A Needed Study

Thursday, August 21, 2025

Good morning, Lord

Father in Heaven, I seek You first-the knowledge of Your kingdom and Your righteousness. Fill my consciousness constantly and complete Your joy in me as I take up my cross and follow...In Jesus' name…

Memory verse: Jeremiah 15:19 ESV

Therefore thus says the Lord: “If you return, I will restore you, and you shall stand before me. If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless, you shall be as my mouth. They shall turn to you, but you shall not turn to them.” 

Verse of the day: Psalm 42:8

8 “By day the Lord commands his steadfast love,    and at night his song is with me,    a prayer to the God of my life.”

Daily reading: Psalm 107-109 1 Corinthians 4 

This Needs to Be Studied

Matthew 7:17-19-17 “Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

The Greek word for ‘bear’ here is what some scholars call a prolonged verb form-which means when we read this form of ‘bear’ it means ‘continue producing’.

So a good tree continues producing good fruit-a bad tree continues producing bad fruit.

Anyone who has been around fruit or nut trees knows that there is always going to be a fruit or nut that is malformed for some reason. This tree goes on producing good fruit. The bad fruit is discarded. The tree is not cut down for a few bad fruits or nuts.

What Jesus wants us to see is that a bad tree cannot produce any good fruit. Some olive trees never produce any good olives and they are cut down. But Jesus also wants us to see that a good tree, a ‘healthy’ tree, cannot continue to produce only bad fruit. When we do produce a bad fruit, He is our remedy.

1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

A bad tree that can only continue to bear bad fruit is cut down.

The mirror will tell each of us if we bear good fruit. Where are we?

There is an entire science behind tending olive trees. Water, nutrients, soil, much work is put into each tree to make sure it yields good olives but nothing takes the place of good lineage.

Romans 11: 17 “It is as if some of the branches from an olive tree have been broken off, and the branch of a wild olive tree has been joined to that first tree. If you are not a Jew, you are the same as that wild branch, and you now share the strength and life of the first tree. 18 ... you don’t give life to the root. The root gives life to you. 19 You might say, “Branches were broken off so that I could be joined to their tree.” 20 That is true. But those branches were broken off because they did not believe. And you continue to be part of the tree only because you believe.”

Tell God you want to bear good fruit.

...because He loves you, He will do it…

Father in Heaven,

Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come in my life, and give me what I need today, desire, energy, and humility to do Your will. Forgive me for not taking fruit bearing seriously. Lead me away from shallow thinking.

Gentle and great God,

In the name of Christ Jesus,

Amen