Wrath With A Side Order of Fruit – Gospel Study Notes

Notes And Thoughts On The Poem From Yesterday:

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The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb – the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world. (Revelation 14:10 & John 1:29)

The idea to put those Revelation 14:10 and John 1:29 together came from this video:

**As a warning, there are some dark images in this video, but for me, they were used properly and it just highlighted the love of God, that because of Jesus, I will be spared God’s wrath.

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Here are the other Scriptures that inspired the poem from yesterday here. I usually put them at the end of the poem, but I had so many thoughts I made a new post for the sake of length. 🙂

“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.” (Matthew 12:30-32)

“Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.’ “ (Rom 12:19)

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith… Gal 5:22

(For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth…) Eph 5:9

And the entirety of Nahum 1 (I’ll just give a link to it Click!) but for the seventh and eighth stanzas, I pretty much took directly from

God is jealous, and the LORD avenges;
The LORD avenges and is furious.
The LORD will take vengeance on His adversaries,
And He reserves wrath for His enemies;

The LORD is slow to anger and great in power,
And will not at all acquit the wicked.

(Nahum 1:2-3)

Who can stand before His indignation?
And who can endure the fierceness of His anger?
His fury is poured out like fire,
And the rocks are thrown down by Him.
(Nahum 1:6)

Interestingly, I didn’t find any Scripture that directly stated that Jesus took The Father’s wrath, as I expected to find. When Jesus said, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”, it is a direct quote from Psalm 22, but I guess I took it as it appeared – that God forsook Jesus. But then… Refreshing Spirit pointed out verse 24, “For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; nor has He hidden His face from Him; but when He cried to Him, He heard.” (New King James Version capitalized like that – I’m used to the KJV, so seeing these caps was a shock. XD) This seems to be clear that the Father never turned away from His Son.

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“Thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will bring calamity on this place and on its inhabitants—all the words of the book which the king of Judah has read— ‘because they have forsaken Me and burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands. Therefore My wrath shall be aroused against this place and shall not be quenched.’ ” ’ (Second Kings 22:17)

All the places I’ve found in which God forsook someone, the other person forsook Him first. Also, His wrath is toward cities such as Sodom and Gomorrah, which were totally wicked. Jesus never forsook the Father and was never wicked, so He doesn’t meet these criteria.

You are of purer eyes than to behold evil,
And cannot look on wickedness.
Why do You look on those who deal treacherously,
And hold Your tongue when the wicked devours
A person more righteous than he?

The context here is that Habakkuk is wondering why the wicked seem to be prospering (thanks Refreshing Spirit!). This is how the NASB translates the verse:

Your eyes are too pure to approve evil,
And You can not look on wickedness with favor.
Why do You look with favor
On those who deal treacherously?
Why are You silent when the wicked swallow up
Those more righteous than they?

This verse is saying God doesn’t approve of wickedness. Jesus wasn’t wicked. So this can’t really apply to God looking at Jesus on the cross.

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At this point, I am thinking that when Jesus bore the punishment of the sins of the world, wrath was not included.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)

…who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed. (First Peter 2:24 – Thanks T.R. for bringing this verse to my attention.)

And He died in our place. But it doesn’t say He took God’s wrath. Jesus died for us so God won’t become wrathful toward us.

God still has wrath toward the wicked; so all of God’s wrath wasn’t poured out on Jesus. But I am thankful that the Ultimate Sacrifice saves the children from having the Father’s wrath poured on them. ❤

And His children crave the right fruit. The fruit from the Tree of Life. That fruit can’t save, but when Jesus is Savior, the Holy Spirit allows us to crave the right fruit from the right tree and we have the power to overcome temptations through Him.

If you are still reading, thanks for reading through these long notes, and be sure to check out Refreshing Spirit’s part two to her wrath post, here! ❤

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Craving – A Poem

Worldly fruit is at first sweet,
But bitter in the end –
Like Adam and Eve
Discovered in the luscious garden.

The fruit of the wrong tree –
Eating from it is to defy God’s will –
That fruit is bad for me,
Yet I’m tempted to eat of it still.

Fruit of the flesh
Which came from the pit –
Eating it will bring death.
I look at the Fruit of the Spirit…

Against eating this fruit, there is no law
I reach for fruit from the Life-Giving Tree
And feel my heart begin to thaw
My icy heart of stone, melting within me

I am not worthy to approach this tree
The Fruit of the flesh is easier to get
Oh Lord Jesus, only You can help me
Eat of this fruit and not the one from the pit!

Soon the harvest will be ripe,
And the angel will reap
The vine of the Earth – the wicked
Will be crushed beneath His feet!

The LORD is slow to anger and great in power,
And will not at all acquit the impious –
His fire and brimstone will come and shower
His enemies with His righteous vengeance!

For Who could stand before His indignation?
And who could endure His anger?
His fury will be poured out like flames from heaven,
As He destroys the wicked and sinner.

Oh, I no longer wish to gratify
The sinful nature within me,
I only want to satisfy
My Lord God Almighty!

Whoever believes has life that will never cease
And will be with Him forever as He reigns.
Whoever doesn’t will find no peace
For on them, God’s wrath will remain.

The display of His wrath showcases
That His goodness is perfect and holy;
His wrath is aimed at sinfulness and wicked places –
I can’t begin to comprehend His holiness and glory!

The beautiful Tree of Life
Is the one I desire to crave;
Eating of it causes no strife
I’m satisfied forever and a day!

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This spawned out of a Gospel study with Olivia at Refreshing Spirit. There are 34 parts to this study (this was inspired by part three), and there will be notes and more stories like this whenever we finish a part. The theme for this was The Fall – Sin and the Wrath of God. Scripture references and thoughts // study notes I had while writing this poem will come out in a separate post on Monday morning, for the sake of length. 🙂

Compression

Image Credit: Me

Some gems lay on top of the ground
However, some are buried deep
Have to toil and sweat, just to be found

Beneath the layers melancholy.
Sometimes all that is found to keep
Is coal; as if we were naughty.

Image Credit: Me

But it is depression that expressed,
Such tales of sadness within me;
For the coal must be compressed

To become a sparkling stone.
As pressure changes unsightly
To the hardest substance known,

And into one of the most stunning
Jewels there are in life –
So why from this am I running?

Image Credit: Pixabay

Through the toughest stress
And the enduring strife,
Help me bear the compress;

Though I don’t want this any longer,
If it is Your will, make me
Your gem; let this make me stronger!

And then, use Your blood and polish me
Turn me from dark and dirty
Into priceless clean crystal clarity!

Image Credit: Pixabay

Let it all bring to You the glory!
No hiding under bushels of safety
Help me shine for the world to see!

I believe that out of the worst,
You work for my good
So even if it now hurts

I’ll trust You and make the best
Of this as I should –
This polishing process.

Image Credit: Pixabay

As You whisk away the dirt
And all the grime
It will most definitely hurt

But it’s Your plan, I see.
So take Your time
Cleanse me, O Lord, cleanse me.

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Remember my affliction and my wandering, the wormwood and bitterness.
Surely my soul remembers
And is bowed down within me.
This I recall to my mind,
Therefore I have hope.
The LORD’S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease,
For His compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.
“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,
“Therefore I have hope in Him.” (Lamentations 3:19-25 NASB)

For if He causes grief,
Then He will have compassion
According to His abundant lovingkindness.
For He does not afflict willingly
Or grieve the sons of men. (Lamentations 3:32-33 NASB)

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16 NASB)

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. (Psalm 51:7 KJV)

Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. (Psalm 51:10 KJV)

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**Thanks to T. R. for helping me get the second stanza to work! 🙂

Just When I Thought I Would Crumble…

Image Credit: Aimee Vogelsang via Unsplash

The hedge of protection had been removed; suddenly I was vulnerable like Job. The enemy started to beat me until my heart cracked. I cried out to God to patch the cracks, but I received no answer. I trusted in Him, asked for Him to stay with me through it, not knowing His plan; and continued on.

Image Credit: Maxwell Young via Unsplash

Soon, I was under fire. The fiery darts of the enemy pierced me, leaving holes in my soul. I cried out to God to patch the holes, but He did not reply. I wondered if this was His plan or was the enemy trying to have his way? I fought in His name and prayed, but also trusted in Him.

Image Credit: Zoltan Tasi via Unsplash

The voice of the enemy came and tore my mind to shreds, trying to get me to question everything. What is from God? What is not? How do I discern? I study the Bible and ask for His wisdom, and trust in Him.

Image Credit: Aaron Burden via Unsplash

All of the other things coming at me began to affect my strength. I became weak. I asked Him to please protect my spirit from harm. It was weak from my cracked heart, holey soul, shredded forlorn mind, and lack of strength. My faith wanted to remain strong, but it saw its own weakness, and I prayed for Him to help my unbelief.

Image Credit: Kelly Sikkema via Unslpash

Finally, when I thought I would crumble, I heard this: 

“Now that your heart is cracked, My Light can shine through you and reach others. It is not to be kept under a bushel, nor hidden within a heart.”

Image Credit: Steve Halama via Unsplash

“Now that you have been pierced, My Holy Spirit can flow out of your soul much easier. No longer will you have to overflow; I can flow through you freely.”

Image Credit: Tyler Nix via Unsplash

“Now that you are questioning everything, I can use that to help you learn more about Me and draw you closer to Myself. Before, you thought pridefully that you knew much – how you knew some things but did not know them! – but in asking Me for wisdom and reading My Word, your pride is crumbling like the walls of Jericho and you can see what I say and not what people say.”

Image Credit: Me

“Now that your spirit is weak, you may find true strength in Me. For when you are weak, you are actually strong! Before, you relied on yourself, but now you have nothing left and must turn to Me for your source of strength.”

Image Credit: Neil Thomas via Unsplash

“Your humbleness to My plans has made it possible to create an outflow of My love through your damaged heart and soul. You gave them to Me to do what I will with it, and I did. What the enemy meant for evil, I will turn for good. Continue, my faithful servant, loving Me with all of your cracked heart, pierced soul, wondering mind, and weak spirit, and I will be with you every step. The road won’t be easy – you may crack even more, be pierced again, question everything you once believed about Me, and find that you are too weak to serve Me. But that is how I need you so that I can use you. Do you trust Me?”

Image Credit: Quino Al via unsplash

And then, despite the state my heart, soul, mind, and spirit was in, I felt peace.

“I trust You, my Lord.”

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“No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a basket, but on a lampstand, that those who come in may see the light.” (Luke 11:33 NKJV)

Jesus said to him, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” (Matthew 22:37 NKJV)

But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble…” James 4:6

“But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good…” Genesis 50:20

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28 KJV)

And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (Second Corinthians 12:8-9 NKJV)

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This is a little something I wrote a few months ago after praying about a rough patch I was going through. 🙂 I hope it can also bring hope to others. ❤

The 3 Day 3 Quotes Challenge Day Nine

The grand finale! 🙂 I’m going to go in depth as to why I like this quote – er – poem. I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did. ❤

Make us of one heart and mind – For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. (Romans 12:4-5 NASB)

Courteous and kind – But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:23 – 24 NASB)

Lowly, meek in thought and word – Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. (Matthew 11:29 KJV)

Never by fretful passion stirred – And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. (Galatians 5:24 NKJV)

Free from anger, free from pride, – He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly. (Proverbs 14:29 KJV) When pride comes, then comes shame; but with the humble is wisdom. (Proverbs 11:2 NKJV)

Let us in God abide – “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.” (John 15:4 NKJV)

All the depths of love express – “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35 NKJV)

All the height of holiness – As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.” (First Peter 1:14-16 NASB)

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Nominee:

Shakiyasmessage 

What Doesn’t Blow You Down Makes You Stronger

Special thanks to Daily Thankful, Adrianna, and Angela (click to read their fantastic posts) for unknowingly helping to inspire the words in this image and in the post below – seems that we are on the same wavelength. ❤

For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. (Jeremiah 17:8 KJV)

“He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers.” Psalm 1:3 (NASB)

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Grab a cup of tea or hot chocolate or coconut water or whatever beverage you enjoy sipping on while reading long articles because this is going to end up being a long one. 😅

Last fall, I put some apple seeds that I saved out of an apple into some dirt to allow it to naturally go through the winter. I also put some in the refrigerator last November and again in January. I took them out briefly for the photo below. The seeds are wrapped in a damp paper towel which I placed in a Ziploc bag so that they wouldn’t dry out.

This process is known as stratification.  “In horticulture, stratification is the process of pretreating seeds to simulate natural conditions that a seed must endure before germination. Many seed species have an embryonic dormancy phase, and generally will not sprout until this dormancy is broken.” — Wikipedia

When it comes to apple seeds, it usually takes, according to the linked article, 70 to 80 days. However, it looks like they can sprout too soon. I say that because one of the little apple trees  I planted to be stratified this winter sprung up too early instead of waiting for spring like it was supposed to. The silly thing. Anyway.

Johnny Appleseed the Second, in his pig pot under the plant light

I brought that one inside and left the rest to be good little seeds and go through the rest of stratification. The little tree (whose name is Johnny Appleseed the Second, by the way – because I name everything – and this was my dad’s suggestion for a name) is now about three inches tall; I didn’t expect it to survive because it sprouted at the wrong time. But it did. So I put it under my plant light with my citronella plant, garlic, rubber plant, daffodil, Aloe Vera, Venus flytrap, pitcher plant, tomatoes, peppers, lemon trees, Mandarin orange saplings, and one other citrus tree that I am unsure of what it is. I think I’ve turned our “Arts and Crafts room” into a nursery at this point. 😅 Oh, I’m digressing. Getting back on topic…

So far, Johnny Appleseed the Second looks healthy. However, since Johnny Appleseed the Second will be indoors until spring, I wanted to make sure I was taking proper care of him. The ones I had last year (that came up in the spring like good little seeds) nature took care of, except for the occasional watering, so that they would be used to being outdoors. I thought I remembered this, and so researched it:

“Wind greatly affects plants throughout their growth. When plants are seedlings, slight breezes help them grow more sturdy. ” — Gardening FAQ

Turns out I remembered correctly. Thus, if the little guy is constantly protected from the wind and then planted outside this spring, his trunk will be weak and the wind could break him.

Therefore, staking a plant or blocking the wind from reaching a plant can actually do more harm than good in the long run, as long as the wind is not storm-strength. Every other day or so, I blow on Johnny Appleseed the Second, trying to mimic wind to make him stronger.

Tree trunk silhouette at sunset

And then I realized… just like I am doing for little Johnny Appleseed the Second, God allows us to go through trials that make us bend and knocks us around so that we get stronger in Him. He allows the wind to blow, and with it, strengthens us so we don’t break when the stronger storms come later.

In conclusion to this long-winded (sorry bad pun) post: We’re like apple trees! 🍎 🍏 Okay, okay: Our Father in Heaven allows turbulence to strengthen His children because He loves them. ❤

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This poem by Lillian E. Barr was in Streams In The Desert in the January 16th devotional; it seems relevant here. I hope you enjoy her poem as much as I did:

THE TREE GOD PLANTS

The wind that blows can never kill
The tree God plants;
It bloweth east, it bloweth west,
The tender leaves have little rest,
But any wind that blows is best;
The tree God plants
Strikes deeper root, grows higher still,
Spreads wider boughs, for God’s good will
Meets all its wants.

There is no frost hath power to blight
The tree God shields;
The roots are warm beneath soft snows,
And when Spring comes it surely knows,
And every bud to blossom grows.
The tree God shields
Grows on apace by day and night,
Till sweet to taste and fair to sight
Its fruit it yields.

There is no storm hath power to blast
The tree God knows;
No thunderbolt, nor beating rain,
Nor lightning flash, nor hurricane
When they are spent it doth remain.
The tree God knows
Through every tempest standeth fast,
And from its first day to its last
Still, fairer grows.

If in the soul’s still garden-place
A seed God sows
A little seed it soon will grow,
And far and near all men will know
For heavenly lands, he bids it blow.
A seed God sows,
And up it springs by day and night;
Through life, through death, it groweth right;
Forever grows.

The Origin Of Valentine’s Day

A lot of people celebrate Valentine’s Day. (Or if you are like me and you are single, this holiday is most likely S.A.D –  Singles Awareness Day.) But have you ever wondered why we celebrate it, and who this Valentine guy was? Well, wonder no more! (Click the links at the end of the quotes if you want to view the whole article where I found the information. 😉)

Image Credit: Pixabay

The history behind it is actually quite dark. Two people with the name of Valentine were martyred in different years in Ancient Rome on that day. The Catholic church recognized them as saints. And at this time, Lupercalia was already established by the ancient Romans to be celebrated from February 13th through the 15th. So, what is that celebrating?

Image Credit: Wikipedia Commons

Lupercalia was a very ancient, possibly pre-Roman pastoral annual festival, observed in the city of Rome on February 15, to avert evil spirits and purify the city, releasing health and fertility. Lupercalia was also called “dies Februatus”, purified (literally “februated day”) after the instruments of purification called “februa”, which give the month of February (Februarius) its name. – Wikipedia on Lupercalia

Killing two birds with one stone: Now we know where February got its name from too…

Image Credit: Pixabay

Anyway…

The men sacrificed a goat and a dog, then whipped women with the hides of the animals they had just slain.

The Roman romantics “were drunk. They were naked,” says Noel Lenski, a historian at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Young women would actually line up for the men to hit them, Lenski says. They believed this would make them fertile.

The brutal fete included a matchmaking lottery, in which young men drew the names of women from a jar. The couple would then be, um, coupled up for the duration of the festival — or longer, if the match was right. – NPR

So… that’s awful. Those poor women. I don’t even want to think about it.

Later, Pope Gelasius I muddled things in the 5th century by combining St. Valentine’s Day with Lupercalia to expel the pagan rituals. But the festival was more of a theatrical interpretation of what it had once been. Lenski adds, “It was a little more of a drunken revel, but the Christians put clothes back on it. That didn’t stop it from being a day of fertility and love.”

Around the same time, the Normans celebrated Galatin’s Day. Galatin meant “lover of women.” That was likely confused with St. Valentine’s Day at some point, in part because they sound alike. – NPR

This sort of sounds like what happened with Christmas. Take a pagan holiday and combine it with a Christian holiday in an attempt to convert people. Or in this case, try to twist the pagan holiday to make it “Christian”.

Then I was curious about how the Valentine Cards were started:

Another embellishment suggests that Saint Valentine performed clandestine Christian weddings for soldiers who were forbidden to marry. The Roman Emperor Claudius II supposedly forbade this in order to grow his army, believing that married men did not make for good soldiers.  However, George Monger writes that this marriage ban was never issued and that Claudius II told his soldiers to take two or three women for themselves after his victory over the Goths.

According to legend, in order “to remind these men of their vows and God’s love, Saint Valentine is said to have cut hearts from parchment”, giving them to these soldiers and persecuted Christians, a possible origin of the widespread use of hearts on St. Valentine’s Day. – Wikipedia on Valentine’s Day

So that’s how Valentine’s Day got its start
And how people started sending Valentine’s Day hearts.
I do hope that you enjoyed and learned something new
Happy Valentine’s Day (or Singles Awareness Day) to you!