Let's Be Fruitful

Blessings this morning, everyone, and welcome to us being fruitful today. We want to be fruitful and multiply. So yes, again, we are live with the daily devotion, reflection, and strategy and approach from the word of God. So in this season, we're multiplying the word of God. I love the word of God. Um, so today we're gonna kick it straight off with a devotion. And he said, catch for us the foxes that ruin the vineyards. And that's Song of Songs 2:15. Chapter 2, verse 15. Song of Songs. I like that we're going into Songs of Songs today. Um, because it's, you know, wisdom. Um, catch for the foxes that ruin the vineyard. Tend your garden. So I was so excited to plant our backyard fruit and veggie garden. Then I started to notice small holes in the dirt. Before it had time to ripen, our first fruit mysteriously disappeared. One day I was dismayed to find our largest strawberry plant had been completely uprooted by a nesting rabbit and scorched to a crisp by the sun. I wished I'd paid closer attention to the warning signs. The beautiful love poem in Sanga's Songs records a conversation between a young man and woman. While calling to his station, I'm sorry. While calling to his darling, the man sternly warned against animals who will tear apart the lover's garden, a metaphor for their relationship. Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyard, he said in Song of Songs chapter 2, verse 15. Perhaps he saw hints of foxes that could ruin Their romance. This is, this is really good. Like jealousy, anger, deceit, and/or apathy. Not sympathy, but apathy. Not empathy, but apathy. Because he delighted in the beauty of his bride, he wouldn't tolerate the presence of anything unwholesome. She was as precious as a lily among thorns. To him, he was willing to put in the work to guard their relationship. Some of God's most precious gifts to us are family and friends. Although those relationships aren't always easy to maintain, with patience, care, and protection from the little foxes, we trust that God will grow beautiful fruit. So today, as we being more fruitful, fruitful, catch for us the foxes that, you know, the ones that ruin the vine, but also the ones that are fruitful to protect. Like in this, in this case, we want to protect what is precious to us, especially from evil or unwholesome things. So we have to see, you know, and be aware of where there may be anger, jealousy, Those things ruin, you know, something so precious. So we want to continue to walk with the wise and become wiser. So this is what the Song of Solomon does. It helps us to become more wiser in our awareness, awareness of the word of God, his protection, um, his knowledge and understanding, so that we can have a, a stronger, more pure heart. You know, so where have you become complacent in a close relationship? What foxes are you tolerating? All right, you know, that's a reflection as we devote it, but that's gonna lead us into our reflection. But this is our devotion, devoting our time to become awareness— aware of the little foxes that, you know, might be spoiling our relationships. You know, is it jealousy? Is it, you know, comparison. There's a lot of different things that, and you know, that brings on conviction. And I wanted to kind of see if I could look it up, um, but it's not on my screen right now. But we'll go back to it. But there's a lot of little foxes that ruin the vine, um, but at the same time What, you know, I mean, little foxes of patience, of gentleness, of kindness. I want to keep those. Catch those. Catch that patience. Catch that, you know, devote your time to catch the right things. Let the right— the wrong things go. So tend to your garden, your heart, your understanding. Are you understanding where you need to be a little bit more gentle? And then for our reflection, we want to reflect on weak strength. My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses so that Christ's power may rest on me. And that's 2 Corinthians 12:9. For God's power, the Christ's power may rest on me, um, because his grace is sufficient. So this is a grace space. It's sufficient for what we need. Like, it's okay to be weak because he's strong in that grace. Um, when you allow yourself to, you know, be vulnerable and boast about your weaknesses, it allows for God to show himself So strong where he wants to show himself strong. He wants people to see Christ through you. So, how can you allow God to demonstrate his power in your life? My, so therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses. So I will boast more about my weaknesses. So. There's something inside of us that longs to be strong and self-sufficient. Don't we admire the woman who can raise children, work, volunteer, and yet appear put together? Even if people like that don't really exist, in our minds they do. We get impatient with our weaknesses and insufficiencies. What a relief to know that God doesn't expect us to be strong. In fact, the Apostle Paul Said he delighted in his weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecution, and difficulties. It's a pleasure to suffer for God. Um, God isn't looking for us to be strong. He's looking for us to turn to him in our weaknesses so his power can rest upon us. Let's start being grateful for our shortcomings and give God a chance to demonstrate his power. Amen. So our strategy and approach to that, you know, as we reflect on our weak strength You know, us being weak, God being strong. Our approach is I will lead the way with resilience and compassion. To my frontline health care heroes, have I not commanded you, be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid. I mean, do not be afraid, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. Did your past tell you that you weren't good enough? You know, God will not put more on you than you can bear. How you stay at peace? Do you like listening to music? Do you like to pray about it? Do you long to go for a long walk? God wants his children to be at peace and to continue to come to him when, uh, with, with the stresses of everyday life, as it— when it gets too much to handle. Even if it's not too much to handle, he still wants you to come to So what are you doing to protect your peace? So I will protect my peace. And Daniel 10:19 said, do not be afraid, you are highly esteemed. He said, peace, be strong now, be strong. So this is, as we, uh, strategy, we still have to be strong. We still have to be strong to pray about it, to go to God, to, you know, take ourselves away from the things that maybe Causing us to be stressed because God is with us. He knows that we need that comfort. He is, he is the perfect peace. Peace in knowing that God is with us. For the Lord is with me, I will not be afraid, for what can mere mortals do to me? So just knowing that and reflecting on that, it gives us that strength. But then also we can have our weaknesses as well. Well, and God be strong in our, our weaknesses. So as we go through our days and reflect on our weaknesses, our strengths, God's strength, and also our tending to our heart and our garden to protect, you know, our hearts, you know, being aware of, you know, unwholesome things or protection or things that are not causing us protection or not being fruitful. So today we really want to be fruitful and multiply. So thank you guys for joining the daily reflection. Go out, be fruitful, multiply the word of God, study, and show yourself approved. Every scripture is God's breath and is useful for teaching, correcting, and rebuking, and training everyone so that they be thoroughly equipped for every good work. So that's what we're doing. We're being fruitful and multiplying. You guys be blessed.