Love

Fruit Inspectors

~ Observant Servant

Stop me if you have heard this one.

“I’m not judging them. I’m just inspecting their fruit”
Have you had an encounter with these “fruit inspectors”?
Maybe they are watching how you worship or even how you pray. I had an encounter a few months ago where I was judged because I didn’t pray they way someone thought I should during corporate prayer. They ridiculed me asking me why I didn’t pray for/about the things they felt I should be praying about or for. And another where because I was struggling, it was insinuated that God was displeased with me. I couldn’t do anything right. It was so bad that I started feeling that God had turned His face from me. That I was a lost cause. It broke me.

So many Christians are so judgemental and not in a loving way at all. They are just straight up mean. And they do it while holding their Bible under the covering of “I’m a fruit inspector. Just doing the Lords work.”
Seriously?
I hear it all the time. The Bible tells us to judge others. We’re to hold our brothers and sister accountable.
Ok.. I get it.
Let’s see what the Bible says.

There are scriptures like Proverbs 31:9 that do say “Open thy mouth, judge righteously…” And we definitely should want our brothers and sisters in Christ to be growing and moving forward. There certainly is a time, a place, and a way to do that, that shows love and truth. The problem is that we don’t see much love and truth. The problem is we don’t fully understand the weight of Matthew 7 that says ‘ do not judge or you too will be judged for in the same way you judge others, you will be judged.

Understand what you are doing when you claim to be a “fruit inspector”. You are saying “God, I know all the ins and outs of this situation, I know every motive hidden or not, and I am just as qualified as you, God, to place judgement on them.” — When you do that, you are saying “God, now judge me.” Is that really what you wanted?

Romans 14:10 says so why do you condemn another believer? why do you look down on another believer? Remember that we will all stand before the judgement seat of God. Each of us will give a personal account to God. Then in verse 13 it says this: So let’s stop condemning each other. Decide instead to live in such a way that wont cause another believer to stumble.
The truth is all this “fruit inspecting” we’re doing does way more damage than anything else. We are showing the world that even us as Christians cannot figure out how to get along. Jesus is love, joy, and peace huh? Let me see it in His followers.

Let me tell you some truth right here. If you really want to make a difference in the world for Jesus, start talking about what you’re for instead of focusing on what you are against. Can you judge other believers? Sure! Absolutely if you want to. But why would you want to? Remember John 3:17 “For God did not send His son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” If Jesus didn’t come here to condemn people, what makes us think it is our job? If you truly care about helping others grow and become a better person, love them to Jesus. It’s sad that other Christians, even pastors, bash other people under the cover of “righteous judgement”.

There’s nothing wrong at all with helping other people become who they should be in Christ but make sure we are doing it out of love with a pure heart. Not to make us feel better about ourselves. That is self righteousness. For we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. That’s why we all have to depend on His righteousness.
And remember, if Jesus didn’t come to condemn them, then maybe you shouldn’t either.

Author: Kelly K. www.kellykministries.com

Learning to Pray

~ Observant Servant

I’ve noticed something about the way I enter prayer now. Almost without thinking, I begin with gratitude.

Before I ever get to requests, before I remember the list of names in my journal, my heart just starts thanking Him. For breath. For protection through the night. For quiet mercies I would have missed if I wasn’t paying attention. There are mornings when I come to Him with intention — specific needs, specific burdens — and yet I never make it past praise. I simply sit there, overwhelmed by the goodness of God.

The Lord already knows what we need. Jesus said as much. And sometimes I sense that He invites me not first to ask, but to remember. To remember who He is. To remember what He has already done. Thanksgiving steadies my heart. It reminds me that I am not approaching a reluctant God, but a faithful Father.

At the same time, I’ve learned that gratitude is not meant to replace honest desire. There was a season, especially when I was newly born again, when praying for others came so naturally to me. I was surrounded by people who didn’t know Christ, and I had just tasted the depth of His mercy. I wanted everyone to feel that freedom. I would spend long stretches of time pleading for softened hearts, for salvation, for breakthrough in other people’s lives.

But when it came to praying for myself, something in me hesitated.

I already had Jesus. What more could I possibly need?

It felt selfish to ask for anything personal. I would shorten my own prayers. Minimize my own needs. I didn’t want to “take up time,” as if the Creator of heaven and earth were inconvenienced by my voice. Looking back, I can see how subtle that lie was. It sounded humble, but it was actually distance.

What kind of relationship would it be if a child barely spoke their needs to a loving parent? God is not irritated by our desires. He is not exhausted by our requests. He invites them. He shapes them. He sometimes refines them. But He wants them brought into the light.

Scripture says, “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints” (Ephesians 6:18, KJV). That includes praying for the saints. And sometimes, that saint is you.

The enemy will gladly keep you interceding for everyone else while quietly silencing your own heart. He will whisper that your needs are small, or unworthy, or already covered. But recognizing that whisper for what it is changes everything. When I began to see that reluctance as spiritual resistance, something shifted in me. I started bringing my own heart before the Lord with the same earnestness I used for others.

Now my prayer life feels less like a performance and more like a conversation. Some days it is gratitude. Some days it is intercession. Some days it is quiet surrender. And some days it is simply honesty.

Every day is a gift within a gift — another chance to draw near, to work alongside Him, to grow in trust. Even in hard seasons, I can find something to thank Him for. Even in uncertainty, I can bring Him what I lack.

He does not tire of hearing from us.

And I am learning not to tire of coming to Him.