from thornbushes, and grapes are not picked from bramble bushes.” (Luke 6:44)

Trees produce fruit according to kind. Apple trees produce apples. Peach trees produce peaches. Thornbushes produce thorns, not fruit.

The Apostle Paul tells us:

¹⁹Now the works [fruit] of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, ²⁰idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, ²¹envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. ²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. ²⁴And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. (Galatians 5:19-24, ESV)

We must examine ourselves against this list.

Look at the stern warning given. “I warn you . . . that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” This list of fruit of the flesh or of the Spirit is meant to help us examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith. What we believe is key to this. This is not about a list of things to do and not to do. This is about what kind of a tree we are.

We all start out as a tree of flesh. But, if any person is in Christ Jesus, he or she is made a new creature [tree]. (2 Corinthians 5:17) This is a gift. It is a work done by God. We are saved through faith. (Ephesians 2:8) If we do not have the Spirit of God, we cannot produce the fruit of the Spirit. By nature, we must produce the fruit of the flesh.

This is a one-time choice. The choice of priorities is every day. The choice of principles is one time. John 1:12 tells us, “But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.” A person chooses to believe and accept Jesus and that person becomes a child of God, a completely new tree. This happens only one time. This is not a question of quality. This is a question of kind.

What kind are you? What is the fruit you are producing telling you?

There is yet another principle. Jesus brings it up, but he does not allude to fruit or trees. He goes directly to the heart.

This principle is, “The mouth speaks from what is in the heart.”

This principle addresses our purity.

My daughter Hilary had a teacher in fourth grade that used to say, “What’s down in the well comes up in the bucket.” How true this is.

The excuse, “The devil made me do it” does not work, because we speak and act from what is in our heart. This is also why religious practices such as washing, bowing, kneeling and such can never purify us. Cleaning off the outside or changing the posture of the outside can never change what is in the heart.

Once when Jesus was criticized for not making His disciples wash their hands before eating, He made this statement:

¹⁸But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. ¹⁹For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. ²⁰These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.” (Matthew 15:18-20, ESV)

What does what comes out of your mouth tell you about what is in your heart?

James warns us:

⁶And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. ⁷For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, ⁸but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. ⁹With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. ¹⁰From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. (James 3:6-10, ESV)

Our tongues give us opportunity every day to confess our impure thoughts, motives and attitudes, and to ask God to purify us. The important thing is not to guard our lips. The important thing is to guard our hearts.

What do your lips teach you about your heart? This is a question of purity.

We must examine ourselves against these three principles and check our priorities, our principles and our purity.

What kind of tree are you? The choice is yours.

[iii] https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=principles%20definition