June 25, 2008-Devotionals~Meditation~Prayers~Scriptures

Loving God, where can we find you, but in the lives of those in need? Where can we join you, except in the taking of risks for the sake of the Kingdom? And yet, God of grace, you find us, you join us. In our living and in our praying, you are there. May we keep alert to the possibilities brought to us by your son, Jesus, and ride the wave of your Spirit. Amen.

Scripture:

Matthew 7:15-20

15 "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every sound tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears evil fruit. 18 A sound tree cannot bear evil fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will know them by their fruits.

Meditation

by Don Schwager

What do grapes, thorns, figs, and thistles have to teach us about the kingdom of God? The imagery used by Jesus would have been very familiar to his audience. A certain thornbush had berries which resembled grapes. And a certain thistle had a flower, which at least from a distance, resembled the fig. Isn't it the same today? What we "hear" might have a resemblance of the truth, but, in fact, when you inspect it closely, it's actually false. False prophets or teachers abound today as much as they did in biblical times.

What's the test of a true or false teacher? Jesus connects soundness with good fruit. Something is sound when it is free from defect, decay, or disease and is healthy. Good fruit is the result of sound living – living according to moral truth and upright character. The prophet Isaiah warned against the dangers of falsehood: Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness (Isaiah 5:20). The fruits of falsehood produce an easy religion which takes the iron out of religion, the cross out of Christianity, and any teaching which eliminates the hard sayings of Jesus, and which push the judgments of God into the background and makes us think lightly of sin.

How do we avoid falsehood in our personal lives? By being true – true to God, his word, and his grace. And that takes character! Those who are true to God know that their strength lies not in themselves but in God who supplies what we need. The fruit of a disciple is marked by faith, hope and love, justice, prudence, fortitude and temperance. Do you cultivate good fruit in your life and reject whatever produces bad fruit?

"Lord Jesus, may I bear good fruit for your sake. Help me to reject whatever will produce evil fruit. And help me grow in faith, hope, love, sound judgment, justice, courage, and self control."

From Jesus 2020

www.jesus20.com

1. God Loves You!

The Bible says, "God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life"

The problem is that . . .

2. All of us have done, said or thought things that are wrong. This is called sin, and our sins have separated us from God.

The Bible says “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” God is perfect and holy, and our sins separate us from God forever. The Bible says “The wages of sin is death.”

The good news is that, about 2,000 years ago,

3. God sent His only Son Jesus Christ to die for our sins.

Jesus is the Son of God. He lived a sinless life and then died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. “God demonstrates His own love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.”

Jesus rose from the dead and now He lives in heaven with God His Father. He offers us the gift of eternal life -- of living forever with Him in heaven if we accept Him as our Lord and Savior. Jesus said "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except by Me."

God reaches out in love to you and wants you to be His child. "As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe on His name." You can choose to ask Jesus Christ to forgive your sins and come in to your life as your Lord and Savior.

4. If you want to accept Christ as Savior and turn from your sins, you can ask Him to be your Savior and Lord by praying a prayer like this:

"Lord Jesus, I believe you are the Son of God. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. Please forgive my sins and give me the gift of eternal life. I ask you in to my life and heart to be my Lord and Savior. I want to serve you always."

Did you pray this prayer?

God Is the Greatest Teacher

From Kids4Truth

"Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently. O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes!Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments. I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned thy righteous judgments." (Psalm 119:4-7)

God knows exactly what circumstances to give you to teach and bring you closer to Him.

One day, Mrs. Blackburn decided to make a pitcher of tea. She had never made a whole pitcher of tea before, but she figured you just boil some water and pour it into a pitcher with tea bags. What could go wrong? As she boiled the water, she pulled the pitcher off the shelf and threw 5 or 6 tea bags in it. When the water started boiling, Mrs. Blackburn picked up the pot to pour out the water, but then she set it down. It was a big pot, and she figured it would be better to move the pitcher from the counter to the sink – in case she spilled some. After she poured the water in, Mrs. Blackburn happily said to herself "I didn't spill a drop!" Then, to her surprise, as Mrs. Blackburn picked up the pitcher, the whole bottom fell out and boiling hot tea splashed all over the sink! At first, Mrs. Blackburn was just annoyed at her folly – this was a glass pitcher, and she hadn't even thought it might break! But in the end, Mrs. Blackburn was thankful she had put the pitcher in the sink before pouring. Boiling water all over her stomach and legs would have been far more serious than a broken pitcher.

It probably was not a sin to pour boiling water into a glass pitcher – Mrs. Blackburn was not breaking any of God's commandments by doing so! But in a way, God very gently warned her never to do that again! God knows exactly what circumstances to give you to teach you and bring you closer to Him. Sometimes He uses painful circumstances to teach us lessons; sometimes He teaches us things without bringing pain. But there's one thing to remember no matter what method God uses: God will always do just what's right for you. In fact, God is gentle with His people even when He brings them severe pain.

God is the best teacher because He knows what we need to learn and how we need to learn it.

Scriptures

Psalm 119:33-37,40

33 Teach me, O LORD, the way of thy statutes; and I will keep it to the end.
34 Give me understanding, that I may keep thy law and observe it with my whole heart.
35 Lead me in the path of thy commandments, for I delight in it.
36 Incline my heart to thy testimonies, and not to gain!
37 Turn my eyes from looking at vanities; and give me life in thy ways.
40 Behold, I long for thy precepts; in thy righteousness give me life!

Prayers

Forgive us, O Lord, when we listen, but do not hear; when we look, but do not see; and when we feel, but do not act; and by your mercy and grace draw us into the righteous deeds of your kingdom of justice and peace; through Christ our Lord.