Good fruit or bad fruit?

“No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of." - Luke 6:43-45

These words of Jesus teach us that a tree will be recognized by its fruit. And this doesn't seem complicated to grasp, except that is also a powerful reminder that a tree will only produce good fruit if it is watered, fertilized and cared for. We can't expect to see delicious fruit growing from our lives (trees) if we are feeding it rubbish or not caring for it at all.

Thought: Would you say that you are producing good fruit (or bad) at the moment? Why?

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Two trees

Good Friday reminds us of many things relating to the work and person of Jesus. We may hear many sermons or songs this year, but ALL of these will capture the essence of a God who loves us beyond comprehension. 

St Irenaeus – “A tree in Paradise made us Debtors to God. A tree on Golgotha has wiped away our debt.”

Ephesians 1:7 - In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace

May you experience the true love of Jesus this year. Our sins are forgiven. 

Living in grace

D3LM3

A Great Tree - Ezekiel 31

Redwoods are renowned as the tallest trees in the world, frequently reaching over 90 metres in height. At present the tallest Redwood on record is a monster tree named Hyperion, which stands at 115 metres (which is around 380 feet).

When God spoke to Ezekiel about Pharaoh and he predicted the end of his reign, God asked him to use the image of a tall Cedar tree. You can read the whole chapter in Ezekiel 31, but I will give you a glimpse into the message with these few verses:

¹⁰ “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because the great cedar towered over the thick foliage, and because it was proud of its height, ¹¹ I gave it into the hands of the ruler of the nations, for him to deal with according to its wickedness. I cast it aside, ¹² and the most ruthless of foreign nations cut it down and left it. Its boughs fell on the mountains and in all the valleys; its branches lay broken in all the ravines of the land. All the nations of the earth came out from under its shade and left it. ¹³ All the birds settled on the fallen tree, and all the wild animals lived among its branches.

God is focusing on the pride of Pharaoh, who claimed he was above all other gods. The image of the giant Cedar falling to the earth was vivid enough to make people realise that God was serious and that no one can compare with the Lord's might. 

Just we peek forward into Holy Week today's reading reminds us of how the pride of Pharisees got the better of them and how they wouldn't accept that Jesus was Messiah. Pride gets us into trouble, at the best of times. We would do well to keep our delusions of grandeur in check.

Living in Grace
D3LM3 

Heart rings

One can tell the age of a tree by the number of rings that it has on it - obviously you can only see these after it has been cut down. I was privileged enough to see a tree that looked 150 years old yesterday. The stump of the tree was impressive and I could imagine how stately the tree looked in it's prime. I am not sure what caused the tree to be chopped down - old age or progress, but what remains is the proof of the age.

It got me thinking about our spiritual hearts and whether there are "marks" or "rings" that appear for every year we follow Jesus. I know that every year we get older we show signs of wrinkles, hair loss, and other wear and tear, but what about our Spiritual core?

For me, the fact of the matter is this: When we pass away their will be signs of our physical age - albeit if we are young or old. But these signs don't count towards our Eternal lives at all. Jesus spoke about us all being "Born again" or "Born anew" in John 3 - these are the years that will count in the long run. These are the "rings" that God looks for when we meet him face to face. Well, that's what I believe in any case.

1 Peter 1:23 - "For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God."

What are your thoughts?

Living in Grace
D3LM3

Upside down tree

Josh and Kim were travelling to school the other morning when he asked her, "Mommy, why are those trees upside down?" Kim was a little confused and asked him to show her which trees he was referring to. When she saw the trees she noticed that they were not upside down, but that they had just shed all their leaves. They looked upside down, but it was merely the bare branches showing.

Sometimes things may look upside down, but perhaps they are not. Perhaps they are the right way up, but just look a little different from our perception.

Any thoughts?

Living in Grace
D3LM3