“Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.” Matthew 7:15-20 (NLT)
“A tree is identified by its fruit. If a tree is good, its fruit will be good. If a tree is bad, its fruit will be bad. You brood of snakes! How could evil men like you speak what is good and right? For whatever is in your heart determines what you say. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things rom the treasury of an evil heart. And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak. The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you.” Matthew 12:33-37 (NLT)
It is better that we judge a person by their actions verses what we are being told. First we need to understand what a lie is:
A lie is an untruth, a deviation, big or small, from what is known to be real. It is a false statement deliberately presented as being true, thus misrepresenting a situation or giving a totally wrong impression about something.
The scripture says in John 8:44 “For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.”
I’ve always taught my daughter, never listen to what a person says, look at their actions, they won’t lie. A person can tell all kinds of lies to paint a picture, it may be the most beautiful portriat or ‘fantasy world’, and you want to believe what you have been told but in actualilty you may have been lied too, deceived. We have to remember that Jesus is the truth, the way and the life (John 14:6); when we place our trust entirely in Him we will not be deceived.
In life there are different paths, different roads, different avenues that each one of us can take. When we find ourselves at the crossroads and not sure which way to turn, we must trust Jesus. In trusting Him we will make the right decision simply because we acknowledged Him, and sought His guidance. The enemy may try to confuse, discourage or outright lie to us when we are in the process of making a major decision. We must seek the truth and embrace it, the Word of God will never lead us in the wrong direction.
By defining a person by what they speak, we are deceiving ourselves, because the Word plainly says ‘a person is identified by their fruit’. We have to make up in our minds from this point forward that we will adhere to what the Word says paying close attention to, not words of individuals, but their actions. Regardless, the situation we must trust God and His Word, and seek Him for direction. Remember, Proverbs 19:21 says “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails”; just by believing that one Word, Proverbs 19:21, we have placed our trust in the Lord and we will not be led astray.
Journey Through My Life Lessons 