GOOD FRUIT OR BAD FRUIT

Good Fruit or Bad Fruit

Scripture:

"And how from infancy your have know the Holy
Scriptures, which are able to make you wise
for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus."
(2 Timothy 3:15)

Walk With C. S. Lewis

"The terrible thing, the almost impossible thing, is
to hand over your whole self--all your wishes and
precautions-- in Christ.
"But it is far easier than what ware all trying to do
instead. For what we are trying to do is to remain
what we call 'ourselves.' to keep personal happiness
as our great aim in life, and yet at the same time be
'good'. We are all trying to let our mind and our heart
go there own way----centered on money or pleasure or
ambition--- and hoping, in spite of this, to behave honestly
and humbly."And that is exactly what Christ warned that
we could not do. As He said, a thistle cannot produce figs.
If I am a field that contains nothing but grass seed, I
cannot produce wheat. Cutting the grass may keep it
short, but I shall still produce grass and no wheat. If I
want produce wheat, the change must go deeper that
the surface. I must be plowed up and resown.

Walk Closer to God

"Every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears
bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree
cannot produce good fruit." (Matthew 7: 17,18). All good
works in the world cannot make a Christian, any more than
wishful thinking and hard work can make carrots in cabbages.
But once Christ is planted in the heart, you need never wonder
again what harvest will spring up.
(Walk Through The Bible)

I guess the question here is: Are you a good tree bearing good
fruit? or A bad tree bearing bad fruit?

DO YOU HAVE THE JOY OF GODS PRESENCE

On that day the announcement to Jerusalem will be,
"Cheer up, Zion! Don't be afraid! For the Lord your God
has arrived to live among you. He is a mighty savior.
He will rejoice over you with great gladness. With his love,
he will calm all our fears. He will exult over you by singing
a happy song."
Zephaniah 3:16-17 NLT

I know the Lord is always with me, I will not be shaken,
for he is right beside me. No wonder my heart is filled
with joy, and my mouth shouts his praises!
Psalm 16:8-9 NLT

Reflection:

Can you really say this: I know the Lord is always
with me, I will not be shaken, for he is right beside
me. No wonder my heart is filled with joy, and my
mouth shouts his praises!
I don't know where you are in your life. But lately I've
been feeling lonely and a little depressed. When I
feel this way, I think about how my life has been.
I begin to think of all the negative things in my life.
Boy, have I been a sinner and still am. I have not
been the kind of Christian, that I wanted to be. I
have not attained many of the goals I set out to
achieve. I have had many relationships fail in my
life. And I realize that it is only my faith that keeps
me going. I was feeling like this the other day,
and I happened to see this verse. I was reminded
that my God is always with me, no matter where
I am at in my life. I must not be shaken because
my God is right there beside me. Then my heart
is honestly and most truthfully filled with joy, and
I begin praising my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
My God is your God and He is always there for
you!

Prayer:

Lord I lift your name on high
And I come to sing your praises
You came from heaven to earth, to show the way
From the earth to the cross, my debt to pay
From the cross to the grave,
From the grave to the sky,
Lord I lift your name on high.

Quote
Anne Frank
Diarist, Holocaust Victim (1929-1945)

"I still believe that people are really good at heart.
I simply can't build up my hopes on a foundation
consisting of confusion, misery and death....If I l
look up to the heavens, I think it will all come right,
that this cruelty too will end, and that peace and
tranquility will return again."

WHEN YOU ARE DEPRESSED

Prayer When Your Are Depressed
By: Dr. Walter L. Weston

God, life seems so bleak and useless right now.
I don't have any energy. I have no ambition to do
much of anything. I am really feeling down.
I feel "down on" myself and "down on" everyone
around me. Even as I pray, I don't sense your
presence. I am going through the motions,
knowing that you are still with me.

I know that I am sacred and precious but they
are just words right now. I know that my life has
been worthwhile, full of many wonderful people
and experiences, much happiness and joy.
I feel little of this right now. God, all I can do is
affirm the goodness of life and try to hold on until
the darkness is replaced by your light and love.

Help me to spot the lies that my depressed emotions
are telling me. Life is good. I am good. You are good.
Grant me hope. My loved ones love me. Life will be
beautiful again. Soon, I will see the beauty around
me again. Soon, I will again know vitality and
purpose, happiness and love. Until then, give me
the strength and hope to survive this day.

Help me to smile and laugh, even if just for a
moment. Be my strength and salvation. I ask
you to restore me and make me whole. Fill
me with the Word and the Spirit that I might
be recreated anew. I praise and thank you. Amen.

Who Is Your Hero

I read this from www.heartlight.org, I thought you would
enjoy reading it.

VERSE:
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our
faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning
its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
-- Hebrews 12:2
http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=Hebrews+12:2

THOUGHT:
Who is your hero? I'm not asking for the Sunday school class
answer, but the person you most actively admire! It is hard to "fix
our eyes on Jesus" because he is not here where we can see him like
other heroes. But he was the ultimate adventurer and trailblazer.
He faced the horrific penalty and shame of the cross, taking away
our sin! He did it so that we could have a hero that death and sin
could not destroy, mar, or taint. He did it so that we could be
confident that if we follow in his footsteps, the trail he blazed
wasn't just for him, but for us, too!

PRAYER:
Holy God, forgive me when I chase what is false and let my focus
shift from Jesus as my ultimate hero. I want to honor and serve
him, having his life come alive in me, so that others may know the
confidence that comes in having Jesus as their Lord. Words cannot
express my gratitude to my Lord for his sacrifice and the horrible
price he paid for my sins. Neither can words express my jubilation
at his trailblazing victory that assures that I will someday be
with you forever! It is in his name, Jesus Christ, that I pray.
Amen.

http://www.heartlight.org/cgi-shl/todaysverse.cgi?day=20070910

IS GOD YOUR FRIEND

Scripture:

"No longer do I call you servants, for a servant
does not know what his master is doing: but I
have called you friends." (John 15:15)

Reflection:

Have you ever seen this quote by Claude Mermet
"Friends are like melons; let me tell you why: To find
a good one, you must one hundred try!"
Its really hard to find a good friend isn't it?
I mean lets face it, it's and important position. To
be called a friend is very important, very important indeed.
And you just don't want anyone you can call friend.
I wonder if God identifies with that, I wonder if it's hard
for God to find good friends. I wonder if God ever feels
that way about us? When you think about it, isn't one
of the things that you strive for in your relationship with
your child, not only to be a good mother or father but also
a friend. If we feel like that with our children, How do
you think God feels about us as His children. Your God
your creator, your savior, your king, and He
is there wanting to be your friend. You know a good friend
is there for you, a good friend loves and cares for you, a
good friend will do anything for you. Wait a minute, doesn't
that describe God? GOD....IS....YOUR....FRIEND!!!!!
He is always there, why don't you give your friend a call.

Prayer:

Oh Lord my friend, thank you for being there for me.
You are my God and King, and You are my friend,
and I am Your friend and servant. Thank You God
that I am secure in the fact that I can always come
before you as a friend. THANK YOU GOD FOR BEING GOD!
In Jesus Name AMEN

WHEN WE FEEL SAD

Scripture:

"God will strengthen you with His own
great power so you will not give up
when troubles come but you will be
patient." ( Colossians 1:11) NCV

Reflection:

It's terrible being sad, it can consume
your entire life. Sadness leads to so many
negative things in our lives, it can even make
us to weak to care about life. What can we do
if we get to that point? We can reach out to
the power of God. We can hold on to God
and never give up. No matter how sad we
get we have God. He cares for us and love's
us. With His own great power, He will
strengthen us. It's amazing, with God's
power, what we can do. All we have to do
is have a little patience. That's right
patience. And after, with God's power,
that sadness is lifted, spread your new
found happiness to others. JUST
REMEMBER WITH GOD'S POWER
YOU CAN TURN YOUR DARKNESS INTO
THE LIGHT OF JESUS CHRIST.

Prayer:

Oh Mighty God I'm sad today. I call upon
your power to give me strength to overcome
this sadness and turn into happiness. You
are my light out of this world of darkness.
Thank you God for being my light.
In Jesus Christ name Amen.
­

When We Feel Lonely

Scripture:

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (New International Version)
New International Version (NIV)

The God of All Comfort
3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4who
comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those
in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received
from God.

Reflection:

There is no worst feeling than that of loneliness.
It is so very true, "That you can be in a crowded
room and still feel lonely". Loneliness can make a
person feel so very empty. But you don't need to
feel lonely or empty. Isn't it wonderful to know that
God is with us? You are never alone because God is
always, I repeat always with you. That is why my
faith is so strong, because my God is always with me.
What a wonderful feeling knowing God loves me and
is with me. And because of this realization, when I see
other people lonely, I need to make sure I make them
feel loved. You see this simple act can be a God sent
experience to a lonely person. So the next time you
feel lonely, get happy with God, and pass it on.

Prayer:

Lord I praise You and look upon you with wonder.
God make me an instrument of your companionship
and love to all those who are lonely.
In Jesus Name AMEN.