It's Me Again God 2

115. Fruit, Faith & Forgiveness

It's me again God,

How precious it must have been to see You riding into Jerusalem Jesus, receiving the acclamation You deserve as the King! However, upon arriving in Jerusalem, it seemed that things were not going to be easy.  It wasn't long before You would be led away to be crucified and You knew there was still much teaching that needed to be done! Using a fig tree as an example was the first then dealing with the misuse of Your Father's temple. They seem unrelated at first but when looking deeper, I can see why they appear here together:

"The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again." And his disciples heard him say it. On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. And as he taught them, he said, "Is it not written: 'My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations'? But you have made it 'a den of robbers.' " The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching. When evening came, Jesus and his disciples went out of the city. In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. Peter remembered and said to Jesus, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!" "Have faith in God," Jesus answered. "Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.""
‭‭Mark‬ ‭11:12-25‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The fig tree is often used as a symbol for Israel,  Your chosen people. Here it appeared from a distance that the fig tree had been fruitful as it was covered with leaves, indicating it must have been bearing fruit. So too, the busyness in the temple may have given the impression that they were being fruitful. Sadly You found no sign of real fruit —instead people had chosen to be using Your Father's house as a market place!

Lord I am challenged to continue bearing fruit for You and to be focused on You as I serve —not having my own agenda. There is so much in this passage and I love the way it ends with the call to have faith in God. It's certainly not unrelated to the rest of the passage for I am sure that this is what You wanted those who You drove out the temple to know. In fact it was a message that the nation of Israel needed to hear. It's a message that I need to hear today!

Lord I choose to believe with my heart that whatever I ask for, will be done! If I believe, I will receive! I thank You for this reminder and I also thank You for reminding me to forgive as You forgive me. May I let go of any grudges I am potentially holding onto so love is the overriding fruit that I bear today!

Help me today as I continue my faith journey,
In Your Name,
Amen.