July 19, 2006

The Word July 19, 2006

Romans 4: 3-5 (King James Version)
“For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now the him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.”

-It’s all about our faith. Without faith it is impossible for us to please God (Hebrews 11:6). The bible also teaches us that whatever is not done by faith is a sin (Romans 14:23). The above verse states that we are made righteous through our faith. Everything that we do in this walk takes faith.
-The close we grow in the Lord, the more things will come against our faith. The adversary wants to take our faith away because he recognizes the power of our faith. Our faith pleases God, living without it is a sin, and it makes us righteous. Our job is to hold on to the promises of God, regardless of how things may appear. This is always easier said then done. However on the contrary, God did not give us something that we do not have the power to hold on to.
-We need to believe and stand on the word of God especially when there is no reason to believe. “Lord, there is power in my faith. Please remind me of your word and promises when things come to doubt my faith and cause me to stand on your word.”

July 17, 2006

The Word July 17, 2006

Matthew 7:24-27 (King James Version)
"Therefore whosoever hearth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon the house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And everyone that hearth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon the house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it."

-Just like scripture says, "there is no new thing under the sun," (Ecclesiastes 1:9). This reminds me of The Three Little Pigs. Each pig put in the amount of work he thought was necessary to survive. Did not the wolf still go to each house and try to bring it down. Problems are going to come. Jesus already told us that he did not come to bring peace on earth (Matthew 10:34). So if trouble is going to come my way regardless, I would like to know that at the end of my trouble I will still be standing. The only way to remain standing and not be moved is by ensuring that my life is rooted from the word of God. Lord, give me a solid foundation that is built on your word.

July 10, 2006

The Word July 10, 2006

Philippians 4:8 (King James Version)
“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”

-As the day goes on, we often allow ours thoughts to run around in our heads. We tend to think about the troubles that are in front of us and how we are going to try to solve them. The word teaches us to think about things that are good. The word also states, “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he:” (Proverbs 23:7). If my thoughts determine who I am, then I want my thoughts to be good and pure and not on my troubles. It is simple. If I think honest, just, pure, lovely, and good thoughts, I will produce these things. If I think on my troubles, then that is what I will produce. Lord, help me to keep my thoughts on things that are honest, just, pure, lovely, and good in your sight.

The Word July 7, 2006

The Word July 7, 2006

II Timothy 1:7 (King James Version)
“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

-As we know, anything that God has not given us is not good for us. The above verse says that God did not give us the spirit of fear. Well if He did not give it to us, then where did we get it? From our advisory, the devil. When we are fearful of a thing, we are giving that thing power over us. Think about a childhood bully. Every time he comes around the other children run. Well, what happens if we stop running? You can’t chase something that is not running.
-In Job 3:25, Job stated, “For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me.” What did Job fear? Losing all that he had and losing the lives of his children; because that is what happened. Fear gives what we are afraid of power over us. Fear is telling that situation, I think you can take me out or have power over me in this area.
-OK, that’s cute, but how do I overcome fear? With our trust in God. I trust that if I lose everything that I have, God will still provide for me because that is what His word says. I have faith that God has started a good work in me and He will perform it (Philippians 1:6). I have faith that he will remove any spirits of fear not of God that is in me.
-One thing that needs to be understood is every where in the bible from Genesis to Revelations it tells us to fear the Lord (Deuteronomy 6:24). That is a “reverential awe, toward God” according to the Webster’s Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language.
“Lord, please remove the spirit of fear from my heart.”

The Word July 6, 2006
The Barren Fig Tree

Lesson Three:
The high expectations of the fig tree.

Mark 11: 12-14 (King James Version)
“And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, the was hungry: And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet. And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it.”

-As Jesus was walking, the scripture states that he was hungry. Being hungry comes with an expectation that we will be feed. Fig trees come with a high expectation. As stated before, when the leaves grow the fruit comes in at the same time. This fruit is about the size of a cherry and it has not yet reached its full potential. When the fruit reaches that point, some of it starts to fall to the ground. Even though the fruit has not reached its full potential, people will still eat it in its current state. However, the fruit that remains on the tree will reach its best varieties and ripe to perfection. When the fruit reaches this state it is known for its delicate flavor.
-There are many incidents in the Bible that talk about how the fig tree was taken away from people when they sinned against God. When Israel was unfaithful to God, He took away their fig (Jer. 5:17; Hos. 2:12; Amos 4:9). When Egypt was plagued, God took away their fig as well (ps. 105:33). There are high expectations for the fig tree, but why? Does the fig know what it is capable of producing? No, however, God knows what he put in the fig tree and He knows the level of fruit that it can produce.
-This is what God is doing to us. He knows what he put in us and He is pressing us to get fruit that is ripe to perfection.
“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,” II Corinthians 4:17.
For a better understanding read II Corinthians 4: 7-18.
“Lord, give me a clear understanding that I am being pressed in order to produce the ripe fruits of perfection that you put in me.”

July 5, 2006

The Word July 5, 2006
The Barren Fig Tree

Lesson Two:
Are your fruits producing?

Mark 11: 12-14 (King James Version)
“And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, the was hungry: And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet. And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it.”

-When I was doing my resource on fig trees, I found out that the fruit on a fig tree contains amounts of calcium, potassium, phosphorus, and iron. These minerals and vitamins are all life sustaining. The body cannot live without a certain level of each of these things. When Jesus comes looking for us, He will be looking to see if we are producing fruits. John 15:2 gives the best explanation of this it states:
“Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.”
This is exactly what Jesus did to the fig tree that was not producing fruit; He cut it away. He cursed the fig tree and stated that no man will eat from the tree ever again. If we don’t produce fruit we will be cut away. “Lord, please help me to produce fruit, so that I will not be cut away.”

July 4, 2006

The Word July 4, 2006
The Barren Fig Tree

Lesson One:
Producing fruit in or out of your season.

Mark 11: 12-14 (King James Version)
“And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry: And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet. And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it.”

-Upon doing some research on a fig tree, I learned that when a fig tree’s leaves start to grow the fruit grows at the same time. So when Jesus saw the tree with leaves, He was expecting to see some fruit on the tree. What is really interesting; is that the scriptures state that “the time of figs was not yet.” Meaning it was out of season and even though it was out of season it still had leaves. Since there were leaves, there should have been fruit.
-Relating this to ourselves, many of us have leaves with no fruit. The leaves would represent the title “ Christian”. Many of us claim to be Christian, however, there is no fruit in or out of season. So although the fig was out of season, Jesus was expecting fruit because there were leaves. A tree can produce fruit in its season, however, can it still produce fruit when it is out of season?
-When we are in a season of plentiful, it is easy to praise God and thank Him for all that He has done for us. On the other hand, when we are in a season of lack, it is not so easy to praise God and give Him the glory. Psalms 118:24 states, “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” It does not say only in your season of plenty. It says this day. That is everyday. As a Christian, we are to product fruits of praise. So as long as we are wearing the leaves and calling ourselves Christians, then we need to produce the fruit and praise God in all of our seasons. “Lord, please help he to produce fruits of praise no matter what season I am in.”

July 3, 2006

The Word July 3, 2006
The Barren Fig Tree

Mark 11: 12-14 (King James Version)
“And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, the was hungry: And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet. And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it.”

-This week we will address the lessons from this story. In this story, Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem and he saw a fig tree with leaves on it. Leaves on a fig tree states that there should be fruit on the tree. When Jesus saw that there was no fruit on the tree, he cursed the tree and it dried up at the roots. In verses 20 – 26, Jesus’ disciples are surprised about how quickly the fig tree dried up. He tells them if they have faith the size of a mustard seed they will be able to move mountains.
This week we are only going to address the first part of this story (the above part). However, in your personal time I suggest that you study the story in its entirety. The lessoned learned in this story are as followed:
1. Producing fruit in or out of your season.
2. What are your fruits producing?
3. The high expectations of the fig tree.