Good Things & Bad Things

December 30, 2021
Midweek Study with Pastor Edith
Luke 6:45

In my NIV bible the subtitle for this teaching is “A Tree and Its Fruit”. Jesus is teaching his followers that they will be known by the fruit of their living. I believe part of his lesson here is to remind the people that they can try to fool others and even themselves in believing that they are something they are not. Faithfulness and goodness are the result of what is stored up in the heart of a person, not the outward show of things, though, fruit is the outward expression of the inward change God makes when we seek him.

Jesus says “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” (emphasis, mine).

If it is true that “out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks”, then it stands to reason that it is of the utmost importance to be mindful of what we keep in our hearts. In other words, like the children’s song says “Oh be careful little eyes what you see… Oh be careful little ears what you hear…” What we spend most of our time looking at or listening to is what will fill our hearts and minds and what fills our hearts and minds is what we talk about. What we talk about reveals what we believe to be true and can have a profound effect on those listening to what we are saying.

So, the next time you find yourself in a conversation, try to pay attention to the amount of the conversation that seems to be disheartening and even self-centered and how much of the conversation is about the hope you find in Christ to show the way through whatever circumstances are the topic of discussion. It’s a challenge, no doubt, but it is worth it and you might just be the beacon of light for someone’s dark moment.

My recommendation for this new year is to take time daily to praise and worship the God who created you and the whole universe. To start, I have found 19 Psalms that will help us do just that, I will call this little exercise “19 days of praise” and will endeavor to take just a few minutes throughout the day every day for the next 19 days to read the psalm and even sing it as the book of Psalms was the original hymnal .

Here is the list I have found, and feel free to build on this with Psalms and Spiritual songs you have discovered: Psalm: 23,24,34,46,93,96-100,103,114,115,118,131,136,139,145,150.

HAPPY NEW YOU!