Being Known By Your Fruit
Good evening sisters!
Did you have a productive day today? Were you thanking the Lord for what He has done and all that awaits us if we endure through this life, in honor and obedience to Him? What a merciful and loving Father we have!
Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.
Luke 6:36
I wanted to share about being known by your fruit and share a story with you. We are blessed to be able to be in direct contact with our oldest grandson via text and one day brother Jim text him and said 'Guess what we did today?" You can see his response...
That brought us great joy. (We had actually just made a small package with some goodies in it for him and his sisters and he knows we do that once in a while but he didn't guess that:-) I shared a post with you a while ago when we visited them and his little sister said (in response to why we sent them a picture of us) "We remember you because you love God." You can read that HERE.)
It's a great blessing and reward to us to be known by our grandchildren as loving God and going to preach the gospel. Of course all our 'religious' relatives and old friends know this too but they call us things like being a Jesus freak or a religious wacko or something. The worldly people and the little children see more truth than the 'professed Christians' in denominational religion, it seems.
What do your children see of you? Your grandchildren? Your neighbor, family, acquaintances and co-workers?
I recall many years ago as a new babe in Christ (months old), brother Jim and I were looking for some gallon sized glass jars and came across a great deal of them at .25 cents each if we bought a load of them. The woman we were dealing with was clearly a pagan / gaia worshipper / new ager whatever you want to call them. As we were loading the vehicle, she was telling us about the Amish next door. She didn't say anything about their love of God or their preaching of the gospel, she said 'Oh they are great fun! We have such good times with them!" I remember being astounded and thinking that's not what they should be known as and what is it they were doing with them that was so much fun?! (btw...We quickly learned that the Amish are all about man made traditions and not the gospel or new life in Christ.) Yes, we did share the gospel with her.
Let us each use every day to shine the light of Christ to those around us and if we live it out daily, in full obedience, there will be no doubt about who we are and what our fruit shows about us.
The American election is over (well...sort of) and before it the entire nation was wrapped up in it.
This picture was taken outside a business where the owner claims to be a Christian. What's he going to be known for? We see that a lot in the religious places...they have more zeal over politics than they do the truth of God's word. (Slapping something holy on the profane...I pray they repent.)
Let us godly women live our lives in full obedience and the world will visually see who we stand for and let our speech be seasoned with the truth and they will have no doubt what our fruit is all about. (See a post from brother Jim's discernment blog about obedience not being legalism HERE.)
And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; [10] That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ; [11] Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God. Philippians 1:9-11
No flower picture tonight, this one is in honor of my gardening sisters:-)
I hope your gardens were fruitful but even more so, your lives.
Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? [17] Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. [18] A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. [19] Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. [20] Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Matthew 7:16-20