FRUIT TREES. Luke 13:6-9.

Fruit trees do not mature quickly. Apple trees bear fruit for the first time in the fourth or fifth year. Fig trees, cherry trees, and plum trees bear fruit at three to five years. Pears at four to six years. Clearly if you plan to farm fruit, you will have to be patient: it does not happen overnight.

Still, how long do you wait? When the apple tree hits year five and still bears no fruit, a farmer might give it one more year, but after that, the tree is coming down. Why let it waste the space and the nutrients?

“And He told this parable: ‘A man had a fig tree that was planted in his vineyard. He came looking for fruit on it and found none. He told the vineyard worker, ‘Listen, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it waste the soil?’ But the worker replied, ‘Sir, leave it this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. Perhaps it will bear fruit next year, but if not, you can cut it down’” Luke 13:6-9.

Fig trees bear fruit at three to five years—and interestingly, in some tropical climates, once they begin, they can bear fruit year round. But other conditions can keep them from bearing fruit at all: too much shade, too little water, lack of nutrients, illness.

Are we bearing fruit? Are you?

If you are walking with the Lord, He will use you to bear fruit. But your soul needs the LIGHT of His word and the NUTRITION of being fed by the word and by other believers.

If you are feeding on God’s word, being encouraged by other Christians, and spending time with Jesus every day, you will bear fruit. Be willing to share your faith, to talk about God. He will take care of the rest.

God, help us bear fruit for You, help us make it a priority. Prune us so we bear MORE fruit!

Read Luke 13.

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Are You Bearing Fruit? Luke 13:6-9.

God put us here to bear fruit—to make an impact, to nourish and sweeten the world around us. Are you doing that? Does your life bear fruit?

In Luke 13, Jesus tells a story about fruit.

“And He began telling this parable: ‘A man had a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and did not find any. And he said to the vineyard-keeper, ‘Behold, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree without finding any. Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground?’ And he answered and said to him, ‘Let it alone, sir, for this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer; and if it bears fruit next year, fine; but if not, cut it down’” Luke 13:6-9.

God expects you to bear fruit. Do you? He is merciful. He will prune you (which hurts), He will water and fertilize. But He expects you to grow some fruit.

Invite people to church.

Ask your friends about their faith and their beliefs (learn how to ask deep, open-ended questions!).

Bring up spiritual matters and see where the conversation goes.

Pray for your friends and family (prayer always bears fruit).

Read and study the Word; Bible study always bears fruit.

Flee youthful lust. Sin rots fruit.

Thank God for His mercy, for pruning, and for His patience. Ask Him to change you and make you more fruitful. Ask Him to send opportunities your way, and to help you see them and respond well.

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Jesus Picks a Fight–Seven Times. Luke 13:10-17.

Do you picture Jesus as strong, tough, and bold, or meek, pale, and weak? The reason I ask is that portrayals of Jesus run the gamut: Though almost everyone sticks to the traditional tall, skinny, brown-haired Englishman in a white robe (just sayin’), the question of manliness spans a broad spectrum.

Once or twice, I have seen Jesus portrayed as rugged, muscular, tan, and sweaty, but more often He appears pale, weak, and so skinny you wonder how he can even walk.

Sometimes the hair is long but manly (sort of), but other times His hair looks as womanly as something out of a shampoo commercial.

How do you picture Him?

I don’t know what He looked like. But I know He would not have looked weak. The Bible indicates Jesus was not at all afraid of the religious leaders of His day. In fact, He deliberately picked fights with them over and over. Do you know how many times He purposefully healed people on the Sabbath day?

SEVEN TIMES! 

Jesus performed seven healings on the Sabbath.

(1) Simon Peter’s mother-in-law, Mark 1:29-31. (2) The man with the withered hand, Mark 3:1-6. (3) The man born blind, John 9:1-16. (4) A crippled woman, Luke 13:10-17. (5) A man with dropsy, Luke 14:1-6. (6) Jesus cast out an evil spirit, Mark 1:21-28. And finally, (7) He healed a lame man at the pool of Bethesda, John 5:1-18.

The Bible’s use of seven (the “perfect number”) is always significant, indicating perfection or completeness.

By healing seven people on the Sabbath, Jesus points out that healing is not against God’s Sabbath rules, but rather is merely a violation of the man-made traditions that had been added to the original rule.

The Sabbath restricts work activities so you can rest and reflect on God. But healing is not inconsistent with that rest, which Jesus makes clear:

“‘Hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you untie his ox or his donkey from the feeding trough on the Sabbath and lead it to water? Satan has bound this woman, a daughter of Abraham, for 18 years—shouldn’t she be untied from this bondage on the Sabbath day?’ When He said these things, all His adversaries were humiliated, but the whole crowd was rejoicing over all the glorious things He was doing” Luke 13:15-17.

Notice verse 17: “His adversaries were humiliated….”  Over and over, Jesus seems to have deliberately poked the Pharisees in the eye with a sharp stick. Not only was Jesus unafraid of the religious leaders of His day. Jesus knew before He began His ministry that it would all end at the cross. Until then, no confrontation was a threat to Him, but rather simply another step closer to His redemption of all mankind.

By healing on the Sabbath, Jesus not only demonstrated grace and the true meaning of sabbath, but He proved Himself to be one of the strongest, most fearless examples of loving manhood in history. 

Read Luke 13.

For a deeper discussion, consider this helpful article: https://cateclesia.com/2022/06/13/healing-comes-with-the-sabbath/

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BE HONEST WITH GOD. Acts 5:3-10; Hebrews 13:8.

The New Covenant was amazing:

No more animal sacrifices.

No more striving to follow 613 rules.

No more struggling to hear God speak through prophets.

In the age of grace, God pours out His Holy Spirit.

In grace, His sheep hear His voice! John 10:27.

In grace, Jesus says “I will not leave you as orphans, but I will come to you” John 14:18.

In grace, there is no sin God cannot forgive. No matter how we stray, He welcomes us home like the prodigal’s father.

In grace, God gives us everything, requiring nothing in return….

Wait—Question that last sentence! God requires nothing?

Some say the God of the Old Testament has expectations with no love, and the God of the New Testament has love with no expectations. But GRACE does not cancel out God’s expectations. (Do you really believe God places no expectations on His people?)

We must embrace His Grace, but retain the fear of the Lord. It’s BOTH.

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Hebrews 13:8. GOD NEVER CHANGES.

And “to whom much is given, much is required” Luke 12:48. Has He given you much? Then He requires much.

That begins with HONESTY. Even if you can’t be honest with everyone—be honest with God. Consider new Christians Ananias and Sapphira. They sold land and donated part of the money—but claimed to be donating it all.

“Peter said, ‘Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the proceeds?…. Wasn’t it at your disposal? You have not lied to men but to God!’ When he heard these words, Ananias dropped dead, and great fear came on all who heard.”

[Later, Sapphira showed up having no idea what happened, and Peter spoke to her.]

‘Tell me, did you sell the field for this price?’

‘Yes, for that price.’

‘Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door and they will carry you out!’ Instantly, she dropped dead at his feet” Acts 5:3-10.

BEG God to make you TOTALLY HONEST with Him in every area. Ask Him to fill you with TOTAL INTEGRITY, Because “to whom much is given, much is required.”

Read Acts 5.

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BABY BOOKS. Luke 12:7.

When I was a child, mothers bought huge photo albums and wrote down everything their children did in the first year: first smile, first laugh, first time to sit up, first steps, first solid food, first word, first toys, first sentence, first friend, first EVERYTHING. The second year, moms wrote less, and it decreased with each year that followed (it’s hard work!). But–

God keeps a book on you—and never stops writing in it.

God loves you. Big deal, right?—you’ve heard it all your life. But no, seriously:

GOD.

LOVES.

YOU.

The King of Heaven loves you. The Creator of the Universe is excited about YOU!

“Indeed the hairs of your head are numbered” Luke 12:7.

“You save my tears in your bottle. You log them in your record book” Psalm 56:8.

“He sees my ways and numbers all my steps” Job 31:4.

“You know when I sit, when I stand, and everything I think… You know my words, before I even speak them…. In Your book were written all my days, before I had lived even one of them” Psalm 139:2,4,16.

Sure, God is all-knowing—of course He KNOWS all these things. But only LOVE can explain why He writes it all down! Imagine God watching you, adoring you, delighting in you, and dipping his quill in the ink and logging the details of your day. And it’s not a naughty/nice list: He is obsessed with you, not your sins.

The Bible says He numbers your HAIRS! He logs your TEARS in His book. He counts your STEPS (more accurately than any Apple watch or FitBit). He knows your SITTING, your STANDING, every THOUGHT, every WORD, and every day you would live was in His book before you were born!

Only someone deeply in love would keep such detailed records. No mom can keep track of all these things. But God keeps perfect records. Because He loves you! He is smitten with you! He delights in you! He enjoys you! You bring God pleasure, do you understand that? That is why He pays attention—because HE LOVES YOU.

GOD REALLY DOES LOVE YOU!

Read Luke 12.

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Preacher Scandals and the Fear of the Lord. Luke 12:5-7.

Preacher scandals are sadly common. As with any class of claims, a few are groundless. But many are based on misconduct—from abusive leadership to embezzlement, adultery, pedophilia, and more. There are websites  and newsletters reporting the alleged misdeeds of America’s pastors. Here are two things to keep in mind:

First, stories of disgraced men of the cloth will always get more publicity than they deserve because everyone, even the skeptic who does not practice a religion, expects pastors to be the most well-behaved among us. After all, when a man becomes a preacher, he holds himself out as one whose life sets the highest standard.

Even a bad preacher ought to be a good role model.

Second, remember that for every disgraced pastor, there are thousands working hard in the trenches, day-in, day-out, serving God’s kingdom and blessing His people.

Most of America’s ministers ARE good role models and do not fail their calling.

I have written elsewhere[1] that Jim Bakker, whose 1987 fall from grace was one of the most famous preacher-scandals in history, explained:

“I always loved Jesus. But I never feared Him.”

We love grace today. If I were to contrast today’s church with the church of generations past, I would argue today’s church is a place of WELCOME and GRACE. Jesus taught us to love the sinner. We finally heard Him. Churches are relaxed. All are welcome. The clothes are casual. The music style is as familiar as anything on the radio. The preaching is as cozy as a bedtime story. The downtrodden who walk in off the street will be embraced with smiles and love and coffee and donuts. Our churches have learned to love “the least of these”—and that is a step forward.

No one should come to church and feel judged or shamed.

But the Savior who taught us to love the least of these also reminded us to fear God: 

“I will show you the One to fear: Fear Him who has authority to throw people into hell after death. Yes, I say to you, this is the One to fear! … The hairs of your head are all counted. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows!” Luke 12:5-7.

Fear the Lord, but remember that He loves you. He numbers the hairs on your head. He saves your tears in a bottle, Psalm 56:8. He adores you! Enjoy His grace. But fear Him.

I believe in eternal security: once you are born again, you cannot be un-born. You will not lose your salvation. But there are consequences to sin. It will make your life mediocre. It may destroy your ministry. And it will diminish your rewards in heaven.  

A healthy fear of the Lord will keep you and me and our pastors walking in obedience to Jesus.  

Read Luke 12.

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[1] https://dadsdailydevotionals.com/2024/03/25/does-todays-christian-fear-the-lord-mark-438-41-2-corinthians-510/

“JESUS WEPT.” John 11:33-38.

“Jesus wept” John 11:35.

People love this two-word verse. It’s fun to memorize, huh? But why did Jesus weep? There are several statements about emotions here, and they should be considered together:

“When Jesus saw Mary crying, and the Jews who had come with her crying, He was ANGRY in His spirit and DEEPLY MOVED.

‘Where have you put him?’ He asked.

‘Lord,’ they told Him, ‘Come and see.’

JESUS WEPT….

Then Jesus, ANGRY in Himself again, came to the tomb” John 11:33-38.

The first emotion is ANGER: when He saw Mary crying, He was angry and deeply moved. Mary, Martha, and their brother Lazarus were three of Jesus’s best friends. Mary’s tears make Jesus angry (not at her, in my opinion, but at the reality of death). Her tears move Him deeply.

Then on the way to Lazarus’s grave, Jesus weeps. Maybe they were walking through a cemetery filled with tombs. A graveyard makes Lazarus’s death more real.

Finally, arriving at the tomb, Jesus becomes “angry in Himself again.”

Jesus feels a range of emotions: He is angry, deeply moved, weeps, and is angry again. This is not about Lazarus: Jesus is angry about DEATH ITSELF.

He is angry for Mary and Martha’s suffering—not to mention that of Lazarus—and He is angry for His mother Mary, who has buried Joseph at this point. He will raise Lazarus today, and that will be amazing, but what about Jesus’s own grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends? What about all the funerals He has attended in His lifetime, never meddling, but quietly accepting the awful reality of death? Jesus had the sort of mind that could think beyond today; He was angry over centuries of deaths.

Death was never God’s plan. But death is a motivator for Jesus. This is the battle He came to win! Jesus hates death because He hates sin. And Jesus can save you from both!

“Oh, death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” 1 Corinthians 15:55.

God, thank you for hating death more than we do, and for joining us in weeping over losses. You rescue us from death.

Read John 11.

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“MY HOUR HAS NOT YET COME”–Courage Comes from Hearing God’s Voice. 1 Thessalonians 5:24.

Here’s a radical thought:

The last day of the public ministry of Jesus ended with His murder. But the first day of the public ministry of Jesus BEGAN with His attempted murder.

His ministry was bookended by attempts on His life.

On the day He began His public ministry, He read from the scroll of Isaiah in His hometown synagogue and made statements so bold the crowd—all of whom knew the carpenter’s son—was filled with rage, drove Him out of town, and tried to throw Him off a cliff, Luke 4:16-30.

Imagine that first day on the job!

Was Jesus scared? Do you think while shouting accusations and pushing Him toward a distant cliff, they saw fear in His eyes? I don’t think so.

In fact, as some[1] have counted, there were at least eight times when people wanted to kill Jesus before it actually happened.

The first was the day He launched His ministry.

The second was when He healed a man’s shriveled hand on the Sabbath. “The Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Him,” Matthew 12:14.

Third: Jesus again healed on the Sabbath and defended Himself by claiming to be doing the work of His father. “For this reason, they tried all the more to kill Him” John 5:18.  

Fourth: Jesus said, “‘Before Abraham was, I am.’ At this, they picked up stones to stone Him, but Jesus hid Himself, slipping away from the temple grounds” John 8:58-59.

Fifth: Jesus claimed to be God’s Son, saying, ‘I and the Father are one.’ “Again His Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone Him, but Jesus said, ‘I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone Me?” John 10:30-32.

Sixth: Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead and the high priest Caiaphas said, “‘Isn’t it better for one man to die, than for the whole nation to perish?’ … So from that day on they plotted to take His life” John 11:50-53.

Seventh: After Jesus cleansed the temple, the teachers of the law “began looking for a way to kill Him … because the whole crowd was amazed at His teaching” Mark 11:18. 

Eighth: when Jesus compared the chief priests and teachers of the law to servants killing the son of a distant vineyard owner and stealing the vineyard, “The teachers of the law looked for a way to arrest Him because they knew He had spoken the parable against them” Mark 12:12.

Clearly Jesus was not afraid. In fact, He repeatedly challenged the Pharisees and teachers of the law, calling them hypocrites and whitewashed tombs. He deliberately healed on the Sabbath, knowing it would provoke a confrontation with the corrupt religious leaders. Jesus had no fear of being driven off a cliff, or stoned to death, or harmed in any way prior to God’s appointed time.

Even when His disciples were scared for Him, He was not.  Jesus said let’s go to Judea (to heal Lazarus) and the disciples were afraid: “Just now the Jews tried to stone You, and You’re going there again?” John 11:8.

Jesus—the same man who would pray and sweat drops of blood in the hours before His arrest, was completely confident when He faced murderous threats before that time, simply saying, “My time has not yet come” John 7:6.

Why? Because He had heard from God. He knew when death would come and how it would come. It would not be a fall from a cliff or a stoning, but the prophesied death on a cross.  And that death would be difficult for Him, as the hemahydrosis or sweating of blood proves. He would suffer tremendously as His actions in the Garden indicate. When the time finally arrived, He reversed His earlier statement and announced, “The hour HAS come” John 12:23. 

Jesus knew He faced a terrible death. But because He was so intimate with the Father, He also knew when and how it would come. That gave Him unparalleled confidence in the face of hostile crowds and murderous threats throughout His entire ministry.

He was filled with courage because He had heard from God. Hearing God’s voice can give us confidence today in the face of many challenges.

God spoke to your mother and me in powerful ways at the beginning of each of her pregnancies. That gave us confidence and faith in the face of numerous health challenges. 

Similarly, God spoke to me about law school, a promise I still hang onto by quoting “faithful is He who calls you and He will also bring it to pass” 1 Thessalonians 5:24.

A word from the Lord can get you through the most difficult and terrifying circumstances. Pray and ask the Good Shepherd to speak to you. “My sheep hear my voice and they follow Me” John 10:27.

Read John 11.

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[1] https://centeredonchrist.substack.com/p/8-times-in-the-bible-people-wanted?utm_source=substack&utm_campaign=post_embed&utm_medium=web

DO YOU BELIEVE IN ‘EXTRA-BIBLICAL REVELATION’? John 10:4, 27.

Does God speak? Some say yes, but think hearing God’s voice is as simple as “following your heart.”

Others say no, God did all His speaking in the Bible. After all, the Bible is some 1,500 pages—there is a lot there. You can study the Bible and follow its principles and live a life of obedience and blessings and bear fruit that will last eternally. Those who argue this view are often intelligent and quite logical about it, and use big words, calling anything you claim to have heard from God “extra-Biblical revelation,” and thus, error.

The idea is that God revealed all of Himself in the Bible, so anything you think He revealed to you personally is “extra” or in-addition to the Bible, and we are forbidden to add to the Bible—thus the alleged error.

I believe the wisest answer may be in the middle.

God speaks. But probably less often than some would say. TV preachers will quote entire conversations they have had with God, as though it were an audible dialogue like the one Moses had at the burning bush. I am skeptical.

Moreover, I believe MISATTRIBUTION to be a grievous error, a serious sin. Never attribute to God something you are not 100% certain God said. There is no more serious way of using the Lord’s Name in vain than by claiming He told you something that He did NOT tell you.

But I am also skeptical that God would give us His book—as amazing as it is—but not also give us the voice of His Spirit to guide us, first in understanding His book, but second, in applying its wisdom to some of our more challenging circumstances.

God may not speak to me about every decision. But when taking a job, buying a house, choosing a mate or business partner, I expect to hear from God. (Honestly, I expect to hear from Him daily in little and big things—but I do not hear from Him daily.)

But I know He speaks.

“My sheep follow Me because they recognize My voice…. My sheep hear My voice, I know them, and they follow Me” John 10:4,27.

Here’s two KEYS—First, you must LEARN HIS VOICE by hearing Him more—and that happens when you READ HIS WORD.

Second, He will not speak until He knows you are truly WILLING TO OBEY, no matter the sacrifice.

Read John 10.

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THE REALITY OF DEMONS. John 10:10.

Do you believe in the existence of the devil? Many do not. Others believe in Satan but think he stays overseas, tormenting the uneducated in foreign lands.

But consider the people of Israel. Jesus cast out demons from people in EVERY VILLAGE. A soul is a residence. You can open it to Jesus and ask Him to move in and take over, or you can invite demons to shack up in your heart. Sounds crazy, but people do it EVERY DAY. How? By toying with the occult, by praying to “spirit guides,” and with mind-altering (“mind-opening”) drugs. The Biblical word for “sorcery” is “pharmakeus,” from which we get the word, “PHARMACY.” Yes.

Some drugs open your mind to demons.

“Jesus rebuked the demon and said, ‘Be quiet! And come out of him!’ And the unclean spirit came out” Mark 1: 25.

Jesus cast out demons SIX TIMES in the short Bible passage I read today. Not only that, it was far more than six people. “They brought to Him MANY who were demon-possessed and He drove out the spirits with a word.” Matt. 8:16. We don’t even know how many; it could have been hundreds. See Mark 1:34; Luke 4:35,41; Matt. 4:24.

Demons had taken residence in the souls of numerous Jews—members of a strict monotheistic religion. What must demon possession be like in India, China, and Africa, where millions worship idols that actually represent demons?

Possession may be common in the States as well, but demonic activity in Western nations seems to be more subtle to keep everyone thinking they do not exist. And when things get crazy, Americans lock the demon-possessed in psychiatric hospitals and call it a medical problem. But it is a spiritual problem.

Jesus spoke of the enemy’s mission:

“The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy” John 10:10.

What does the most powerful thief on earth want to steal from you? Ask Jesus to give you an answer to this question.

Beth Moore says, “Yes, God has a plan for your life. But so does the devil.”

Ask God to prepare you and help you resist.

“RESIST THE DEVIL AND HE WILL FLEE FROM YOU” James 4:7.

Read Mark 8.

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