Daily Christian Devotional – Surely He Hath Born Our Grief’s

Posted on April 20, 2015 by Troy Wagstaff

Daily Christian Devotional:
Surely He Hath Born our Grief’s and Carried Our Sorrows

This daily Christian devotional focuses on the benefits of the atonement of Jesus Christ. Jesus suffered for our sins and the sins of the whole world in the garden of Gethsemane and again on the cross of Calvary. His dying brought new life for us when he was resurrected.

devotional_born_our_griefs

He suffered for both our sins and for our sorrows. When we sin, we have sorrow. But we have sorrow for many other reasons. We don’t have to live in the depths of despair when we sin. We can ask our Heavenly Father for forgiveness of our sins and know that we will be forgiven. We can also let our wounded soul be restored whole and well again by letting the Saviors’ atonement heal our sorrows. We do not need to carry the weight of sin and sorrow if we let the Lord into our life.

Whether you choose to repent or not, whether you choose to let the Saviors’ atonement help you or not is up to you. It was done some two thousand years ago. It is a done deal that history bears a witness of. Whether you choose to let it into your life or not, doesn’t change the fact that it happened. So take hold of the eternal and endless sacrifice and let it into your heart and soul and be healed. Why try to bear the weight of our sins and sorrows on our own when we don’t have to?

Troy Wagstaff ©

Filed under: Christian Devotionals | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Do You Trust Jesus Christ?

Posted on April 1, 2015 by Troy Wagstaff

Do You Trust Jesus?

Do you have faith in Jesus Christ? If you are reading this article then it is very likely you have faith in our Lord and Savior. This devotional is written on the basis that you, the reader, has faith in Christ Jesus.

Now I want to ask you another soul-searching question. Do you trust Jesus?

As Christians we can say without hesitation that we have faith in Jesus and love him, but, again, do we trust Jesus?

Some may say that trust and faith are the same thing or very close to the same thing. Let’s look at the two words “faith” and “trust.”

Faith

Hebrews 11:1 reads “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Faith, therefore, is believing in something that has no physical evidence of existing.

Trust

Trust is believing that someone will do what they say they will do. When we trust people in our daily life, we generally trust those in authority over us (with exceptions) and we trust people that we have a long-standing relationship with, where they have a proven history of keeping their word.

While the words “faith” and “trust” are very close in meaning and in concept, they should be used in sequence.

do_you_trust_jesusWe believe that Jesus exists. We believe that the Jesus we read about in the New Testament is a resurrected being. We believe that he suffered, bleed and died for us and that he broke the bonds of death and lives again.

For some the gift to believe, comes as a gift by grace. For others, faith is something we acquire over time as we read the teachings of the Savior and pray and do what he teaches. For all, our faith grows as we see things happen as a result of our faith in our Savior. Our faith grows from grace to grace.

After you have experienced faith and after you have seen your faith grow you come to a point in time when you need to ask yourself, “do I trust Jesus?” It would seem like sound reasoning to say “if I have faith in Jesus then of course, I trust him.”

I agree, it does seem like good logic but I don’t think the transition from faith to trust is as clear cut in the real world. I’ve seen many Christians grow as their faith increases but for whatever reason they seem to hit a plateau. Instead of continuing to grow and climb upward, they seem to fizzle in their ascent. They lie stagnate on their plateau.

I would not presume to know all the reasons why this happens to those that are standing on the plateau. There are likely many reasons. But one reason, I think, that puts them on that plateau is that they fail to make the transition from faith to trust in their relationship with their Savior.

My best friend Scot is a good example of someone I trust. I have known him all my life. He will tell me what he will do and then I can go about my endeavors with no doubt that what he said would be done, will be done.

We need to feel like that in our relationship with Jesus. An example would be on the principle of repentance. If we repent of our sins he will forgive us and remember our sins no more.

Can we do our part in the repentance process and then go forward knowing those sins are gone? Do we trust Jesus when he says he will forgive those that repent? Do we repent then go about our life with nagging doubts wondering if we are really forgiven of our sins? If we do then we need to ask ourselves if we trust Jesus. There is a good point to make right here. We are not talking about faith. We’re beyond that. We have demonstrated our faith by repenting of our sins. Now it’s up to us to trust Jesus to forgive us of our sins.

I’ve used my best friend Scot as an example of people I trust. In the case with Scot we have grown up together we lived next door to each other until after high school graduation.

trusting_jesusWe know each others secrets and weaknesses. We’ve been through life together. I’ve known him much longer than my wife Colette of twenty-nine years.

I am blessed to have a forty-eight-year relationship with one person. We’ve had our ups and downs. I’ve long since come to know that Scot is an honorable man and one true to his word. We have a great history together so I can really use the word trust and mean it.

But Scot is just a man like me. He is not perfect. But I trust him. I hope we all can say that we have people in our lives that we can trust. I can trust my wife and I have other people in my life I can trust like my three daughters among others. But none of them are perfect.

People in our lives are not perfect. Jesus Christ is perfect. If we can trust imperfect people in our lives, shouldn’t we be able to trust Jesus Christ who is perfect in every way? We already have faith in him but do we trust what he says he will do? Do we trust his time frame? Do we trust that he will never fail us?

I do. I hope you do to.

Troy Wagstaff © Copyright. All Rights Reserved.

Filed under: Christian Articles, Christian Devotionals | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

IF IT IS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, THEN IT IS?

Posted on November 19, 2014 by Troy Wagstaff

IF IT IS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, THEN IT IS?

We’ve all heard the old adage that “if it’s too good to be true” then it is. However, I take issue with that aphorism, I say that if it is too good to be true it probably is, but not always.

2_good_2_b_trueLet’s take the following story as an example to the exception of this adage. Imagine that you have lost all your worldly possessions, you’ve lost your family and you have been living in the street for ten years. You have no income forcing you to beg for money and food, and you sleep for wherever you can find shelter. Let’s add to this sad scenario, a substance abuse problem. You have many illnesses related to exposure to the elements, poor diet and substance abuse problems. It all seems hopeless and it all seems lost! Surely, there is no hope.

You have been raised right, you know that you not supposed to steal or lie. Living on the streets has jaded you. The environment that you are forced to live in has taken away much of your humanity and your sensibilities. You find yourself committing crimes to survive and you find yourself committing crimes to sustain your substance abuse. You’re living a senseless life filled with despair and no hope.

Put yourself in that situation, assume that you do not know of the tender mercies of Christ. You’re sitting on the street corner in filthy clothes with filthy hygiene and you’re holding a sign asking for money. Someone comes up to you and talks to you while they’re putting money in your hand and they start to tell you about a person who came to earth and he paid the price for all of your sins, and of all the sins of all the people on earth. This man has felt everything that you have ever felt or that you will ever fill. This man has provided a way for you to not only get off the street and not only get into clean clothes but to get into heaven with the righteous.

truth_never_2_good_2_b_trueDoes this sound too good to be true? If you’re reading this Blog then you know where I’m going with this illustration, but really think what would be like to be in those circumstances and then you are introduced to Christ and his love and his boundless saving grace and mercy, wouldn’t that all seem just a little too good to be true? Well it’s not too good to be true. It is a fact. It is the most blessed fact or truth on the earth.

The story of Jesus Christ, and the doctrine contained in the Bible that teaches us about His Life and His teachings are true. Within the book covers of the Bible is the way to the truth and salvation, they are the pathways whereby we can receive eternal happiness.

Consider what the word eternal means? The word eternal means “without end.” So think what this means, happiness without end. To live with God and his son Jesus Christ is happiness forever, without end.

Even though we started off with the story of the homeless person that appeared to have no hope, each one of us are beggars, we all depend on the same God to give us life, we all rely on that same God to forgive us of our sins and through His grace and His mercy to live with Him throughout eternity.

We can all say that this idea is too good to be true. But it is true! So when you hear the old adage “if it’s too good to be true, it is” always keep in the back of my mind that sometimes it can be that good and still be true. When it comes to Jesus Christ, it is too good to be true but it is true. We all need to remember Jesus Christ our Savior, and our Eternal Father in Heaven love us unconditionally, they are perfectly willing to give us grace and mercy if we are willing to reach out to them.

 

Filed under: Christian Articles, Christian Devotionals | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Lessons Learned From the Parable of the Prodigal Son

Posted on November 7, 2014 by Troy Wagstaff

Lessons Learned From the Parable of the Prodigal Son

It is no secret to any Christian that Jesus taught frequently in Parables. He used the Parable style of teaching so that those who heard Him teach, but were not ready to receive the message, wouldn’t be condemned. He taught in Parables so that those who had eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts to know and feel the message, could by taught important saving principles The Savior had to offer.

Parables are a symbolic way to teach. Like a metaphor, the symbols give us something to compare the teachings with which can greatly aid our understanding. With Parables you can learn lessons beyond what a superficial reading can teach you. In that vein, we will look at the Parable of The Prodigal Son.

The primary message is about repentance, mercy and forgiveness. Luke 15 begins with begins with the Parable of The Lost Sheep which is followed by the Parable of The Lost Piece of Silver. The Parable of The Prodigal Son brings up the rear with a little more detail about forgiveness than what is found in the first two Parables. The clear lesson to the first two Parables is the joy that the Father has when we repent and He forgives us.

The Parable of The Lost Sheep found in Luke 15: 3-7 is best summed up in verses 6-7. The Shepherd leaves the ninety and nine and goes after the one lost sheep. When he finds that sheep he says to his friends, “Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.”

Then The Master goes on to teach, “I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.”

The next Parable, The Lost Piece of Silver, emphasizes the joy the woman had in finding her lost piece of silver. She wants to share the joy with her friends. Then comes the punch line in verse 10: “Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.”

The recurring theme in Luke 15 is about sinners that were lost, then repented and were found through repentance by The Lord. Luke 15 teaches us also about the very great joy that our Savior and our Father in Heaven have when we repent and are found again.

Parable of The Prodigal Son

To drive the point home, the Master Teacher uses The Parable of The Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32). The lesson of repentance and forgiveness through God’s mercy is illustrated in this Parable, but there is more to learn from that Parable.

The great Parable tells of a man with two sons. One son was faithful and stayed with his father. The other son asked for and received his portion of his inheritance. He left his father and brother and went off to a far country and spent his inheritance over many years of riotous living with harlots. After the prodigal son had exhausted his resources, there arose a famine in the land and he had nothing to live on.

He went to work for a farmer and was given the job to feed swine. All that the prodigal son had to eat were the husks that were fed to the swine. This indicates the prodigal son was as low as he could get. After a while he “came to himself” realizing that even his father’s servants had more than enough bread to eat.

The thought occurred to him that he could return to his father and be a servant and have plenty to eat in return for his labor. He realized that he was no more worthy to be called his father’s son. He knew he had sinned greatly both before his father and against Heaven.

lessons_learned_from_prodigal_sonHe journeyed back to his father’s house. While he was yet along way off his father saw him returning. The father of the prodigal son had compassion upon his returning son. The loving Father ran to met his son and wrapped him up in his loving arms and kissed him.

The prodigal son confesses to his father “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.”

The loving father of the prodigal son instructed his servants to clothe him in the best robe and put shoes on his feet and a ring on his finger.

In celebration of the prodigal sons return, the Father’s household killed the fatted calf for a feast and they were merry. Rejoicing, the father said, “For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.”

Lessons Learned

Lessons learned from this Parable are emphasized in the preceding two Parables. The Lord our God rejoices in the sinner that humbly repents and seeks forgiveness. The father of the prodigal son celebrates the return of his lost son, restoring him with clothing and food in a joyous celebration.

The message of God’s mercy and grace is demonstrated in the act of forgiveness and also reinforced with the other two Parables in Luke 15. Again, Luke 15:7 in the Parable of the Lost Sheep we learn “Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.” And in the Parable of the Lost Piece Of Silver the woman finds the lost piece of silver and seeks to rejoice with her friends. Then in verse 10 it says, “Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.”

The sinner who humbles himself and repents will be forgiven. Our Lord and Savior is anxious to forgive and does so through His tender mercies. Along with His angels, He celebrates in the return of the lost sinner. It is deeply moving that not only does the Lord want to forgive but also celebrates and finds great joy in forgiving the humble sinner. These Parables, especially the Parable of the Prodigal Son teaches us of humility, sorrow for sin, repentance, mercy, forgiveness and the joy that Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ has in forgiving us and bringing us back into the fold.

There are more lessons to be learned from the Parable of the Prodigal Son that highlight other important concepts than the Lost Sheep and the Lost Piece of Silver.

The father had two sons. We have discussed the prodigal son but there is another son who at the beginning of the Parable was the righteous son. He stayed with the father (keeping the commandments) while the prodigal went off in living.

The faithful son was tending to the fields while the drama of the return of the prodigal son took place. He comes back to the house and hears music and sees dancing. He asks one of his servants what was going on? The servant responded “Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound.”

The faithful son refused to join in the celebration. After a while, noticing that his other son was not in attendance, the father went after the “righteous” son. After finding the faithful son the Father asked him what was troubling him?

The faithful son replied “Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends:But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.” (Luke 15:29-30)

lessons_learned_prodigal_sonFrom a natural man standpoint one can see his point. He was faithful and the sinner comes back after “sowing wild oats” and gets a big celebration. Perhaps we should make sure to rejoice in the good living of the faithful.

The father responds by saying “Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.” (Luke 15:31-32)

In a sense, this Parable of the Prodigal son is a story of two prodigal sons. The second faithful son showed signs of not wanting to forgive. He showed a symptom of pride. But the good father taught him of the importance of finding the lost sheep and having joy in finding the lost sheep.

The Prodigal Son tells of a son who was rebellious and goes on to live a sinful life. Thankfully the son came to realize his sin and was humbled and sought forgiveness at his fathers hand.

The first two Parables talk of the joy of finding a lost sinner. The Prodigal Son takes it a step further and talks of a rebellious sinner. The Prodigal Son knew what he had and chose to take his inheritance and go after a worldly life of sin, lust, greed and riotous living. A sinner who has lived a life of sin and becomes humble and desires to repent needs to be saved from his sins through the mercies of the atonement of Jesus Christ. A rebellious sinner is a little more grave because they sinned against a greater light. Nevertheless, they can be, like the Prodigal Son, forgiven. The Lord rejoices in his repentance just like any other sinner.

We, like the faithful son, need to be willing to forgive the “sinner” just like our Savior is willing to forgive. That may not be as simple as it seems on the surface. After all, we are humans living in a world ripening in iniquity. Pressure abounds everywhere. Just trying to withstand the temptations we are faced with is a challenge.

Obviously we slip and fall from time to time and we are in need of The Lords’ forgiveness. The scriptures teach us to forgive others or to “forgive all men.” The Lords Prayer talks about “forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.”

The Prodigal Son speaks of Gods mercy and joy in forgiving his lost sheep. It also speaks to us to forgive others their trespasses against us.

Troy Wagstaff © Copyright. All rights reserved.

Filed under: Christian Articles | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Jonah And The Whale: A Story Of Hope

Posted on August 31, 2014 by Troy Wagstaff

Jonah and the Whale A Story Of Hope

The prophet Jonah being swallowed by a whale and restored again to dry ground. What a story! Is it a true story or an allegory? What can we learn from this magnificent story as Christians?

If you consider an endorsement by our Savior when he referred to the sign of Jonah (referencing the three days and nights) then yes, the story of Jonah is indeed true. First of all the Old Testament talks about Jonah as a prophet in II Kings 14:25. Then in the New Testament, Matthew 12:39-41 The Savior talks about the life of the prophet Jonah. There are a few more references in the Gospels about Jonah.

That’s good enough for me.

If you are not familiar with the details of Jonah, read Jonah 1-4, a very short book in the Old Testament, but worth every verse. It is a powerful story, just one of the many that must have been a part of Jonah’s life, but the only one we know about.

The Lord command’s Jonah to go preach the gospel to Nineveh so that it wont be destroyed. Jonah refuses to do what the Lord told him to do and runs away, or at least tries to run away from the Lord toward Tarshish.

Jonah hops on a boat bound for Tarshish. Shortly after boarding Jonah goes to sleep and the tempest starts to rage. The people on the boat fear for their life. After a while Jonah confesses that The Lord is after him and tell the people to throw him over board and they will be spared. They don’t want to but eventually they throw ‘ into what seems to be a watery grave.

Silver Jonah and the whale charm

Jonah And The Whale

The Lord had prepared a big fish to swallow Jonah. For three days he was in the belly of a giant fish or whale. Near death, Jonah finally comes around to repenting of his rebellion. The Lord forgives him and has the fish deposit him on dry ground.

The Lord calls him to preach at Nineveh again. This time Jonah agrees to follow the direction of The Lord. Ninevah is the Capitol city of the wicked Assyrians. It is a huge city by the standards of the day. It was so big geographically that it took three days journey to pass through.

Keep in mind the Nineveh is a very wicked city (Nahum 3:1-5) and Jonah has to walk a day’s journey before he preaches the gospel to them. He preaches to them and they believe and repent. This includes their wicked King. They cover themselves in sack cloth and ashes which is a deliberate sign of repentance. The Lord forgives them.

Jonah leaves the city and climbs a hill over looking the now righteous city of Nineveh and builds himself a simple shelter to sit in while he watches to see if the Lord will destroy the newly repented city. He is very hot and dry. He see’s that The Lord spared the city as He said He would if they repented. The Lord provides a plant over night the grows to provide shade and comfort to Jonah. Jonah is grateful to the plant for its shade. The next day the Lord kills the plant and Jonah grieves for the loss of the plant.

The Lord explains to him that just as Jonah loves the plant, The Lord loves those thousands of people in Nineveh and spared them from destruction because they repented. He teaches Jonah a very important lesson. God loves all his children all over the world.

This is a fantastic story. Full of lessons one can apply to ones self for profit and learning. It teaches the principles of faith, hope, mercy of The Lord, repentance, forgiveness, God’s love for

His children and the power of one person with Gods help.

More than anything else, the virtues of Hope and Repentance stand out. When Jonah was in the belly of the whale he had faith and prayed to God for forgiveness of his sins in running away and rebelling against God. God forgave Jonah. In His mercy, God is willing to forgive those who repent. It requires faith to pray and ask for forgiveness from God. It requires faith to repent when you have been wicked all your life; Jonah was an inspired teacher. Jonah was one man in the midst of his mortal enemy but with Gods help, the power of one is the power of God.

God loved Jonah and tried to rescue Him from his sins. God loved the people of Nineveh and did not want to destroy Nineveh but God cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance. He gave the people a chance to repent through Jonah. Thankfully these thousands of people did repent and they were forgiven.

Strangely, Jonah still struggled and didn’t really want the people of Nineveh spared. That’s why he built a hut on top of the hill to see if they would be spared. As the days wore on Jonah was very hot with the sun beating down on him. God made a vine or plant to cover his hut and provide shade, a welcome relief from the heat of the sun. Then the Lord killed the plant and the protection from the heat was gone. The Lord provided a strong East wind and combined the elements to go against Jonah to drive the point home. Jonah mourned for the lost of the plant. The Lord explained to Jonah that as he grieved for the lost of a simple plant, God would feel bad for the loss of his people in Nineveh. The lesson was on love and that God loves all his people.

Whether the people are our enemies or criminals or otherwise bad people. God loves all His children. This was the last lesson we have record of, in which Jonah was taught a lesson. From this great story we see that God loves all His children. He doesn’t always love what they do or what the have become, He loves them and wants them back to live with Him someday. But they must change their ways, repent and live righteously.

This story is a message of hope. This story teaches us of Gods mercy and forgiveness provided we repent. This message shows us that even prophets are human and need to repent. If they being so righteous need to repent then so must we. But that is a part of that great hope we can have. It is a story of faith. It’s a great teaching tool teaching us that there are consequences to sin and unless we repent then we will reap the consequences of sin.

Filed under: Christian Articles | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Avoid Being Deceived – By Their Fruits…

Posted on August 3, 2009 by Troy Wagstaff

Avoid Being Deceived

Living a Christian life, is full of service, love, and being with people while in the act of service or in the act of worship in church meetings or in Sunday school or study groups.

Because a good Christian is actively interacting with many different people in many different ways, it is possible for an honest and sincere Christian to be deceived. An honest and sincere Christian that is being deceived, is a sad and confused Christian.

But it doesn’t have to be that way and the Scriptures help us understand what to do to avoid being deceived. In fact, the solution to this whole “avoiding deception” idea can be applied to a Christian’s life across the span of his life.

Avoiding being deceived doesn’t mean we have to be distrustful of people it just means that we need to keep our eyes open and our roots firmly planted in proper gospel soil.

Let us look at one popular passage of Scripture that is repeated in the Bible more than once, it talks about how to avoid being deceived.

“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.”

Let’s break this passage down into a few separate parts for analysis: “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.”

What are false prophets? For the purposes of this article I submit that a false prophet is anyone that comes to you with the intent to deceive you, and lead you away from a sure foundation, and lead you away from Jesus Christ.

We can be deceived and led away from Jesus from forces within Christendom and without.

We need to understand that with Jesus and his gospel comes, glorious eternal hope, and with that an abiding piece and contentment. Anything that leads us away from that could be considered “a false prophet” or an agent of the evil one.

What do they look like? What do they sound like? How do they go about doing these evil things? There is no limit to what this evil looks like or sounds like or how this evil works. But we will all know how to judge it when it tries to happen to us.

Also keep in mind that these false prophets look good on the outside but are inwardly ravening wolves. We can see this evil in our entertainment, or in so-called art. We can see it in public discourse and among our peers. Unfortunately, we can even see it among those Christians with whom we worship with. But we do not need to be afraid and paranoid and constantly worried. All we need to do is analyze that passage of Scripture that we read earlier in this article. We’ve already talked about the wolves in sheep’s clothing or false prophets, now let’s look about how to judge or determine whether they are good or evil.

“Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.”

This passage uses fruit as a comparison, but what is the fruit being compared to? Often these kinds of comparisons are left open ended because they can have many different comparisons and our list will not include all of the different types of fruit that could be used to deceive us. To fully determine what all the fruit means for you, is up to you to determine based on how well you know yourself.

But let’s look at several common comparisons that could be the fruit that deceives us. The

evil-one knows our weaknesses and everyone has different weaknesses, but the master deceiver knows how too customized the temptation according to our weaknesses in unique and subtle ways.

Pride for some is a weakness. Someone or something could come across your path and tempt you with pride. Someone or something to come across your path and tempt you with ill-gotten gains. Someone or something could come across your path and tempt you with sex. Someone or something could come across your path and tempt you with unrighteous power.

Ask yourself, “what are my witnesses?” That will help you be on the lookout for things to avoid, and avoid people who could tempt you.

The analogy for comparison goes on to ask, can a thorn bush produce delicious grapes? Can you get figs from a thicket of thistles? The answer to these questions is simply no. Does pornography bring you closer to God? The answer is no. The Bible is replete with commandments and discussions about chastity and not to lust after women, so of course pornography cannot lead you into the loving arms of your Savior.

Can you pluck peace from a tree of lying and deception? Can you pluck the fruit of joy from the tree of crime? Abusing your spouse or children is not an activity that will inspire you and uplift your soul heavenward.

Any temptations to do evil that you give into, or any evil act that you are involved in is like plucking grapes from a Bush of thistles. You can try all you want but it won’t happen. The only way you’re going to get delicious grapes is if you pluck the grapes from the grapevine. In this case the grapevine represents the word of God as taught to us from the sacred Scriptures, not from evil acts and not from giving into temptations that tempt your weaknesses.

Anyone who comes into your life through the media or in person that inspires you to do things that are evil or that appeals to your weaknesses are the grapes from thorns and the fig from thistles.

By their fruits you shall know them. If someone you look up to for being worthy of emulation is found to be a drug user or an abuser or in some other way involved in wicked activity then you know their fruits are no good and you know that you’re not going to get grapes or figs from them. From such, turn away and don’t be deceived. You know what your weaknesses are and you do not need people in your life that tempt you toward your weaknesses or encourage and enable you in your weaknesses.

That’s why we are taught this important lesson about judging people by their fruits. If they have good fruit then we know that they are worthy to be in our life and that we don’t need to fear them to tempt us or lead us astray. This is not to say that we need to avoid everybody that doesn’t have good fruits, but we just have to be careful how we interact with people according to their fruit.

We have people in our life that we love like our family and good friends, and we have people in our life that can help inspire us and motivate us to good fruit and then there are people in our lives that we choose to try and help them and be a good tree with good fruit for their tree of life. As long as we keep that straight then we know how to avoid being deceived and by the same lesson we know how help others not be deceived.

Distilled down to the purest elements…to avoid being deceived simply means judging that person by their fruits and how they tempt your own evil fruits or inspire your good fruits.

If this Christian article has pricked your conscience and you feel like your life is not in complete harmony with The Lord then repent. To repent means to have a change of heart and a desire to improve yourself. With the tender mercies of the atonement of Jesus Christ and your godly sorrow, The Lord will forgive you of your sins and set you on a clean path once again.

Stay strong in the faith my friends in Christ.

Troy Wagstaff

Filed under: Christian Articles | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

%d bloggers like this: