Habakkuk 2

Then the Lord replied: "Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay."

Thursday, July 1, 2021

Do Not Cease to Bear Fruit

Trust in Man

Jeremiah 17:5-6 ESV

 

“Thus says the Lord:

‘Cursed is the man who trusts in man

    and makes flesh his strength,

    whose heart turns away from the Lord.

He is like a shrub in the desert,

    and shall not see any good come.

He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness,

    in an uninhabited salt land.’”

 

If our trust is in other humans and in the flesh and not in God, we are cursed. We will die in our sins. We will not have eternal life with God. This is not just Old Covenant teaching. This is New Covenant teaching. For, if we walk (in conduct) according to the flesh, we will die in our sins.

 

If we “pray the prayer” to receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of our lives, but we never submit to him as Lord, and we continue living in habitual and deliberate sin against our Lord, we will die in our sins. We will not have eternal life with God, no matter what we profess with our lips.

 

If we try to live the Christian life in our own flesh, and we are “good deed doers,” but we never surrender our lives to our Lord, to be his possession, to do the works he prepared in advance that we should do, for we are still holding on to control of our own lives, we will die in our sins.

 

For, you see, Jesus did not die that horrible death on that cross just to forgive us our sins so that we can go to heaven when we die. He died that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness. He died that we might no longer live for ourselves but for him who died for us.

 

If we believe in Jesus Christ with God-persuaded and God-given faith in Jesus Christ, we will die with Christ to sin, and we will live to him and to his righteousness. We will submit to Jesus Christ as master of our lives, we will leave our sins behind us, and we will follow him in obedience to his ways.

 

So, if we claim to believe in Jesus Christ, but we don’t repent of our sins, and we don’t submit to him as Lord, and we don’t follow him in obedience, because we want to continue living in our sins, just know that God will judge us. For if we sow to please the flesh, we will reap destruction. But if we sow to please the Spirit, then and only then will we reap eternal life.

 

Trust in the Lord

Jeremiah 17:7-8 ESV

 

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,

    whose trust is the Lord.

He is like a tree planted by water,

    that sends out its roots by the stream,

and does not fear when heat comes,

    for its leaves remain green,

and is not anxious in the year of drought,

    for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

 

We are blessed of God if our trust is in the Lord and not in our flesh. And to trust the Lord with our lives means he is in charge. He is on the throne of our lives, and our lives are surrendered to him to do his will. For that is the meaning of the word “Lord.” He is our owner-master. We belong to him.

 

To trust in the Lord means that we depend on him for all of our needs, that we trust him to heal us when we are sick and to give us wisdom and guidance in making decisions for our lives. It means that we are submitted to following him wherever he leads us to do whatever he commands.

 

It also means that he is our life, not just part of our life. He calls the shots. He directs our paths. He shows us the way to go that we may walk in it. He trains us for godliness and for the work of the ministry. He gifts us and he equips us, and he calls and assigns us to specific parts in the body of Christ.

 

Our lives are no longer our own to be lived however we want, for Jesus bought us back for God with his blood shed on the cross for our sins. Besides that, if we truly trust Jesus with our lives we want to surrender our lives to him. We want to do his will. We want to make him truly Lord of our lives.

 

For, this is what we were designed for. This is what we were created for, to worship God with our whole being and to be his and only his for the rest of our lives. In Christ, we were created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. We were made to be like him in all that we are and do and say.

 

This is where we find true peace and joy and purpose for living. This is where we find fulfillment. This is where we find healing and hope. In Christ we live for him to do what he has called us to do, and we bear spiritual fruit for his eternal kingdom, and we make a difference in other people’s lives, too. All for the glory of God and for his honor and praise and purpose.

 

[Lu 9:23-26; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:7; Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; 1 Co 6:9-10; 2 Co 5:10]

 

Only Hope

 

By Jonathan Foreman

 

I give you my destiny

I'm giving you all of me

I want your symphony

Singing in all that I am

At the top of my lungs

I'm giving it my all

 

So, I lay my head back down

And I lift my hands and pray

To be only yours I pray

To be only yours I pray

To be only yours

I know now you're my only hope

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gnS7ZEbEqU

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