Tag Archives: bearing fruit

Examine the Fruit

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“Search me Lord and know my heart, try me and know my ways and see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23-24).

We can determine the condition of our heart by observing the fruit our life has produced.   To measure fruitfulness, you look over the past season or over the past year and see what has been produced.  In the fall a farmer looks over the previous growing season to determine the condition of the field.  We can also look at the past year of our life and determine the condition of our heart by looking at the harvest.

Jesus taught His disciples that their life should produce fruit – from 60 to 100 per cent.  A fruitful Christian is one that receives God’s Word and the Word that is planted in their heart produces a harvest even up to a 100 fold return.

You may have a Word from God, but if it is not given to another in love, it will not produce a harvest.  This is why the condition our heart is so important and it determines the fruit we produce.  By observing the fruit our life has produced, we can tell what condition our heart is in.

Pray this prayer daily and watch what happens: “Search me Lord and know my heart, try me and know my ways and see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23-24).

Fruit From Root Issues

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By their fruit 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. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good 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. Matthew 7:16-20 (NIV)

 Unhealed wounds create the perfect opportunity for seeds to be sown that create bad fruit many years later. We will reap what we have sown. One tiny apple seed planted in the ground will produce an entire tree filled with fruit. Good seeds like kindness produce good fruit; and bad seeds like resentment produce bad fruit. We can recognize the original seed that was sown by the fruit that is being produced. Many people are unaware that the root issues in their life today, is the result of seeds planted years ago. Jesus made it very easy to see our root issues as He taught how to recognize bad fruit.

Jesus said in Mathew 7:16, “You will fully recognize them by their fruits…” We can look at the bad fruit in our lives or the re-occurring problems to identify what needs to be uprooted. In Matthew 7:16-20, Jesus uses a tree to explain the principle of getting to the root of bad fruit or recurring problems.

 To get to the root issues we must track from the fruit (today) back to the root (when it first began).

  •  The fruit reveals areas of the heart that need healing.
  •  The trunk of the tree is the built-in structure or habits that keep the root issues producing bad fruit (Matthew 7:16-20).