May 27th Bearing fruit
Bible Reading: Jn 15:1-5
Gal 5:22 ”But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self- control. Against such there is no law.”
Whenever you squeeze an apple, apple juice comes out. Whenever you squeeze an orange, orange juice comes out. Whenever you squeeze a Christian, what comes out? Gal 5:22 isn’t it? No?, sometimes?, all the time?. I think if we were to be honest with ourselves the answer would be, ‘sometimes’.
Jesus said ‘“ I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing’. So the issue is ‘abiding’. Are we abiding in Christ? Or have we taken up temporary residence, coming and going as we please?
Gal 5:2 shows the character of the believer and is a great scripture to use for examining ourselves to see if we are bearing any fruit. Charisma must be balanced by character. Any world leader that has charisma and little character could end up destroying their future and the future of those they lead as well. It’s so important that we strive to exhibit God’s character.
The Gal 5:2 character is formed by yielding to the Holy Spirit. The things you want to do, rather than just doing them because you want to, submit them to the leading of the Spirit. What you would have said, that could have had a disastrous effect? Submit it to the Holy Spirit. Allow His fruit to form in you so that when you’re squeezed, His Spirit is what comes out of you every time. Then we will be true representatives of the Kingdom of God.
Prayer:
• Lord teach me to abide in you. Jn 15:7
• Lord help my feet to be firmly planted in Your Word. Pro 3:6
Thought for the day:
A flower blossoms when connected to the stem; most fruits only ripen when connected to the tree; humans prosper when connected to the Vine, Jesus.