Will Jesus Know You From Your Fruit?
Good Morning Friends,
Imitating the faith of others is instructional but not sufficient to produce fruit. One must cultivate one’s own relationship with Jesus to mature spiritually in the power of the Holy Spirit. Knowing about Jesus and his birth is just part of the journey. The fullness of time brings Jesus into the world. The fullness of the Spirit of God is what makes our time joyous and brings a harvest. The seed of the greatest multiplying and affirming force in the universe must sprout in us as a relationship of joy that produces spiritual growth. This season of Christmas is a season to be born into this relationship of love with the growing light of the divine incarnation. Truly it is as the bumper sticker says. It is either No Jesus, No Peace or Know Jesus, Know Peace. But there is more for even the demons know Jesus. Will Jesus Know You From Your Fruit?
Scripture: ‘Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will know them by their fruits. ‘Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord”, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only one who does the will of my Father in heaven. On that day many will say to me, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?” Then I will declare to them, “I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers.”
Matthew 7:15-23 (NRSV)
Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.
1 Corinthians 11:1 (NRSV)
You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder.
James 2:19 (NRSV)
But the evil spirit said to them in reply, ‘Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?’
Acts 19:15 (NRSV)
Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.
1 Corinthians 13:8-12 (NRSV)
And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.
2 Corinthians 3:18 (NRSV)
Message: There is a lot of scripture to reflect on today and learning to read and write about it is a little like learning to love in a way that bears fruit. It needs practice and preparation in the planting and picking of thoughts. We need time learning to read but more importantly we need time to learn to love the process of bearing spiritual fruit. Daily we grow in the meditating and magnifying on our calling to live in the bountiful overflow of God’s love shared… of the Word made flesh. Spending time with others helps us to make the connections of actions and relationships and emotions and collective accomplishments. Here we discover that gifts are temporary. They are elementary building blocks that will pass away. Knowledge and prophecy are incomplete. Even the skill of reading at best only gives us a fragmentary understanding of God and Christ and the good news. We pick up a word here and a word there giving us glimpses of the heavenly reality. It is here that we discover that only love is eternal. It is the seed of our survival and though we have the thought of it flowering only an action of love transforms…only this kind of love lasts…only this kind of love produces that which endures. Friends, we are to have an attitude of love and devotion of a Mary for her child. A love that was also in Christ Jesus and that is about growing in the fruit of Spirit each day…bearing, birthing something to glorify God’s beauty.
Pray we grow in the Spirit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Pray we grow in grace, knowledge and service of the Lord Jesus Christ. Pray we learn to mature in our ability to love. Pray we see more clearly…love more dearly…follow thee more nearly day by day. Pray on this last Sunday of Advent 2015 and each successive day of our lives we act in a way that writes scripture on our hearts and bears the fruit of love in our lives that keeps on giving. Pray that Jesus knows we are followers by the fruit of our love.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 