"STRANGE FRUIT!"

"Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheeps clothing, because inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore, by their fruits you will know them."   (Matthew 7:15-20)

This is one of my favorite scriptures in the Word of God. Jesus eloquently lays out the blueprint for success in the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. He emphatically states that there are those individuals (both male and female) masquerading as prophets of God but are, in fact, wolves seeking to devour the saints.

When I thought about this writing, I was able to see the fruit as "strange" or, specifically, the works of the enemy as a diversion, derailment and defilement of God's truth. I saw the strange fruit as an enticement of the senses; not as a building up of the spirit man; but as a means to destroy the Believer's FAITH, PEACE & JOY.

Jesus uses the analogy of "fruit" to make His point. The revelation I got from the Holy Spirit (HS) on fruit is that it is, "the pure virtue or power of the HS manifested by integrity in moral and ethical conduct in the life of a Believer while loving and serving God's people in the marketplace."

By following this definition, it is easy to discern the motives of the wolves in our midst. There is no evidence of life, love, integrity, morals, ethics or peace. The Believer will always be skeptical of the wolf because his nature is to be sneaky, disloyal and territorial. This behavior is strange to the Believer. Jesus asks us a rhetorical question (paraphrased), "who in their right mind is going to pick grapes and figs from thorn bushes and thistles?"  

Since grapes and figs don't grow on those types of vines, the Lord is provoking us to use discernment in the affiliations, alliances and fellowships we make. He is directing us to ask the hard questions when we encounter something, someone or some situation that does not line up with the Word of God. The Lord God gives us wisdom and discernment to filter the shenanigans of the devil and his imps.

Would you travel to a foreign land and, while out in the wilderness, pick strange fruit from a tree that you have never seen before, or with no knowledge of its origin and eat it?

You don't have to taste their "fruit" to          know that it's strange; 

Just carefully inspect their "tree!"  . ...Selah