Words of wisdom: Therefore you will fully know them by their fruits. Mathew 7:20
Life point: Jesus teaches in the scripture above that we will know people by their fruit.
Let me encourage you to examine your own fruit to see if it is good.
I did that in my own life and discovered that I was like an orange tree that sat all day long, but never produced oranges.
Believers often carry outward signs of their Christianity in an attempt to share their faith. Bumper stickers on their vehicles are a good example.
These signs say that the drivers are Christians, but what kind of fruit do they bear in traffic? Are they obeying the speed limit? How do they react to other drivers, especially to those who cut them off in traffic? Their actions are true signs of who they are.
You and I can carry big Bibles, wear Christian jewelry and display large collections of Christian books in our homes and still not be producing any good fruit.
We must be concerned about producing the fruit of the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit is concerned with that. One of His main purposes in making us His home is to continually work His fruit in us and display it through us.
In John 15, Jesus compares our relationship with Him, to that of a living plant. He is the Vine, we are the branches and the Holy Spirit is the Gardener who prunes us and keeps the weeds in us from choking the fruit.
God has planted a garden in each of us and He has assigned the Holy Spirit the job of Gardener.
A gardener aids in the production of fruit. That is what the Holy Spirit was sent to do in us, to help us bear good fruit. Examine your own fruit regularly. If any of it is diseased ask the Gardener to help you get rid of it and produce a new crop. He will gladly do it!
Prayer: Blessed Holy Spirit help me to bear only good fruits in Jesus name!
