Tuesday, September 27, 2011

old post - fruit checking

And the third "old post" for the morning - this one from May 14, 2009. This one still rings as true, or truer, today than it did then... BTW - Vanessa worked EMS at the Air Show in Halls on Sunday while I tried out a new church... We'll see what happens...


This is another post on the mailing list I’m on from heartlight.org -

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Fruit Checking

"Be careful of false prophets. They come to you and look {gentle} like sheep. But they are really dangerous {like} wolves. You will know these people because of the things they do. Good things don't come from bad people, the same as grapes don't come from thorn bushes. And figs don't come from thorny weeds. In the same way, every good tree makes good fruit. And bad trees make bad fruit. A good tree cannot make bad fruit. And a bad tree cannot make good fruit. Every tree that does not make good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. You will know these false people by the fruit they make (things they do)."
                           -- Matthew 7:15-20 (ERV)


I’m catching up on my backlog of email (probably won’t ever reach zero inbox status, but I don’t want it to grow TOO big) and ran across this one. It’s long, but I forced myself to slow down and read it. Go ahead - read it again...

Sounds like a warning, right? Be careful of others. Watch out for a wolf in sheep’s clothing, etc. I read it another way... What kind of fruit am I producing? I must say that I don’t feel like I’m producing anything tasty right now. The last few weeks have seen me at church less than I’d like. Sure I can blame it on a late night visit to the ER, not feeling well, having an ox in the ditch, etc. But the truth is I’ve not felt the burning desire to be there. With everything that’s been going on, I don’t feel like I have anything to offer. I know that’s not the right attitude though, and I am making the commitment to myself right now to trust Him to lead me, guide me and most of all direct my actions and how I use my energy.

Comment from rcyork - Jim, I know what you mean. I can count on my fingers the number of times I've been in church since Thanksgiving. Oh have reasons, but they are sounding more like excuses.

Comment from Brent - It's been really tough for me, too, particularly since I was invited not to contribute musically anymore last year. It's good that the Lord has given me a family to keep me from straying too far.


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