Spirit Warrior 4 Him - The Church on the Web - Little Foxes

LITTLE FOXES

by Rev. Pamela M. Hunter

"Catch us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines, for our vines have tender grapes." ~ NKJ Song of Solomon 2:15

Isn't God excellent!? I love talking about how He is real in our lives; about how He works in us and through us; how He actually listens to us. Isn't it nice to know that when we pray, God listens? And then, when we determine to serve Him, He takes control of our lives and our relationship with Him deepens and grows.

Our lives, when our goal is God's righteousness, begin to bear fruit. To bear good fruit!

What does it mean, to "bear good fruit"?

Well, there are many scriptures in the New Testament that tell us what good, Christian fruit is. Ephesians 5:9 tells us it is goodness, righteousness and truth. Philippians 1:11 reiterates: it is righteousness. Colossians 1:10 tells us it is good works and growing in the knowledge of God. In the book of Hebrews, "good fruit" is the sacrifice of praise. And Galatians tells us in 5:22 that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. The passage goes on to say that "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit."

So, the only way to bear this "good fruit" is by having a relationship with God, through Jesus Christ. That means accepting the reality of Christ's birth, death and resurrection and taking that reality to heart.

Believing it

Living it

Knowing that His blood was spilled to cleanse us of our sins. Then, by seeking to be like Jesus Christ, we begin to bear fruit.

Let me again go over what the "good fruit" is:

Goodness and Righteousness Truth and Good Works Growing in the Knowledge of God Giving Him Praise Showing Love to others, yourself, and God It is Peace Patience Kindness Gentleness Faithfulness Self-Control

In John 15:1-8 we read that Jesus told us this:

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in Me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to My Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be My disciples."

We have accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we have committed our lives to service in His name. Our goals are set - goals we believe God has given us. He has guided us - our lives are full of studies, work, service in the church and the community. Our days are busy from dawn 'til late at night. We do the good works that are called "good fruit". We fall asleep exhausted from the demands of life.

One day we realize that something is missing. We are anxious, stressed-out, grouchy. Our lives seem to be all messed up, confusion is our bed-fellow. Anger flashes and fears begin to creep in. What has happened to the joy and peace we once had?

Where is God?

He seemed so real before, but now He seems very far away.

It has happened! "The fruit we longed for is gone from us...", where has it gone?

"They made me the keeper of the vineyards," the Shulamite woman laments in the Song of Solomon, "but my own vineyard I have not kept." This has traditionally been accepted to mean that she let herself go. But I submit this - If she had not kept her vineyard, the ripe grapes, the "good fruit", could be stolen by the foxes. She calls on her beloved, the King, the image of Christ to "catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that ARE IN FULL BLOOM." The vineyards were in their prime, bearing good, luscious fruit. Just like we can be when serving the Lord....everything seems fine. But, like in the Shulamite woman's vineyard, a little neglect can be an opening for the "little foxes" to come in. And, just like the Shulamite woman, we can call on Christ, our King, to catch the "little foxes" in our own lives and restore our right relationship with God.

Like her neglected vineyard, the pressures of this world can overwhelm us. We neglect our relationship with God. We don't pray as much, or worse, not at all. The "little Fox" of time demands sneaks in to steal our time with the Lord. We suffer a distance from Him. Not because HE has left us, but because we have ignored Him. We are just too busy. And the fruit of praise and growing in the knowledge of God has been stolen by those sneaky "little foxes".

Without that fellowship with our Lord, subtle sins come in. Those little sins are the parents of larger ones. We see how the anger and frustration of the daily grind of life has led to a loss of self-control. We can experience outbursts of rage, yelling, even swearing. The fruit of peace is gone. The "little foxes", those little sins, have come in to steal our prime fruit. And some of them have given way to bigger sins...the JACKALS. Wicked, cunning, vicious animals who rip and tear at our souls, the way real jackals rip and tear at their prey.

It is easy to see why we must guard our vineyards; protect our relationship with God. The time we spend in prayer, praise and fellowship with Him is a kind of insurance policy against the damage done to our "fruit" by the "little foxes" that sneak into our lives.

So, let me state simply what we must do to prevent our fruit from being stolen. or, to help us bear fruit. For none of us, I am sure, wish to be like the trees that do not produce "good fruit", described in Luke 3, that are cut down and thrown into the fire. But rather like the tree in Psalm 1, planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Here are three things we can do to guard our vineyards:

First - We must pray and fellowship with the Lord daily. Even if it is for only a short time, that contact with God's presence is vital. Second - We must praise Him, keeping our eyes and hearts set on His righteousness and goodness, not on the things of this world. Third - We must get into the meat of God's Word to learn more about Him and how we are to live our lives.

I am sure we could think of many ways to keep the "little foxes" from destroying our vineyards. Each of the three points I have mentioned can be subverted in subtle ways by just a little neglect. Prayer, Praise and Getting Into The Word are the basic building blocks of a strong, fruitful relationship with God. With them, we can build a wall around our vineyard, and protect it from the damage caused by the "little foxes" of neglect.

Do you know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior? If not, then please go to this link to find out about Him and what it means to receive Him into your Heart! Do You Know God Offers You Eternal Life?

Would you like to know more about the Holy Spirit? Understanding Him and His work in our lives is one of the keys to living strong in the Lord! To learn more about the Holy Spirit, follow this link: Understanding the Holy Spirit.

What is love? The Bible makes it very clear...Jesus was the ultimate expression of love, God's love for us! But, what does it mean for us in our daily lives? How do we love? If you would like to learn what the Bible says love is, then follow this link: Love.

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