Ten commandments?? How about 10x10x10? Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 93 Q. How are these commandments divided? A. Into two tables. The first has four commandments, teaching us what our relation to God should be. The second has six commandments, teaching us what we owe our neighbor. Summary He started off so well. This rich young man asked Jesus the question that should be everyone's top priority: "what good thing must I do to be saved?" All of us - every person born since Adam - instinctively knows there's a relationship between salvation and doing good things. But this young man is smarter than most, for he can see that not everything that seems to be good actually is. He wants to focus his efforts on what really counts. Jesus didn't need to think about the question for too long. Although it's a profoundly important question to ask, it's not at all hard to answer: if you want salvation, perfectly follow the commands of the One who is good. Here's where things started to go off the rails for the young man. He asked Jesus, "Which ones?" It's moments like this that we really see the patience of our Savior. He would have been totally justified to burst out laughing at the glaring stupidity of the question, or even to have the young man instantly smote with fire from heaven for daring to suggest that some of God's commands are more important than others. But Jesus doesn't do what the rest of us would have done if we were in His position. Jesus continues to engage the man in conversation. Keep the second table of the law, Jesus tells the man. In other words, love your neighbor as yourself. At this, a smile likely came upon the young man's face. After all, he had certainly never murdered, committed adultery, stolen or lied. Or so he thought as he confidently reported this to Jesus, at the same time wondering if there was a detail or two Jesus could suggest he ought to add to the list, just to be really sure. Somehow the man missed the fact that Jesus had said nothing about the first table of the law: those first four commandments that teach us what our relationship ought to be with the One who said, "Be holy, because I am holy." Jesus goes on to tell the man that perfection requires much more than following ten commandments. After all, nowhere does the Bible command a person to give away all that he has. True godliness includes all of the implications of both tables of the law, whether they've been written down or not. Both this rich young man and the disciples are absolutely crushed by Jesus' answer. Who could possibly meet this exponential criteria for salvation? Dig Deeper We understand God's law to have three purposes: It shows us how sinful we are; It provides a general guide for how society should behave; It shows the saved how to live gratefully. The Heidelberg Catechism properly focuses on the third use of the law: gratitude. But don't forget that you will never really be truly grateful unless you first understand your guilt. This is why we read some portion of God's law in our worship services, so that we are regularly convicted by it; so that each week we're forced to ask with the disciples, "who then can be saved?" So when we hear Jesus answer, "with man, [salvation] is impossible, but with God all things are possible," we can look at these two tables of the law as a guide for grateful living in response to God's grace freeing us from our exponential guilt. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, the One who is good; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Thank God for His law, that we've met its conditions in Christ, and pray that we';; use His law as a guide for grateful living. ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - 1 Corinthians 16

God's Word can be described many ways, but 'boring' isn't one of them. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 92 simply reproduces the Biblical text of the ten commandments Summary We're going to focus on the beginning and ending of our passage today, since we'll be learning lots about the commandments in the middle in the weeks to come. Notice how the passage begins: And God spoke We could turn multiple places in the Bible for a demonstration of God's awesome power at work in nature. Indeed, the Israelites had just witnessed it firsthand for themselves, having walked between two towering walls of ocean as the crossed the Red Sea on dry ground. But as amazing as God's command of nature is, the best demonstration of His power can be found when He speaks. Remember the opening words of the Bible, which record God creating all that is out of nothing by simply repeating the phrase "and God said..." Jesus Himself is called the Word, and His ministry begins with God's voice booming from heaven that Jesus is His son, whom He loves. The book of Romans begins with an announcement that the gospel - the proclamation of the good news of salvation - is "the power of God..." Imagine being there, hearing these words come out of the fire (Dt. 10:4), accompanied by thunder and lightning (v18). It would quickly become clear that the ten commandments are so much more than a historic document to hang in a courtroom or to doze off to as you hear them recited for the umpteenth time in church. These words, just like the gospel, are the power of God, and necessary for you to know well and follow as you live in Christ. Dig Deeper The Israelites didn't miss God's demonstration of verbal power: They "trembled with fear" and "stayed at a distance," convinced that if God were to utter another word to them they would instantly die. They knew they were not worthy to come face to face with God, so they sent a representative up them mountain in their place. As we begin our nearly three month study of these commandments, we're beginning with a much different attitude than these Israelites had. We're coming to them as people who have peace with God because we've been justified through faith in Jesus Christ. We come to them in gratitude because in Christ, we've fully met the conditions of God's law. As Moses reminds us, these commandments are given "so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning (v20)." AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: The Lord our God, who brought you out of slavery to sin; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Thank God for giving us the tools and instructions to live as the holy people He's declared us to be in Christ. ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - 1 Corinthians 15

"The heart of the matter is the matter of the heart." Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 91 Q. What do we do that is good? A. Only that which arises out of true faith, conforms to God’s law, and is done for his glory; and not that which is based on what we think is right or on established human tradition. Summary Throughout this week, it should be becoming clear that God desires genuine repentance and transformed hearts and lives—not mere outward religious rituals. In Matthew 15, we get to listen to an exchange between Jesus and the Pharisees and scribes. It is a typical interaction between these two groups: the Pharisees and scribes try to trip Jesus up on a technicality of the law. Jesus flips it around, showing their hypocrisy and hardness of heart. In this instance, they want to cast shame on Jesus’s disciples for not ritually washing their hands before they ate. The Mosaic law would have required cleansing before sacrifices, but the blanket rule to wash hands before every meal was an additional law tradition followed by the Pharisees. Jesus then points them back to following an actual commandment and the principle behind the fifth commandment of ‘honoring your father and your mother.’ They had altered the fifth commandment to their liking. Jesus then calls out their hypocrisy of seeking to condemn his disciples for breaking one of their traditions while the Pharisees blatantly disregarded God’s commands. He invokes Isaiah 29:13 to show they are good at speaking eloquently and religiously, but their heart is not in the principle of the matter. Dig Deeper The second half of Q&A 91 deals with things that may seem like good works but are forms of tradition or legalism. Legalism exalts the law above everything else, plus promotes a mindset that believes it is possible to follow the law apart from grace. The Pharisees in Jesus’ day were excellent at writing new rules to help them keep other laws. Yet, Jesus' words here Matthew 15, like many of the confrontations, show they thought they could keep the letter of the law without holding to the spirit of the law, while at the same time burdening others with additional rules. I had a professor in seminary who liked to emphasize that in counseling with the Word of God, “the heart of the matter is the matter of the heart.” The Pharisees missed this in our text today, leading to futile worship. True faith in Christ leads to what is behind God’s commands: loving Him above all and loving our neighbor. Typically our own manufactured extra-biblical rules burden our neighbor and hinder our own worship of God if we elevate them to the level of divine law. God has set out his moral law to us in His Word, and the catechism will soon expound upon those implications. Knowing God leads to worshiping Him in Spirit and Truth (John 4:23–24). So just as one helps his spouse around the house out of love, not because it is on a list of ‘to-do’s,’ so too, you ought to serve the Lord out of love and gladness. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Heavenly Father, who gives us His laws and commands for our benefit; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that not only will you 'honor God with your lips,' but that your heart will be near to Him. ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - 1 Corinthians 14

Want a life filled with good fruit? Then abide in Christ! Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 91 Q. What do we do that is good? A. Only that which arises out of true faith, conforms to God’s law, and is done for his glory; and not that which is based on what we think is right or on established human tradition. Summary Jesus’s disciples would have been familiar with the hillside vineyards all around Judea. They would have also been familiar with the Old Testament metaphor of Israel as God’s vineyard (Psalm 80:8–16; Isaiah 5:1–7; Jer. 2:21). So Jesus claiming that He was the true vine was another way that He was saying He was the faithful Israel. Israel had been judged for not bearing the fruit and instead rebelled against God in idolatry, leading to exile from the promised land. Now Jesus is showing Himself as the genuine source of abundant life and everything good and pleasing to God. This viticultural reference is something we can still understand today. A healthy vine produces excellent and healthy fruit. The vinedresser prunes where it isn’t fruitful so that it can make the choicest clusters of grapes. If you visit a vineyard today, they will still describe the years of work and care that goes into the success of growing the desired fruit. Here Jesus describes the success of good works as just like the fruit of the vine; the requirement is to be united to Him. A Christian’s union with Christ includes producing what Christ provides: the Father’s love and obeying His commandments. The passage provides the three characteristics of good works which Q&A 91 provides: true faith that abides in Christ, glorifying God by bearing much fruit, and keeping His commandments. Dig Deeper There are various methods for picking out the best fruit in the produce aisle at the grocery store. For some, fruit is merely looking at the outside appearance, but melons are particularly tricky since they have a thick rind and skin. Some of you know how to look for the round shape, a proper creamy spot on the skin, and the right pitch to listen for when you knock on the outside of a good and juicy watermelon. Like watermelon at the store, Jesus describes how the good fruit of His kingdom has evidence of goodness on both the outside and inside. God’s Word nourishes you, which then motivates you by God’s love and delight to follow God’s commands. The beautiful fruit that you bear brings glory to the vintner. And God is pleased to mark it as His own, as if you’d see a cluster of grapes labeled “From the Kingdom of God.” Faith receives all it needs from Christ in salvation, and the Spirit produces all the blessings of salvation in the life of the Christian. Being connected to the true vine will inevitably lead to producing good works. “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (Heb. 11:6). AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Heavenly Father who is the source of every good and perfect gift; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will abide in God’s love, words, and commands; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - 1 Corinthians 13

Don't buy into the empty promises of sin, but see the joy of a new-life in Christ Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 90 Q. What is the coming-to-life of the new self? A. It is wholehearted joy in God through Christ and a delight to do every kind of good as God wants us to. Summary The structure of the Heidelberg Catechism follows a similar pattern which you may notice in many of the New Testament letters: The problem of sin. The salvation from sin is through Jesus Christ. A saved life is a changed life of gratitude for that salvation. Paul’s letter to the Colossians also follows this outline. In chapter 3, Paul uses the language that is found in this week’s questions and answers— putting to death the old self and putting on the new self. He begins with the Christian’s union with Christ’s resurrection, “You have died, and your life is hidden with Christ” (3:3). Jesus ascending to glory opens the way for his followers to follow Him there. Paul’s call to the Christian uses the strong language of “put to death,” all that which is evil and impure. He lists all the ways this old self acts: sexual immorality, covetousness, anger, slander, etc. He tells us not to mess around with sin and sinful desires. These old clothes need not just be stuffed away in the back of a closet but be thrown out and burned. The new clothes include all the virtues and characteristics of the fruit of the Spirit, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, love, and thankfulness. These are not how salvation is earned, but evidence of a saved life. Dig Deeper Since the serpent entered the garden, humans have been deceived into thinking that sin is more desirable and fun than living a righteous and holy life before God. When you think of holiness, or your idea of a ‘religious person,’ you might not think of someone smiling, laughing, and enjoying themself. But that's exactly how the catechism describes a life of wholehearted joy in God through Christ. The coming-to-life of the new self includes a renewed perspective and a new heart and desires. It means recognizing that the pleasures of sin are empty and temporary, but what God gives us is truly amazing and full of delights that last forever (Ps. 16:11). Colossians 3 describes a vision of a community working in perfect harmony and giving thanks to God in all things. This reality is more than new clothes, but a new life. Everything will not automatically start looking like this in its completion in this life, which is why Paul commends us to “Let the word of Christ dwell in your richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God” (3:16). A fitting Psalm to drive home the message of the Questions and Answers this week is Psalm 51. David beautifully describes the posture of godly repentance and restoration to the joy of salvation. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who is our gloriously holy and loving God; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Ask the Holy Spirit to help you set your heart on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - 1 Corinthians 12

Killing sin is a matter of life and death. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 89 Q. What is the dying-away of the old self? A. It is to be genuinely sorry for sin, to hate it more and more, and to run away from it. Summary The prophets in the Old Testament brought God’s Word to the people of Israel, warning the people against impending judgment due to their sins and the consequences of breaking their covenant with their Lord. Yet the message always included a statement of deliverance and salvation for God’s people who repented. One of the most frequent imperatives the prophets give is to “return,” a rightful return to God. It is very similar to how we understand the word “repent:” to turn away from sin and back to God. In line with the message of Joel, the old Puritan, John Owen, famously said, “Be killing sin, or sin will be killing you.” Joel begins his message with the immediate judgment of locusts destroying the land, but follows up with a call to repentance. In chapter 2, he proclaims a more distant yet terrifying day of judgment. And at the end of this, he poses the question, “The day of the Lord is great; it is dreadful. Who can endure it?” (Joel 2:11b). And Joel follows up with another call to the people to prepare for that day by turning back to their Heavenly Father. The call to repentance in our text begins with a promise declaration from God: “even now, return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.” The repentance Joel describes is a comprehensive change in direction that includes an inward transformation that shows itself visibly. Esther 4:3 also describes these elements: “In every province to which the edict and order of the king came, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping and wailing. Many lay in sackcloth and ashes.” However, the Lord wants more than an outward display of how sorry you are, but to be genuinely sorry for the sin, so Joel writes, “Rend your heart and not your garments.” Dig Deeper Another common thread in the Old Testament prophets is a revelation of God’s purpose behind communicating the message of doom: God has provided an alternative route. God sent the prophets to remind the people of God’s covenant promises. Their disobedience would lead to curses, but returning to their covenant-Lord would only serve to their benefit (see Deuteronomy 28 for a listing of covenant blessings and curses that come up in prophetical books). Just as Jesus showed in the parable of the lost son, the Father desires a return to Him and is eager to bless and restore those who run to Him in repentance and faith (Luke 15:11–32). You can know this because of how God's character is described throughout Scripture, including here in Joel 2:13, “for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.” Those are things a life embracing sin and temptation can never promise. The promises of being sorry for sin, hating it, and running from it are always worth embracing because God is faithful and just and will forgive our sins (1 John 1:9). AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Confess your sins and remember what a faithful Savior you have to forgive you for them; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - 1 Corinthians 11

The pattern of the Christian life follows the way of Christ: dying then rising. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 88 Q. What is involved in genuine repentance or conversion? A. Two things: the dying-away of the old self, and the coming-to-life of the new. Summary In the letter to the Romans, Paul argues that grace is more incredible and more abundant than the sin that it covers and forgives (cf. Rom. 5:12–21). Yet he faced opposition claiming that his gospel message would cause people to sin all the more. You may have heard the misguided phrase, “I like to sin, and God likes to forgive; so it’s a perfect relationship.” But in Romans 6, he goes on to argue that this type of thinking doesn’t align with the gospel message of Jesus Christ at all. Jesus put the power and reign of sin to death on the cross. He likens sin to an old version of yourself, which has been crucified with Christ. This means that if you're in Christ, sin has been put to death and is no longer the ruling party. Sin became the master after the Fall of Adam and Eve in the garden. But Christ has slayed the sin master, so anyone united to Him by faith has been set free. As Jesus conquered the grave and rose again, so too, Christians are raised to new life. The life enslaved by sin is the former life. The converted life now lives freely for God. Dig Deeper Weeds can get out of control around the yard and in the garden at this point each summer. If you did not address them earlier in the year, they're probably taking over the more beautiful plants and flowers and choking them out of precious sunlight and nutrients in the soil. Weeds seem like a constant battle: They must be uprooted, killed, and not left around to spawn another round of weeds. The Christian life consists of putting-to-death weed like sin, and instead promoting the growth of new life. Like weeds, sin chokes out the good life and can become a tyrant in your life. But the good news, as Paul speaks of in Romans 6, includes ending the reign of sin. The pattern of the Christian life follows the way of Christ’s life: first dying, then rising. Each day you are called to put sin to death, and to be reminded that it has been nailed to the cross. Your old self - tied to human nature corrupted by sin - is done for and instead must be exchanged for a new life connected to Christ’s resurrection. The battle may rage daily, but the final victory is won when you are baptized and united in Christ’s death and resurrection. You need to be constantly reminded of this new reality. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: The source of new life in Christ; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Consider your sins nailed and put to death on the cross, and ask God to free you from them so you can live for Him. ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - 1 Corinthians 10

Two spirits are battling for your allegiance. Which will you follow? Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 87 Q. Can those be saved who do not turn to God from their ungrateful and impenitent ways? A. By no means. Scripture tells us that no unchaste person, no idolater, adulterer, thief, no covetous person, no drunkard, slanderer, robber, or the like is going to inherit the kingdom of God. Summary If you attended Sunday School growing up, you likely learned about fruit of the Spirit. Perhaps you have even memorized Galatians 5:22-23: “But the Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against these things there is no law.” While many know of the Fruit of the Spirit, much less attention is typically paid to the warning that comes immediately before that famous passage. Before we are given the Fruit of the Spirit, we are first told of the desires of the flesh. These desires of the flesh are aligned with our human nature, which is part of a fallen creation. Paul wrote this letter to the Galatians to warn them about the danger of thinking their own good deeds were necessary for salvation. By comparing these two lists - the fruit of the Spirit vs. the desires of the flesh, Paul shows them (and now us) the danger that comes from depending upon our own selves rather than having faith in Christ. Dig Deeper Everyone has their own unique quirks, one of mine is that I do not like to leave things unfinished. A side effect of this is that I prefer to not start watching a movie in the evening. While others may doze off during the movie, I will stay up until I’ve seen the ending. In matters of entertainment, missing out on a few details is not a life altering event. However, in matters of faith those few details can be very important. This can be seen in the desires of the flesh of which we are told those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Upon reading the desires of the flesh listed in Galatians 5, you may be tempted to become hyper-focused on avoiding those sins. And while we are called to repent and turn away from our sin, there is more to this teaching than just trying to not sin. It matters not only that you depart from sin but also to where you are placing your trust upon that departure. This teaching on the desires of the flesh is intertwined with the Fruit of the Spirit. The encouragement is to walk by the Spirit, trusting the work of the Holy Spirit in your life rather than your ability to not sin. The presence of the Spirit is what leads to the manifestation of the Fruit of the Spirit in your life. Alternatively, if your life is oriented around the desires of the flesh, you will not inherit the kingdom of God because you have instead established a kingdom of your own. Be mindful of not only the presence of sin in your life but also where you are placing your trust. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who sends His Spirit to walk with us each day; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will be led by the Spirit and not your own desires; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - 1 Corinthians 9

Both the eyes of the Lord and the world are on you. What will they see? Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 86 Q. We have been delivered from our misery by God’s grace alone through Christ and not because we have earned it: why then must we still do good? A. To be sure, Christ has redeemed us by his blood. But we do good because Christ by his Spirit is also renewing us to be like himself, so that in all our living we may show that we are thankful to God for all he has done for us, and so that he may be praised through us. And we do good so that we may be assured of our faith by its fruits, and so that by our godly living our neighbors may be won over to Christ. Summary In each of today’s passages, Peter urges readers to live in such a way as to win over their peers for Christ. In chapter 2, he references how others were speaking of the recipients of this letter as evildoers. Living as spiritual exiles in this world, the Christian way of life did not line up with the norms of the day. During the time this letter was written, charges against Christians included such things as disloyalty to the emperor, propagation of unlawful customs, defamation of the (pagan) gods, and general trouble making. The beliefs and actions of early Christians drew the attention of those around them. Peter’s encouragement was to abstain from passions of the flesh so that others may see their deeds and glorify God. In the beginning of chapter 3, Peter is understood to be speaking to the Christian women in these congregations who were married to non-Christian husbands. These women faced a challenging dilemma because in Roman culture a wife was expected to adopt the religion of their husband. Peter’s direction for these women was to conduct themselves in such a way that the Gospel may be presented in the best possible light. The mention of winning them over “without a word” is not a prohibition on speaking of their faith but more of an encouragement to follow the submissive demeanor expected of their culture while being sensitive to the concerns of their unbelieving husbands in order that their gentle approach would open an avenue to share their faith. Dig Deeper You catch more flies with honey than vinegar. It’s a common saying you may have heard before. The message of this saying is that it is easier to persuade someone if you have a positive attitude than if you approached them with rude or forceful demands. This idea is seen in both of today’s passages from 1 Peter. Whether it was followers of Jesus living in a predominant pagan society or the 1st century wives of unbelieving husbands in the Roman Empire, Peter’s emphasis on kindness remains the same. Following Peter’s directions would have brought about all kinds of challenges. Whether it was facing unwarranted allegations of wrongdoing or remaining devoted to Christ within a system that challenged your faith; presenting the Gospel in the best possible light takes sacrifice. It is not easy to be kind to those who oppress or scorn you. The natural desire is to want to lash out or get even. When someone makes your life difficult, before you retaliate, remember the encouragement of Peter. Keep your conduct honorable and respectful, for in this they may see your good deeds and give glory to God. After all, you will catch more flies with honey than vinegar. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: 1 Peter 3:12 - For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that the Holy Spirit will strengthen you to be able to keep your conduct honorable, that others may see your good deeds and glorify God; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - 1 Corinthians 8

The fruit you bear isn't meant to impress others, but to assure yourself you're not a wolf. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 86 Q. We have been delivered from our misery by God’s grace alone through Christ and not because we have earned it: why then must we still do good? A. To be sure, Christ has redeemed us by his blood. But we do good because Christ by his Spirit is also renewing us to be like himself, so that in all our living we may show that we are thankful to God for all he has done for us, and so that he may be praised through us. And we do good so that we may be assured of our faith by its fruits, and so that by our godly living our neighbors may be won over to Christ. Summary Scripture attests to God speaking through the prophets. The words given to these prophets were not their own but the words of God. A prophet is not the source of the words, but a vessel through which God speaks to humanity. The warning Jesus shares in Matthew 7:15 is to be aware of false prophets. These false prophets are those who falsely claim to speak on behalf of God. And like a wolf in sheep’s clothing, the danger can lie in their ability to blend in. That although their words are falsehoods, they might sound close enough to the truth to go undetected. Knowing of these wolves hiding amongst the people of God, plotting to lead them astray, Jesus gives a means to test those who claim to come as prophets. We are to judge them by their fruits. What is the outcome of those claiming to be prophets? If they are leading others away from God, then this attests to the falsehood of their message. Dig Deeper The presence or absence of spiritual fruit does more than make us aware of the wolves in our midst. Just as you can recognize those sent of God by the fruit of their labor, the spiritual fruit in your own life can attest to your faith in Christ. While you are not able to see the presence or absence of faith in others any more than you can see gravity or the wind; like these other examples you are able to see the effects of their presence. Spiritual fruit is the outcome which points to the presence or absence of a genuine faith in Christ. Healthy trees bear good fruit while a diseased tree will produce bad fruit. The outcome of good or bad spiritual fruit is based upon the source feeding into the fruit. If your faith is rooted in Christ, this will manifest itself with good spiritual fruit. However, if your faith is placed elsewhere, this will be shown in the presence of bad fruit. Though you may have times where you doubt your faith, the presence of good spiritual fruit in your life can give you assurance that your faith is sincere. Be on the lookout for God working in your life because you can trust the sign of faith that is the good fruit produced by God’s work through you. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who expects good fruit from His creation; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Thank God that you're created in His image, and pray that your life will produce fruit that corresponds to His image; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - 1 Corinthians 7