S04E010, Fruit, Dentists, Words and Actions, Andy B 2 Minute Video

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Matthew 7 verse 16 says that by our fruits we will be known.

This means that our actions are more important than our words because words, while very important, don’t necessarily lead to change, or action. But by their very definition, actions, are the outworking of what we truly believe and think.

Andy took his wife to the dentist and it made him think about what we can, each of us, do every single day to show the love of Jesus Christ to the people we meet, to the people we love, to people who know Jesus again, to people who need to know Jesus for the first time.

Every day is a learning day.

Every day is also an opportunity to serve Jesus.

We can choose either to move towards Jesus, or away from him.

So let’s make sure that, everyday, we are moving towards Jesus; that we are showing the love of Jesus to the people around us; that we are becoming more like Jesus Christ in all that we do and all that we say.

To quote CS Lewis “Don’t shine so that others can see you, shine so that through you, others can see him”.

So who can you encourage today?

Who can you text and say hello to?

Who can you email a photo to, from your walk, to brighten their day?

Who can you post a letter to reminding that Jesus loves them, even more than you do?

Let us be known by our actions, and may our actions match our words!

Just a thought...

Andy B

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So another Andy B 2 minute video.

Erm, in this one, I'm, I'm sitting in my car outside of a dental surgery waiting for Jo, who's having a bit of work done. Erm, and and I was encouraged by a couple of things which I wanted to encourage and challenge you with!

Erm, Matthew 7. The first part of verse 16 says this, "you will recognise them by their fruits." And then it goes on to say, "are grapes gathered from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles. 17. So every healthy tree bear goods, bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit".

And I was struck this morning, also, by a comment posted on DingDash, by my friend Alan, from Scotland, who said this. "Don't shine on, don't shine so that others can see you. Shine so that through you others can see Him". And that's a quote from CS Lewis.

And what really struck me as I was driving Jo to, er, to the dentist this morning, and I'll take it on to work, and I'll collect her tonight, is, we should be visible as Christians, as disciples, as followers of Jesus Christ. We should be visible because of our love for Jesus Christ.

People should see us and know that we're Christians.

Well, how do they do that?

Well, the fruit!

What's the fruit?

Well the fruit is the stuff that sticks out from, from the tree. The trees are great, but it's the fruit that we consume, and it's those bits of fruit that we need to see in peoples lives, that show us if they're saved or not. If they're disciples of Jesus Christ or not.

So today, my little bit of fruit that would be evident, is I've taken time out of my day. I've got loads to do, but I'm taking my wife to the dentist, and I'm taking it on to work. Not a very pleasant thing that she has to have done.

We're grateful to God that we've got the money for that, and we've got a dentist and all that stuff.

But it's a really simple thing for me to come. Bring Jo. Take her to work. Come back and get her tonight, so she feels loved and, and, and supported and all that kind of stuff.

But the question really is, do people know you by your fruit?

Do they know that your actions are pointing them to Jesus Christ?

Or are your actions pointing them to yourself?

Because as Christians, we shouldn't be pointing stuff at us! We should be pointing stuff to God.

Lecrae had a song not long ago, and it simply said, erm, 'I, I can be the back ground'.

And Lecrae is a very, very well known American rapper, singer. Really great stuff that he produces. We enjoy that.

But he was saying I want to be in the background because God is more important!

So is God more important in your life or are you trying to draw people to you?

I often think about kingdoms, and how we can build our own. But we're supposed to build God's Kingdom.

But as we see in verse 16, 'you'll recognise them by their fruits.'

Are you recognisable as a follower of Jesus Christ because of what your actions are doing?

Words? They're great! Actions, far more important!

Action? That's fruit!

Words? Not fruit!

So what are the actions in your life today that are showing that you're a disciple of Jesus Christ?

And where can you help somebody today, to see Jesus, through you?

Just a thought.