Today’s Reading: I Kings 19-21; II Chronicles 17; Psalms 129; Matthew 1
One of the best things that I love about summer is the fresh fruit. Just recently I was shopping with my kids and we picked up some nectarines. The kids had many questions about the different fruits. They wanted to know the difference between the nectarine, the peach, and the apricot. As I’m explaining it to them, they are confused, because each of these fruits seem similar in their taste and texture, except for the size. This gives me an opportunity to see what the fruit is that we have for each other and how we manifest the fruit in our spirit.
If we bite into a peach and we taste an orange or an apple, that is confusing to the senses. When we see a pear tree, we know that the tree will produce pears. When we see an apple tree, we know that tree will produce apples. So each tree is distinct by the fruit that it bears.
In today’s passages, we are going through the history and lineage of Christ. In Matthew, we are given the genealogy of Christ for 42 generations. This genealogy goes back from Abraham to David to Christ. Each of these entries actually shows us the different tapestries that created Christ. It gives us a true understanding that could be connected from generation to generation. This was very important and established the family tree and lineage of Christ. As we are looking at history, we can see in different citations and publications of Christ and is validated and verified to be truly human and truly divine.
“and Jesse the father of David the king. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph, and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah,”
In the Old Testament, the descendants of David, Asa, and Jehoshaphat and their workings with God and the fellowship they gave.
2 Chronicles 15:1-2, 8 ESV
“The Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded, and he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: The Lord is with you while you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you. As soon as Asa heard these words, the prophecy of Azariah the son of Oded, he took courage and put away the detestable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities that he had taken in the hill country of Ephraim, and he repaired the altar of the Lord that was in front of the vestibule of the house of the Lord.”
2 Chronicles 17:1-3 ESV
“Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his place and strengthened himself against Israel. He placed forces in all the fortified cities of Judah and set garrisons in the land of Judah, and in the cities of Ephraim that Asa his father had captured. The Lord was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the earlier ways of his father David. He did not seek the Baals,”
Over the past couple weeks, my family has experienced several individuals who have transitioned to eternity. One of the most difficult farewells was for Jillian‘s grandmother, Elda Rose Koch. As we were celebrating her death and departure, we were in awe by the amount of visitors. Jillian’s grandmother passed away at the age of 93. Many times when individuals pass away at such a great age, there could be a few Individuals to celebrate life. But for Jillian‘s grandmother, there were over 200 visitors for her. This shows what type of fruit she had on her tree. This shows how she led her life for God and others.
So the question is, what is the fruit that you are producing? When people interact with you, will they see the fruit that God has given you to give? And if we do have fruit that God has given us, let us share it gracefully and gratefully. Because if we do not share that fruit, then we could end up like the tree that Christ spoke to on his way into Jerusalem at his last Passover. The tree was beautiful and it was Majestic. But when it did not give forth fruit, it withered the next day. How can we live a life that will be pleasing and for the glory of God?
Be Blessed