WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT!!!
Matthew 7: 15 “Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 So then, by their fruit you will recognize them.”
Have you ever had this experience? You buy some fruit – say, some apples – that look really lovely – all red and juicy. You can scarcely wait to get those apples home! You are already thinking about how good that apple will taste. And then, when you get the apples home, you bite into one and EWWWWWWWWW!!!!! Perhaps the apple has no taste; the flesh is juicy but there is no flavor. Or perhaps the apple looks great on the outside, but once you bite into it, you realize that it has already spoiled and all the flesh is brown and rotting. Or perhaps – even worse – you bite in and find a WORM waving at you! Of course, it would be even worse if you only found HALF a worm! At that point, you cut into the rest of the apples, only to find that all of the apples are just like this one. What a disappointment! What a waste of time and effort!
Sometimes we meet people who are just like that apple. They look really good; they sound really good. We are thrilled, thinking that we have made a friend for life…. and then, something happens. Some kind of a crisis comes, and suddenly our new best friend turns out to be a rotten apple.
While human beings can and will fail us repeatedly, God never fails. There are many ways that we can tell whether or not the Holy Spirit is moving in someone’s life. Galatians 5:22 – 23 describes the fruits of the Holy Spirit. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”
Today, many of us are grieving over the violence that has overtaken America. In the midst of this violence, there are still people of peace. There are also people urging more violence, and some of these people seem very convincing. But the final test is this: what kind of fruit are you seeing? Are you seeing the fruits of the Spirit, or are you seeing the opposite?
Today, we have a choice. Will we be people of peace? Will we beg God for His Holy Spirit? The choice is ours.
PRAYER: Father God, this morning we beg you to send your Holy Spirit into our hearts! Lord, fill us with your Holy Spirit! Change us into the people you want us to be, people who truly show love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self – control. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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