Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance...

"And they were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.
But seeing many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said to them, O generation of vipers, who has warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance; and do not think to say within yourselves, We have Abraham as our father. For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones." Mat 3:6-9

True repentance brings forth fruit. Outward repentance is easy to pretend, but the real fruit – a changed life – a life filled with the fruit of the Holy Spirit – Love Joy Peace Patience Kindness Goodness Gentleness Self-control – cannot be faked. Sooner or later, we will be “found out”. Just as faith without action is dead, any repentance without fruit is fake.

For Jesus emphasized on the fruit. “By their fruit you will know them”, as He said about discerning the false prophets. There is no need to pretend to be “good” in front of others. God will be the judge of us all. Whether we have truly repented and done well in his sight.

When I look at my life, it is when I feel frustrated and impatient that are usually the signs that I’m losing the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Somehow, somewhere, I have an “open door”. It could be something I said or did or thought that could have caused me to stray from God’s path. It could be something very minor. But God knows and the anointing is lost. I first need to take a step back to repent and renounce the sin that the Holy Spirit reveals to me, before I can move on and be restored to full fellowship with the Lord.

Let’s take a step back today. Are we failing to bear fruit for the Lord. How fruitful have we been? Take a look at the nine fruits of the Spirit. Is anyone missing in our lives? If so, we need to seek the Lord, to repent of any sin (known or unknown) and ask for Him to make us fruitful again. For it is the Lord that allows the fruit to grow. On our part, we can clear our hearts of sin and deceit and then allow the Lord to plant His precious word in our hearts so that fruit can grow once again.

Blessings.

Barnabas