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A Short Parable about a Tree and Fruit

Jul27

My mother tells a story on her blog over at BlantonSharplinFarms.com about one of her neighbors stopping to meet her because of her fruit.

Mama planted a peach tree but she cut the limbs and fruit off each year for quite a while. Mama pruned it so it would become strong enough to carry the fruit well. Finally one year the tree was strong and Mama let the peaches grow.

The neighbor had seen the tree but to her it looked like any other tree. She had never talked to Mama about the tree until she saw that fruit. She was attracted to the sweet fruit on the tree. It prompted her to stop and ask Mama if she could have some fruit. Mama told her all about the tree and invited her to come back when the fruit was ripe.

To the neighbor, the tree was like any other tree until the fruit appeared. She wanted the fruit that Mama had grown and Mama was happy to share and tell her all about the tree.

Keep pruning your tree until it is strong enough to grow good fruit and soon your neighbor will stop by to ask you for some fruit. Then you will have an opportunity to tell your neighbor all about your tree.

Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. [ John 15:4-5 ]

Just say JESUS

May26

‘And he was clothed with a vesture

dipped in blood:

and his name is called

The Word of God.’

In fact, I’ve discovered that the Name of Jesus–just the Name alone– is effective when spoken by a Word-abiding believer.

Revelation 19:13 says the Name of Jesus is the Word of God!

So, when an evil spirit is trying to bring sickness, poverty, depression, or any other garbage into my household, I don’t have to quote every scripture I know to stop him.

I can just point my finger at him and say, “Jesus!”

That’s like throwing the whole Word of God in his face at one time!

-Kenneth Copeland, Your Daily Faith to Faith for May 26, 2014

Philippians 2: 9-11
9 Therefore [because He stooped so low] God has highly exalted Him and has [f]freely bestowed on Him the name that is above every name,
10 That in (at) the name of Jesus every knee [g]should (must) bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 And every tongue [[h]frankly and openly] confess and acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Pray: My will is now Your will.

May25

Father,

I confess anew Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior today. Lord, You are the head of my life.

I completely yield myself to You. My will is now Your will. My plans are now Your plans.

As a new creation in Christ Jesus, I accept the gift of righteousness and all that gift includes: health, prosperity, peace, joy and life abundant. I put aside every weight and the sin that so easily besets me. I now look unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of my faith.

According to Your Word, I can now reign in this life as a king. The power of sin and death in my life has been overcome. No longer am I ruled by the forces of evil but by the God above all gods. I am more than a conqueror through Him who loves me.

I determine today to walk conscious of my right-standing with You, Lord, and with every step to draw closer and closer to You. Thank You for the gift of righteousness. Because of that gift, I can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens me.

In Jesus‘ Name,

Amen.

For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: 9 (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) 10 proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. 11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.12 For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. [Ephesians 5:8-12, emphasis added]

Meditate: To Will and To Do

May25

For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
Philippians 2:13

Willing and Doing.

Not the same thing. Both are necessary however neither is hard work for me now that I have been given the Holy Spirit.

For it is God who works IN YOU [emphasis added] to Will and to Do.

Today I will say to God, “I am Willing to be Willing and I am Willing YOU to Will and to Do in me Your Will and Your Doings.

Thanks, LORD.

to know HIM

May13
that I may know HIM

that I may know HIM

It’s ALL about ME.

It’s ALL about YOU, TOO.

The Bible is a LOVE story, not a Rule book. It’s NOT about OBEDIENCE. Whoa! It’s about somebody I love protecting me, helping me, saving me.

When Allen was stationed in Holland, he received a LOT of letters from me. I didn’t want to tell him what to do. I wanted him to know how much I thought about him, I wanted to find out how much he loved me.

Now… a part of Love and Marriage is commitment and obedience. But we do not do those things because we’re “supposed” to. We do it because we have a deep LOVE relationship and we do not want to hurt and we do not want to be hurt. We trust each other. We LOVE each other.

Remember ALWAYS that HE loved us FIRST. So, to share CHRIST with others, Let’s FIRST LOVE THEM.

[For my determined purpose is]
that I may know
 Him 
that I may
 progressively become 
more deeply and intimately
 acquainted with Him, 
perceiving 
and recognizing 
and understanding 
[the wonders of His Person] 
more strongly
 and more clearly. 
And that I may in that same way 
come to know
 the power
 outflowing from His resurrection.

-Philippians 3:10 Amp

Never Give Up

May12
Never Give Up

Never Give Up

O Father, I’m so tired of this struggle with [what’s bothering you] and I’m ready to give up. Please show me what to do. Help me to be willing to be willing to do it. I know I am never alone for you promised you would NEVER leave me. TODAY I will JUST KEEP SWIMMING. In JESUS’ name, Amen.

Be strong, courageous, and firm; fear not nor be in terror before them, for it is the Lord your God Who goes with you; He will not fail you or forsake you.

Deuteronomy 31:6

Opportunities for JOY

May12

Never Disappointed
TRUE Story

On the way home from Work, I ran out of gas. It was after nine at night and I was already late getting off because of lingering last minute shoppers.

I had not been able to get gas at work because I work the CLOSING shift and the pumps were already turned off. I skipped the previous stations because I am a little compulsive and I like to get gas at particular places that I am used to. I could SEE the gas station just ahead so when the truck died, I coasted as far as I could and tried to re-crank it. [That sometimes works, and this part reveals that I have run out of gas more than once.]

The truck would not start so I let it coast to the side of the road and turned off the lights. I called my Son, Leon. I told him that I was on the side of the road out of gas. He sent my Son, Allen to help me. I sat in the quiet and the dark for a few minutes contemplating.

It may surprise you that I was not upset in the LEAST little bit. I was full of JOY that my sons were on the way to help me. I was proud that they did not hesitate for a moment to come. I was also excited for the OPPORTUNITY to see my Son and hear his voice.

OPPORTUNITIES for JOY come disguised as inconvenience but WAIT Expectantly. JOY will come. Continue reading →

Thinking Lessons: Being Patient

Apr28

Patient ≠ Suffering | Patient = Rest

We want to be patient because patient is in the definition of LOVE and it is listed first. How many of us have cried out to our Lord, “Please make me patient and do it now!”

We just do not think we can change or we think we do not want to be patient because we associate it with suffering.

So let’s think about our thinking.

We do not have to become patient. It is called “BEING” patient.

We actually can be patient right now. How?

Patience is NOT changing or suffering, as we might think. To be patient means to remain the same in whatever circumstances.

Let me repeat that. It means to remain the same in whatever circumstances.

So first, spend time with the LORD.

Decide to act according to the TRUTH as it is revealed to you in God’s Word and then….

Then, Remain the SAME. Under whatever the circumstances. Remain the SAME. REST in the LORD.

And there you have it. You are patient.

Sounds easy, right? Just remember that you will have to make the CHOICE at the moment of the Stimulus to Respond according to the decision you already made.

Newton’s Law says, “An object that is at rest will stay at rest unless an external force acts upon it.”

Since an object at rest remains at rest, the work of being patient is just remembering what you already decided to do under the circumstance you happen to be in and then REMAIN at REST. The effort is only in re-focusing off our present circumstance and back onto our Redeemer being PRESENT.

APPLICATION:
If I am stuck in line and there is only one register open, even at the self-check, I just CHOOSE to remain the SAME- I remember that I have decided ahead of time that my Savior is called the WAY so I choose to spend the moments waiting meditating a scripture about loving my neighbor INSTEAD of grumbling at the employee who probably cannot do anything about HER circumstance except CHOOSE how she will act.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. [Colossians 3:15]

Willing to BE Willing

Mar19

Many times and in many ways, I have thought about how my CHOICES make my life happy or sad. In my post in the forum at Koinonia Institute, I was asked “When did Jesus “choose” you? Tell us something about your experience and walk with God.” This is what I said:

Jesus did indeed CHOOSE me before He created the world. My family is filled with generations of godly men and women serving Christ by making good CHOICES. For that, I myself am richly blessed. My mother was especially instrumental in bringing me to a place in my life that I began to CHOOSE to “love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind.” (Matthew 22:36)

In 1984, pregnant with my second child, I reached the end of my struggle to live without allowing Jesus into EVERY aspect of my life. I was hopeless and helpless but God was faithful. My mom led me in a prayer to ask Jesus to give me her faith and her hope and, most important to me, a willingness to serve Him with my whole life. I had been unwilling up to this point to trust Jesus completely, although intellectually I had acknowledged Him as my Lord and Savior. On that day, I CHOSE Him.

Like David, I heard the Lord say to me, “CHOOSE for yourself,…” (1 Chronicles 21:11 NKJV) And like David, I said,  “I am in great distress. Please let me fall into the hand of the LORD, for His mercies are very great…” (1 Chronicles 21:13 NKJV) [emphasis added]

My journey to joy began with my CHOICE to pray for Jesus to make me Willing to BE Willing to let Him live through me. There have been many milestones, many rocks, piled on my altar to Him so that I could come back to that place and remember the things I learned. But by FAR the BIGGEST ROCK is the one where I laid down FIRST- that Willing to BE Willing rock so that Jesus could then be my ROCK.

And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, CHOOSE for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. (Joshua 24:15 NKJV) [emphasis added]

Sincerely, Julie Ashley