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| Good....true....healthy! |
Mark 11:12-14………….12 Now the next day, when they
had come out from Bethany, He was hungry. 13 And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went
to see if perhaps He would find something on it. And when He came to it, He
found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 14 In response Jesus said to it,
"Let no one eat fruit from you ever again." And His disciples heard
it. NKJV
The 1st or early figs became ripe by the end of June
The 2nd crop or summer figs appeared in June and
matured in August
The 3rd crop or winter figs appeared
in August and were ready in late October but would and could carry through the
spring season when the early figs would again appear.
Jesus cursed the fig tree…Mark 11…., not because it was fruitless,
(for the season of figs was not yet, and if it had been leafless He would not
have sought fruit on it! But the fig
tree was boasting a falseness to its
bold claims. With leaves appearing, fruit should be found under the leaves……again
as to righteousness producing fruit worthy of giving out to others, or
unrighteousness…are the dishonest, untrustworthy, separated from God
In this we find what is evil, versus good, the false against truth, so that what is showing, either by a mask or leaves is hypocrisy!
In this we find what is evil, versus good, the false against truth, so that what is showing, either by a mask or leaves is hypocrisy!
In
Jesus’ speaking, the fig represented Israel, & it’s bold claims that it
followed God was without merit. From the
early beginnings with men who followed God closely & held on to the
promises of God, these in Jesus’ time had slipped into that un-fruitfulness that
was deceptiveness.. They LIED! They
believed they had no flaws!
Jesus
saw the prolific display of leaves on the Fig Tree, and anyone who has cared
for fruit trees knows the flower appears first & then fruit and leaves
last. We know that Jesus addressed those Pharisees who operated by THIS pretentious show and hypocrisy.
You and I can do something to improve our health. Everyday we must speak truth against any pretentious attitude that we are fine, our blood pressure is normal and we may only have a few pounds to lose when reality speaks like this fig tree did. Weight additions can mount up and blood pressure can change from normal to real "high" mark!
I know that between my husband and myself we made many changes and still seek to change some things. We have also found my blood pressure is back to normal like it was suppose to be. And yes, pounds are lost when avoiding that sweet high road of sugar and carbs!
WE must be truthful about our body and make the needed changes: The hypocrite does not discern his hypocrisy, for he cannot perceive flaws within
himself. He or she will NOT actually deal with the corruption in his heart. Since he
seeks no mercy, he has no mercy to give; since he is always under God's
judgment, judging is what comes through
him. God resists the proud but His grace is drawn to the humble.
It is like speaking that you can eat all you want without limits. But in truth, eating ice cream daily will put on pounds of weight! Eating large volumes of food at bedtime will also amount to calories being stored instead of being burned.
A
hypocrite can be a man or woman who excuses their own sin while condemning the
sins of another. A hypocrite, can only impersonate righteousness but he fails
to live by righteousness. They say at
times they are confused when in reality they are trying to throw you into
confusion. WAS reminded of this young woman who died decades ago. She said she had no issues with food, but she only drank protein drinks! UNKNOWN to her friends, she also would binge on certain foods to throw it all up later. YIKES! So yes, these things wrecked havoc on a young person's body and she died not much past 16 years of age.
Mark 11:20-26.........20
Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the
roots. 21 And Peter, remembering, said to Him, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree which
You cursed has withered away." 22 So Jesus answered and said to
them, "Have
faith in God. 23 For
assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast
into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those
things he says will come to pass, he will have whatever he says. 24 Therefore I say to you, whatever things you
ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.
25
"And whenever you stand praying, if
you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven
may also forgive you your trespasses. 26
But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your
trespasses." NKJV
People considering that they are the "saved" will venture into un-chartered territory of exotic foods and find stomach complaints and many other bad factors like diarrhea! In their thinking they have Jesus and His blood but....we must use His wisdom to know where we were born, what was raised as crops in that locale and eat those foods. I was raised where they grew great pecan trees and I still love them and eat them today. People who grew up where they planted almond trees also enjoy them without any harm. Still if you put a macadamia nut with chocolate all over it in front of a person who has neither seen one or eaten one, you might have a problem.
According to the scripture above we are to forgive others: like forgiving maybe your absent parents who worked through the evening meal and you tanked up on coke and popcorn! But we also must forgive ourselves when such things as overweight occurs or some sickness. For we truly have control at our fingertips if we do not touch the handle on the door of the refrigerator. We can turn down chocolate, even that rich chocolate one...... if we remember a specific scene from the movie Charlie and Chocolate Factory. You know that just the thought of that "kid" swimming around in that river of chocolate is enough to stop my walk and focus to any type in our house...indeed!
According to the scripture above we are to forgive others: like forgiving maybe your absent parents who worked through the evening meal and you tanked up on coke and popcorn! But we also must forgive ourselves when such things as overweight occurs or some sickness. For we truly have control at our fingertips if we do not touch the handle on the door of the refrigerator. We can turn down chocolate, even that rich chocolate one...... if we remember a specific scene from the movie Charlie and Chocolate Factory. You know that just the thought of that "kid" swimming around in that river of chocolate is enough to stop my walk and focus to any type in our house...indeed!
Fig tree: Withered away
without the life of God. It only had
leaves but no fruit. Not good for
anything, AND was cursed.
That Faith in God is where our trust must rely on…….AND anything that lifts
itself up as a mountain…..is to be cast into the sea….
You and I are to be intentional to rid those things out of our thinking...........anything from a " wrong " core belief system as from our parents or in some doctrine we have heard other than the truth of God our Savior!
Ask anyone who has stepped into a weight-loss program and they will tell you it takes more than money to purchase the needed healthy items to get on the road of healthy whole. One has to cooperate to eat less and not more food. God's word equips us to take the needed steps to change our thinking and to make our body line up with that TRUTH God has given us in the Holy Bible.
Choices are to be for the right things that produce more life not death.
Choices are to be for the right things that produce more life not death.
On the road to Healthy Whole, we remember that this is the day the Lord has made for us.....WE ARE TO BE GLAD IN IT........Psalm 118:24 This is the day the LORD has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.
Through salvation, God turned things around for us! We have the Holy Spirit to direct our way through what may appear as a maze of things that might confuse. But when we truly ask Him for help with our body in mind, He will direct our path into that which is of life.
I like what Charles Spurgeon wrote on Prayer and Spiritual Warfare. He said and I quote here: I write this with all reverence: God Himself cannot deliver who is not in trouble. Therefore, it is to some advantage to be in distress, because God can then deliver you. Even Jesus Christ, the Healer of me, cannot heal a person who is not sick. Therefore, sickness is not an adversity for us, but rather an advantageous opportunity for Christ to heal us. The point is, my reader, your adversity may prove your advantage by offering occasion for the display of divine grace.
May Divine Grace appear for you in your road to health. If you find you are in a darken place, depression seems to be everywhere you look, then you are focusing on the wrong thing. We must have a focus on what He has given us to run the race set before us! Depression can occur and many people experience it at some point in their lifetime, but we have HELP from the Holy One!
In making the decisions for life saving food preparations: May you know the Lord Jesus desires you to have the full measure of His joy within you. (John 17:13) Remember God brings comfort to the downcast. Isaiah 41:10 reminds us that we are not to fear. "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. I will uphold you with My righteous right hand."
Start with small decisions and stick to them. Exercise is important and learn to take that walk out the door everyday. Get out and be glad in the day the Lord has made for you. In that gladness, you will find the thankfulness to speak to Him, about that day, and tomorrow and your future.
If you have had drastic situations done to your body in recent months, know God is all knowing. He is not surprised. Nothing catches Him off-guard. Speak through in that distress, for Isaiah 63:9 tells us that when we are distressed God too is distressed for us. In that God will carry us . May He carry you into your tomorrow. May depression be removed from you. Take that walk outside, take that step into an adventure where He leads you into His paths of righteousness for His name sake. May you reside beside still waters and lie down in grass that is knee high.
May you know His comfort as you make the changes that bring more life into your being. May you know His love that will guard in that peace which is totally of Him.
Oh Father, answer us when we call to you, O our righteousness. O God...give us relief from our distress; be merciful to us and hear our prayer. (Psalm 4:1) In distress, we call to You, Lord; we cry to our God for help. From Your temple You hear our voice, our cry comes before You, into Your ears. (Psalm 18:6) Please hear Lord and answer us for our thoughts trouble us and we are distraught. (Psalm 52:2)
We give thanks for Your faithfulness to correct us. We will not despise the discipline of the Almighty. For our issues we have at one time or another wanted people to just leave us alone for we felt like our days had no meaning. BUT you O Lord would not leave us here on this earth a single day that was not meant to have meaning. Our lives have meaning. Please help us not to despise our lives or isolate others from it. YOU too Christ were the despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows & familiar with suffering. You were like the one who from whom men hide their faces. You were despised & we did not esteem You. ( Isaiah 53:5) YOU know exactly how we feel, we will put our trust in You.
We give a shout, we have the victory, God has heard and we see it come to pass in Jesus' name. Amen.
New teaching at: Voice of Prayer
WARFARE of the Kingdom Demands Full Attention
https://youtu.be/6NLI52E_N7A
Also visit my You Tube channel Voice of Prayer for more teaching
New teaching at: Life Giving Wells
Also visit Life Giving Wells You Tube Channel for more teaching
