When I pick up the paper
All the violence that I see
When I turn on the TV
That bad news is getting to me
Just can’t escape it, no
Jesus said this is how it would be
We’ve got teenage parents
Doing drugs and drinking alcohol
Living off of welfare
Barely getting by at all
The Devil keeps lying
He’s setting them up for a fall
And that evening news
Is singing the blues and the
Devil is roaming around
He’s cruising the Earth
And he’s giving birth to sin
And bringing people down
But we’ve read the book
And we’re going to win
Cause we’ve got the victory
Over sin, in Jesus
I’ve been reading my Bible
And I can’t deny what I’ve read
I’ve been reading my Bible
And I can’t deny what I’ve read
You know the end is coming
The proofs around
It’s all been said
The world is listening to
A new age of psychic lies
Calling dial a demon
Listening to some bad advice
And those fiery darts going to
Hit them right between the eyes
And that evening news
Is singing the blues and the
Devil is roaming around
He’s cruising the Earth
And he’s giving birth to sin
And bringing people down
We’ve read the book and
We’re going to win
Cause we’ve got the victory
Over sin, in Jesus
Many of us have good works, Christians and non-Christians. But do we have good fruit? Colossians 1:10 reads, “And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way, bearing fruit in every good work.” In other words, when I help someone, “Works,” what is my perspective, or “fruit?” Galatians 5:22 tells us, “The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and self-control.” The scriptures above show us that works and fruit are two different things. Works are the good things that I do and fruits are the evidence of the Spirit working in me.
John the Baptist and Jesus tell us what will happen if we don’t have good fruit. Jesus also tells us how to tell who is a false prophet. In Matthew 3:10 John the Baptist said, “The ax is already at the root of the trees and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” In another passage Jesus warns us to, “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruits you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus by their fruit you will recognize them.”
It’s important to know that I shouldn’t just be doing good deeds, but also I should have the right perspective, or fruit. Being patient, kind and loving, having peace and joy, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control show that Jesus is working in me.
In John 15:1-5 Jesus tells us, “I am the true vine and my father is the gardener. He cuts off any branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain 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.” This scripture points out that works, or good deeds, done outside the vine, or outside Jesus are, are fruitless.
Have you ever seen a branch produce a piece of fruit laying on the ground, apart from the tree, and the roots? The branch alone doesn’t produce the fruit, the fruit is produced through the branch, just as Jesus produces fruit through us. As this example of the branch and the tree indicates, the only way that I can produce fruit is by staying in Jesus and keeping him in me.
Taking the time to examine ones self is important. If I give to someone, “works,” do I do it in love, “fruit?” If a friend also asks me for a favor and I decide to help, “works,” and is this favor done with kindness, and patience, “fruit?” Am I gentle and self-controlled in a tense situation, or do I easily lose my temper?” Am I faithful, or am I only a friend in the good times? Am I filled with joy and peace, or am I filled with uneasiness?
If I want a life filled with all of the good fruits that the scriptures tell me about, then I should spend time reading and studying my Bible, and take the time to memorize scripture. Talking to friends about what I’ve read, and letting the words become my thoughts, help to renew my mind. I like to worship God by singing songs, and as I pray, I keep in mind that Jesus is with me, listening. Stay in him and He will stay in you.
I must have been about five years old, riding down the freeway, in the back of my parents old green rambler. One of the things I remember the most about these road trips, were all of the billboards. I was too young at the time to read them, but I remember using all the pictures and letters to make up stories, to pass the time as we drove. I have a distinct memory of riding down the freeway after I had been taught in school how to take all those ABC’s that had meant nothing to me, and put sounds to them, make words, and sentences. It seemed like all at once, I knew what all those billboards had been trying to say to me. I felt like a whole new world was opening up, and I was very excited. I didn’t have to make up stories, I had learned how to read. I remember it so clearly.
For me, reading billboards isn’t as exciting as it was when I was six or seven. But I had an experience that was similar in my late twenties. I was in the middle of a very hard time in my life, when I was touched in my heart by the Gospel. I made a decision to serve God, by inviting Jesus into my heart, and giving my life to Him. I was given a little red Bible, I put it in our van, and I began reading a little bit every day. I had read parts of the Bible before, but always came away feeling confused, this time it was different, I was starting to understand.
I grew up in the Catholic Church. I had also attended a Christian Church for a while in high school, and again in my early twenties, but I never quite believed, I just felt like it was something I was supposed to do.
One Sunday morning my husband and I were watching a Church service on TV, by this time I had read a large part of my New Testament in my little red Bible. But this was the first service I had seen since my early twenties. I started to cry. My husband, Mark, looked at me kind of funny, and asked, “Are you okay? Why are you crying?” I answered, “I finally understand, I’ve seen it all with my eyes before, but finally in my heart, I understand!”
A whole new world was opening up to me, and I was overwhelmed, I was excited!” Like those giant billboards that I passed so often when I was five, I saw them with my eyes and only pretended to understand. It wasn’t until I learned to read that I really understood what they were saying.
After receiving Jesus into my life, the Holy Spirit started teaching me my spiritual ABC’s and the things that I had seen before, but could only imagine the meaning, I was now beginning to understand.
1 Corinthians 2: 11- 14
11 For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God, except the spirit of God. 12 We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. 13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. 14 The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.
When I became a Christian, at the age of 30, I thought that I should immediately be flawless, It didn’t take long to see that I wasn’t. So when I would have what some people call; bad luck, right away I would think that God was mad at me and I was getting what I deserved. I even got to the point where I felt that bumping my head, burning dinner, or getting a flat tire was punishment for not being able to do everything that I felt I should be doing as a Christian.
I can clearly remember praying, “God, why can’t I do this Christian stuff?” I wanted to be perfect, NOW! I struggled with these feelings until God used my nine year old daughter, Elizabeth, to help me through this.
I was having another one of those days where everything was going wrong. Because of this, I was angry with myself for not being good enough. I felt I must have brought all the bad things on myself. This thought had been going through my mind all day. What a shock I got when later that night , on her way to bed, Elizabeth tripped and fell, and what she said to me were the exact words I had used in a prayer to God that morning. Liz said, “Why is everything going wrong? Why am I always getting hurt?” She went on to say, “I must be a bad girl and deserve to be hurt.”
All my thoughts about me being bad went out of my head and all I could think of was comforting and encouraging her, “No, you’re not a bad girl. You need to be more careful and watch what you are doing. You also need to get some sleep, it’s late and you are tired.” I could see that she wasn’t convinced, she was still feeling frustrated. Liz said, “Mom, I just can not do anything right.” She added, “I’m just stupid.” I knew that wasn’t true, but I didn’t know how to convince her of that. Then something that had happened in her class at school, came to mind.
Elizabeth had been having some trouble learning her times tables. But she practiced hard, and soon after, her teacher said that she was getting A’s and B’s on all her papers. I reminded her of what her teacher had said, and added, “If you were stupid you wouldn’t be getting such good grades now.” I told her that when things are new to us, they may seem hard. We might make a lot of mistakes, but if we practice and don’t give up we will get our A’s and B’s.
At that moment, it was like a light bulb went on in my head. I could tell that God was using Liz to talk to me. He was answering my questions , comforting and encouraging me, as He was giving me the answers to comfort and encourage my daughter. God really does speak to us in many different ways. That night I learned not to be hard on myself, perfection comes through Jesus. I also learned that it takes time, practice and percervence with God’s help to do something new, well. And that does include living a Christian life.
I was a baby in the word
The things I read, the things I heard
They brought You closer to my heart
I finally have a brand new start
Not everything I understand
I need Your Help, please take my hand
Show me the things I need to know
To help me learn to help me grow
And when I stumble, and if I fall
I’ll cry to You please hear my call
And when confusion turns me around
I know You’ll never let me down
I hunger for the truth you hold
The mysteries that you unfolde
You died for me, I live for You
Lead me guide my whole life through
