What kind of fruits do we bear?

There are these two lovely friends that I have recently made(Rhoda and Kelvin). We go to class together, do our assignments together and even share meals. They are not born again yet but they know a lot about the word of God because they were both brought up in church. So a few days ago, we decided to go out for coffee together. As we were just chatting over the cup of coffee, one of them said something that really made me do a deep reevaluation of my Christian life. She said that anytime she hears someone say that he/she is born again, she becomes so keen to watch them and how they conduct themselves. Do I have to explain how this left me feeling?

You see the bible in Matthew 7:16 says that you will know them by the fruits they bear. I remember my friend saying that evening that someone purporting to be born again should be a bible to those who have no bibles. And she was right in saying so. It is not enough to call ourselves Christians just because we read our bibles, attend church services, serve in ministries or pastor in a church. No. There are people who don’t go to church while others have no bibles to read. Others do not know the way of life and are living without a vision, in the confused ways of this world. These people can only learn through looking at us and seeing how we conduct ourselves.

What kind of fruits do we bear?
Isaiah 5:
1 I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard: My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. 2 He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines. He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well. Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit. 3 "Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. 4 What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it? When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad? 5 Now I will tell you what I am going to do to my vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it will be destroyed; I will break down its wall, and it will be trampled. 6 I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated, and briers and thorns will grow there. I will command the clouds not to rain on it." 7 The vineyard of the LORD Almighty is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the garden of his delight. And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard cries of distress.

I decided to do a direct quote of Isaiah just to show us how God feels about the kind of fruits we bear. When God created us, he expected us to have right fellowship with Him. However, we fell and sinned. He gave us a second chance by sending His son to die for us, we accepted him. He further gave us His word which was to serve as our guide. He then commanded us to use this word to speak it to others and show them the right way by following what it teaches us, to bear fruits and be an example to the world. However, we have failed. We are not good examples and our fruits are wild. It has become so hard to tell the difference between us and the world. We talk like the world, dress like the world and live like the world. Is it a wonder that God is destroying us together with the world?

He is never late

“If you had been here, my brother would not have died”. These were the words of Martha the sister of Lazarus to Jesus when Jesus arrived to their home four days after receiving news that Lazarus His friend was unwell. Lazarus had fallen unwell and his loving sisters having known that Jesus, their friend, had the power to heal decided to send word to Him so that he could come and heal him. However, Jesus was ‘late’ and by the time He got to their home, Lazarus was already dead. Because of this, Martha must have been frustrated because their ‘powerful friend’ who had the ability to heal had ‘failed’ to show up on time to come and heal their brother and these words must have been an expression of her frustration.

I believe that this kind of frustration is sometimes so common to us. We have a God who we believe is powerful and we know that He is able to do what we ask if we ask in the name of Jesus. We even believe that when we ask for bread He can never stone but will always give bread. We always have this in mind, but the how patient are we in our prayers? There are those things that we need desperately and we know that only God can give them to us but sometimes when He seems to take ‘forever’, we get so frustrated. This frustration can sometimes cause us to feel like God doesn’t really care or like He is not true to His word.

I know that there are people who have prayed for a long time for things but until today, the Lord has not answered their prayers. I know of others that God has even given them promises through His word and sometimes these promises seem to be taking so long to be answered. I know also of others who have the faith to hold on to the promises but the people around them sometimes tell them things that make them want to doubt God’s promises over their lives. I write to encourage you today.

The word of God in John 11:1-37 explains to us how Jesus received the news of Lazarus’ illness and how by the time He got to him (to Lazarus), he was already dead. Though the Bible records that Jesus loved Lazarus, He did not show up immediately. Why? The bible tells us that it was so that God would be glorified. Martha and others in this passage had understood Jesus as one who had the ability to just heal. For God to be glorified, I believe it was for Him to let them see that He also had power over the death.

How many times have you looked at your ‘delayed’ answers this way? That the delay is a way of God glorifying Himself through you? So many times in our prayers we have asked God to use us to bring glory to His name, which is always right to ask for so because God says that we are His vessels and that He created us for His glory. It is very easy to pray so but we fail to realize that in such times of ‘delayed’ answers it is always for the glory of God. I mean, think about Abraham who had to wait for 25 years after marrying Sarah to have a son? Who would have waited that long to receive something? Yet, God remained faithful and through that He gloried Himself through Abraham.

God honors His promises to us; he also answers prayers though not according to our timelines, He will always answer them. But sometimes we need to understand that as a way for Him to be glorified such ‘delays’ may occur, yet He His always on time. Our ways are not His ways, therefore as we pray, we need to believe that He is able to answer when He desires and that all this is for His glory and for our good. Why do I say for our good? Because it increases our faith in Him and helps us to see Him in a mightier way and understand Him more and this deepens our understanding for Him and our relationship with Him. So though His promises to you or your answers seem to take so long, just hold on. He is never late in fulfilling our desires.

God bless you!

Undiscriminating grace

For the grace of God has appeared to all human beings…..( Titus 2:11)

So many times in my life I have found myself critizing the mistakes of other people. I have found myself judging and even so quick to warn other people against associating with certain people. My reasons were always based on the past mistakes that the people I was speaking against did. I am sure many of us as Christians; we have many times done this. We look at people and judge them. We have failed to extend grace to others because we still view them as sinners yet we were and are also sinners.

As I write I remember about a certain story of a young lady who had been a prostitute but she one day gave her life to Christ. As a result of her relationship with Christ, her ways changed and she even became a Sunday school teacher. Later, the pastor’s son fell in love with her and wanted to marry her but the congregation sat to discuss whether this girl was worth getting married to the pastor’s son because her past had been sinful. This was so hurting to the girl and it is always the same case to the people we crucify.

We fail to realize that when Christ died; it was not just for a special group of people. Christ died for all human kind and erased all our sins and if anyone accepts him, the he is a new creation, the old is gone and the new person in him through Christ becomes alive. The bible says that we should not consider ourselves better than others. We ought not to be like the Pharisee who when he went to pray, instead of repenting and presenting his requests to God decided to show God how righteous he was and how sinful the tax collector was. Let us not forget that Christ paid the price of all of us. When he said ‘it is finished’, it was for you, me and that guy or girl out there whose past seemed so messed up to you. Christ made him new and there was no difference between me and him/her.

Instead of judging one another, we should extend grace and love to others. For love doesn’t keep a record of wrong but always protects. When we say we love God, we should love others as well and this love involves forgiving others and allowing them to experience the freedom that we all receive from forgiveness that comes through salvation.

God bless you!