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By Simon
''Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad''.  (Matthew 12:33)

Good or bad, no in-between.  In Revelation 3:15, a similar thought is expressed: ''Because thou art neither hot nor cold, I will spew you out of my mouth''.  What God wants us to do is decide who we are.  Are we on fire for God walking in the light of the truth, or are we hiding in the cool night of darkness?  All of the double-mindedness of being unsure of who we are (James 1:8) only serves to hinder the work of God through us.

In Matthew 12:32, Jesus says all manner of sins can be forgiven, except for blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. He then goes on to say the verse above about the tree and its fruit. What is the connection?

I believe Jesus was trying to get people to see through the devil's condemnation, which keeps us from becoming what God wants us to be.  Put simply, we all have a choice what 'tree' we will be, and what 'fruit' will be shown in our lives.  The devil can condemn us, telling us how terrible we are, that we will always make mistakes, that we can't change etc., but the truth is that we CAN change if we accept the love and forgiveness that comes from the fruit of God's spirit.  While we continue to listen to the lies of the devil, we continue to block God from helping us, and the fruit of such action can only be negative. We CAN change... at any moment.  It just takes a willingness to admit our sins, to pray for forgiveness and to pray for the strength to change; then just set about trying to change.

It is almost like the Holy Spirit is standing at our door knocking, but we are inside saying, ''I would open it to you, but I'm so terrible.  I want to open it, but I'm afraid I will mess up.  I don't know if I can change''. How long will God continue to knock on our door, if this is the defeatist reception he gets?

I don't know where God draws the line with regard to blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, but if one dies with this attitude towards God, an attitude of not listening to God's spirit convicting and encouraging change in one's heart, an attitude of not accepting his deep and eternal love and forgiveness, then maybe that is where the line is drawn? Of course, the longer we go without accepting God's correction and assistance in changing, the harder opening the door is likely to get, as we allow ourselves to get further sucked into the lies and deceit of the devil.

Do you have these negative thoughts, where you question whether you can change?  Jesus says choose...either accept the correction and guidance of God's Holy Spirit and try to change, or reject it. Make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad.  But don't fall for the lie that calling yourself a worthless sinner is good enough in itself.

There is a tree out there that you need to climb up into.  You'll find God's grace up in that tree, and you'll also find the fruits of his spirit popping up in your life as you yield to him in obedience.  The longer you stay in defeatist indecision, the more likely that you will be in for a shock when he decides enough is enough, and spews you out of his mouth.
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