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Stumps don’t bear fruit

Psalms 1:3 (AMP) And he will be like a tree firmly planted [and fed] by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season; Its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers [and comes to maturity].

I was in prayer the other day and was sitting with something that I had read in a book recently. The author was talking about how sometimes that we go through times in our lives and we feel like a stump. We were once a beautiful tree and now we have been cut down through the storms of life. The question was asked if we could ever bear fruit again. The answer was as long as we have roots we can still grow. Then the thought came to me that people often identify as stumps and stay there. So that is where I started to intercede.

Matthew 17:16-20 (AMP) By their fruit you will recognize them [that is, by their contrived doctrine and self-focus]. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the unhealthy tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore, by their fruit you will recognize them [as false prophets].

Why would I want to identify with something that cannot bear good fruit? I say this because I have made statements of “feeling like a stump” or “I am broken.” We can say that God allowed us to do what was wrong to get us to the place He called us to be. Why do we say things that contradict His Word? Job did it. He said it was better to have never been born so that He would not have to go through the affliction. How many of us have said we are biding our time waiting for heaven? How about us just doing a little sin, because it’s not hurting anyone?

Where is the deception? It all surrounded a tree. Genesis 2:15-17 (AMP) So the Lord God took the man [He had made] and settled him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may freely (unconditionally) eat [the fruit] from every tree of the garden; but [only] from the tree of the knowledge (recognition) of good and evil you shall not eat, otherwise on the day that you eat from it, you shall most certainly die [because of your disobedience].” God gave us purpose from the beginning. It is up to us to cultivate and keep it. Here God is literally talking about trees. Cultivating was mankind’s job. We could touch the trees, and eat of all trees…but one.

Genesis 3:1-3 (AMP) Now the serpent was more crafty (subtle, skilled in deceit) than any living creature of the field which the Lord God had made. And the serpent (Satan) said to the woman, “Can it really be that God has said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees of the garden, except the fruit from the tree which is in the middle of the garden. God said, ‘You shall not eat from it nor touch it, otherwise you will die.’”

God never said that they could not touch it. How often do we misinterpret what God says? Who was suppose to clarify the Word of the Lord? Adam. Did He take his rightful place? Nope. He was given a task to cultivate and to keep, just as we are. What are we suppose to cultivate and keep?

God gave Adam a commandment in the garden, we also have commandments we are suppose to be keeping. Mark 12:30-31 (AMP) and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul (life), and with all your mind (thought, understanding), and with all your strength.’ This is the second: ‘You shall [unselfishly] love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” John 13:34 (AMP) I am giving you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, so you too are to love one another.

Love is going to bear fruit. What fruit is is going to bear? Galatians 5:22-23 (AMP)  But the fruit of the Spirit [the result of His presence within us] is love [unselfish concern for others], joy, [inner] peace, patience [not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting], kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Now if I am identifying as a stump, then the focus has become on getting me. A place that I can grow and bear fruit. However, if I am remaining to be a stump, then I have made an excuse to not be fruitful. I have dug in my feet to not grow and I have made an excuse. However, we could NOT say that is where God would want me to be. Why? It contradicts His Word on where good fruit comes from. To say such would be to identify with the bad fruit (look back at Matthew 17:16-20). We have done just like Eve and misinterpreted God. Now we have opened up the door to the enemy for deception.

How can we correct such a thing? Get into a church that is going to teach the Word and point you to Christ. Submit yourself to spiritual authority as ordained by Christ in Ephesians 4:10-11. Get into relationships that challenge your view and will bring you back to the Word of God. We have too long tolerated warped interpretations in order to be accepting of others, especially when it comes to the character and nature of God. God does not need us to defend Him. He does need us to be bold and intercede. If you cannot walk along someone to disciple them, then you do not need to correct them. You are still instructed to intercede for them.

John 15:1-2 (AMP) I am the true Vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that continues to bear fruit, He [repeatedly] prunes, so that it will bear more fruit [even richer and finer fruit].

He prunes, not cuts away, so that we may bear fruit. Stop identifying with the cut off parts. Stop identifying with the things put in darkness. He says He dispels darkness. He is the Light, and if we are in Him, then we are empowered by the Light. We have identified with things that do not line up with the Truth of His Word. Like Eve, we misinterpreted it and opened ourselves up for deception. I am not a stump. I am a tree planted by the Living Water. I am rooted and grounded in His Love. I bear good fruit!

Elohim, our Creator, we honor You with a prayer of thanksgiving. We see the importance of why You sent Your Son. The first sin had to do with a tree and the Restorer had to be hung on one. We know that He completed the work on the cross. We know that He rose from the grave and now resides at Your right hand ever interceding for us. Thank You for the gift of the Holy Spirit. Even though the Light of the World does not reside here with us, His power resides in us through the Holy Spirit. We repent for identifying with anything that does not bear fruit nor brings light. We are sorry for the pity parties we through for ourselves and invite others to. We should be celebrating Your Kingdom. Thank You for forgiving us in our moments. Thank You for not wanting us to stay there. We choose joy today. We choose love today. We choose forgiveness today. We choose hope today. In Jesus Name, Amen.

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Do you feel loved?

Ephesians 2:4 (AMP) But God, being (so very) rich in mercy, because of His great and wonderful love with which He loved us.

As I was sitting talking with one of my precious daughters in the Lord, we were talking about the struggles of trusting God the Father. We are both from childhood divorced homes and know the struggles of having our fathers let us down. We talked about marriage and I was reminded of what Christ said about husbands and the church. In reading this, look at it in the perspective of a woman reading it, and how she longs to be loved.

Ephesians 5:25-30 (AMP) Husbands. love your wives (seek the highest good for her and surround her with a caring, unselfish love), just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify the church, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word (of God), so that (in turn) He might present the church to Himself in glorious splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy (set apart for God) and blameless. Even so husbands should and are morally obligated to love their own wives (being in a sense) their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own body, but (instead) he nourishes and protects and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members (parts) of His body.

In the beginning God created all things and he put man in dominion. God saw what He created and saw that it was good. However in Genesis 2:18 we see that it was “not good” that man be alone, some translations say not “beneficial”. He then creates the animals and brings them to the man to name. They were created to be a helper to man, but it still was not a suitable companion for Adam.

Genesis 2:21-23 (AMP) So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam; and while he slept, He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at the place. And the rib which the Lord God had taken from the man He made (fashioned, formed) into a woman, and He brought her and presented her to the man. Then Adam said, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.”

Eve was not mistreated, she was not abused by a father or her husband. Yet the enemy went to her for the first attack against mankind. Adam was right next to her.

Eve was not mistreated, she was not abused by a father or her husband.

When I was fifteen I prayed for God to send me my husband. I felt I was all alone. I felt like I had no one who could love me for me. I told God that if He sent me my husband I would serve Him the rest of my life. A month later I met my husband on a blind date. When I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior, do you know what God spoke to my heart? He told me that everything I was making John out to be in my life is who He wanted to be in my life. That John could still hurt and wound my heart, but He never would. That is when I surrendered my life to Him.

The hurt and wounds we have from fathers (or some even their husbands) can cloud the ability to see the love that God truly has and desires for us, causing us to have trust issues. This is why Ephesians 5 is there. As I read the Word I see how much love God has for His daughters. We are so very important. We were created to be strong and to endure so much, but we were created with love. We are important. We have value. We are loved!

Yesterday during service, I had a moment, I was looking out during worship and saw how empty it looked in there. Just a few services before it was full and we were wondering what we could do to make room and still be safe because of COVID. I was taken back to when our church took a big hit because of the financial climate ten years ago, attendance and with that giving dropped tremendously. I was thinking, here we go again God, please help me keep my trust on you (considering we are in a building program).

Do you know how much God loves us? In that moment God spoke a Word to my husband just for me. He let me know that what happened ten years ago will not happen again. I have been confessing this whole time, God I know you can do even if… I have been praying for God to show out in a big way, in a way that it would be no way we could take credit for it. I will keep speaking His Word, I will keep preaching His Word, and I will keep going where He tells me to.

On top of that He gave me a little “I love you, daughter” by my pizza delivery guy making a mistake and I got the salad dressing that I had actually wanted but forgot to order. When I remembered I forgot to change the salad dressing it was too late because he was already on his way. He delivered our order without the salad (I like salad with my pizza). He had to go back for it, but I got to ask him for the correct salad dressing. Look at that! He even said when he returned, it just so worked out so that you could get the salad dressing you wanted. Those are what I call daddy moments.

God sees us and wants to do so much in our lives. Keep pressing in. Trust Him in His Word. Give Him all things that have you worried or concerned. He will calm the storm inside of you. Even if, He can still do in a big way! I am trusting Him more and more, it takes surrendering more and more. God I am going to keep doing what you called me to do, and watch what you do with it!

John 15:9 (AMP) I have loved you just as the Father has loved Me; remain in My love (and do not doubt My love for you).