Thursday, June 14, 2018

Reflecting God - Embrace Holy Living - The Global of the Nazarene's Foundry Publishing House in Kansas City, Missouri, United States for Thursday, 14 June 2018 "Fruitful or Overgrown?" by Caleb Reynolds - Mark 11:11-25.

Reflecting God - Embrace Holy Living - The Global of the Nazarene's Foundry Publishing House in Kansas City, Missouri, United States for Thursday, 14 June 2018 "Fruitful or Overgrown?" by Caleb Reynolds - Mark 11:11-25.
Mark 11:11 Yeshua entered Yerushalayim, went into the Temple courts and took a good look at everything; but since it was now late, he went out with the Twelve to Beit-Anyah.
12 The next day, as they came back from Beit-Anyah, he felt hungry. 13 Spotting in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came up to it, he found nothing but leaves; for it wasn’t fig season. 14 He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” And his talmidim heard what he said.
15 On reaching Yerushalayim, he entered the Temple courts and began driving out those who were carrying on business there, both the merchants and their customers. He also knocked over the desks of the money-changers, upset the benches of the pigeon-dealers, 16 and refused to let anyone carry merchandise through the Temple courts. 17 Then, as he taught them, he said, “Isn’t it written in the Tanakh, My house will be called a house of prayer for all the Goyim[
Mark 11:17 Isaiah 56:7] But you have made it into a den of robbers!”[Mark 11:17 Jeremiah 7:11] 18 The head cohanim and the Torah-teachers heard what he said and tried to find a way to do away with him; they were afraid of him, because the crowds were utterly taken by his teaching. 19 When evening came, they left the city.
20 In the morning, as the talmidim passed by, they saw the fig tree withered all the way to its roots. 21 Kefa remembered and said to Yeshua, “Rabbi! Look! The fig tree that you cursed has dried up!” 22 He responded, “Have the kind of trust that comes from God! 23 Yes! I tell you that whoever does not doubt in his heart but trusts that what he says will happen can say to this mountain, ‘Go and throw yourself into the sea!’ and it will be done for him. 24 Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, trust that you are receiving it, and it will be yours. 25 And when you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him; so that your Father in heaven may also forgive your offenses.”
 (Complete Jewish Bible).
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The weather had been just right. Just enough rain, just enough sunlight, and just enough heat. The soybean field across the road looked like a jungle. I had never seen soybean plants get so big. My 7-year-old daughter could have walked out between the rows and disappeared.
I was sharing this with our Wednesday evening Bible study group. An elderly gentleman wearing a Dekalb Seed Company hat chuckled, and explained that for the farmer, that kind of growth is bad news, not good. When the plants become overgrown, they have spent all their energy on growing larger. As a result, they have little energy left for the most important thing: growing beans. When the plants grow large, often they are notbvery fruitful.
Sometimes I wonder if this is a trap we can fall into as Christians. With our churches, are we most concerned about size, or fruitfulness? Are we concerned mostly about filling pews, or God changing lives? Of course, with no growth, there is no fruit, but growth is not itself the point. Growth is supposed to lead to fruit. How fruitful is your church? How fruitful is your life? Remember, at harvest time, only the fruit really matters.
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Hymn for Today: "Let the Beauty of Jesus Be Seen in You" by Albert Osborn.
1. "Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me, All his wonderful passion and purity.O thou Spirit Divine, all my nature refine, Till the beauty of Jesus be seen in me."
2. "When your burden is heavy and hard to bear, When your neighbors refuse all your load to share,When you’re feeling so blue, Don’t know just what to do, Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in you."
3. "When somebody has been so unkind to you, Some word spoken that pierces you through and through,Think how He was beguiled, Spat upon and reviled; Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in you."
4. "From the dawn of the morning to close of day, In example, in deeds, and in all you say,Lay your gifts at His feet, Ever strive to keep sweet, Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in you."
Thought for Today: And let us keep paying attention to one another, in order to spur each other on to love and good deeds, (Hebrews 10:24) (Complete Jewish Bible)).
Please pray: That many people in tge Congo Republic will come to know Yeshua as their Messiah and receive the fullness of the Ruach HaKodesh.
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