20/10/2010 - DO NOT BE A WITHERED BRANCH

• 
• 
• 
• 

But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever. (Psalm 52:8)

The Lord has established a pattern of behavior for each of His children. So, my brethren, you\’d better see what kind of person you have been in God’s house. If you let Him, God will lead into carrying out His will. All you have to do is to be in fellowship with Him for that to happen. By the way, that is why the psalmist meant by “green olive tree” – one that, in due time, bears fruit for the Lord.

The Almighty uses us, for example, in a prayer that will be of great assistance in His work, or to heal the sick, to give direction to those who are faced with a choice or in a maze. In short, everything we do under God\’s guidance will result in benefits to others and to society as a whole.

It is rewarding to be like a green olive tree. However, in the Bible there are several admonishments to those trees whose branches have withered. If they are not willing to be revived by the action of the Holy Spirit, they will be good for nothing – except to be gathered and thrown into the fire (John 15:1-6).

You’d better examine yourself and pray that your life be fruitful as a green olive tree, because Jesus said that one day He will look for our fruit and those who are found unproductive will be cut off and thrown into the fire. On the other hand, those who are productive will be pruned to produce more.

The Lord is glorified in the lives of those who bear fruit abundantly and the secret to remain as a green olive tree in God’s house is to trust in the divine mercy. Those who act this way are prevented from falling, which unfortunately is not the case of many of our brethren. When they stumble it represents a severe blow to the work of God, after all, their bad attitudes create a scandal which cause many people to stay out of the plan of salvation.

But without the grace of the Father anyone is capable of committing the foulest sins, those that disgust our society. So seeking the mercy from High is something that we Christians should do incessantly and with all our strength. We must never stop asking for the grace of God and doing what pleases the Lord because it will empower us to fulfill His plan and also to face and overcome any adverse situation.

Doing what pleases the Most High is the key to success in all our endeavors. The proof is that by examining the lives of those who served God in the past, we see that many were used by Him and were like green olive trees in the Lord’s house. However, some did the opposite and grew cold when they gave heed to the wills of the flesh or when they acted greedily – the outcome of it all was very unfortunate for them. Then my brethren, unlike those people, do trust in the heavenly mercy and be fruitful as a green olive tree.

In Christ with love,

R. R. Soares