Matthew 12
Welcome LOVED and CHOSEN by God! I hope the last week was filled with love and not chaos. It is easy to get caught up in all the have to do rather than the being. Being present. Being available. Being daughter or son to the King of ALL kings. Just being is important. I admit to you all I walked in chaos until I gave myself a timeout. My husband came into the bedroom during said timeout to see what I was doing. I told him, “Refocusing.” I sat there sorting socks and I was praying. I needed to be present with the LORD at that minute. I needed to refocus priorities.
Over the past few days since Christmas the LORD has been speaking to me about the things I am holding as a priority. Traditions that I have held that don’t make sense right now to me. Gifts are my main love language. When we were growing up we had one Christmas that gifts took up half of the livingroom. I remember two gifts from that Christmas; one was a camera and the other was a suitcase. My friend invited me to go to Florida with her and her family, so my parents got me two things I would need. In some ways that Christmas has stayed in my head about how Christmas should be celebrated. However, when I saw my grandson not able to enjoy one gift and another was shoved in his hands it made me realize the gifts were not important. Next year we will do better. I told my Honey he will get something he wants, something he needs, something to wear, and something to read. Hopefully he can enjoy what he gets and Christmas morning will not be chaotic.
Matthew 12:33-37 ‘“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. 34 Brood[f] of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 A good man out of the good treasure [g]of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. 36 But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. 37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”’
Do you ask yourself the question, “Am I producing good fruit?” That has been the question on my mind over the last few months. What exactly does good fruit look like to me? Good fruit is something that you do not have to think about. You do something for someone with NO selfish motives or desiring a payback one day. I ask the LORD to not let me remember when I did something for someone because I never want them to feel like they owe me. My hands are open to what the LORD has me to do. Do I get it every single time? Nope, but I keep walking forward in this truth.
Good fruit is making time for interruptions. Yesterday I was talking to someone and in my mind I had a half and hour set aside. God had different plans and I lingered in the conversation. If our schedule is SO full we can’t linger when the LORD has us linger we may need to repriorotize our schedule. Jesus was interrupted ALL the time. He did not turn any away.
Good fruit prays freely. Some days we need to pray now instead of telling someone we will pray later. I found when I promised someone I would pray, I forgot to pray. Most times now I pray then. It may be a short prayer, “LORD, please surround ______________ with your peace.” It may be a prayer that lasts a few minutes. God will let you know what you need to pray. Listen to His voice and pray accordingly.
Good fruit is showing the love of Jesus to all. Oh my goodness, a few weeks back I allowed my flesh to rise up in discouragement when I tried to return something to the store. The store had changed its policy on ordering and I was frustrated. The sad thing is I was frustrated about something totally different, but it came out in frustration towards a cashier. although I apologized for my frustration it did not change the outcome. In case you are wondering, I did not yell or cuss or anything like that, I just wasn’t as sweet as usual. For me I was out of character. I was in tears all the way home. I told the LORD, “I blew it.” Thankfully, His mercies are new every morning. I did apologize to the cashier and I can do better next time I am faced with the situation. Showing the love of Jesus means showing love even in the midst of frustration. It means having a little more patience than I am used to in this season. It means apologizing quickly when I need to. It means recognizing my fleshly attitudes.
Good fruit is sharing the love of Jesus. Not only do I need to show the love of Jesus but I need to share His love too. I need to speak Jesus. I need to be aware when He is leading me in conversation. I need to see people. I need to look up and notice those around me. I need to share Salvation. I need to share hope.
What does good fruit look like to you? Happy New Year!
