This month I have grown so much in the Lord that I can physically see the growth. I know that the way that I am talking to others, He is influencing. The way that I am thinking all day, He is influencing. The way that I act in every moment, He is influencing.
I have continued to do my deep dive into scripture and was doing the book of Jude at one point this past week. One verse that really stuck out to me through the reading was verse 12.
Jude 12
“These men are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm—shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted—twice dead.”
This is Jude speaking to the people who have been called by God to go to the many nations, or more plainly, us “World Racers”.
When I read this verse two big things stand out for me.
The first is this,
“They are clouds without rain…”
— What is a cloud good for if not for rain? If there is no rain, then it is pointless. All it does at that point is to block out the sunlight. Which, as Christians we are called to be the Son-light to the world.
The second thing that sticks out to me is this,
“autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted—twice dead.”
— This is perfect for me right now because I am so focused on bearing fruit as a Christian. Making sure that I bring people to know Christ, I sometimes forget to plant my own roots firm and deep. What its saying here is that a tree that doesn’t bear fruit is considered to be dead and would be cut down and used for fire wood. That is us if we don’t bear the fruit of the Spirit.
— The second thing that is said is “uprooted—twice dead.” When a tree is uprooted it is because the roots are not as strong as the force pulling or pushing against them, usually the wind. If we as Christians can be easily uprooted in our beliefs then we are no good. At that point it doesn’t matter how much fruit we bear, if the breeze of the enemy can come by and blow us over. At that point the fruit rots, and the tree is dead just the same.
Always make sure to plant your roots deep into the love of Jesus. And always make sure to bear fruit of the spirit. These are two things that the Church today needs to start doing more of. How many times has someone sat in a pew at church, and then as soon as they go outside they argue about who gets to leave the parking lot first to go to Wendy’s for lunch? That is the enemy uprooting our very beliefs. That is not the only example but I know that things like this happen.
Be intentional with both the fruit that you bear and the roots that you plant; don’t do one without the other. And never say “I’ll just do that later” that’s the enemy talking, and I know that’s not who you are. We are not the enemy. We are the warriors on the front lines!
