The Simple Path To A Fruit-Filled Life

(#28) Lessons from Luke 6:43-45

**Hey Salt & Light Daily Readers**

Join me in warmly welcoming, Rob Thompson, our guest writer for this week’s edition of The Salt & Light Daily. Rob resides in Tulsa, Oklahoma and is passionate about family discipleship and helping Christian Dads lead their families spiritually. Rob is the creator of the The Daily Family Champ Substack.

Thanks to Rob for providing his perspective on this next section in the Book of Luke. - Paul

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Photo by Brienne Hong on Unsplash

The words stung as soon as they hit my ears…

‘Your fruit will rat you out!’

A friend of mine was teaching a class on Biblical leadership at our church, and this was one of the first statements he made.

I felt a sting in my heart as soon as those words hit my ears, and I knew why.

I was producing some fruit in my life that I didn’t like. I didn’t want to produce bad fruit, but I was still producing it.

And I had a choice to make.

Was I going to reject his words because they were uncomfortable, or was I going to accept them and allow them to change me?

Here’s the thing:

Jesus said the same thing!

In Luke 6:43-45, Jesus said:

“A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. A tree is identified by its fruit. Figs are never gathered from thorn bushes, and grapes are not picked from bramble bushes. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.” - Luke 6:43-45

Conviction

In that moment, as I allowed the conviction of the Holy Spirit to cause me to received my friends words, the path towards fruitfulness in that area became clear.

And if there is an area in your life that’s not producing the fruit you want, this path towards fruitfulness will work for you too!

The path to fruit-filled life

The 1828 Webster’s Dictionary defines treasure as:

To hoard; to collect and reposit, either money or other things, for future use; to lay up; as, to treasure gold and silver; usually with up.

Sinner are said to treasure up wrath against the day of wrath in Romans 2.

Why does this matter?

In Luke 6:45, Jesus says:

‘A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his hear brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.’

The message is clear.

The fruit we produce is an overflow of what we ‘treasure’ in our hearts.

If we fill our mind with the truth of God’s word and His promises, treasuring them in our hearts, then our lives will be full of fruit of the Spirit regardless of our circumstances.

If we fill our mind with fear, doubt, worry, or unbelief then that’s the fruit we will produce in our lives.

The good news!

My friend was right.

Our fruit will rat us out, and being honest about that fruit is the first step to changing it.

But there is no need to accept feelings of guilt or shame.

We can reject condemnation and embrace determination through the power of the Holy Spirit to fill our minds with the truth of God’s Word.

• The truth that says you’re righteous, healed, delivered and restored. (Psalm 32:7; Romans 1:17)

• The truth that says nothing is impossible to them who believe. (Mark 9:23)

• The truth that says, you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. and so many more. (Philippians 4:13)

And as we fill our heart with those truths, then just like Jesus promised, our lives will begin to produce the fruit that aligns with that treasure.

References & Resources:

• “For wherever your riches are, your heart will be there also.” - Matthew 6:21

• “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” - Galatians 5:22-23

• “Your heart should be holy and set apart for the Lord God. Always be ready to tell everyone who asks you why you believe as you do. Be gentle as you speak and show respect.” - 1st Peter 3:15

More about our Guest Writer:

Rob is very passionate about Dad’s taking courage and being a spiritual leader for the home. One of Rob’s recent post was titled: How I Overcame Inconsistency To Develop A Morning Bible Study Habit. For faith encouragement in Christ, give Rob a follow or subscribe.