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bradfreeman

Are you a good or bad tree?

Acts-dicted Posts: 9027 **11/30/16 7:50 am**

ARE YOU A GOOD TREE OR A BAD ONE?

Are you sometimes grumpy, selfish and short-tempered?
Are you sometimes selfless, generous and kind?
Do you sometimes want to choke the teenager in the drive-thru because your order took 4 minutes to prepare or because they put onions on your burger?
Do you sometimes want to give her $500 just to be a blessing to her?

Are you a good tree or a bad tree?

"You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? "So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. "A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. "So then, you will know them by their fruits. Mat. 7:16-20

A good tree "cannot" produce bad fruit.

The Greek word here is "dunamai" which literally means the tree is incapable of producing bad fruit. Trees simply produce fruit in keeping with what they are! Apples from apple trees, oranges from orange trees. You cannot gather grapes from a thorn bush or figs from a thistle plant. God cannot produce bad fruit! He is incapable of sinning or being tempted to sin (James 1:13)!

Some might take this Matthew 7 passage to convince people that, because they lost their temper this week, they never were really saved or aren't anymore. What this passage actually does is reveal to us the source of everything good and perfect in us...God! Only God is good.

And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good ? No one is good except God alone. Mark 10:18; Luke 18:19

God is the good tree that produces good fruit.

In our flesh there is nothing good (Rom. 7:18 ). But when God moves inside of our "new creation" and we get grafted into Him, we produce good fruit. But as long as we continue to live in these fleshly bodies (where sin dwells - Rom. 7:17), we will be a mix of successes and failures, good attitudes and bad attitudes, blessing and cursing and sweet water and bitter (James 3:10-12).

Don't take this as an excuse to quit trying, indulge your flesh and settle for bad fruit. We shouldn't want things to be this way (James 3:10)! God has given us His Spirit to empower and enable us to control our bodies. We want His kingdom and will done on earth as in Heaven! His Spirit helps us do His will and bring out the Kingdom of God that is in us!

Take this as an encouragement that, although our light shines out of darkness and our treasure is in earthen vessels (2 Cor. 4:6,7) and our fountains sometimes brings forth sweet water and bitter, God is at work in you producing from your innermost being good fruit for the kingdom of God.

The excellent power in us is God, not us! 2 Cor. 4:7
He is the good in you!
He is the light in you!
He is the love in you!
Let the REAL YOU shine - the light and life and love of God from your innermost being!
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I'm not saved because I'm good. I'm saved because He's good!

My website: www.bradfreeman.com
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