BeePicFor fun I am working on a collection I call, Nature As Art™, …no I don’t hug trees or pray to mother earth, but I observed while painting outdoors a metaphor of sorts. As the clock ticks towards the end of September, I again find that I haven’t a feeling of being “anointed” with a special message. Then again, maybe if I am just real with you, a fellow friend walking through this life, sharing from the heart what comes to mind. I so want to provide a monthly post with some profound something, yet I have nothing to share unless it comes from His Word, led by His Holy Spirit.

While waiting for my laptop to awaken, I sent up another “utt-oh” prayer, “Lord, I have nothing to say? …Is this of You? If not…, then the scripture about our works being burned up (1 Corinthians 3:10-23 KJV) reminds me that it is not about me, but Him. That any such contribution if made of wood, hay, would burn up, in short a waist of time.

So two things came to mind. 1) The realization that it is “I” putting the pressure on to perform a Lady of Victory® Little Wisdoms® graphic(s) with a From The VINE™ Blog post to some predictable schedule. Perhaps my heart could be inspired for several in one month and none the next. It’s about content. But, your time is valuable and so onto point 2) I learned this week that even a bee can be mislead. How so? Well, as I began, I was painting some dried up remains of summer’s flowers, bright yellow and orange when I noticed a bee landing on the brightly painted seedless pods. Here was this bee moving from one fake blossom to another only finding that the bright yellow calling card gave out a false message. No nectar here, only the appearance of what was hopefully pollen, the stuff honey is made of.

How often have we gone to our church, small group meeting, convention, with the same false hope? I recall just before leaving the church I had grown up in, waiting through the entire message without even the mention of Jesus, Father God, or the Holy Spirit. No scripture, nothing! Although this example may lean on the extreme, how often have we left church/group/conference feeling empty. I have even repented, saying “I’m sorry Lord, I must have a harden heart, I just got nothing from the message”, only to learn later that the message had no real scriptural base in which it was built.

When we take our car to a filling station, we expect to get filled up at the pump. When we take our earth suit to a spiritual filling station, we expect the same. Not all pumps give out the standard we expect or need. The sure sign of this is on how well can your earth suit run on what we are spiritually filling up on? As with a poor grade of gasoline our car does not run as well.

After moving from one false bloom to another, the bee finally wised up and flue onto find real substance. Have we been as wise? Are we checking up on the teaching(s) our favorite Bible rock star puts out? The message will no doubt pass out a scripture or two but have you taken the time to form your own inner witness? Has the scripture been taken out of context? Manipulated to fit a particular cause? What about the Bible translation? Are you feeding on the Word of God or a paraphrase of three other paraphrased translation. One does not need to study Greek or Hebrew, but it is our responsibility to examine.

Is it time for a spiritual oil change? If we are expected to run properly on this journey called life, we need to do check-ups. If we expect to make it to a heavenly destination, we must check the map (Bible) or we may find those directions were not correct and therefore we have missed the mark. When it comes to eternal life, one must not rely on another. Check the directions given you with life’s road-map, the Bible. Not just any Bible, importantly, Bible translation as close to God’s original message as a translation from one language to another can be. Don’t “bee” fooled by the “appearance” of a promising fruit. As it say’s in (Matthew 12:33 KJV), by their fruit they are known. Or put another way, if it quacks like a duck, it may just be a quack.

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1 Corinthians 3:10-23 (KJV)
10 According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another build thereon. But let every man take heed how he build thereupon.
11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
14 If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
16 Know you not that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.
18 Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seems to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.
19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He takes the wise in their own craftiness.
20 And again, The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.
21 Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are your’s;
22 Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are your’s;
23 And ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s.

Matthew 12:33 (KJV)
Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.

Luke 6:44 (KJV)
For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes.