“No, the peaches are falling!” Our peach tree is loaded with peaches, but they’re not maturing. We pruned the tree in the fall and again in the summer to make sure the peaches are getting plenty of sun light. We watered in the fall and turned off the water in the summer, which we were told to do and have dutifully done. Still, the fruit stops growing and falls to the ground before they’re ready to eat.
Something wrong with the tree? Nope, it’s the tree growers again. We were given bad advice! We pruned correctly, but the watering should have been reversed. The peaches are not ripening as they need more water, not less, as they mature! Bad advice led to great looking fruit, but nothing we could eat. The only thing we raised were our hopes. http://www.tberrysquare.com/index.php/clothing/pants-shorts.html?SID=d6afb33c4e4f1ef8534983f1a2407b62

Again, fish don’t know their wet. We only knew what we knew and what we knew was wrong, which led to no peaches to eat. Each of us needs a source of truth outside ourselves to expose the lies in our thinking, no matter who or how noble the intentions were in putting them there. A lie is still a lie, which always teases you with good looking fruit, but leaves a nasty taste when finally eaten. It raises and dashes your hopes at the same time.
We need a constant flow of the Word of God, the source of truth, not just when life gets hot either! We must listen to Jesus in His Word so He can tell us what truths we’ll need in our shields of faith to keep our adversary’s lies from even entering our brains and continually along the way to produce the sweet fruit we long too taste. How is your listening to Jesus coming along in your BIG reading?
S“E”t Free Nowww

There is an American phrase that is used quite often to express that you can’t change or shouldn’t expect life to be any different than what you’re currently experiencing: “It is what it is.”
The problem with this common expression is that it is a lie. Jesus didn’t come to keep the status quo going. He didn’t come to just make a way to heaven either. He came to save us, not just from eternal separation from God, but from ourselves! He came to change our lives so we could stay in and enjoy the presence of the Father right now, as well as tomorrow and all the way into eternity. http://www.theinnocents.org/projects.html

It’s our lie-contaminated brain that destroys our joy. It’s the resulting sin-stained character that makes the choice to leave the presence of God. Life only stays the same or repeats itself if we choose to not listen to and follow Jesus everyday everywhere. Yet, if we do, the Spirit of God will change our life.
Today isn’t what it is. Today is about living and loving Jesus, the One who called Himself “the Life.” A changed life will come as we love Jesus and get better at using our biblical tools to hear Him throughout our day. You should expect your life to be different for having followed Jesus. If not, who are you listening too? Hopefully not your enemy quoting this silly American phrase.
S“E”t Free Nowww

“Now, you tell me!” What a life lesson we recently learned from our pear tree. We planted a pear tree in our backyard a few years back. We were consistently getting good sized pears to grow, but they wouldn’t ripen.
The last two years we attributed it to the fact that it was still a young tree. This year, however, we decided to do a little internet research as to why these perfectly formed pears were not progressing towards perfection.
Much to our surprise, pears are one of the few fruits that don’t ripen on the tree! They are to be picked once they reach a good size and shape. Then set out to ripen, preferably with other pears or ripening fruit, in a bowl! You should have seen the look on our faces when we learned this truth. “Now, you tell me!” http://www.phpaide.com

We simply didn’t know any better. We grew pears like we did the other fruit in our backyard. Yet, just like we needed an outside source to tell us differently, you’ll need an outside source of truth if you are going to bear Christ-like fruit. Listening to Jesus in the Word is essential if you hope to make any progress towards being like Jesus, perfection.
And two, perfection is a progress that’s different for everyone! Some ripen on the tree, while others don’t. Growth will come in spurts, slow down and then ripen to full sweetness. It takes time to retrain your brain and produce sweet eternal Christ-likeness. So relax. Breathe. And keep listening to Jesus. Sweetness will come. Perfection is progress.
S“E”t Free Nowww