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This is one of those chapters that is packed with good stuff. But I think the good fruit section speaks to me the most today.
43 “A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. 44 A tree is identified by its fruit. Figs are never gathered from thornbushes, and grapes are not picked from bramble bushes. 45 A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.
I've been asking myself what kind of fruit am I producing? Am I making a difference? I've worked in Christian Higher Ed for just over 26 years, have I really made the impact that God wanted me to. I'm not sure what the answer is to the last one especially. But this one thing I know:
22 The faithful love of the Lord never ends![b]
His mercies never cease.
23 Great is his faithfulness;
his mercies begin afresh each morning.
24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance;
therefore, I will hope in him!”
Lamentations 3:22-24
If you've never read Lamentations 3 or the entire book you should. When you read it you realize just how powerful those words are.
Oh, it's been a while since I've read Lamentations--I should definitely reread that soon!
ReplyDeleteI think the thing that strikes me most in this chapter is the relation of giving/getting. If we want forgiveness, we must offer it. If we DON'T want judgment, we ought not judge.
Luke 6
ReplyDeleteJesus Chooses the Twelve Apostles
12-16 One day soon afterward Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night. At daybreak he called together all of his disciples and chose twelve of them to be apostles. Here are their names:
Simon (whom he named Peter)[Cephas: stone; Petros]
Andrew (Peter’s brother)[Greek; manly, courageous]
James [son of Zebedee, Hebrew; supplanter, to follow]
John [gracious gift of God]
Philip [lover of horses]
Bartholomew [son of Tolmai]
Matthew [gift of God]
Thomas [twin]
James (son of Alphaeus) [Hebrew; supplanter, to follow]
Simon (who was called the zealot) [Hebrew; "He who has heard/hears [the word of God]"]
Judas (son of James) [Greek form of the Hebrew word for Judah, meaning praise]
Judas Iscariot (who later betrayed him) [son of Simon; a man of Kerioth].
~*~
Jesus prays to His Father all night.
He calls together all of His disciples!! a follower and student of a mentor, teacher, or other wise figure; a follower of Jesus Christ. [Luke 10: 1-16 Jesus sends forth the seventy; 17-24 the return of the seventy (some translations say 70, others 72) SEVENTY!]
He choose 12 of them to be apostles: one who is sent forth, who is entrusted with a mission; messenger, and ambassador: someone who was sent on behalf of another for a specific purpose.
disciple: a student
apostle: one sent on a mission
72-12=60
amazing
Somehow I "read" 12 with Him.