A Fortified House
A Tree and Its Fruit
15"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
21"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' 23Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'
The Wise and Foolish Builders
24"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."
Bee's Thoughts:There are more and more false doctrines these days. Even in the churches or in Christian organizations, there are many who professed to be Christians, yet the things they do just do now show forth they are the disciples of Christ. It's very sad.
But who am I to judge others when I myself also at times do not behave like a child of the King. *sigh*
I am reminded tonight that I need to bear good fruits if I were to be able to say I am a good tree. Jesus said that the only way for me to do that is to abide in Him (John 15:4-5):
4Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.Foundation is important in every aspect of life, be it education, career, marriage, or even spiritual life. Without a good foundation everything that we build upon will crumble. Many things in life do not have short-cut, we need to take time and effort to nurture, to build and to grow. For Christians, we know that our foundation for everything in life is Jesus Christ.
5"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
Dear Lord,
Forgive me for the times I don't bear good testimony to Your name. Help me Lord, to build everything my hands get hold of in You and not build on my self-confidence. Tonight, I surrender my all to You, Lord. Please remove all things that are not glorifying to Your name in my life.
In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Tommy's Thoughts:
Like the foolish builder, we build our lives on inferior foundation when we thoughtlessly making decisions by ignoring God’s clear command and teachings. We even fool our selves by thinking those consequences will never happen to us, that we have things under control with our strength and wisdom. But we learned from today’s passage that anything that built upon shaky ground will eventually fail and collapse.
Embarking on anything by ignoring God’s message for us, we are really denying that God knows best how to bring fulfillment into our lives, and that He is committed to our good. (Matthew 7:11 and Deuteronomy 10:13.) Such a denial constitutes a betrayal of what we say we believe about God: that He is our wise and loving heavenly Father who always seeks our good.
Although it’s not easy sometimes to practice and putting in place what we hear and know, but with God’s grace and our humility to obey, we can be sure God will help us weather all storms of life and giving nothing but the best to us.
Dear Father, thank You for teaching me to trust in You for everything in my life. Forgive me for having no confidence and faith in Your plan for me, setting myself up on false and weak foundation. Give me the eyes to see Your way and Your will for me, instead of my own foolish desire. Lord, it’s really hard sometimes for me but I pray You will provide me with the strength and patience to endure and follow in Your way. In Jesus’ mighty Name I pray, Amen.
