Tag: Good

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The Final Nail

NOVEMBER 15

MATTHEW 7:18_neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

Jesus drives the final nail to secure the truth. It is not enough to know that good is good and evil is evil. We must grasp that the two cannot cross over into each other. 

Good can never be evil, neither evil ever be good. If we’ve made the broad path to destruction our source, and we want to get off—it will require a total change. Repentance. We can’t just remain on the broad path and some day it will lead us to a life of freedom. The broad path always leads to destruction. That’s how this creation principle works. A corrupt tree cannot bring forth good fruit.  

The total change to get off the broad path is to leave it. Enter the strait gate and walk the narrow path. You cannot remain on the narrow path and fall into destruction. The narrow path always leads to a life of freedom. That’s how this creation principle works. 

One more time—it’s about the source! The broad path is the source to destruction and can be nothing else. The narrow path is the source to life and can be nothing else. Don’t get confused that people are the source. People will become what their source is..

Those whose source is the narrow path can be trusted—mistakes and all.              

PRAYER

Savior, I need discernment to know the people I can trust. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.     

Christ can always be trusted—I will follow Him!

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The Nail That Holds Together

NOVEMBER 14

MATTHEW 7:18_A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit…

This verse is the nail that holds together the principles which build this house. 

We are going a little deeper into the principle of a good tree brings forth good fruit. Jesus puts a bit of a spin on that— a good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit. Get this into your heart and meditate on it. It isn’t just that good produces good. It’s that the good cannot produce evil.

Let’s think of it in terms of a good teacher. This is a teacher whose teachings line up with the truths of the Bible. A teacher whose love and concern for you is unconditional—although you may not see that in the beginning. It takes time and some maturity to understand all the aspects of unconditional love. For instance, this is the teacher who taught you the truth even when you rejected and rebelled against it. This is the teacher who, when you finally had enough of your own bondage, welcomed you back to the fold and led you to freedom. This is the teacher who stands by you when times are tough.

This teacher is Jesus. The source you can count on not to produce evil in your life.

You don’t have to worry about this One being a ravening wolf. A good tree is salt and light!            

PRAYER

Lamb of God, I need people in my life who are salt and light. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.     

 Christ cannot produce evil fruit—I can trust in Him!

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The Key Word is “With”

NOVEMBER 9

MATTHEW 7:17_Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit…

Trying to do what is right and good can be overwhelming. There’s a reason for that—it is! You’ll never achieve it. Your being good doesn’t fit in that creation plan of good produces good.

Let’s go back to that verse in John 15 (KJV) which says, “5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”

Jesus just hit a home run! He didn’t say anything about doing good on our own. Nor did Jesus say if you work hard enough you’ll bear good fruit. He said, without Him you can’t do anything [good]. Nothing! Nada! Naught! Zilch! Do you get that? 

There’s only one way to bear good fruit—be a good tree. There’s only one way to be a good tree—abide in the true vine. Luke 1:37 (KJV), “For with God nothing shall be impossible.” The key word in that verse is with. Your ability to make the impossible possible is in the word with.

Your ability to produce good fruit is in the word abide. You not only can produce good fruit, but according to Jesus you can bring forth much fruit.    

PRAYER

Powerful God, I want to be with You and abide in You. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.                                                                                                                  

Christ helps me bear much good fruit – I abide in Him!

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Every Time!

 NOVEMBER 8

MATTHEW 7:17_Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit…

Now the perfect combination! Grapes and thorns don’t combine, neither do figs and thistles. But good trees and good fruit combine every time! Here’s God’s creation design—good produces good. Be a good gardener, plant this principle in your heart.

Ask yourself a question. Do your eyes allow in good only? What your eyes allow in stays in … the heart … the mind. With time it takes root and grows. Depending upon how much you tend and nurture, what your eyes have taken in begins to bear fruit.

If you’ve taken in evil the fruit resembles thorns. Thorns can pierce the people in your life. Some people may even begin to avoid being too close to you for fear of the pain. The fruit that resembles thistles can appear attractive, but the briars on the stems pierce those who try to be close to you. This leads to a hot mess! You cannot find genuine relationships. Your life is grown up with thorns and weeds. This also applies to what you allow your ears to hear, your hands to touch, and where your feet go.

In your quest to become perfect, you can ask, seek, and knock for righteousness. Let the Holy Spirit guide in these areas, and let good produce good.        

PRAYER

Only God, I want to produce good fruit for Your kingdom. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.                                                                                                                  

Christ is the good tree—In Him I produce good fruit!

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That Good and Better

OCTOBER 22

MATTHEW 7:13_Enter ye in at the strait gate…

Your world entry – you are born. Your adulthood entry – you make decisions for yourself.

There is always some form of authority—first and foremost God’s. When parents no longer pick you up, take you places, or make decisions for you, it is time to spread your wings and fly!

Jesus wants you to enter this new (adult) life through the strait gate. You’ve heard about the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow? God has something that good and better through the strait gate. 

Jesus has not quite completed His sermon, but everything He has taught thus far leads to the right path. By the time you reach the end of this sermon, you will have uncovered an extremely large treasure (and this is only three chapters out of the entire Bible!).

John 14:2-5 (KJV), “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. 4 And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.5 Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?”

Thomas wasn’t sure about the way. Jesus’ says it’s the strait gate!

PRAYER

Eternal God, I want to enter in at the strait gate. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.                                                                                                 

Christ is the strait gate—He will lead me!