Proclamation:
"No good tree bears bad fruit, nor
does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is
recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes,
or grapes from briers. The good man
brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man
brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the
overflow of his heart his mouth speaks." Luke 6:43-45 (NIV)
Explanation:
These Holy Spirit inspired words were
written by Luke, the physician and traveling companion and recorder for the
Apostle Paul. He wrote that good fruit
does not come from bad trees, and bad fruit does not come from good trees. Likewise, the same is true for people. The
good or evil that is in a man's heart will come out of his mouth.
Application:
For as a man
thinks, so is he. (Job 24:13-17) "We may not be all that we think we
are, but what we think, we are." (Author Unknown) It has been said
that it is not what a man does when others are watching him that determines his
character, but it is what he does when he is alone and thinks that no one sees
him that determines who he really is. We should be mindful of the fact
that God sees all that we do (Job 34:21) and He knows our intentions. (Matthew
9:4 and Hebrew 4:12) Since it is also possible to sin by thinking sinful
thoughts, ( Matthew 5:28) we need to ask God to cleanse us of all of our sins
and to forgive us for our sinful actions, words, and thoughts. We need for Him to create within us a clean
heart and a clean mind. (Psalm 51:10) That
is why we should pray like King David prayed, that the words of our mouths and
the meditation of our hearts would be acceptable in the sight of God. (Psalms
19:14)
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