Jesus said something simple, but it has a way of exposing all of us:

You must determine if a tree is good or rotten. You can recognize good trees by their delicious fruit. But if you find rotten fruit, you can be certain that the tree is rotten. The fruit defines the tree.
— Matthew 12:33 (TPT)

I often like to eat Fuji apples, but I like to slice them and sprinkle sea salt on them. There have been times I’ve pulled an apple out of the refrigerator that looked perfect—washed it, sliced it open—and found something I wasn’t expecting. It was rotten on the inside. And that’s the truth of life:

What’s on the inside eventually makes its way to the outside.

So here’s the first question I want you to consider today:

What kind of fruit are you currently producing?

Because the fruit always tells the truth about the root.

Pressure Reveals What’s Inside

We often find out what’s inside of us during a time of crisis. Think about it this way: if you’re driving and someone suddenly pulls out in front of you, what’s the first thing that comes out of your mouth? That might be a scary thought… but it’s likely what’s been living inside you.

I remember about 23 years ago, I was driving to work at a normal speed when a truck ran a stop sign and T-boned me. My car flipped two and a half times. I vividly remember seeing it coming and being unable to do anything about it. And I screamed one word:

“JESUS!”

That’s what I want on the inside of me—so deeply—that it comes out in both good times and hard times.

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Firmly Planted Trees Produce Good Fruit

Psalm 1 gives us a picture of what a stable, fruitful believer looks like:

He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season…
— Psalm 1:1–3 (NASU)

If we want to be like a tree firmly planted, it begins with two things:

• Delighting ourselves in the Lord
• Meditating on Him and His Word consistently

This brings balance. And balance is critical, because the faster life gets, the easier it is to lose balance without even realizing it.

Some people are moving faster than ever right now. Others have slowed down drastically. But wherever we are, this is a good day to ask God to bring our lives back into spiritual balance.

Because the fruit always tells the truth about the root.

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Trust Is the Secret to Stability

Jeremiah gives us another powerful picture:

Blessed are those who trust in the Lord… They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water… Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.
— Jeremiah 17:7–8 (NLT)

These trees aren’t bothered by heat. They aren’t worried by drought. They stay green and keep producing fruit. Why? Because they trust the Lord, and their roots go deep into the water.

If ever we need to be in a place of trust, hope, and confidence in the Lord, it is in the times we are living in right now.

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The Tree Matters: Roots, Trunk, and Branches

If the fruit defines the tree, then it’s worth looking at what makes a tree healthy.

1) Roots

A strong root system has three purposes:

• Support (stability)
• Storage (strength for hard seasons)
• Nutrient pickup (what you are feeding on)

Jesus warned in the parable of the sower that some receive the Word with joy, but when trouble comes, they fall away because they have no real root. We don’t want shallow roots. We want roots that grow deep through a consistent walk with the Lord—through His Word, worship, prayer, and time in His presence. And we should ask ourselves honestly:

Where are my roots gathering nutrients?

I once heard about a septic system that failed because tree roots grew into the sewage pipes. What a picture. Some of us are feeding on things that cannot nourish our souls. In every season, I have had to let my roots stay closer and closer to the water—more time in the Word, more time in worship, more time in prayer—because I need that nourishment to stay strong.

2) Trunk

Inside the trunk is something called heartwood. It doesn’t carry water, but it gives the tree strength—like a steel beam inside a building. Heartwood reminds me of this:

When Jesus is at the center, we can stand in any storm.

Passion for Christ is not built overnight. It comes from a long-term commitment to walking with Him, not just running to Him in an emergency.

3) Branches

Then we come to the branches—and Jesus could not have been clearer:

Remain in me… For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine… Apart from me you can do nothing.
— John 15:4–5 (NLT)

If we want fruit, we must stay connected.

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Fruit Is the Goal

Spiritual maturity is never the end in itself. We grow up in order to give out.

• Impression without expression causes frustration
• Input without output causes stagnation

God never intended us to become spiritually stagnant. The world is looking for answers. And many times, they are looking for them through the fruit they see in God’s people. Galatians tells us the fruit we want in our lives:

The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit… love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
— Galatians 5:22–23 (NLT)

So let’s inspect our fruit:

• Is love increasing in me?
• Is joy present, even in difficulty?
• Am I choosing peace, or living in fear?
• Is patience being produced, or am I murmuring?
• Do people experience kindness and gentleness when they’re around me?
• Is self-control evident in my choices?

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Inspect Your Own Tree

This is not a call to become fruit inspectors of everyone else. But it is a call to inspect our own. If the fruit isn’t what it should be, we don’t just need to “try harder.”

We need to go back and examine the tree:

• Roots: Where am I feeding? Am I firmly planted?
• Trunk: Is Jesus truly at the center of my life?
• Branches: Am I remaining connected to the vine?

Because the fruit always tells the truth about the root.

And when our roots reach deep into the living water, we will not be bothered by heat or worried by drought. Our leaves will stay green. And we will never stop producing fruit.

Welcome to a new type of blog post here on Secret Place Revelation, I am calling “Revelation Nuggets”!

If you have followed me, you know the name of my page is based on Psalm 91:1, “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” I believe spending time in the secret place in prayer and Bible study is the best way for God to unveil revelation that will help us walk through this life.

I realize sometimes the revelation doesn’t require much explanation and can be shared in a shorter, simpler post. This is why I am introducing “Revelation Nuggets” this week. When I post these, they won’t be quite as long, but hopefully just as encouraging and thought-provoking. Let’s get to my first one.

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Revelation Nugget: Don’t Lose Your First Love

Recently, I was studying the messages given to the seven churches in the book of Revelation. While these letters went to seven specific churches, they are also meant to challenge, encourage, warn, and build up believers and churches throughout church history, including today.

The letter to the first church in Ephesus stood out to me.

Revelation 2:2-5 NKJV

“I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; 3 and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary.  4 Nevertheless, I have this against you, that you have left your first love.

I love all the things this church is commended for, but my focus today is on the fact that, regardless of their good deeds, they had left their first love! This must be a stern warning for those of us who have been Christians for a while, especially for those who use our gifts and talents to serve in the Kingdom of God.

I believe this passage refers to the deep love and passion for Christ and His Word we have when we first come into His family, which can wane over time if we don’t work to keep the fire burning.

The Ephesians were giving God their service, but not themselves!

I believe all Christians should serve in some way, but we must be careful not to let our service become our focus. When we are sincerely in love with Jesus, it should be evident in our lives by spending consistent personal time with Him in prayer and in His Word, not as a duty, but as a delight!

Galatians 4:4-7 NKJV

4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” 7 Therefore, you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

If all you are doing is working for God, you still have a slave mentality. He wants you to be His son or His daughter and be connected to Him. Then your service for Him will flow from that love, not to earn it.

Do some self-reflection today. Does your first love need some attention?

I would like all readers of this blog to consider themselves part of a jury. Instead of making a group decision, you will each be required to make your own individual verdict. You will be accountable for your own decision, and it will impact how you move forward in your spiritual walk once you have seen all the evidence. This is what you must decide: does the evidence prove “the truth” or is there “reasonable doubt”?

Exhibit A: Authority

From the very start of His ministry, Jesus demonstrated extraordinary authority in His teaching, over sickness, and over spiritual darkness. Mark 1:21-27 tells us the crowd was amazed because He taught with authority, unlike the scribes.

The authority Jesus demonstrated was not intended to cease with Him. In Mark 3:13-15, He gave that authority to His disciples. In Luke 10, we read that Jesus appointed seventy to go out with the same authority. After Jesus died on the cross and was resurrected to heaven, He delegated that authority to us His church!

Exhibit B: Belief in Action

Authority alone isn’t enough—faith is required. And faith isn’t passive; it moves. Jesus illustrated this in the Parable of the Sower (Mark 4). Only the seed that fell on good soil produced a harvest—thirty, sixty, or a hundredfold. The difference? The hearer received the Word and acted on it. Right after teaching this parable, Jesus had some important things to say.

“Then He said to them, ‘Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given.  25 For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.'” Mark 4:24-25 NKJV

This passage is often taken out of context and only associated with giving, but it actually says, “Take heed what you hear.” The point of this evidence is that, with the same measure you use, the Word of God will be measured back to you. To those who hear the Word, more belief will be given. For whoever has faith in the Word, more will be provided, but those who do not believe will enter more into unbelief.

Two Scriptural examples:

• The woman with the issue of blood (Mark 5): Despite cultural risk and physical weakness, she pressed through the crowd—maybe even crawling—to touch the hem of Jesus’ garment. Her faith was active, and she was healed.
• The friends of the paralytic (Mark 2): They didn’t let a packed house stop them. They tore through a roof to get their friend to Jesus. When Jesus saw their faith, He healed and forgave.

Belief mixed with action brings results.

Exhibit C: Hardheartedness

This term means something deeper in the Bible than we often think—it’s not just being unkind. Scripture speaks of spiritual blindness and stubborn unbelief.

• Mark 3:1-5: The Pharisees watched Jesus closely to see if He would heal on the Sabbath so they could accuse Him. Jesus said that they were unmoved by a miraculous healing and said this revealed their hardness of heart.
• Mark 4:37-40; 6:49-52: These passages describe two different storms the disciples were in. In the first storm, Jesus was asleep in the boat and demonstrated His power by calming the storm. In between the storms, Jesus multiplied food to feed 5000 men, plus women and children. When Jesus walked on the water to come to them in the second storm, He said that the disciples’ hearts were hardened because they did not believe even after seeing the miracle of the loaves.
• Mark 16:9-14: After His resurrection, Jesus rebuked the disciples for unbelief and hardness of heart because they refused to believe eyewitnesses.

Hardheartedness isn’t just a Pharisee problem—it can happen to any of us when we let the enemy, circumstances, or distractions choke out our faith. Think back to the parable of the sower. We could say that the first three examples showed unbelief and hardheartedness.

• The one who hears the Word, but immediately Satan comes to steal it.
• The person who has no root, so tribulation or difficulties take away the Word.
• When the cares of life or the desire for other things more than the Word cause a person to lose out.

The disciples had the privilege of being eyewitnesses to Jesus’ acts, and they struggled with unbelief and hardheartedness. Today, we are to believe in the promises of the written Word, and we can’t allow the enemy, circumstances, or the cares of life to steal belief in the Word.

Jesus was limited by unbelief. Even in Nazareth, Jesus “could do no mighty work” because of unbelief (Mark 6:5–6).

• Mark 5:37-42: In the miracle of raising Jairus’ daughter, Jesus limited the unbelief by putting all but the parents and Peter, James, and John out of the room.
• Mark 8:22-25: Jesus had to lead a blind man out of a city of unbelief before He could heal him.

The Verdict

The evidence has been presented:

• Jesus has all authority, and He has delegated it to His followers.
• Belief, when combined with action, produces a breakthrough.
• Unbelief and hardheartedness can block the work of God in our lives.

So—what’s your verdict?

Will you return a verdict of Truth, embracing God’s authority and moving forward in active faith? Or will you return Reasonable Doubt, allowing unbelief to keep you from walking in the fullness of His promises?

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Closing Challenge

If you recognize doubt in your heart, you don’t have to stay there. Ask the Lord to turn your unbelief into faith.

If you’ve let the Word be stolen by the enemy…
If life’s hardships have caused you to stumble…
If distractions have choked out your spiritual growth…

…today is the day to break that cycle.

Your life has too much purpose to be slowed down by unbelief.
The case has been made. The jury is you. The verdict is yours.