Day 10 – What does it mean to be fruitful?
~2 Peter 1:8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
When we buy our fruit in the grocery store, we don’t stop to think about where the fruit came from or the work it took the fruit farmer to get that fruit to us. A tree can only produce plenty of fruit – good fruit – when it is properly cared for and has all the right “ingredients.” It needs the right amount of sunshine, rain, fertilizer and pruning. A healthy tree produces a good crop of fruit.
It is the same with our Christian lives. Without the Son-shine in our lives, we cannot bear fruit. One must be born again to produce spiritual fruit. Without Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour, we cannot possibly be fruitful nor can we make it without Him. Without getting to know Him better through the word of God, we cannot grow.
~John 15:5 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.
At times we need pruning so we can be more fruitful. Pruning comes in various ways – through trials, through the Scriptures, and through the preaching. God uses multiple things in our lives to get our attention if we are being disobedient to His word. A tree doesn’t have much choice but to be pruned. But we do! We don’t have to be pruned by the Lord. We can resist the devil (James 4:7) and the temptations by removing ourselves from the situation that is tempting us. God provides us with a way to escape temptation so we do not fall. (1 Corinthians 10:13) However, when we don’t, we can be sure we will not grow properly. This is why we won’t produce the fruit we could produce.
~Psalm 1:2-3, But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. 3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
Notice that verse 3 says that his leaf shall not wither. If I water my plants regularly, they stay looking nice. If I miss a week or two, however, the leaves start to droop and they “scream” for water. So should Christians scream for the living water of the Word. Daily reading, studying and submitting to God’s word is what will produce good fruit.
~John 7:38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
Don’t allow yourself to go one day without gleaning from the Scriptures. This is our spiritual food which will produce good fruit. One cannot walk away from the Scriptures without being changed. The word of God is the fertilizer that every Christian needs to be fruitful!
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