This beautiful flower also has the most beautiful scent of all flowers.  But that’s only the carnal reasons we like this flower.  There’s one more carnal reason we like this flower – it turns into delicious fruit after it’s fertilization & time.  We’re going to come back to that later.  Did you know that citrus flowers also have beneficial properties?  Yes!  It’s true.  Citrus flowers are anti-inflammatory making them good for pain reduction, just like a real team.  A real team is there for each other because the focus of the team is outward and we know that each team member needs to be pain-free in order to help the team reach their goal.  Citrus flowers are also anti-oxidant.  Did you know that oxidation is the number one cause of aging and stress in the body?  A team that smells as good as a citrus flower (Phillipians 4:14-18) is not only one who pleases the Lord but also one who works together to spread the gospel.  Citrus flowers also relieve anxiety and reduce insomnia.  Listen, when Doers really act on the LifeTeam vision, and we all know that we can count on each other to reach the goal of expanding the Kingdom so that we are not alone in this task, we can sleep better at night and live better during the day!

Finally, the fruit.  Even though the sweet smelling, beautiful and medicinal flower is so beneficial, it’s all pointless without the fruit.  Did you know citrus sales in the US tops $125,000,000,000 ($125 BILLION) annually?!  WOW!  That’s a lot of citrus!  Well, the fruit is where the money is.  If it wasn’t for the fruit, the citrus industry would be bankrupt.  In Christ, it’s the same way.  We can have the benefits of a group of individuals who encourage each other and produce peace and growth and longevity to each other but if we don’t produce fruit, the entire team is worthless!  Let that sink in.  So how do we get the fruit?

Getting fruit from a flower is not easy.  The first thing that has to happen is the flower must

Right, so in the verse (link in bold) above says that we must freely give what we have received.  Let’s think about that with the flower.  The flower was given all these beautiful attributes that attract both us and other forms of life.  Insects come and want some of its pollen and nectar.  The flower freely gives.  But in return for this giving, the flower receives from the taker what it needs to become fruit.  It’s an amazing transaction.  We are called to be fruitful and we are connected to the vine that produces us (the branches) but we cannot produce the fruit.  The fruit comes when we do what we are called to do and that is to provide for the needs of those who come near to us.  See, we cannot produce fruit.  The fruit is a natural occurrence that happens when we are connected to the vine and do what we were designed to do.  It doesn’t matter how much this flower wants to become fruit, it never will until it gives away part of itself.

PS – In light of what I’m sharing, we need to realized that these promises ARE to us and for us!  These are not just commands and promises to the men of old.  As we go through this Daily Word together, lets remember what Jesus said in Matthew 22:31 (“have you not read what was spoken to you by God”) and echoed in Hebrews 12;5 (“the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children”) and then again in 2 Peter 1:5 (“In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises”).