[Faith-talk] FW: [URCTCPrayerGroup2] A Word In Due Season : May 20, 2011

Sat May 21 01:35:54 UTC 2011

Original Message: 
From: Marcy Bailey <needingurhelp2day at yahoo.com>
To: URCTCPrayerGroup2 at yahoogroups.com
Subject: [URCTCPrayerGroup2] A Word In Due Season : May 20, 2011
Date: 
Fri, 20 May 2011 18:30:45 -0700 (PDT)

From: Mary Padgett Ministries : Thursday, May 19, 2011 

A Word In Due Season : May 20, 2011 
FRUIT THAT GLORIFIES GOD

Scripture:  John 15:8  "Herein is My Father glorified, that you bear much

fruit."

When we delight in the law of the Lord and meditate upon His words day
and 
night, we become like trees that are planted by the rivers of living
water.  Our 
roots run deep in search of the nourishing water and this water of His
word 
keeps our leaves from withering.  It also causes us to bear much good
fruit, for 
whatever we do prospers (Psalms 1:2-3).  The fruit that we bear from our
healthy 
branches not only brings glory to God but also imparts strength to those
about 
us who receive from our lives.

Fruit is produced through much conflict.  A natural tree struggles
against the 
forces of nature such as the storms and winds, the drought and heat, and
the 
wild fires and the icy cold.  It also has to stand against the birds of
the air 
that are waiting to pluck the fruit prematurely from its branches.  There
is no 
rest for the tree or the fruit, for each season brings new and difficult 
challenges.  I have a fig tree in my yard that produces luscious figs
every 
year.  The sad news is that I seldom get to enjoy the fruit because it is

spoiled by the birds and the squirrels.  I don't mind feeding God's
creatures, 
but they don't eat the entire fig.  Instead, they take one bite or one
peck from 
each fig and then leave it to ruin.  I have often wondered why they waste
such 
good fruit.  The only way that I would ever be able to gather unspoiled
fruit 
from my tree would be to guard it night and day.

The same is true with our spiritual life and the fruit that God has
ordained for 
us to bear.  We have to guard our hearts, night and day, because we have
an 
adversary who seeks to destroy the fruit in our lives.  He takes us
through dry 
spells and also brings storms and floods into our lives.  He tempts us in
the 
areas of our personal weakness.  He also causes others to attack us or to

provoke us to evil so that our fruit is ruined on the vine.  Even if he
is only 
able to get in one bite or one peck, he loves to see us lose our
Christian 
witness.  We may not recognize our true enemy or his evil tactics at
first.  We 
may even wonder why we lost our temper or said something that laid our
soul open 
for judgment.  We may think that the illness, financial problems, and
other 
unresolved issues that are challenging us are just a matter of course. 
We 
forget Paul's words that declared that we are not wrestling with flesh
and 
blood.  Instead we are wrestling against the principalities, powers, and
rulers 
of a spiritual world of darkness whose sole intention is to steal our
spiritual 
fruit and bring condemnation to our soul.

We must be aware of the strategies of the devil because he goes about as
a 
roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.  He can't take our fruit unless
we 
allow him, but he will take every advantage that he can.  If we give the
enemy a 
place, he will sow hate and bitterness in our hearts so that he can drive
out 
the fruit of God's love.  If we allow sorrow and grief to linger in our
soul, it 
will steal the joy from our hearts.  If we are not vigilant, confusion
will 
attack our peace and then doubt and unbelief will overtake our faith.  If
we 
neglect to continually nourish our spirits with the water of the word,
the fruit 
of patience, kindness, and gentleness will wither on our branches.  We
must be 
wise and discerning so that we can produce much good fruit.  This is
God's plan 
for our lives and our abundance of good fruit will not only be pleasing
to Him 
but will also glorify Him in the eyes of others. +++

We invite you to visit us online at www.widsonline.com
Contact by email : mpadgettministries at msn.com