Luke 13:6-9 – “And He began telling this parable: “A man had a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and did not find any.  7 “And he said to the vineyard-keeper, ‘Behold, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree without finding any. Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground?’  8 “And he answered and said to him, ‘Let it alone, sir, for this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer; 9 and if it bears fruit next year, fine; but if not, cut it down.'” NASB

This is somewhat of a difficult passage for many people to fully wrap their minds around and accept.  The reason I say that is if you fully examine the message it suggests that there can and will come a time when God through the Holy Spirit will deem that a person has become nothing more than an ornamental shrub rather than a fruit tree in the Kingdom.  Two possibilities can be arrived at in this.  One, if you fail to produce fruit in your life through relationship and obedience to God, He may choose to remove you from the earthly orchard and take you home.  Second, failure to produce fruit separates you from God and that is seen in ‘cut it down.’

Regardless which interpretation you choose, the fact is clear that God is not desirous of ornamental shrubs in his garden He wants trees that ‘bear fruit.’  The kingdom is not enhanced by fruitlessness!  Lives are not touched by fruitlessness!  If we are nothing more than an ornamental shrub in the garden of God, we have little functional value.  I do not mean to suggest that you have to be a pulpit preacher or doing great exploits for the Kingdom simply that you are doing what the Holy Spirit has and does give you to do and being faithful in that.  If you do that you will BEAR FRUIT, the fruit God chooses not the fruit man deems valuable.  Our lives should be trees that the lost can come to and be introduced to the life-changing fruit of salvation.  Our lives should be trees that the saved can come to and receive the life-enhancing fruit of wisdom, knowledge, encouragement, and brotherhood.

We are to be Trees of Righteousness and those trees bear fruit.  If you want to know how Jesus feels about fruitlessness reexamine his reaction to the Fig Tree that had leaves indicating fruit but no figs.  That will move you to serious thought and hopefully such self-examination that you will turn to Him and call out for His mercy and pray like David, “Renew in me a right spirit, create in me a clean heart, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.” 

We have been equipped, commissioned, and commanded to Bear Fruit!  Examine your heart and life and if you are fruitless it is time to run to the Throne Room of prayer and cry out for renewal and restoration in an attitude of repentance.

God bless you as you go through your day!

Colossians 3:1-4 – “Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. 3 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”  NASB

I love it when the Bible says ‘therefore’ because if you will continue reading or read the previous you will find out what the ‘therefore’ is there for.  Here the apostle Paul is teaching about the New Self and as he begins his discourse in this passage, he says, THEREFORE…. Therefore what?

1. IF you have been RAISED up with Christ.

That is a conditional statement that renders the remainder null and void if the answer to that assertion is in the negative.  This Only Applies to those who have been Raised Up with Christ in the New Birth.  It only applies to those who have been grafted into the true vine, adopted into the Family of God, and have their names written in the Book of Life.  It is not speaking to everyone but has a specific audience in mind – Believers!

• IF that is your condition THEN keep seeking the things above.

If you are born again by the blood of Jesus then make it a daily and continual practice in your life to SEEK the things of God, those things where Jesus resides at the Right Hand of the Father. 

• IF that is your condition SET your mind on the things above not on the things of the earth.

Your focus, loyalty, and desire are to be spiritual things not earthly things.  That should be the overriding characteristic of your life.

            WHY?  Because you have ‘died and your life is hidden with Christ’.  Because when Christ is revealed, you will be revealed with Him in glory.  You are just a sojourner in this world.  You are just passing through.  Your ultimate citizenship is not this world but the Eternal World of God.  You are looking for the City whose builder and maker is God.  Your desire is God above all else.  You have been transferred or translated from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of God’s Light.  You are BORN AGAIN!  Therefore…

            The ‘therefore’ is there for you to know what you have and where you are headed as well as to give you guidance on How to Live while you make your journey from this natural world to God’s eternal spiritual world – HEAVEN!  You have an assignment, responsibility, and opportunity but your ultimate objective and goal – – ETERNITY!

God bless you as you go through your day!

2 Corinthians 10:1-6 – “Now I, Paul, myself am pleading with you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ — who in presence am lowly among you, but being absent am bold toward you. 2 But I beg you that when I am present I may not be bold with that confidence by which I intend to be bold against some, who think of us as if we walked according to the flesh. 3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, 6 and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.” NKJV

It has been my experience in life, both in practice and observation, that too many people just do not know how to fight.  They fight but as one ‘beating the air’ and ‘shadow boxing’ without really accomplishing anything except utter exhaustion and disappointment.  I’ve observed people try to fight spiritual battles with natural weapons and usually end up dividing and alienating other people rather than accomplishing the objective of God and the Spirit of God which is always ‘reconciliation’ and ‘liberty.’

Paul makes it clear that we cannot divest ourselves of ‘the flesh’ we live in an earthly tabernacle of clay called FLESH.  We will battle ‘fleshly tendencies’ as long as we remain on this planet or in this life.  However, he made it equally clear that our ‘battles’ are not to be fought in the natural but the spiritual and that those weapons afforded or supplied to us by God Himself are ‘mighty’ able to pull down ‘strongholds’ and bring every thought into obedience to Christ.  That is powerful!

This leads to the thought that at least part of the battle is waged in the mind.  If we get our thinking right, we will get our acting right, our living right, and our relationships right.  We are not what we think we are, but we are a product of what we think.  We are the product of what we allow to be planted, grow, and develop in our minds.  Our ‘thought life’ is incredibly important and a key part of our ‘spiritual weaponry’ and ‘spiritual warfare.’  Too many fail to comprehend this and never seek to allow the Holy Spirit to have control of our THOUGHTS but let them run around unsupervised and unbridled.  That is not only dangerous it is destructive.

If we are to learn how to fight, we must learn how to bring our thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ and thereby pull-down strongholds.  We must be ready to bring rogue and destructive thoughts to the Cross and allow them to be crucified there with Jesus nailing them to the Cross and having them covered with the precious blood of Jesus. 

Our thoughts are far more important to our victory in our Christian walk than most are willing to acknowledge because to acknowledge that would mean that they have to take responsibility for what they think.  They could no longer declare, “Well I can’t help thoughts coming.”  That is true but you can prevent them from staying!  You can prevent them from being able to take root and grow.  You are responsible for WHAT YOU THINK.  Our entire person belongs to God, not just parts!

As you go through this day go with the realization that your thoughts are important, and you are responsible for what you think. 

God bless you as you go through your day!

Nehemiah 4:6 – “So we built the wall and the whole wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.”  NASB

In this account of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, there were obstacles and opposition but Nehemiah had a heart to see the city rebuilt and believed that God’s hand was upon them and the work not only could be accomplished but would be accomplished.  Sanballat, Tobia, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites were all in opposition because it threatened their standing and was a sign that the God of All Living was restoring a people who would follow Him in the land.

Nehemiah says that the wall was built and the whole wall joined together to half its height because the people ‘had a mind to work.’  Nothing ever gets done unless that becomes the attitude of a people.  We have to look past the obstacles and opposition to the God of All Living and realize that He will enable us to accomplish that which appears impossible.  In this labor, several things shine forth to me.

1. The mindset of the people was to DO THE WORK.

They believed the report of Nehemiah and were inspired to invest their time and energy in the accomplishment of the task set before them. 

• The OPPOSITION surfaced almost immediately.

Anytime the people of God begin to move toward accomplishing a God-ordained task the devil’s crowd immediately and viciously attack. 

• The people not only PRAYED, and WORKED, but the ARMED THEMSELVES.

It was not ‘spiritual weapons’ alone that they took up but swords, spears, bows, etc.  They were committed to ‘fighting in the natural’ if necessary to accomplish the purposes of God and achieve their freedom. 

• GOD demonstrated His greatness on their behalf.

God will bring to naught the attempts of the enemy if we will remain faithful and diligent in pursuit of His purposes.

Whatever is set before you by the Spirit of God and any godly challenge presented by the leaders should be entered into prayerfully but with total commitment to see it through to the conclusion.  If we make a total commitment and rely on God we will find SUCCESS!  That my friend is the Secret to Success – – Commitment. Determination and Faith.  Those will be the lights leading us to the successful accomplishment of the purpose set before us.

May God be with you as you go through your day!

1 John 2:1-2 – “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; 2 and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.”  NASB

It is clear from scripture that only God can forgive sin and that you and I, as sinful human beings, have no claim upon God. Our only access or hope of pardon comes through the sacrificial work of Jesus on the Cross as a sacrifice for the sin of mankind.  It is by ‘grace’ that we are saved through ‘faith’ and not works.  It is recognition of our condition, admission of our guilt, repentance, and reception of what He has done, who He is, and the forgiveness that comes to us as a result.

It is interesting to note that while most of the mentions of the word translated advocate or prakleetos is normally applied to the ministry and person of the Holy Spirit.  Here it is applied to Jesus and depicts the imagery of one representing us in a court of law.  However, it is quite different than what would be the normal course of a human attorney.  For no human attorney would begin his defense of his client by acknowledging their guilt but Jesus does! 

A human attorney would seek to find either justification for the actions of the client or put into question the guilt of that person they represent.  They would be seeking ‘reasonable doubt’ in the minds of the jurors.  Not so with Jesus, He readily and immediately acknowledges our guilt.  He acknowledges that we are guilty as charged and makes no attempt to conceal or justify our sin.  He then becomes surety for us and the universe.  He brings to the fore His sacrifice and identifies that He has satisfied ‘divine justice’ with regard to sin and that based on our repentance and reception of His sacrifice we can be and should be acquitted of the punishment for our sin.  He presents the case for our admission or adoption into the family of God.

Do not think that you will ever be able to argue your case before the Father and win, you won’t.  If you try to stand on your own merit you will fail.  If you fall on the mercy of the court and receive the ‘Blood of Jesus’ as the covering and cleansing of your sin you will walk into eternity ‘white as snow’ having been washed in the blood of the lamb.  The choice is yours.  You can believe and receive, or you can deny and try to justify yourself.  I only recommend the former not the latter.

God bless you as you go through your day!

Proverbs 30:5 – “Every word of God is tested; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.” NASB

Psalms 18:30 – “As for God, His way is blameless; The word of the LORD is tried; He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.”  NASB

Every word of God is tested and/or tried.  That is a most interesting declaration and one that is somewhat difficult to wrap our heads around.  What exactly are the Psalmist and the writer of Proverbs saying?  With the complete confidence that nothing in the Bible is a casual afterthought but has meaning and specificity I can only determine that “Every Word of God is tested or tried.”  But what does that mean?

At the risk of sounding wiser than I am, I believe it can be viewed from several reference points.  The Psalmist began by saying, “As for God, His way is blameless…”  That is an absolute!  God is perfectly and completely pure, holy, righteous, and perfect therefore nothing in Him or nothing He does is flawed.  Then after making the declaration that the word of God is tested, he says, “He (God) is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.”  That is the same declaration as the writer of Proverbs.  God is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.

The revelation found in 2 Samuel 22:31 is the same, “As for God, His way is blameless; the word of the LORD is tested; He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.”  NASB In Psalms 12:6 we are told that “the words of the LORD are pure words; as silver tried in a furnace on the earth, refined seven times.”  That is a picture of putting the words through a process that verifies their validity.  Then in Psalms 119:140, we read, “Thy word is very pure…”

The Words of God are God Himself and reflect the Character and Nature of God.  I grew up hearing, “A man’s word is his bond.”  Also, “A promise is only as good as the giver of the promise.”  Every Word of God is backed by the Character of God which is perfect.  He cannot lie, does not fail, and has chosen to forever love us. 

We have the assurance of God’s Word in Numbers 23:19, “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? “ The Word of God is continually tested and has been proven by and in the lives of believers for some six millennia.  No believer has ever found God’s Word to be anything but the truth.

I have another perspective from which this declaration that I believe can be applied.  If you receive a Word of Prophecy or a Word from God to you that Word is Tested.  Every Promise you receive will be tested.  The enemy of your soul will seek to dissuade you from standing on the Promise.  He will seek to entice you to disbelieve and abandon the promise. 

I have heard things in my Spirit from the Holy Spirit through the Word of God that reflected a Promise or a directive for my life.  Every time, there has been an assault on that promise.  I encourage you to reread Galatians 6:9, “And let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary.”  Also reread Psalms 91 regarding God’s Promise of provision, defense, safety, and care if we abide in Him.  Also, Matthew 6:33 regarding seeking Him first and foremost above everything.

The admonishment by the apostle Paul in Ephesians 6:13-14 is powerful.  He said, “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand, therefore…”  We are told in James 4:7, to ‘submit’ to God and to ‘resist’ the devil and the promise is that he will flee from us.  The process is commitment to God or seek Him first and make a total surrender of our lives to Him.  Once that is done, we can then ‘resist’ the devil and in the condition of total surrender our resistance has the full power of the Word and Character of God behind it and the devil runs for cover.  We are saying what God says and what God says is…

Therefore, I suggest that the ‘testing’ or ‘trying’ of God’s Word is two-fold. His Word is put to the test and proven in our lives and His Word to us is challenged by the devil seeking to distract us.  If we are not distracted and stay focused, God’s Word is proven, and through the walking out of His promise we bring the Kingdom of God to the Earth and demonstrate, manifest, and represent Christ to others. 

NEVER and I mean NEVER abandon God’s Promises regardless of how things seem.  Do not adopt a mentality that, “whatever His will is will automatically transpire.”  Sometimes we have to enter the Kingdom and Possess the Promises by dispossessing the enemy and destroying his influence.  We have to fight!

God bless you and may you find the strength and grace to Stand after having done all to stand.  Have a Great Day!

Matthew 16:15-19 – “He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”  16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.  18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.  19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”  NKJV

            Upon this rock!  What rock should be the logical question?  The name Jesus used to identify Cephas (stone) was Peter (rock) is important but if we make Peter the foundation of the church what shall we do with Jesus?  The name Peter or Petros literally means a stone or fragment of a rock and without question, it is used in describing Peter metaphorically as one who has strength and stability.  Yet, when Jesus said, “… and on this rock” he used the word (Petra) which could be described as a Gibraltar type rock or mass which is unmovable and gives the image of impenetrability. 

If we go back to the question of Jesus for the disciples about whom the people believed Him to be and the response of Peter, we understand the rock that Jesus is building His church on.  Peter said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.”  You are the Messiah.  You are the One who is to come.  You are the Everlasting Lord.  You are Him!  Therefore, without question, the ROCK upon which the Church of Jesus is being established is the TRUTH of CHRIST, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.  The one who is the WAY, TRUTH, and LIFE.  The one who is the DOOR and only access to the Father.  UPON THAT ROCK stands the Church of Jesus Christ, the Glorious Church He was and is building.

This ROCK is unique for it is not immobile but able to assault the very gates of hell for Jesus declares, “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”  Greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world.  Jesus conquered hell and the grave and is not ascended on high making intercession for us.  He has promised to never leave us nor forsake us and is with us to the end of the age.  In His Father’s house are many mansions and He has gone to make a place for us and will come again to receive us unto Himself and we will ever be with the LORD.  The ROCK upon which I stand is Jesus Christ!  I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed to Him against that day! 

God bless you as your rest on and in the ROCK.  May your daily walk be in peace, power, and love!