"These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds: trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit twice dead, plucked up by the roots" (Jude 12).

     Sometimes the Master Gardener comes into His garden for fresh ripe fruit to eat and He is grieved to find that much of it is rotten (Psa. 78:40).  It was doing so well, for so long, and then it happened as in the dream of Pharaoh - "And the ill favoured and leanfleshed kine did eat up the seven well favoured and fat kine" (Gen. 41:4).  

     It is possible for the best years of Christian service to be swallowed up by failure; by unbelief, and by sin, but it is never necessary.  Our failures and sins must be used as incentives to greater faith and yet richer experiences of the love and grace of God and not to total unbelief and apostasy.

     Never let the evil one convince you that it is too late to turn to your Gardener.  He knows how to revive all His plants when they have withered away.  He can restore all the years that the locusts have eaten (Joel 2:5).  He says, "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need (Heb. 4:16).  

     This throne is for those that have nothing to give to their Gardener but "rotten fruit," yet He says to come "boldly," in full assurance of faith that He will receive you.  It is only pride, self-righteousness, and unbelief that keeps any away.  The throne is for the unworthy, the vilest of the vile.  It is the throne of the free love of God, and He will give it to anyone that comes.  The thief on the cross learned this (Lk. 23:42-43).  

     Let us heed the Lord's warning and keep ourselves in the love of God (Jude 21).  If we have lost our joy it is because we aren't keeping ourselves in His love.  

     Remember His words; "From me is thy fruit found" (Hos. 14:8).  

     Beware of withering!  If we lose our joy, we lose our strength (Neh. 8:10, Joel 1:12).  We will not grow; we begin to die.  

     Oh Lord, keep us from being "twice dead."