Wheat harvest is in full swing!
Many less visible 'harvests' are in full swing too!
John 15: 1-4 & 16
(read the whole beloved chapter HERE)
I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.
Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He [a]takes away;
and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.
4 Abide in Me, and I in you.
As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine,
neither can you, unless you abide in Me...
16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you,
and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit,
and that your fruit should remain:
that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
So too, faith by itself, if it does not result in action, is dead.
As we study the ripple effects of carelessness, of sin/ disobedience to God,
its consequence is ghastly, rolling though generations with ease,
if left unchecked,
until the 'pit'-fall once disregarded by a few,
is so crowded that the awareness of it ceases.
(why is it we are prone to lamenting sin's consequence,
rather than the origin of the consequence- sin?!)
Wisdom always considers, beyond instant gratification, where the action or choice
if unchecked, will lead and whether the fruit of it will ultimately,
draw us nearer to God or to the world...
is it a fruit of the Spirit or flesh?
If we have truly repented
and if we truly love
our Saviour, then fruit in keeping with repentance
will/must be evident!!
We live in a pleasure-driven age with exorbitant amounts of money
poured into the fleeting fruitlessness of many-a-joy toy...
Oh pray we never let the 'thorns/things' choke out the desire for God;
the Giver of every good and perfect gift!
We don't need to be wealthy to afford the gifts He promises to all
who hunger and thirst after righteousness.
'they shall be filled.' Matt.5:6,
while, the opposite is true when it comes to feeding carnal appetites;
the more we feast, the more we starve!
Years ago one of the families I did childcare for,
generously built/gifted me an arbour
and some grapevines, after I casually mentioned to them
in a gardening conversation that someday I would LOVE to have a grape arbor.
What grand anticipation followed the planting of the vines!
but, nothing happened!!
For three years I watched as each spring a few valiant leaves appeared,
assuring me there was still some life in the vine,
but it only ever survived each season, rather than thrived!
Suddenly it dawned on me that perhaps the arbor is too close to
the black walnut trees bordering the neighbor's property!
Sure enough, only wild grapes are juglone tolerant!
In disappointment I dug them up and carelessly plopped them in a hole
in my 'miscellaneous' flowerbed assuming by the looks of them
that this time there was no life remaining...
I was wrong!
Finally the thing that hampered their growth was removed
and they leaped from the earth like a visual hymn!
thankfully, wisteria is unbothered by juglone!
(walnut tree beauties in background)
the mouth may boast a myriad of profound piety
but fruit will always tell the truth of fig or thistle tree
how careful then, we ought to heed, before the consequence
the seeds we strew, of righteousness or disobedience
...because, no matter what we say, our actions do not lie
Who we live for is proven by the one we most deny;
the God of love or god of self; no one can serve two Lords/lords
And by the fruit the tree is known; not by the wind of words
Producing fruit in keeping with repentance, none can do
apart from the True Vine; then call on Him; He helps us to
endure the painful pruning of the Vinedresser, before
the Grim Authentication of winepress and threshing-floor
Janet Martin
Ps.33:18-22
Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him,
On those who hope in His mercy,
19 To deliver their soul from death,
And to keep them alive in famine.
20 Our soul waits for the Lord;
He is our help and our shield.
21 For our heart shall rejoice in Him,
Because we have trusted in His holy name.
22 Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us,
Just as we hope in You.
