Little Foxes

This came out of a song that Solomon wrote in the book called Song of Songs in the Word of God, read what he wrote in 2:15, “Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.”

Foxes are usually very shy animals and if you see one it will probably be at night when it is dark.  They chew on vines and spoil the branches in the vineyard and the fruit.  Well today I want to relate these little foxes to sin that spoil the fruit in a person’s life.  

When we think of sin we usually think of the big sins that are very easy to spot in a person’s life, but what about the sins that we don’t relate to as big sins and sometimes are overlooked as not that important.  What about some of the lies we speak that many relate to as little white lies, or what about our negative attitude at times, and what about the way we gossip at times.  Can you think about a time when you were told by someone something that you said you would not tell anyone else about but you did, these are what you might call little foxes that chew on the vines and the branches and hinder the sap from flowing or stop it altogether.  What about anger, bitterness and un-forgiveness, all of these are sins that we can try to overlook, but a sin is a sin in God’s eyes regardless of what we may think and if all of them are left unchecked and unrepented of and unconfessed, they will spoil the fruit in our lives.  And, this is a very big one that many people don’t even seem to know that they have in many cases and it’s called pride.  I have heard it said this way, if I remember correctly, “That the only people that don’t know they have pride in their lives are the people who have it.”

God’s Word says this about sin, regardless of what we think and this includes all sin.  Please read Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”     

Whether it be killing, raping, stealing, porn, adultery, sexual immorality or any other kind of sin you can name, if not dealt with, they will separate you from the vine and the fruit in our lives will dry up until we repent and confess it and ask the good Lord to forgive us.  

What does God’s Word say about the vine and the branches in John 15:1-17, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. These things I command you, that ye love one another.”

Repentance is talked about throughout the whole Word of God, from Genesis to Revelation.  We may not hear about confession, repentance, conviction and being broken when we sin and the Lord’s crucifixion and death and His shed blood and His resurrection from many congregations, but they still apply today, for without these no man could be right with God.  First you have to believe that you are a sinner and are dead in your sins and trespasses and that because of your situation you are separated from God.  You must believe that God and His Son and His Holy Spirit exist.  You must believe that Jesus died by crucifixion and rose from the dead and through His shed blood we can be covered and washed and cleansed from our sins and from all of our un-righteousness.  You also need to repent of your sins and confess and turn away from your sins and ask the Lord to forgive you and be your Lord and Savior.  In other words, Jesus said you must be born-again, which can only be done through the Lord before you can even start this journey with the Lord. 

For those that claim to be born-again, we need to deal with these little foxes that are called sins and resist them in our hearts and lives and, if we do fall, we need to be willing to repent and turn from these things in our lives and ask the Lord to forgive us and take the proper steps that will make these things right, if we can.  I have given you something to think about and I hope this will be a help and even encourage you to do the right thing!!  May God bless you and yours and may you have a happy day!!